Got a Memorial Day barbecue coming up? Grilling food in the great outdoors is a great way to celebrate holidays or just celebrate nice weather and good food. You probably have memories associated with that delicious, smoky smell…
Grilling, like everything, is better when done naturally. Charcoal products typically contain additives that you may not want to be eating, such as:
- Fillers
- Nitrates
- Anthracite coal
- Limestone
- Treated wood
- Petroleum products
- Borax
These are things you don’t want ignited, sending fumes into your food. We found some better options, so you can grill healthfully!
1. Big Green Egg 100% Organic Lump Charcoal
Big Green Egg’s main product is their ceramic cooking device that acts as a smoker, oven, or grill. They also make charcoal from 100% premium, organic American oak and hickory hardwood. They claim that it’s free of additives, and that it will make your food taste much better, with much less residual ash. Better taste and less clean up sounds great to us!
2. The Original Charcoal Company
The Original Charcoal Company makes charcoal from hardwoods sourced from private farms in South America. This wood is coppiced, not clear cut, which means that a single tree is cut down to the stump several times, and reharvested as it grows back. This is a more sustainable way to harvest.
Their charcoal products are all natural, and they claim that it lasts the longest and burns the cleanest, perfect for all natural, all-night grilling marathons.
3. Stubb’s 100% All Natural Bar-B-Q Charcoal Briquettes
The Sweet Home spent 100 hours of research, testing and comparing different natural charcoals. That sounds like an experiment that would have been really delicious to be a part of.
Their verdict named Stubb’s the winner! They say that it burns clean, with a clean taste and minimal ash production. In fact, they say that the ash that is produced is of higher quality—less flaky and thus less prone to flying up into your food.
4. The Good One’s Organic Lump Charcoal
The Good One makes lump charcoal with a special blend of hickory, pecan, and oak. They say it lights in half the time and burns hotter than other charcoal products out there. Perfect for organic grillers who have a need for speed.
While we’re on the topic of barbecues, check out our post from last year, with healthy versions of your 4th of July favorites.
Oh yes. We have a Big Green Egg and use only the natural charcoal. We have used both the Big Green Egg charcoal and Stubbs. Haven’t seen the others in our area. Small Town Alabama..:-)
I have a Medium Big Green Egg sitting in my carport and was reluctant to even allow my grandsons to use it because of dangers of cooking with charcoals. I also have a big bag of the Big Green Egg Charcoal in my shed, so now I will feel better about allowing my family to use these products. Thank you for information that is helpful!