Mystery, Fears and Myths about Charcoal Barbecuing.

There is a growing swell of interest in returning to charcoal grilling at home these days. It is even more common that many are now looking at buying their very first charcoal BBQ after many years of cooking on a gas BBQ. What is the appeal? Simply the taste and smell from a charcoal BBQ is far more desirable than what you can be achieved on a gas BBQ.

Those that come to see us for advice before buying, have many questions from how to light charcoal to what they can cook on the BBQ. Many are surprised to find out that it is not at all complicated and actually enjoy the simplicity of grilling in this manner. However from time to time, we do get approached by people who feel a need to tell us what is wrong about charcoal barbecuing.

Listed here is the top 5 comments made by a handful of people whom literally are walking up to us and offering their unique option. Hopefully we can explain in layman terms what is fact and what is fiction, because we have all heard similar comments and have wondered how much of it is true or not.

Our top 5 comments from the misinformed and how we would answer them if given the opportunity.

Starting from number 5 – A stranger approached us whilst we where grilling lamb skewers at a local farmers market. He felt he had to warn us about the dangers of the smoke coming from the grill and made sure others around heard his comment before walking away.

SMOKE DANGER

#5 Comment made = “You should not use charcoal fuel as inhaling all that smoke from it is like smoking a packet of cigarettes!”

The Facts = In the grill we where using natural wood otherwise known as lump charcoal. This charcoal looks like black tree branches but it is basically the remaining carbon with all the cellulose, water and any impurities burnt out of it. The chemical reaction occurring during the burning process of this charcoal is Carbon + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide. Hence no smoke from burning the lump charcoal itself because it burns clean and with a dry heat.

The actual smoke from the BBQ was coming from the dripping off the fats and juices from the meat, hitting the hot ash and coals below it. In essence, any oils and condensed flavours falling into the hot ash and embers, would instantly be spat back up in fine droplets in the smoke. This is part of the process that gives the food its more intense flavour which we all identify as BBQ.

Comparing the flavouring smoke that rises to that of cigarette smoke, is a very far-fetched suggestion to make by this strange observer. Although inhaling any smoke can not be good for you, the smoke from a charcoal BBQ would be far less intense than cigarette smoke. There is nowhere near the concentration of smoke reaching into your lungs when barbecuing compared to inhaling actual cigarette smoke during the act of smoking. Unless you are burning your food and you decide to stay in the thick of the smoke, there really isn’t that much smoke rising to cause alarm. Remember, lump charcoal gives no smoke so it all depends on how fatty or lean your food is during the grilling process.

More importantly, tobacco in cigarettes is laced with many other unnatural chemicals to help with its flavour, smell and how it burns. That is why people who smoke have higher instances of health issues. So smoke rising from a charcoal BBQ is by no means close to smoking a packet of cigarettes – the comment made is a generalisation that all smoke is the same.

CANCER-CAUSING

This comment came from a woman who was concerned that we where handling dangerous material in a public place. There was a look of horror, as if we carried around asbestos in a bag! She wondered why we didn’t have protective clothing to handle the charcoal that we used and sold.

#4 Comment made = “Aren’t you afraid of getting cancer from touching and breathing in BBQ charcoal dust?”

The Facts = Natural wood charcoal is Carbon with all its moisture and plant material burnt out of it. In this burnt form it can be used to make gunpowder, drawing pencils, water purifiers and even charcoal pills for upset stomachs or poisonings.

Touching charcoal is by no means dangerous and in fact charcoal dust is excellent for the garden as a soil conditioner or fertiliser. The person making this comment has simply mixed up their suspicion of burnt food on the BBQ and cancer causing carcinogens that we all hear about.

It is widely reported that if you burn the proteins on your food, then you increase the levels of carcinogens into your body which increases the risk of cancer. Note that burning the proteins in meat occurs at high heat and can happen on any type of BBQ as well as on your kitchen skillet. Best advise is not to over cook your food and try not to cook at very high heat that will cause your food to char.

