What Do You Use Briquettes or Lumpwood Charcoal?

[wade]

 
I have been reliably informed that the 7 Kg bags of heat beads have now been discontinued, and the 4Kg bags will only be available in the future

I fear that it may be even worse than that. Patrick from WOWBBQ has just contacted me and said that he has unconfirmed information that Heat Beads may stop being imported into the UK completely in the New Year. !!!

 

[smokewood]

Hiya Wade,

Where did Patrick obtain this "unconfirmed" information from?

Interesting, As far as I am aware the company that imports Heat Beads has a sole distributor agreement in the UK.  I have been in contact with this company to see if I am interested in stocking Heat Beads, and nothing has been mentioned to me regarding the discontinued sale of heat beads in the UK.  If this is the alleged case, could it be possible that Heat Beads are not going to imported into the UK, under the existing supplier, but with a different UK distributor. Just a thought.

I think If I was an existing retailer of heat beads I would be contacting Heat Beads as soon as possible to clarify the situation.

 

[wade]

 
Hiya Wade,

Where did Patrick obtain this "unconfirmed" information from?

Interesting, As far as I am aware the company that imports Heat Beads has a sole distributor agreement in the UK.  I have been in contact with this company to see if I am interested in stocking Heat Beads, and nothing has been mentioned to me regarding the discontinued sale of heat beads in the UK.  If this is the alleged case, could it be possible that Heat Beads are not going to imported into the UK, under the existing supplier, but with a different UK distributor. Just a thought.

I think If I was an existing retailer of heat beads I would be contacting Heat Beads as soon as possible to clarify the situation.

Responded in PM

 

[wade]

 
Hiya Wade,

Where did Patrick obtain this "unconfirmed" information from?

Interesting, As far as I am aware the company that imports Heat Beads has a sole distributor agreement in the UK.  I have been in contact with this company to see if I am interested in stocking Heat Beads, and nothing has been mentioned to me regarding the discontinued sale of heat beads in the UK.  If this is the alleged case, could it be possible that Heat Beads are not going to imported into the UK, under the existing supplier, but with a different UK distributor. Just a thought.

I think If I was an existing retailer of heat beads I would be contacting Heat Beads as soon as possible to clarify the situation.

Great - Thanks for the importer contact info. I called them this morning and, as you say, they have confirmed that it is only the 7Kg bag that is going to be discontinued - Heat Beads Australia themselves are discontinuing the 7Kg pack size. The reason is for ease of shipping - the 4Kg bags get packed and shipped in boxes of 4 packs whereas the 7Kg bags are palletised as loose bags. When you look at the end user price there isn't really much difference in £/Kg between the two pack sizes anyway.

Apparently they also import a coconut shell based briquette that is supposed to have a similar heat profile to Heat Beads. They come from a Danish supplier. They are going to send me a bag of them to test and I will let you know how I get on.

I have passed this information on to Patrick.

 

[kc5tpy]

HEY! HEY! HEY!  ???  You guys holdin out on me??  Coconut shell based briquettes??  Oh yeah, just to **** with ole Danny!  What he don't know won't hurt him!  I see how it is!  And after I spent a whole 10 minutes teaching you everything I know!  Well that's just fine with me.  I still haven't told you the secret for making a GREAT peanutbutter and jelly sandwich!  I'll take that to my grave!!

Danny

 

[wade]

I was subjected to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the very first time i went to the USA - when I was 5. Everyone laughed when I asked if there would be any blancmange. (link added for any Americans who may read this). I thought they were having a laugh when I saw there was actually jam in the sandwich instead of jelly.

I didn't think they grew coconuts in Texas Danny so we didn't want to confuse you with these strange foreign products.

 

[kc5tpy]

They tell me dried cow patties generate a really hot fire.  

 

  Let me know how the trial run works out my friend.  Speak to you soon.

Danny

 

[smokewood]

Not holding out on you Danny honest

  I have heard that Supagrill Wondergrill Briquettes are a contender for Heat Beads, and they are also cheaper.    Has anyone used them?

https://www.coals2u.co.uk/supagrill-wonder-briquettes-–-12kg

 

[kc5tpy]

Thanks smokewood.  I like those heat beads but they are more expensive.  Then again I can use less of those so the cost sort of evens out.  I'll give those Wonder briquettes a look.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello Wade.  YEP! I had to use the link.  OH!  I see; you mean vanilla pudding!  For the U.K. folks, pudding in the U.S. is, well the best way to describe it as a thick, set custard or as Wade said it blancmange.  In the Southern States banana pudding is a REAL treat.  It's made with a certain cookie ( biscuit ), vanilla pudding and sliced bananas layered.  Sort of like a trifle.

Now to be fair, as you know, if it has pieces of fruit in it then it's jam.  No fruit = jelly.  I was never a big fan of PBnJ sandwiches either.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[wade]

The coconut briquette sample that they sent has arrived. The immediate things I noticed from the front of the pack were they are obviously aimed at the grilling market. They do claim to be longer lasting than standard charcoal however you would expect this to be the case with most briquettes. My daughter is coming over next weekend and we will get a couple of Webers going with a lump of pulled pork in each. I will cook one with Heat Beads and the other with the Nature briquettes and compare how both fare.

Nature.jpg

• wade
• Oct 27, 2014

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello Wade.  I am curious if they impart any taste of coconut.  You wouldn't think so but 

.  Pecan shell is used in some Tx. BBQ places during the smoking process.  Will be awaiting the verdict.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[wade]

No coconut (or any other) smell coming from the bag. Being the shells that are crushed and used in the briquettes I would doubt if there will be any coconut taste or smell. But we shall see 

 

[kc5tpy]

I'm with you Wade.  Apple wood doesn't taste of apple and cherry wood doesn't taste of cherry but who knows??  Never used coconut shell or wood for smoking.  We didn't have too many coconut trees growing between the mesquites back in Tx.  I have also been curious about another thing:  just how BIG is the nut cracker they use on those coconuts??  

  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[wade]

I completed the comparison today. Are you all ready for the results ???

 

[kc5tpy]

HEY!  WHERE'S THA MEAT???  

Danny

 

[smokewood]

Well We Are Waiting !! And the Results Are ????????

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello smokewood.  That Wade.  He's such a prima donna!  I should be nice.  Maybe his Alzheimer's is just kicking in again and he lost his train of thought.  Maybe he is out wandering the streets again in his under clothes.  Not to worry though; his Missus is a sweetheart, she will look after him.  You know he is getting up there in age. Bless him.   

  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[smokewood]

As long as he keeps taking the tablets he should be OK 

 

[georgie porgie]

 
I can sort that out for you, but you will have to re-mortgage your house.  To be honest if wow bbq is giving members 27% discount that is a fantastic deal, so they are just about covering their costs.  How did you manage to cut a deal and get 27% off everything?

Is this discount still applicable?