Can briquettes be reused?


 
J

Josh Lessard

New member
Hello all. Quick question about reusing charcoal. I've seen a number of people say that they fill their charcoal ring up completely, use the minion method, then close the vents once the smoke is done. This allows for either a short or a long smoke, and allows reuse of any charcoal that didn't actually burn. So far, I've only read about people doing this with lump charcoal.

My question is, can unburned briquettes be reused in this fashion as well?

Thanks.
 
I always re-use my left over Kingsford. On the next cook, I fill my charcoal ring with new and top it off with the leftovers. Never had an issue.
 
Yes but some "crumble" more than others. Take out the ones you can't squish with your fingers and re-use. The rest will crumble and put that in the trash.

NOT in your garden.

Although wood ash is good (in moderation and in certain circumstances) to bolster soil, I believe the <STRIKE>binders</STRIKE> release agent in Kingsford (which is borax) in briqs are toxic to plants and animals.
 
I believe the binders (borax?) in briqs are toxic to plants and animals.
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Yikes. That's why I chose to go with Maple Leaf briquettes. They contain only hardwood charcoal and wheat/potato starch as a binder. It seems strange to me to smoke food with briquettes that contain a substance too toxic to even throw in your garden.

Thanks for the replies everyone!
 
I posted that incorrectly so I'll rephrase/correct it in the original post and: borax is used as a "release" agent to get the briq out of the mold.

NOT used as a binder. I guess it's safe or it wouldn't be allowed by FDA. Or is it?

from a charcoal site:
Introduction
Well, Kingsford has finally come out with a briquette product that doesn't contain a myriad of chemicals. Their new "Competition" briquettes are advertised as 100% natural and they have attracted a lot of attention in the BBQ world. We have received a large number of emails asking us to do some sort of review of these new briquettes. Since we had previously done a report comparing original Kingsford briquettes with their new "original" briquetes (yes, that's what they say....) with "Sure Fire" grooves, we thought we would oblige and do a comparision between the "Sure Fire" briquettes and these new "Competition" briquettes.

There has been a lot of talk about these briquettes on the internet and of course, Kingsford has had a lot to say about them on the bag and on their web site. First, let's take a look at what's being said.

A lot of people have been spreading the word that these briquettes are made from lump charcoal. Actually, all briquettes are made from lump charcoal really. Briquettes are made from ground charcoal. It doesn't matter if the charcoal started as lump charcoal or as dust from charcoal-making operations. It's still just charcoal. Once you have your charcoal, then you can decide how many chemicals to add in order to produce the briquette you want to produce. What's different about these briquettes (vs. the "original" briquettes) is that they only contain charcoal, a starch binder and borax. (The borax is a press release agent to allow the briquettes to release from the molds they are made in.) Other natural briquettes only contain charcoal and starch binders, but for some reason Kingsford needs to use the borax in their process.
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edit:

Before I get jumped on for jumping the gun on borax, I did a little more research on it's toxicity. What I found scared me. Granted, the quantities they ingested was probably more than you (not me because I don't use K) might injest on an occasional basis BUT it would still give me pause. You be the judge.

note the bolded (my action) parts:
_I.A.4. Additional Studies/Comments (Oral RfD)

The subchronic and chronic toxicity of borax and boric acid was studied in dogs administered these compounds in the diet (Weir and Fisher, 1972; U.S. Borax Research Corp., 1963, 1966, 1967). In the supporting subchronic study, groups of beagle dogs (5/sex/dose/compound) were administered borax (sodium tetraborate decahydrate) or boric acid for 90 days at dietary levels of 17.5, 175, and 1750 ppm boron (male: 0.33, 3.9, and 30.4 mg B/kg-day; female: 0.24, 2.5, and 21.8 mg B/kg-day) and compared with an untreated control group of 5 dogs/sex (Weir and Fisher, 1972; U.S. Borax Research Corp., 1963). A high-dose male dog died as a result of complications of diarrhea on day 68 of the study with severe congestion of the mucosa of the small and large intestines and congestion of the kidneys. No clinical signs of toxicity were evident in the other dogs. The testes were the primary target of boron toxicity. At the high dose, mean testes weight was decreased 44% in males fed borax (9.6g) and 39% in males fed boric acid (10.5 g) compared with controls (17.2 g). Also at this dose, mean testes:body weight ratio (control: 0.2%; borax: 0.1%; boric acid: 0.12%) and mean testes:brain weight ratio (control: 22%; borax: 12%) were significantly reduced. Decreased testes:body weight ratio was also observed in one dog from the mid-dose boric acid group. Microscopic pathology revealed severe testicular atrophy in all high-dose male dogs, with complete degeneration of the spermatogenic epithelium in most cases. No testicular lesions were found in the lower dose groups. Hematological effects were also observed in high-dose dogs. Decreases were found for both hematocrit (15 and 6% for males and females, respectively) and hemoglobin (11% for both males and females) at study termination in borax-treated dogs. Pathological examination revealed accumulation of hemosiderin pigment in the liver, spleen and kidney, indicating breakdown of red blood cells, in males and females treated with borax or boric acid. Other effects in high-dose dogs were decreased thyroid:body weight ratio (control: 0.009%; borax: 0.006%; boric acid: 0.006%) and thyroid:brain weight ratio (control: 0.95%; borax: 0.73%) in males; also at the high dose were increases in brain:body weight ratio (borax) and liver:body weight ratios (boric acid) in females and a somewhat increased proportion of solid epithelial nests and minute follicles in the thyroid gland of borax-treated males, lymphoid infiltration and atrophy of the thyroid in boric-acid treated females, and increased width of the zona reticularis (borax males and females, boric acid females) and zona glomerulosa (boric acid females) in the adrenal gland. This study identified a LOAEL for systemic toxicity in dogs of 1750 ppm boron (male: 30.4 mg B/kg-day; female: 21.8 mg B/kg-day) and a NOAEL of 175 ppm boron (male: 3.9 mg B/kg-day; female: 2.5 mg B/kg-day) following subchronic exposure.

