coconut shell charcoal briquettes

[Fueling Around]

I bought a bag of coconut shell briquettes on a whim.
Does anyone have any experience using them for cooking or smoking?

 

[SonnyE]

Never heard of them before.
But I'd rather use them, than to use Camel chips.

 

[SmokinLogs]

How did u like them? Good smell/ flavor?

 

[wade]

Like all types of briquettes it depends on the brand. Some are nicely compacted and burn like other top quality charcoal briquettes but others are cheap burn very quickly with quite an unpleasant initial smell - and are a waste of time. We have a brand here in the UK (I think they are made in Australia) that are called "Nature". These will compare favourably against any quality briquette and give a good long temperature profile. They also do not give off much smell when initially lit either - unlike some cheaper coconut and charcoal briquettes.

Temperature profile of Nature coconut briquettes compared with Heat Beads charcoal briquettes (Weber briquettes have a similar profile to Heat Beads). In a Weber kettle with 1.5 Kg of briquettes, each gave 8 hours of good cooking temperature (110 C - 230 F)

One thing you will notice is that the coconut briquettes do produce quite a lot of ash - this is because of what they are made from. Providing you have a food space underneath the fire grate for the falling ash this will not be a problem.

Try them. You bay have bought a good brand.

 

[RRR]

I bought a bag of coconut shell briquettes on a whim.
Does anyone have any experience using them for cooking or smoking?

I use coconut husk it is a light smoke but can be overpowering if you use to much

.

 

[Fueling Around]

Sorry for long delay in reply.
Harsh winter this year. Spend way too much of my free time moving snow. Then the frigid temps have put smoking out of the picture for some time. Grilling is even a challenge these days. I have pork belly, pork spareribs, pork loin (baby back) ribs, and a beef tenderloin waiting to get caressed by the smoke.

Haven't tried the coconut shell charcoal.
I'm familiar with coconut husk and was wondering it was usable for smoking. I've seen it used for fuel in a fire.

-JE

 

[RRR]

I use it for the smoke, I use regular charcoal to get a good fire base.
Speaking of ribs this is my Saturday project.