2024-04-27 06:28:52
In the first weeks of April, temperatures climbed to summer highs in many places for the first time. For many, this meant one thing above all: grilling! After the last few cold days, it shouldn’t be too long this weekend until the smell of sausages and vegetable skewers comes back from balconies and in gardens and parks.
In the spring, Stiftung Warentest took a close look at 15 barbecue charcoal products: eight different charcoals from different suppliers, five charcoal briquettes and two barbecue briquettes made from pressed coconut shells.
Coal or briquettes? Many people ask themselves this question before grilling. Coals tend to glow faster and hotter. Briquettes, on the other hand, take a little longer to light, but have a longer burning time and are therefore usually ideal for a barbecue party.
Tested for different factors
How hot and evenly the coal glows depends not only on the skill of the grill master but also on the quality of the coals or briquettes. Both coal and briquettes should be dry and leave little ash. Ideally, charcoal should consist of pieces of similar size, otherwise small pieces (smaller than two centimeters) will burn through more quickly and the grill will have difficulty staying at temperature. Good charcoal briquettes should contain as much coal as possible.
The briquettes and charcoal parts were tested for various factors that can significantly influence the grilling pleasure and results: How quickly can they be lit? How long and how hot do they glow? Are sparks flying? Is there heavy smoke? The declaration of the wood used, i.e. information about the type and origin of the wood, as well as the packaging of the products and how easy it is to open and close again were also evaluated.
Once the grade “sufficient”
More than half of the grill coals and charcoal briquettes tested performed well. The manufacturers DHG, Profagus and Nero were also given positive credit for making their supply chains transparent and being able to prove that they use wood from a sustainable source for their range.
The test winners were the products from Profagus. The brand was ahead in both the “Der Sommerhit” charcoal (overall rating 1.7) and the “Grillis organic beech grill charcoal briquettes” (overall rating 1.8). According to Stiftung Warentest, the “Flammenco quality barbecue charcoal” from DHG offers the best price-performance ratio with a price of 2.33 euros per kilo and an overall rating of “good”.
However, the two products “Lübzer Quality Charcoal” and “Favorit Grill Charcoal Briquettes” from Alschu were disappointing. The Favorit briquettes were the only ones to receive a grade of “sufficient” (3.8). The testers criticized the lack of declaration about which wood was used and where it came from. They also found foreign substances such as sand, stones and slag in the coal. When lit, the briquettes smelled “unpleasantly of peat and old coffee filters,” according to Stiftung Warentest.
The briquettes made from coconut shells didn’t do too badly either. They received a grade of “good” for the “Coconut Shell Briquettes” from Weber and a grade of “satisfactory” for the “Kokoko Charcoal Cubes” from McBrikett. Here, too, the manufacturer McBrikett did not provide any information about the origin of the coconuts.
The testers also expressed a few basic grilling tips: They recommend grills with flaps or sliders to control the air supply. Because: The more oxygen the coal gets, the hotter and faster it burns up. You should also – if possible – set up different heat zones on the grill. A higher pile of embers, for example, sears the food sharply, while a lower one cooks it more slowly.
How do Stiftung Warentest tests work?
The 15 products tested were purchased in October and November 2023. Stiftung Warentest determined the prices through a provider survey in January and February 2024. You can read details about Stiftung Warentest’s methodology here – as well as all other information on the topic and the exact results.
#charcoal