In the chronic toxicity study, groups of beagle dogs (4/sex/dose/compound) were administered borax or boric acid by dietary admix at concentrations of 0, 58, 117, and 350 ppm boron (0, 1.4, 2.9, and 8.8 mg B/kg-day) for 104 weeks (Weir and Fisher, 1972; U.S. Borax Research Corp., 1966). There was a 52-week interim sacrifice and a 13-week "recovery" period after 104 weeks on test article for some dogs. Control animals (4 male dogs) served as controls for the borax and boric acid dosed animals. One male control dog was sacrificed after 52 weeks, two male control dogs were sacrificed after 104 weeks, and one was sacrificed after the 13-week recovery period with 104 weeks of treatment. The one male control dog sacrificed after the 13-week recovery period demonstrated testicular atrophy. (ONE IS TOO MANY IMO). Sperm samples used for counts and motility testing were taken only on the control and high dosed male dogs prior to the 2-year sacrifice. At a dose level of 8.8 mg B/kg-day in the form of boric acid, one dog sacrificed at 104 weeks had testicular atrophy. Two semen evaluations (taken after 24 months treatment) were performed on dogs treated at the highest dose (8.8 mg B/kg-day). Two of two borax-treated animals had samples that were azoospermic and had no motility while one of two boric acid treated animals had samples that were azoospermic. The authors reported that there did not appear to be any definitive test article effect on any parameter examined. The study pathologist considered the histopathological findings as being "not compound-induced." Tumors were not reported.
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http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0410.htm
 
I reuse also. A good briquette is a terrible thing to waste.
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Thats why we start with more charcoal than we need, we can reuse whats left at the end of the cook.
 
I reuse charcoal but I don't try to ring every last bit out of it. After a cook, the left over charcoal tends to break apart pretty easy and the pieces are small so they fall through the grate and in general, they are a pain to handle. So what I do is have the extra charcoal grate turned 90 degrees and the charcoal ring tied to the charcoal grate. I pick up the whole unit and give it a couple shakes and whatever is left I use.

What I don't do is transfer it to the chimney to start the next fire. The small pieces fall through the chimney and create too much falling lava. To me, that's just not worth it.
 
I've only used KB and have mixed feeling about reusing. The draw back to me is when I close all vents I end up with a lot more moisture (from water pan) and gunk in the smoker than otherwise. The other side is that I hate to waste charcoal and sometimes use my leftovers in my kettle. I saved the coals from my last cook, but will not be saving any from the next. Never any problem with them burning though.
 
I always reuse.. Typically I just put them on top of a chimney or mix them in. Its still charcoal, just a lot smaller.
 
I reuse. I take out the old and put it in a bucket. I usually light up a half a chimney of new K . Put some a half a chimney of old K in the cooker. Once the New K is up to temperature I dump it over the old used K.
 
In the WSM i stir it around a bit to shake of the ash. The small peices that fall thru the coal grate can feel lucky they just escaped the inferno. Then i add new ontop and start with the MM. In my kettle i just dump the lit over the leftovers from the day before. I never take it out from the grill. Its called the circle of life.

As long as it produces Heat i introduce it to the Meat.
 
Reuse all the time. Never have a problem. I do get the excess ash off before saving though. Store the used in a separate charcoal bag, and use it on the bottom of MM cooks, or as unlit in the kettle before adding the lit out of the chimney. We use 90% KB, and about 7% Kingsford Hickory, and about 3% Kingsford Mesquite. I use the flavored ones when high temp grilling things such as steaks where adding chips or chunks is just too much smoke.
 
I reuse all the time. I use Kingsford and have a second grate turned 90 degrees to the first inside the ring. I added the U-bolt handles to my charcoal grate so that at the end of a cook I just give the whole thing a good shake to get extra ash off and then put it back in as is to use the next time. I just heap new on top for the next cook.
 
If your fuel costs are an issue than reuse by all means.
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It isn't about fuel cost. Leftover Kingsford burns exactly the same as new. Same reason why I don't throw out half full gallons of milk.
 
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