Hola grilling brother's and sister's!
I'm hoping as I write this next post that all of you from far and wide are keeping those kamado fires burning in the name of food, family, friends and music and that all your culinary creations have been memorable ones to date! I have been literally grilling my way around Ontario these days between parties and weddings and everything in between. I've been grilling so much in fact that I got thinking just how much great charcoal I get to use and test and all the great flavors I am able to create thanks to some of the most interesting and exotic woods I cook with. On a recent trip to Toronto to hook up with Ted Reader, ( self professed King of the Q in Canada!) he was kind enough to show me the inner sanctum of Casa Q in Rexdale and what a spot he's got apart from all the amazing gear in his backyard! I was actually delivering one of our famous "Grill Rovers" to him for his BGE and Primo XL that he cooks with all the time.
I couldn't help but gravitate over towards this 1200lbs. Oklahoma Smoker that was loaded with I'm guessing about 50 lbs of pork shoulder that smelled sooo good and as it was ticking over at around 210 degrees I was examining it from head to toe and took a quick peek into the wood drawer and low and behold there was a beautiful mix of hickory, cherry and maple if I remember correctly and the smells were heavenly but the best part about this was it was real wood that Ted was smoking with. Now, not everyone cooks/smokes or has ever smoked this way before but wether you are using real wood or all natural lump charcoal the key to the flavor and experience over all is using the real thing, WOOD! Free of tars, toxins, chemicals, additives, preservatives and anything else bad, wood in its natural state takes longer to fire up and cook with but the results are incredible and lump charcoal is a wood bi-product that has been fired in large vats or kilns with the absence of oxygen for long periods of time hence its charred and then cooled and bagged for distribution.
Over the last few years there has been somewhat of a renaissance in natural lump charcoal cooking going on around us and its awesome to experiment with various lump as I do to explore all the wonderful tastes you can come up with every meal you cook! However, buyer beware! Don't just assume that just because a bag of charcoal looks cool and seems to entice you with big bold letters and flashy colors making it sound like you are going to have purely orgasmic grilling experiences, (although I have had a few over the years, LOL!) you have to know what you're purchasing and are you getting good value for that purchase?
Case and point! As it relates to the kamado world two of the market leaders being BGE and Primo have what you would think to be their own branded charcoal that's supposed to be that much better if used with their cookers but the truth is, its good charcoal, not great, but good and last time I investigated the topic it was and perhaps still is being produced by Royal Oak, by far one of the biggest producers globally under what's called an "SMU" or special make up bag/package in order for the company to promote their brand of cooker and the mark ups are steep and take it from me the savings aren't ending up in your pocket at the end of the day. If you like Royal Oak and you live in this country go to the big box store and pay somewhere between $18-$20 per 20lbs. bag but don't whatever you do think that the charcoal coming in the bags advertising the cooker itself is anything more than it is and if it is, ask the question, why? You'll soon get your answer and if you happen to be speaking to someone who knows what they are talking about all the better!
This brings me to another point! If possible, shop at a specialty store that has a variety of charcoal brands where you can do your research and deal with a pro. I have tested many brands over the years and to date I have really liked the following products.
1. Basque "Nature's Own" is a great product! Canadian to the core, this charcoal consists of a maple/ yellow birch mixture and doesn't burn too hot but imparts a great taste on anything you cook, grill or smoke.
2. Ono Brand is an all natural product rich in tradition and its from Hawaii and consists of a very hard wood called Kiavey which burns hot, hot, hot and takes more time to get up to temperature but when you do, you shall love the results and the smell from the wood is so sweet!
3. Groveland Brand is an all natural product of Mexico and is made up of orange tree wood and believe me you can actually smell and taste hints of orange on most things you cook especially meat unless my minds playing tricks on me its wonderful stuff!
4. Kamado Joe Brand is in fact an all natural branded charcoal that comes from the company that produce Kamado Joe cookers but where they are different is in the content or product itself. This charcoal is made up of an exotic blend of oak woods from Central America and also burns quite hot and takes a bit more time to fire but the results have been outstanding considering its the new player on the block. They also have their own non toxic fire starters that light up fast and are very convenient!
5. Maple Leaf Brand also comes out of Canada and frankly I've only fired it up 5-6 times and although its not my favorite by far, many people I speak to and who are clients of mine like it and like the price and the fact you can get it at big box locations for a bargain! Your call but the best in Canada in my humble opinion is Basque and no, they don't pay me to say that! LOL!
6. Big Green Egg and Primo brands are good but there's a price to pay for them! So if you believe in paying a premium, knock yourself out but before you do that you may as well get yourself dialed up with a bag of Royal Oak for close to $10 bucks less at least in Canada!
7. Cowboy Branded all natural charcoal from what I hear based on a new relationship I have with a store here in Ottawa's east end is also well worth its money and although I haven't tested it to date my gut tells me as well as the fine folks at the store that its great stuff and anything food and fire related coming from Argentina is worth its weight in gold for sure! All hale Francis Mallmann, one of my favorite chef's from that great country!
As I close this post out the most important thing to remember folks when and if you happen to enter the kamado world of cooking or simply happen to be grilling over charcoal is keep it a natural and chemical free experience and what ever you do, never use lighter fluid's or harmful products that could be bad for your health or Mother Nature. There are great non toxic fire starters out there that will run you about $6 per box and just recently a marvelous and safe electric product called the LooftLighter landed in Canada and although it comes with a price tag of around $90 Canadian its the best thing to happen to the bbq industry in years and no, they don't pay me for saying that either. When you factor in how many fire starters you'll go through in a year the math leans in favor of this new magic device which is going to literally light the grilling world on fire!
On that note my grilling friends I want to wish you all a wonderful Summer filled with fire, smoke and food for all to enjoy! May your glasses always be full and the memories of all those deck parties with the ones who matter most to you be remembered forever!!!!!!!
Over this past weekend I spent some great time with family in Montreal and as I walked through the streets of the old city it reminded me of my time spent with my wife and business partner walking the streets of Paris together and that brought back a time I visited Jim Morrison's grave site in Pere Lachesse Cemetery which I'll never forget! You can probably guess that since the weekend I have been spinning a lot of old Doors tunes so the final few lines sticking with tradition on these posts were borrowed from Jim Morrison and company and altered by The Grateful Griller.
Feed the kamado fires people!
"K" You Really Light My Fire
You know that it would be untrue "K"
You know that I would be a liar,
if I was to say to you, that we really couldn't get much higher,
when the truth is that what we've created is just about to catch fire!
Come on "K" let's light that fire,
and take our global grilling games higher.
The time to hesitate is done,
we're gonna show the world some kamado like grilling fun!
Try now we can only lose but we'll still get the chance to choose,
to continue down this ancient path together, forever........
GG
