Coconut Charcoal

[Jeff L]

I stumbled across this site while searching for a less expensive alternative to traditional Japanese charcoal for use with my Konro grill http://www.tropicalcharcoal.com/

Has anyone ever heard of this and if so do you have experience using the product?

This stuff is brought to you by the same folks who make the Kamado grills. In speaking with the inventor/owners daughter today, I learned that the guy who makes the big green egg kind of borrowed this design: http://www.kamado.com/

[Joe Blowe]

Extruded coconut charcoal has generally received good word from the fanatics -- be sure to check out the Naked Whiz's charcoal comparo.

And, in my ever-so-humble opinion, Japanese charcoal is all hype. So good on you for looking to alternatives...

[Jeff L]

Extruded coconut charcoal has generally received good word from the fanatics -- be sure to check out the Naked Whiz's charcoal comparo.

And, in my ever-so-humble opinion, Japanese charcoal is all hype.  So good on you for looking to alternatives...

←

Thanks. That was very interesting indeed but didn't really shed light on the quality of the coals as in improving overall flavor of foods being cooked. I did in fact know that the coconut stuff burns hotter and longer but I was looking for quality of the coals and how it translates tastewise to the finished product.

I have a small quantity of bincotan that I ordered with the konro and will try that first. Then I want to compare it with Kingsford that I use for my smoker then I want to try some other stuff including the coconut charcoal. I was just wondering if anyone else had actually tried the stuff yet because it sounded interesting to me.

[Joe Blowe]

There really is an insane amount of info on Whiz's site, like the following from their review:

The Kamado newsletter says that food will have a mild and unique taste. Kamado encouraged us to do a taste test, so we said we'd try. We won't claim to have a discriminating palate, but we tried. We cooked a 1/2 inch thick slice of chicken breast over the Kamado lump and one over BGE (Royal Oak) lump. Same times and temps, just two lumps and two cookers. For verification purposes, we allowed our wife to participate. We both agreed without hesitation that the Kamado lump gave the chicken a stronger smokier taste than the BGE (Royal Oak) lump. Personally, to our tastes, this is goodness. To those who prefer as little smokiness in their food's flavor as possible, this lump would not meet that requirement.

Be sure to do some searching over at alt.food.barbecue -- differing opinions over there...

[Jeff L]

There really is an insane amount of info on Whiz's site, like the following from their review:

The Kamado newsletter says that food will have a mild and unique taste. Kamado encouraged us to do a taste test, so we said we'd try. We won't claim to have a discriminating palate, but we tried. We cooked a 1/2 inch thick slice of chicken breast over the Kamado lump and one over BGE (Royal Oak) lump. Same times and temps, just two lumps and two cookers. For verification purposes, we allowed our wife to participate. We both agreed without hesitation that the Kamado lump gave the chicken a stronger smokier taste than the BGE (Royal Oak) lump. Personally, to our tastes, this is goodness. To those who prefer as little smokiness in their food's flavor as possible, this lump would not meet that requirement.

Be sure to do some searching over at alt.food.barbecue -- differing opinions over there...

←

This is sick, who would have thought there would be so much discussion on such an arcane topic? Thanks so much, I think!

I'm gonna do my own tests on a variety of stuff but seeing how much it costs to ship just about any of these except for Kingsford of course, I'll probably just try the top 5 rated ones

[Joe Blowe]

This is sick, who would have thought there would be so much discussion on such an arcane topic? Thanks so much, I think!

Oh, you have no idea... congratulations on your descent into madness!

[daves]

I've used the Kamado stuff. I find it especially good for a long low-n-slow. I can load up my K (see the avatar) with enough in a single load to smoke at 200F for 20+ hours. I find the coconut is more difficult to start than oak lump, but it'll burn at a low temp for a long long time. I also find it doesn't produce nearly as much ash as oak, so it doesn't tend to snuff itself out.

Foodwise, I think it smokes a bit more than oak -- nothing really visible, but you'll end up with a slight smoke ring. It does not impart any type of heavy flavor like fruitwood, but it is slightly different than oak.

But when I want some 700F searing temps, I go back to oak.

[Domestic Goddess]

Here in Korea, most of the formed circular charcoal disks are made out of coconut. They smoke wickedly and add a tremendous flavor to the barbeque. You can find a picture of it in the recent blog that I did when I cooked the Chicken Inasal.

[Jeff L]

I've used the Kamado stuff.  I find it especially good for a long low-n-slow.  I can load up my K (see the avatar) with enough in a single load to smoke at 200F for 20+ hours.  I find the coconut is more difficult to start than oak lump, but it'll burn at a low temp for a long long time.  I also find it doesn't produce nearly as much ash as oak, so it doesn't tend to snuff itself out.

Foodwise, I think it smokes a bit more than oak -- nothing really visible, but you'll end up with a slight smoke ring.  It does not impart any type of heavy flavor like fruitwood, but it is slightly different than oak.

But when I want some 700F searing temps, I go back to oak.

←

Dave, I will be using this for a small konro grill and think the lump coal seems to burn the hottest. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain for long smoking and want to try the long burning Kamado coals for that.

That Kamodo grill looks really purdy tho. I wish I'd known about them before buying my weber as ceramic just makes more sense than sheet metal.

[daves]

That Kamodo grill looks really purdy tho. I wish I'd known about them before buying my weber as ceramic just makes more sense than sheet metal.

←

That 'purdy-ness' sold my wife on it. The K originally replaced a metal smoker, but I kept a propane grill next to it for 'fast' weeknight grilling. Within a few months, I figured out how to light the K and get up to temp in about the same amount of time it takes the gas burner to pre-heat. The secret was the 500K BTU propane torch (aka the jet engine).

Edited April 2, 2007 by daves (log)

[Jeff L]

That 'purdy-ness' sold my wife on it.  The K originally replaced a metal smoker, but I kept a propane grill next to it for 'fast' weeknight grilling.  Within a few months, I figured out how to light the K and get up to temp in about the same amount of time it takes the gas burner to pre-heat.  The secret was the 500K BTU propane torch (aka the jet engine).

←

Yeah, that really is a piece of art. I think for the extra $$ it's worth it to get one with the tile work on it. They will probably last damn near foever. I also like the combo idea which I don't get with my smokey mountain. It just seems to too much of a fuss to throw coals into the chimney, get the thing cranked up and grill just a few steaks.

That's the reason I just got the Konro ceramic grill. I'll be testing it our this weekend.