# pressed sawdust bricks?



## thinblueduke (Jun 10, 2014)

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, so please forgive me if the following is a silly question.

Is anyone familiar with these?













31GQKS7YMTL.jpg



__ thinblueduke
__ Jun 10, 2014






They seem to be pressed sawdust bricks, and they're quite common here in Japan.  They're pretty cheap (a package of 3 six-ounce bricks is about $3.50 on Amazon Japan), and I've found they work well for cold smoking bacon and salmon in my ECB.    You just light them with a plain ol' lighter, and they burn for about 75-90 minutes, without raising the temperature more than 10 degrees above ambient.  You don't need any additional fuel or special equipment to use them, and they're available in all sorts of "flavors," including apple, sakura (cherry), oak, whiskey oak, hickory, etc.  Just no mesquite. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Does anybody use anything similar?


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## Bearcarver (Jun 10, 2014)

Never saw them before.

Just looking at that one makes me wonder what causes it to be that Green color.

Wondering how much other than real hardwood sawdust is in it. Could include ground particle board scraps (Arsenic), and other nasty stuff.

Bear


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## geerock (Jun 10, 2014)

Theres a company here in the states called Mojobricks.  100 pressed hardwoods.  I've used them in my Smoke Daddy or for just throwing them on some charcoal.  They work well in a gas grill, too, if you wrap them in tin foil and just leave one end open for smoke to escape.
Also the finger length ones did a real nice job and fit real well in the masterbuilt chip loader.


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## thinblueduke (Jun 10, 2014)

They're not green at all, just the same color as regular sawdust would be.  The company's website says they're 100% additive-free, except for the whiskey oak variety.

I just found these on a US website for what seems to be a supplier for Japanese restaurants.  Only $4.40 per brick, about the same size as a 3-pack of the ones in the first post.  I've tried this brand as well, and had pretty good results.  Here's the direct link, if anyone's interested in trying them.













94722_1_.jpg



__ thinblueduke
__ Jun 10, 2014


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## Bearcarver (Jun 11, 2014)

thinblueduke said:


> They're not green at all, just the same color as regular sawdust would be.  The company's website says they're 100% additive-free, except for the whiskey oak variety.
> 
> I just found these on a US website for what seems to be a supplier for Japanese restaurants.  Only $4.40 per brick, about the same size as a 3-pack of the ones in the first post.  I've tried this brand as well, and had pretty good results.  Here's the direct link, if anyone's interested in trying them.


That website doesn't do me much good, I can't read Japanese, but if those are 100% additive free, it sounds good to me.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## chef jimmyj (Jun 11, 2014)

I did some research on theses for an American member stationed in Japan. There is nothing unusual about them and from info I read, work very well...JJ


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## gary s (Jun 11, 2014)

Never have seen those before, similar to those logs you can buy to burn in your fireplace.  Would these be for electric smokers ?

Gary S


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## thinblueduke (Jun 12, 2014)

Google Chrome has a "translate this page" option that comes in handy, if you want to take a closer look.  Anyway, from what I can tell, these small bricks are designed for use without any additional fuel (charcoal, gas or electric).  Seems most home smoking in Japan is done in little collapsible metal cabinets (not much bigger than a shoebox) or even cardboard boxes.  People usually smoke nuts, cheese, snacks, etc.  I'm sure these would work in electrics, though.  They just seem to be a good way to generate smoke in any kind of enclosure without raising the temperature much.

FWIW, the manufacturer in the first pic is Soto, and the second one is Susumu Makoto.  The reviews I've seen have been a bit more positive for the SM product, apparently because they stay lit better (although I've never had a problem with the Soto ones).


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## daveomak (Jun 12, 2014)

Sounds like a compressed version of the AMNS using dust.....


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## sb59 (Jun 14, 2014)

Can be found here >

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/?cm_type=gnav


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## thinblueduke (Jun 14, 2014)

The WS site says to soak them, but I've never tried that... I just put them in a tin and light them.   Doing some salmon today with the cherry brick, and some potstickers and cured bacon with the hickory.

Here's the direct link, btw.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/flavor-grill-smoke-stick/?pkey=coutdoor-flavor-smoking&cm_src=outdoor-flavor-smoking||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-


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