Cooking over un-lit charcoal?


 
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My impression of the entire lit/unlit debate is akin to the old axiom:

"The man who leaves the room convinced is the man who holds the same opinion he did when he entered the room."

I'd have to say that those who are concerned by cooking over charcoal that is not totally ashed-over should be equally concerned cooking over charcoal-- period. As in one of several threads discussing similar subjects-- none of which reached any definite conclusions-- I would have to paraphrase Chris Allingham, who, in one of them, said if he thought about all the myriad things that could possibly contaminate the meat being cooked, he probably wouldn't eat it at all.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Shawn W:
Never mind Minion Method for Kingsford briquettes, the growing concern I have is that I shouldn't use unnatural fuel ... in the WSM period <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Chris A: thanks for the post; the answer works for my concern mentioned above.

PS: a nitpicky point but Terry D. didn't specifically answer your question about safety, however I'm not up to fabricating a briquette safety conspiracy theory right now
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Cheers
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Shawn W:
Terry D. didn't specifically answer your question about safety... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
What I found interesting was that he/she did not specifically say to avoid the practice. The product specialist could have said, "Never cook over unlit charcoal. We recommend that coals be fully ashed over before cooking," but he/she did not say that.

On another note...earlier in this topic, there was mention of nitrites. There's a great discussion about food additives and nitrites in Harold McGee's classic book "On Food and Cooking" (Chapter 10, pp 507-514) that may have some bearing here.

McGee states that from the Middle Ages until the 1940's, we humans consumed a whole lot more nitrites than we do today. "It is guessed that the levels of nitrate and nitrite in traditionally cured meats were from 10 to 50 times the average of recent years." Those levels are reduced today primarily because of the use of refrigeration and the scientific understanding that smaller doses of pure nitrite can be used in place of the old, high levels of nitrate (saltpeter).

McGee writes, "Thanks to advances in food technology, we are probably now consuming minuscule amounts of nitrate and nitrite compared to our ancestors. We eat more fresh and less cured meats, and the meat packers put much less nitrite into cured meats than housewives used to in centuries past."

So the way I look at it, even a little bit of nitrite from my charcoal is probably nothing compared to what my European ancestors were injesting ages ago, and I can live with my choice.

As McGee closes the chapter, under the heading "Common Sense", he writes, "If...you wish on general principle to minimize your exposure to food additives, this is a straightforward matter. Avoid those prefabricated foods that usually contain additives: "instant" soups, gravies, salad dressings, dessert toppings, and the like; soft drinks, imitation fruit juices, snack or "junk" foods, cold cuts, precooked canned or frozen dishes, and so on. Replace them with fresh or plainly frozen fruit, vegetables, and meats, and cook these yourself. When buying bread, cereals, cheese, condiments, ice cream, and other foods that we usually buy premade, check the label to make sure that the manufacturer has used ingredients that you approve of."

The problem I have is that if I'm consistent with what McGee recommends, not only do I have to give up Kingsford charcoal...but I also have to give up almost all the good stuff I like to eat!
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Regards,
Chris
 
Well... for those that are SO concerned about cooking over unlit briquets, you might also want to be concerned about using hardwood to make smoke too!!
There are probably just as much nitrites, if not more, released when burning wood as there are when the few unlit briquets slowly ignite.
It's the nitrites that form the coveted smokering.
Anyway, I recently found out, while talking to an astrophysicist friend of mine, that cooking meat over unlit charcoal briquets completly removes all traces of cholesterol !!!
We all have to die from something. If eating Q cooked over unlit Kingsford is going to kill me than I WILL DIE A HAPPY MAN !!!

Al
 
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