Charcoal In The Philippines

[Tatoosh]

So, I'm playing around with my BBQ grill and smoker. I bought a large sack of lump charcoal at the market for 300 pesos. Or rather my wife did, I wasn't around since somehow having a fat old kano floating in the shadows seems to cause some sort of automatic price inflation. Other folks have mentioned they buy their charcoal cheaper down in the flatlands or in Cebu, but it may be that we live a mile up a mountain, so there may be some increase due to shipping costs. Anyway, the lump charcoal of unspecified nature runs hot and burns quick. Great stuff for grilling, mind you. Not so good for smoking. Like I said, it runs hot and burns quick. So I go digging around and find what I believe to be imported Chinese tubular charcoal. This has the density similar to the older briquettes we used to have in the States such as Kingsford's regular charcoal before they reformulated it. The shape is 3 inches long, maybe 1 1/2 inches in diameter and with a small 1/2 inch hole down the center (sort roughly kinda down the center). This stuff looks much more promising for smoking. Nice and dense for a longer burn and somewhat lower temperature. Of course, I'm a bit worried about all of the different charcoals used here and even imported from China because we don't have a clue what it is made of. Some things don't do good with food. In the USA, I don't sweat either the charcoal or the wood to smoke with. Here I worry about it all. But life is full of risks. I will run temperature and duration tests with the Chinese tubular stuff this afternoon. And I'm really just guessing it is Chinese. It may be produced in the Philippines. But I doubt it. I've seen advertisements for it in bulk on Sulit.ph and came away with the impression the distributors are bringing it in from overseas. I had to laugh when, after reading one charcoal sellers advertisement that prominently featured a large banner saying "WE SHIP ANYWHERE", I contacted them and asked how much to ship bulk purchase to Baguio City from their metro Manila distribution point. Their reply was, "Oh sorry, you must come pick it up." Anyone know if the tubular charcoal is made here or overseas?

[Dave Hounddriver]

I have also noticed that the 'oling' or local charcoal burns hot and fast. If you are in Cebu the price of a sack is high. If you drive out to Danao the price is much lower. But I read of a man who was transporting a few sacks from Danao to Cebu without a permit who got stopped and fined. It is apparently illegal to transport which is somehow related to illegal logging.I notice some locals who use sticks as firewood. Locally they use sticks from the gemelina tree. It burns slower, is cheap and makes a lot of smoke.

[Mike S]

Not sure if you are near a TrueValue where you live Tatoosh but they have the regular charcoal in the briquettes like back home ...... can't remember the brand name but they had 2 kinds back then .... about a year ago ..... haven't really look sense ......

[Tatoosh]

Sadly, no True Value here. I think I saw a Weber grill at a True Value in Cebu once too. I will check to see if there is a True Value in La Union, there is a pretty large expat contingent down there and some of them would hollering for charcoal too. But if this tubular stuff works, I'll be happy. It is hard to get started so I may have to break it up a bit. 2 hours later: It is looking promising after 1 1/2 hours of the tubular getting started. The tubular charcoal is long burning and not too hot. It was a bit hard to start. So I will probably use mostly tubular but start it with some of the local lump charcoal. I want to use as much local product as I can that is good. Much easier (and likely less expensive) for the tubular charcoal than the US imported stuff. It seems to be burning okay, running just a touch hot but very acceptable. In fact I just finished mixing up a rub with what we have on hand and coating a rack of ribs. Another half an hour of running temperature tests and then we will give our first rack of ribs a test run. I'll do a 3 hours open smoke, then 2 hours of cooking wrapped in foil (to help them tenderize) and then 1 more hour to finish while being mopped with sauce, the old 3-2-1 formula.

[Tatoosh]

Well, the deed is done. I really like the tubular charcoal. It burns for a long time. A bit hard to start, but it works fine, isn't quite as hot and is a much better choice for smoking meat than lump charcoal. I will have to find a bulk source so I can get 20 or 30 kilos at a time. It also means I may get a Weber Smokey Mountain down the road instead of having a propane smoker built here. My ribs came out so-so. Still quite edible but not as tasty as I was hoping. That is my fault for doing them without being well prepared. And because I still don't quite have the skills down with this smoker to hit the temperature ranges I need. None the less, I produced a nicely cooked rib that was moist and had the pink smoke ring that many serious smokers want. A better rub and sauce, plus some more work on temperature control and it will be fine. Five to six hours and I'll be kicking out real American style BBQ ribs. If this was a BBQ ring forum, then the debate would be starting about what real ribs or the best ribs are all about. Some use rubs and no sauce, others vice versa. Kansas City style, St Louis style, Carolina, Texas or where ever, they are all good. We each have our favorites. Lots of fun trying different approaches.

[cebu rocks]

I love smoking meat but I have been wondering what is the local wood to use ? Back home hickory , applewood , maple , mescite along wit many other are great but here I wonder ? I have heard any fruit tree is good ? Any smokers out there with advice

[i am bob]

I love smoking meat but I have been wondering what is the local wood to use ? Back home hickory , applewood , maple , mescite along wit many other are great but here I wonder ? I have heard any fruit tree is good ? Any smokers out there with advice

This is one area I don't know much about - I'm just starting to get interested in it now... But I thought you are suppose to use low resin woods? A lot of fruit trees have high resin. That's why peach doesn't work well for a smoker... Or, so I've been told, any citrus trees... ?

[cebu rocks]

I,m not sure bob but I don,t think citrus trees are good never heard of them being used mostly hardwoods from my experience .the only one suggested to me so far is germalena (sp) I have found next to nothing from goggle searchs I hope someone here knows what is tasty

[JJReyes]

Try adding dried wood chips from the guava tree when smoking.

[Dzighnman]

I love smoking meat but I have been wondering what is the local wood to use ? Back home hickory , applewood , maple , mescite along wit many other are great but here I wonder ? I have heard any fruit tree is good ? Any smokers out there with advice

I think this may be the tree you are thinking of. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gmelina_arboreaI have also struggled with cost effective means of replicating home smoking flavors. I have sent along wood chips to the Phils, but the cost of shipping large quantities was not worth it for the long term.... Last time I was stateside I finally found this crock pot like appliance that pressure smokes the intended food... hot or cold... it calls for a tablespoon of wood chips and I can say after trying it with several types of foods, 1 tablespoon is way too much! I rushed down to the Walmart and packed an LBC box with the cooker and as much wood chips as would fit so I am really looking forward to that arriving in the Phils. At the consumption rate of less than a tablespoon per 2kg of food cooked, I have a lifetime supply. ;) Also tried cold smoking some salmon and while salmon are not on the menu, maybe some tilapia will come out tasty. Cooker description for more details: http://www.smokingme...pressure-cookerWe did two initial tests, both 2kg of meat, one seasoned as we always do, using 1 tbls of cherry chips and smoked for 1 hour: Results, way too much smoke, but well, we did hope it would work.. and it was fall apart when you look at it tender. (a little too tender for us)The second was with no seasonings at all, not even salt, 1/2 tblsp of cherry chips... cooked for 50 minutes this time and for us, perfection, the smoke flavor was through and through and not overwhelming... we added a little salt but otherwise, that was it. Conclusion is that for us, it is everything it is advertised to be and we are elated to be able to have that home smoked flavor we love in the Phils... soon we hope. Edited January 30, 2012 by Dzighnman