In the case of charcoal, it is best to grill slowly to allow the meat to brown as well as cook through. The browning process (Maillard Reaction) is easier to achieve over charcoal because of the dry heat given and the wire grill that is used. Gas BBQ on the other hand tend to also give off water molecules when gas is being burnt, so it is harder to have your meat brown if cooking over a blue gas flame alone. In fact, it is the metal grill and radiating heat that best cooks your food on a gas BBQ. So the browning process on a gas BBQ mostly  occurs where there is direct contact with the food and hot metal.

There is also reports that suggest that smoked foods also contribute other cancer-causing substances to your food. Although there are many conflicting reports suggesting this, the studies are inconclusive. There is also suggestion from some in the medical community that we should take this advice with a grain of salt as our understanding of cancer, its causes and links to diet is still rudimentary. You know how it is – one minute fats in food is bad for you, then they say you need fat in your diet to maintain good health. Remember there are still many cultures using the smoke process to preserve their food. If there was a direct ling to cancer from smoked foods, then they would have stopped using smokers a very long time ago. Best advice is really to consume in moderation.

The only concern you should have is breathing in heaps of charcoal dust which usually accumulates at the bottom of your charcoal bag. It is not enough to cause ill-health in small doses, but you have to remember that any fine particle dust inhaled into your lungs can irritate and cause respiratory problems. In saying that, we are possibly getting more fine dust partials from sitting in traffic on a daily basis than from using charcoal in the back yard on the weekends. Again, this is not a big worry unless you work in a coal mine atmosphere.

DE-FORRESTATION

There are many who assume that charcoal comes from rainforest trees which are cut down just for the purpose of firewood. It is possible that we have mixed the image of a log cabin with a stock pile of logs and images of Amazonian rainforests being logged and cleared for land. The reality is that we have no idea where our wood is coming from and assume every tree on this globe can be used for BBQ fuel.

Interestingly this manifested by a comment made by one person, who said to us that they don’t buy natural wood charcoal because of the deforestation occurring in the Amazon. It seems some people think that our imported charcoal is coming from across the otherside of the World which is far from the truth.

#3 Comment made = “You should not burn charcoal because it comes from the Amazon rain forest.”

The Facts = The reality is not every tree is suitable for charcoal BBQ fuel. Some trees are toxic when burnt and some hardly burn that well at all. Unfortunately in most metropolitan centres in Australia, there is limited availability of natural lump charcoal for BBQ enthusiasts.

The most popular choice is the compressed bead or briquette charcoal which comprises of wood sawdust charcoal combined with mineral coal dust. The mineral coal in the bead gives its longevity whilst burning and is safe to burn, but the residue left behind contains small amount of toxic material which should be bagged and disposed in the rubbish bin when you clean out your BBQ ash draw. Interestingly, both sawdust and mineral coal dust are the waste products from the timber and mining industries, so no trees get chopped down to be made directly into charcoal unless they are purposely grown in plantations.

The next best option is the imported lump charcoal which mostly comes from Indonesia, our closest neighbour here in Australia. What many don’t know is that there is an agreement in place between our two governments to monitor and protect native rain forests inside Indonesia, whilst sustaining and growing a timber industry in that country. So it is very likely that the imported charcoal is coming from plantation wood and not from the rainforests of Indonesia.

Some have expressed that it is hard to believe the origin of the timber we import, so really the only option left is to ask for Australian made natural lump charcoal. It is a little harder to find, but as the popularity of charcoal grilling grows so will the availability of more local fuels appear in our retail outlets.

If you do buy Australian lump natural charcoal, you know also that the timber comes from dead fallen trees – nothing is chopped down to make charcoal lump fuel in Australia. In fact our bush reserves and national parks have strict restrictions in place to what can be taken and used. What is interesting is that we have a many fallen trees from our past droughts and there is an abundant supply of dead timber which can be converted into lump charcoal for domestic use.

Unfortunately most of that dead wood in remote areas will rot and give off the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as it would when burnt in its charcoal form. But what many have not realised is that dead wood also attracts termites and these little critters give off methane gas in the process of consuming timber. Methane gas is also found in natural gas which we use in our kitchens to cook on and heating our homes with. The problem with methane gas is that it is a higher contributor to our global warming issues because it traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. It is something we want less to be released into our atmosphere but is naturally occurring from wetlands and swamps to animal burps!

