Maple Leaf Charcoal

Thankfully my last meal wasn't as far back in the past as my last charcoal review. I know there are thousands of you out there dying for my reviews each week and I want to personally thank you for your patience. Rest assured that I have been trying many different charcoals.

At the start of the grilling season I spotted another kind of charcoal I'd never seen before. I picked it up immediately as it was only $8 for this 8.8 lb. (4 kg) bag. One-dollar-per-pound is a rough benchmark for me. Once it rises above that I start to question buying it, although that hasn't always stopped me.

I was happy to see that this was a Canadian product, originating in the tres petite town of Ste. Christine, Quebec. Town? Wait, sorry. Village. Shit. A village has over 1,000 people. A hamlet. Yes, that's what I meant, the tres petite hamlet of Ste. Christine, Quebec.

It is now the end of July and my bag of Maple Leaf Charcoal is long gone.

I used the entire bag making regular hot dogs (read: lots of hoofs and beaks), Kosher hot dogs (54% of your daily intake of fat, anyone?), super juicy Johnsonville sausages, veggie dogs, and of course hamburgers (because I can't survive on tube-shaped meat alone!)

There was no scrap in the bag. It consisted of mostly good size pieces of wood which looked like this, and it smelled fantastic. However, the smell did not transfer fully to the food like some of the other charcoals I've tried. Although this was quality wood with no sparking, the smokey taste was almost too mild. Some of you might say it's perfect, but I think I would prefer it a bit stronger.

Still, when you consider price per pound, Maple Leaf is less expensive than the Royal Oak Star Grill charcoal and in my opinion, far superior. Would I buy it again? I think the answer is an obvious yes. However, if you're still not sure - the answer is Oui.

Nature's Grilling Gourmet Mesquite Charcoal

Most people wouldn't complain about our blistering, record-breaking summer this year. But due to the intense heat, the Stay Puft Marshmallow man has melted into an oozing pile of ant-food. Also, I have not been able to grill as much as I would've liked to.

Let's focus on that.

It has taken me a bit longer to go through my next bag of charcoal: Nature's Grilling Gourmet Mesquite charcoal. I bought this 6.6 lb. bag on sale at Canadian Tire. It was regularly $11.99, but for $7.99 it was worth a try. However, the joke was on me, as they later lowered the REGULAR price to $5.99.

Now this is a nice bag full of great information. The bag states it's 100% natural, and that it is a product of Mexico. "Nature's Grilling Products", however, is located in Louisville, CO. In addition to safety information the directions contain some nice graphics. They also boldly state their #1 Mesquite Charcoal ranking by The Naked Whiz, and explain their commitment to reforestation and fairness to employees.

Inside the bag I found absolutely no scrap bits. It was, essentially, all useable. A typical handful looked like this. The pieces were all good sizes, with only one that needed to be broken into smaller pieces.

Some of the pieces sparked and popped in my chimney but once I poured it into my grill it all settled down nicely.

The smell was quite strong and it was clear immediately this was a mesquite charcoal. I was worried it would be too strong for my food, but I was wrong. It added a nice flavour to my Juicy Jumbos, hamburgers and sirloin burgers that was almost delicate.

The only downside to the Nature's Grilling Mesquite charcoal was it was very similar to my Kingsford in taste. Too similar, actually. With Kingsford I can get quite a bit more bang for my buck. I would not pay $12 for this charcoal, but if the price remains at $5.99, it's a very good bag to have around.

Royal Oak Star Grill Charcoal

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?

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.

Ono Kiawe Charcoal - Oh No!

Back in July I promised a review of Ono Kiawe Hawaiian charcoal. Well here it is. And when you've finished reading, hate it. Hate it as much as I do.

You know you're off to a bad start when three quarters of the charcoal is so massive, it's unusable. The Ono charcoal cannot be poured into your grill. Well, it can, but it won't burn. So don't waste your time. Grilling with Ono Kiawe charcoal requires one extra unorthodox grilling tool: a freakin' hammer.

I thought the first large branch was just a fluke, as I smashed it into more usable bits. It was kinda fun at first. I guess. Then it grew tiresome as I continuously pulled useless monstrosities from the bag day after day.

If that were the only problem with the Ono Kiawe charcoal, I could live with it. But it's not.

Popping and sparking charcoal is crappy. TRES crappy. You don't want sparks popping into your food. Ok, I'm sure there's one guy out there going "Yes I do you dick!" Well, ok fine. You're right. Go buy some Ono Kiawe dude! It's the best!

When I lit the Ono charcoal, it popped and sparked until the end of time. Yes, I'm writing this from the future (thanks, DeLorean!) and it's still popping and sparking. (And this season's Survivor is being played on Mars.)

Finally, and this is just a personal thingy here, I found the smell and taste a little too strong. I felt like it overpowered the food. Some people might love it. It definitely has a distinct flavour.

These are pretty big problems in my opinion. Then again, money talks! Nearly any problem can be overlooked if the price is right. So how much did I pay? Guesses? I think I heard five bucks! I wish. A 20 lb. bag cost me about $30 with tax. At that price the problems are unforgivable. Thirty dollars is the price a of a premium charcoal. A charcoal that shouldn't have any problems.

The only way this charcoal could be improved is if Jesus descended from the ashy skies above my grill and, like, kissed it or some junk. Unless you've tried everything else and are simply curious, avoid it. If a mass riot broke out tomorrow, (which is possible, I'm in Canada after all) I wouldn't even steal a bag.

Ono Kiawe Hawaiian Charcoal

"Ho ho ho! The volcano explodes, burns everything, and all we do is ship the charred wood remnants to those suckers in Canada!" is what I imagined those sly Hawaiians saying. Why?

I just bought a new bag of charcoal. Ono Kiawe Hawaiian Charcoal. They claim it is a premium, 100% natural charcoal used in the Hawaiian tradition of the Luau. This is a 20 lb. bag. I'm hoping it lasts me one month, but that will depend on how zealous I get with my grilling.

After using up most of my mega tasty Basques Sugar Maple hardwood, I was very excited to try another and see what flavour it adds to my food. I'm always very interested in learning where the wood comes from so I love reading the backs of the bags.

Curiously, the back of the Ono bag states the following:

Created in Hawaii
Product of Mexico

Ah right. Who's the fool? Apparently me. Now, go back to the first paragraph and replace "Hawaiian" with "Mexcian" and "volcano" with "meth lab". Was that racist? I don't care. Those sneaky Hawaxicans tricked me.

Or did they?

No, it's true. This IS Hawaiian. It's kind of like saying "Assembled in China from parts made in the USA." The wood is grown and harvested in Hawaii, then shipped to Mexico where it's turned into charcoal and packaged for shipping across the border.

Just be wary of buying anything larger than what I bought. For example, if you see a 115 lb. bag... and it's moving... and talking to you - avoid it. Unless you need a great deck built. Was that racist? Damn, I keep doing that.

My rude, insulting nature aside, I am very excited to try this charcoal and I'll let you know how it goes.