Originally intended to document my experience of DeLorean ownership, focus is often radical and strange, boring and obtuse.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Royal Oak Star Grill Charcoal

Royal Oak Star Grill charcoal is everywhere. Is it any good?It is spring, it is hot outside, and I am happily grilling again in the good old fashioned way.

I am continuing my charcoal and charwood experiments this week with a small, relatively inexpensive bag of Royal Oak "Star Grill" charcoal that I bought at a local grocery store.

Good charcoal has a nice description on the bag, usually of the kind of wood and where it came from. Royal Oak has neither. But that's okay because as you know, expensive doesn't always mean better. And to get back into the swing of things, I was starting off on a budget. My 5 lb. bag cost $5.98. Was it a deal?

Good sized chunks of Royal Oak charcoal!Upon opening the bag the pieces were all very good sizes. Nothing was too large and almost nothing was too small. It appeared to be a surprisingly good bag of American charcoal.

I also had two nice surprises that I wasn't really expecting at this price point. The first was that there was only one piece of scrap; a golf-ball sized chunk of concrete. Not a big deal at all. The second was the smell, the delicious campfire smell. I was excited.

Over the course of a week I used up the bag making the usual things that I make. Sparking and popping was minimal, and once I poured it into the grill it ceased entirely. Very good. Corn isn't really ripe in Ontario yet, so my grilling didn't go further than hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie dogs.

So what was the verdict? Unfortunately the taste did not mimick the smell. I did not like the flavour it added. Not one bit. This week-long experiment just goes to show that it doesn't matter what charcoal looks or smells like. It all comes down to the flavour in the food. Try it yourself. You may really like it.

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8 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

This is a cool post. For less than the price of a mixed drink, you have a bag of charcoal. A late friend of mine was a Cajun Gourmet cook on th grille. Get together's at his home in Texas were memorable. Truly!

10:26:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Sounds amazing Michael. I'm no chef on the grill, but I always hoped I could successfully pull off one of those old fashioned, lazy summer afternoon bbqs. I've got two other charcoals that are much better than this one! Wait n' see.

11:06:00 PM

 
Blogger Lorbo said...

I've been waiting for more charcoal reviews, Martini! Sorry to hear you did not enjoy the actual flavour from this one. Good thing the season is just starting.

11:24:00 AM

 
Anonymous Dan said...

Alas, I have a propane BBQ, but even that is a huge step above using the broil function in the oven. Broke out BBQ out for the first time this year during that heat wave in March, and been using it on a regular basis since!

3:27:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Lorbo - really? I have a sunroom full of different charcoal ready for reviewing.

8:54:00 PM

 
Blogger Martini said...

Dan - I gave up my propane bbq because it took too long to heat up, and it was rusting. There are some really neat tricks you can use to get smoked flavour in your food on a gas grill, I just find the charcoal more fun.

8:56:00 PM

 
Blogger Lorbo said...

Well, get going on reviews then!! I like to know what you're doing and eating!

1:23:00 PM

 
Anonymous Kpop Kryptonite said...

Thank yyou

2:32:00 PM

 

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