Taking this global warming debate one step further, there is a further argument that in our reduction and prevention of bush fires in this country, we have ourselves contributed to global warming. How? Well when you burn wood you end up with charcoal which technically is trapped carbon, the same stuff that we want to minimise getting out of our atmosphere. If we allow our native bushland to burn, sure there is smoke pollution and destruction of habitat in the process, but want is left behind is trapped carbon that end up in the soil. Trapping carbon this way reduces carbon emissions and is mostly referred to as Biochar which is used in farming and gardening.

LIQUID SMOKE ON A GAS BBQ

Gas barbecues dominate the outdoor BBQ market and there is no doubt about it. Many prefer the ease and speed of starting a gas BBQ, but there are some who believe there is no real flavour difference between gas and a charcoal BBQ. The trick to getting a gas BBQ to taste like a charcoal BBQ is to use flavouring known as “liquid smoke”. It can be added to the marinade or even sprayed on the food during grilling.

#2 Comment made = “You get the same flavour on a gas BBQ using liquid smoke so why bother.”

The Facts = We can debate this but let’s be honest on this one. Using a charcoal BBQ requires less knowledge about recipes, ingredients or additives and more understanding about the roasting process and timing. Those that cook over charcoal look for quality meats and simple ingredients and allow the charcoal itself to add natural flavour to the food.

A good way to understand this is using the example of toast. We all know that if your bread goes golden brown on the surface then the flavour is there and delightful – that browning process is called the Maillard reaction. Same goes with cooking with meat; you want to achieve the optimal flavour by allowing the meat to brown all over for the best results.

In the case of a gas BBQ, the meat will not taste the same as when it is cooked over charcoal. You still get the browning where the meat touches the grill but the smoky flavour will be slightly missing. So adding liquid smoke into the marinade before hand or spraying liquid smoke onto the food will give you a flavour similar to charcoal, but the trick is to know much to add without overdoing it.

In reality, most gas BBQ enthusiasts don’t really use liquid smoke but instead resort to smoking pellets which gives food a distinctive smoky wood flavour to enhance the flavour of the food. You can do the same over charcoal as well using pellets or wood chips. However back to the point here – it is hard to replicate the smell and flavour that you easily get on a charcoal BBQ on a gas BBQ and many will agree.

CHARCOAL AND GAS TOGETHER?

One of the best “DUH” moments we had was with a middle-aged fellow impressing his much younger girlfriend. To cut a long story short, after haggling the price down on a charcoal BBQ he asked the bizarre question to where to connect the gas bottle. Sadly for us, when we told him it is all charcoal no gas, he made for a quick exit with girlfriend in tow.

#1 Comment made – “Where does the gas bottle go in your charcoal BBQ?”

The Facts = It is rare to find a duel function BBQ that has gas and charcoal features and it is not recommended to mix the two in a BBQ that is design for only gas or charcoal. Some manufacturers have conversion kits but mostly avoid mixing gas and charcoal into one design. The answer to this one is short and sweet- our charcoal BBQs are that – made for charcoal.

THE REAL WARNING THAT NOBODY ASKS!

There is a more sinister side to barbecuing and that is the danger of Carbon Monoxide (CO) poising.

Carbon Monoxide is invisible, tasteless and odourless and is present when burning occurs with the lack of oxygen. Burning charcoal in non-ventilated area can become dangerous and lethal. As the fuel consumes all the oxygen say in a room, it stops releasing CO2 gas and starts to release CO gas. Soon the person in the room becomes confused, dizzy and loose consciousness. Eventually as the toxicity rises in the body it can lead to death.

You get CO gas also occurring in gas heaters, gas BBQ and fossil fuel powered engines. To better understand how CO is created, consider the blue flame from the gas BBQ burners. If they burn efficiently with the air you will see the blue flame but place  a metal plate directly on top of the flame which restricts airflow to the point that you  almost smother the flame, then CO starts being produced.  If CO gas is allowed to accumulate in an enclosed area then it can be fatal for any living thing. Best to make sure the area you work in is well ventilated.