Skagg2000 Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Thought I'd check in and say hi. Been smoking stuff for a while now both hot & cold. Started out a few years back with a ProQ that I picked up from them in Bodmin after visiting Pengrille. Its still my go to bit of kit even though I recently added a Fornetto 22" Razzo to the collection along with one of the Lidl Mini Kamado which is what brought me to this forum seeking information. SWMBO states I stink of "bonfire" most weekends. I presume she is referring to my wood of choice used to provide her dinner later that day! Charcoal is a topical conversation for me at the moment & where to get good quality & quantity for a reasonable price. Their are many local charcoal producers but much of it isn't hardwood and therefore burns hot & quick I find. Currently using a mix of Kamado big block and olive Firewood Lumpwood which work well for those low and slow brisket. Cheers n Gone Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Hi again Nick I bought a ProQ ? Frontier only a couple of months back. I've gone from charcoal through a lot of brands of briquette's only to return to good quality lumpwood, I buy at my local Bookers..... restaurant Grade 12kg £11, you can get the same off CPL.. https://www.cpldistribution.co.uk/ Ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Hi Nick, once again, welcome to the Forum, great to have you on board. I also use Restaurant Grade Charcoal form Bookers. Just check the bags when purchasing. Get bags from the top of a pallet if possible, and have a feel through the bag for lump sizes. Some times the pieces can be small. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotv Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Hi Nick and welcome. I use lumpwood in the main as well on my ProQ, CPL Distribution Restaurant Grade mostly but If I can get the BIG K Restaurant Grade Charcoal 12kg for £15 then I tend to grab a few bags of that. Recently been trying out the ProQ Cocoshell briquettes and been very impressed with them for maintaining temp and longevity (the larger pieces in the 10kg boxes not the smaller pieces in the camping pack size 3kg) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skagg2000 Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 Hi sotv Thanks for the welcome. I've used the ProQ coco shell in the past and agree it gives a good even temp however it didn't click with me. It felt to clinical & consistent if that makes sense! I've alway liked the Big K Lumpwood boxes BCH15 which have quality charcoal at good sizes for a Pro@ but my local supplier Outdoor Gourmet (Grakka) stopped doing it hence the search for an alternative. EBC on the bay and Amazon is a decent stop gap at just under 40 quid for 30kg Cheers n Gone Nick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotv Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 10 minutes ago, Skagg2000 said: Hi sotv Thanks for the welcome. I've used the ProQ coco shell in the past and agree it gives a good even temp however it didn't click with me. It felt to clinical & consistent if that makes sense! I've alway liked the Big K Lumpwood boxes BCH15 which have quality charcoal at good sizes for a Pro@ but my local supplier Outdoor Gourmet (Grakka) stopped doing it hence the search for an alternative. EBC on the bay and Amazon is a decent stop gap at just under 40 quid for 30kg Cheers n Gone Nick I have used the Big K BCH15 and was pleased with it, I get mine from Ocado when they have them on 3 for 2 (usually 2-3 times a year) works out just under £50 for 45kg if you get the three boxes, if they send me discount codes at the same time as the promotion can be even cheaper. Worth keeping an eye on the sight to see if on offer. Also think they have dropped the quantity in the boxes to 14kg now from 15kg so may have to search for BCH14 now? I use the ProQ cocoshell for longer cooks 10 hours plus as used with the smartfire I get easily 10-16 hours with a full basket and the smartfire. Shorter time cooks I just use lumpwood Never tried EBC but just looked on their own website and they are currently doing 5 x 5kg bags for £25.99 delivered, which seems good and cheaper than the full size bags. Got enough for this year. But have bookmarked it for next year to give it ago at that price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedmus Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Skagg2000 said: EBC on the bay and Amazon is a decent stop gap at just under 40 quid for 30kg Welcome Nick This is what I use most of the time (had a delivery yesterday actually) and it's usually good quality stuff. Will use blue bag stuff at a push but find it tends to be a bit hit and miss quality wise. @sotv the 5kg bags from EBC are in smaller chunks than the 15kg bags. Edited August 7, 2019 by tedmus 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotv Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 1 hour ago, tedmus said: Welcome Nick This is what I use most of the time (had a delivery yesterday actually) and it's usually good quality stuff. Will use blue bag stuff at a push but find it tends to be a bit hit and miss quality wise. @sotv the 5kg bags from EBC are in smaller chunks than the 15kg bags. Thanks for the heads up, heir is a big difference in the size of the briquettes with Proq Cocoshell Briquettes pack sizes camping and 10kg ones and don't want to end up with the same problems with the charcoal if I was to order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skagg2000 Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 11 hours ago, Icefever said: Hi again Nick I bought a ProQ ? Frontier only a couple of months back. I've gone from charcoal through a lot of brands of briquette's only to return to good quality lumpwood, I buy at my local Bookers..... restaurant Grade 12kg £11, you can get the same off CPL.. https://www.cpldistribution.co.uk/ Ice. Hi ice I tried the blue bag Booker / Makro Charcoal in the early days. It wasn't a great experience for me, both bags full of mainly chips and dust. Perhaps I was just unlucky but I've never touched the stuff since! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 12 hours ago, Skagg2000 said: It wasn't a great experience for me, both bags full of mainly chips and dust. So far so good with what I've had, must admit I do feel the bag like @Smokin Monkey suggested, the last bag has had very large in it, too big to use on the mini Kamado to be honest..😄 Unless you go to a local charcoal producer, we have one somewhere near Oxford, that would be great to see it being cooked and maybe try?? maybe next year we have too much on what's left of this one. 😄 See from your map where you are, we're down that way at the end of this month, having some well earned R&R then finishing up near Atherington on a KCBS weekend . https://quietwatersfarm.co.uk/news/ Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skagg2000 Posted August 8, 2019 Author Share Posted August 8, 2019 We are actually further south than the map suggests. Thats the default location the map gave for Devon. We are in the southhams. We have the Devon Charcoal company and a few other local producers that all produce good charcoal for small burns. It's expensive, geared more towards the beach bbq I think. The trouble is here if you source the wood locally most of it is softwood so you don't get the density for a long hot burn. Enjoy the RnR Cheers n Gone Nick 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExclusiveBBQ Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Welcome to the forum! I cheat and use a pellet grill so can't help you with wood. Just starting to learn how to do brisket too so looking forward to seeing what you're cooking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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