Charcoal. A single word containing infinite connotations. Primal instinct, community, conversation, mystery, flavour, possibility; the list goes on and on. Big K is charcoal. And charcoal is Big K. From 100% natural lumpwood and compressed hardwood briquettes, to sustainable coco cubes and instant light options – charcoal flows through us. And we bring the torrent of quality choice straight to you. As we’re charcoal obsessives, we have delved into this subject many times, so we ‘re just going to explore some general areas around the one BBQ fuel to rule them all.
What Does Charcoal Have To Do With Big K?
In a concise nutshell; everything. Without charcoal there would be no Big K. We grew from the seed of charcoal’s potential. You can dive into our full story here. But here’s a quick overview of charcoal’s catalytic role in sparking Big K into life.
Rewind back to 1964, when our founder, Theodoros Kleanthous, immigrated from Cyprus to the UK. Yes he had left his home, however he brought his culinary passion to London, establishing a Cypriot restaurant in Euston.
Here’s the pivotal problem and solution that changed everything. Theodoros knew that charcoal was the most important factor in Greek cooking, tying everything together. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t source any quality charcoal locally. So to obtain that genuine cypriot taste, he imported a humble 10 tonnes of charcoal from Cyprus. This troubleshooting would end up changing the entire charcoal game.
In no time at all, Theo’s friends in the restaurant industry came calling for some of the good stuff. Of course he obliged. But soon the demand became so large that he started ordering multiple shipments. Fast forward to 1965, the company Kleanthous & Son was born. This business would be the precursor for the apparition of Big K in 1981. So you can see why charcoal is so important to us. It is our very reason for being.
What is Charcoal?
This may seem like a redundant question but perhaps not. You see, most people know charcoal’s function; meaning what it does. But not so many understand what it actually is – think material composition and so on. We want our knowledge to spread far and wide, so it’s always better to cover the basics to touch the widest possible audience.
Basically, charcoal is a specific type of carbon residue, produced after wood is burned at various temperatures over a period of time. To say it another way, charcoal is the end product derived from a particular process of combustion.
Looking beneath the procedural hood, we take wood and burn it within an oxygen-deprived chamber. Why? Well, as the wood carbonises, the majority of the volatile compounds, impurities and moisture are burnt away – leaving behind a carbon-dense fuel. Efficiency, consistency and purity of burn as standard.
Lumpwood Charcoal
100% natural, quality hardwood lumpwood is our bread and butter. Basically we obtain this charcoal by following the process outlined in the paragraphs above. The production process requires less ‘intervention’ from us in a sense, when compared to charcoal briquettes. Yes we burn the wood but that’s about it. This is why the pieces have an irregular shape, different sizes and varying carbon densities.
Charcoal Briquettes
Meet the other main player in the charcoal game; charcoal briquettes. Picture briquettes as hard ‘bricks’ of charcoal fines or sawdust. Each one has a uniform shape, size and carbon density. How? The answer lies in the manufacturing process. Essentially, we create briquettes following two techniques: high pressure compression or we dry a liquid mixture of fines. For both options we add the fines to a special mould before either compressing or drying. This ensures all the briquettes have the same shape, size and carbon density.
A Quick Word on Compressed Briquettes
Compressed charcoal briquettes are an upgrade on conventional briquettes. How? Well, unlike their close cousins, they don’t contain any artificial accelerants to get them going, or synthetic binders to keep them together. The magic lies in the compression process. When we compress charcoal fines at extremely high pressure levels, over 90% of internal moisture is removed, and the fines bond together naturally. The result? A compressed briquette with a hotter, cleaner burn. Plus there are no chemicals to affect the taste of your food when you burn the briquettes.
Lumpwood vs Briquettes
Now we’ve introduced you to the two charcoal big boys; it’s time for a quick comparison. Side note: there’s no definitive way to answer which one is the ‘best’, in an objective sense. It’s more about considering all the elements of the equation and picking which fuel is best for you.
Lumpwood
Usually, we create lumpwood charcoal, from 100% natural quality hardwoods. This is because these hardwoods are very dense – meaning there is more wood ‘material’ to turn into charcoal. So we obtain a higher quantity of high carbon-density charcoal pieces. Big K Regular 100% natural quality lumpwood burns for about 1-2 hours, so not quite as long as briquettes. But they burn at a hotter temperature – making them perfect for fast and furious direct grilling. However, Big K Professional Restaurant Quality Lumpwood is made from premium hardwoods, delivering cooking times of over 3 hours – similar to compressed briquettes. For example, take our most popular Pro Lumpwood Dura; this charcoal is derived from 100% White Quebracho, delivering searing heat for well over three hours. Want to know more about our pro range?
Briquettes
Conventional briquettes have a slightly longer burn time than regular lumpwood, burning with a lower temperature. Compressed briquettes burn a little longer than Pro Lumpwood, again with a lower temp – making them ideal for Low n’ Slow cooking such as smoking ribs or brisket. Basically briquettes are ideal for long, low temp cooks on closed appliance barbecues or smokers. Due to the uniform shape and density of briquettes, we obtain the same performance from every briquette. This gives you more control as you can predict the behaviour of each briquette and relate that to your specific needs. Finally, briquettes usually take a little longer to light than lumpwood. We suggest using a few pieces of lumpwood to help get them going.
Big K Has All The Lumpwood & Briquettes You Could Ever Need
The good news is that you’re definitely in the right place as we know a thing or two about charcoal. And we’ve channelled all our passion, love and care into bringing you the highest quality range of charcoal possible. Sustainable coco shell briquettes? Of course. Hardworking hardwood lumpwood? Here you go. Premium mega carbon rich Binchotan charcoal? Obviously. FSC certified compressed briquettes? But of course. Clean and simple options? You betcha.