Dumb question about Charcoal for my old Kettle


 
Cassondra

Cassondra

TVWBB Super Fan
I bought a large bag of briquets last spring, thinking I would learn to slow cook on our old Weber kettle. (FYI, I've only used the kettle with chunk charcoal--and many years ago because I got the gas Weber and got so very lazy, but want to renew my relationship with the Kettle)
Anyway, the deck box leaked and the charcoal got very wet, more than once over the summer. Is the charcoal usable once it dries out? Or do I need to just toss it? It's....charred stuff, so seems like it should not be destroyed by getting wet, once it's dry again. Can anybody give me a primer on charcoal so I'm not dumb about this? Thanks in advance. Hope to refurb my old kettle this winter and use it again. :)
 
Just be careful on how you store those. Organic material like briquettes given the right conditions especially after being wet can and do spontaneously night. You can dry them out, just store them in a safe place away from your house. Don't put a bunch of briquettes on top of the wet bag. Or anything else that will allow them to accumulate and store heat
 
So I do have an update about this, for anyone who might be interested.

I had left the bag out, ripped open, in the sun to dry. Following that, I put the coal in a plastic bucket with a lid and stored it until this summer.

I decided to try low and slow cooking (intended to get to this last year, but did not cuz...life) on the old Weber kettle. I started with ribs, and using a snake, per youtube vids and lots of reading, plus coaching by a friend who has five Weber kettles.

I could not control the temps. Mostly it was hard to get it up to temp. I wanted 225, and it was taking 45 minutes to an hour to get that hot. Even with coaching, after marking the exact measurements of the bottom vent so I knew how open it was, although it improved, I still was struggling. (I used a wood stove as our sole source of for heat for 15 years, so I understand some about air flow and dampers/vents, and still, I couldn't get the temps up,and when I did, the heat wasn't behaving in a way that made any sense.)

I was getting really frustrated.

Mr. Five Weber Kettles said, "Get a new bag of coal. Let's see if that's the issue."

I did.

BOOM. Up to temp within about fifteen minutes. Very easy to control. 💥🔥

SO.....Did the old, previously wet charcoal burn?

Yes. I will end up using the rest of it for something. Maybe as part of the coal for indirect/burgers/etc.

But it did not heat up or burn consistently, and did not behave the way "dry fuel" would behave.

Maybe it's not 100 million percent dry? I dunno. But I thought I would share here, that for this newbie starting out learning to control the kettle, it was not a good choice. I think for a more experienced kettle griller, it would be fine.

I am now addicted to low and slow on the kettle, and I'm using all the tools y'all told me about --got a Maverick Thermometer and a thermapen knock off (thermopro?). I like building the skill of managing the air/fuel. Although I'm doing a really crappy job at wings. 😒

Wanted to say thanks to all who chimed in. 😻
 
Nice follow up Cassondra. Not all charcoal is equal, I've had fresh charcoal right off the store shelf burn like crap, let alone charcoal that got wet. When I have questionable charcoal, instead of throwing it away, I use it as the charcoal that gets fully lit in the chimney and poured out on the unlit charcoal in the BBQ/Smoker, or I use it as a base for the firepit as a last resort. I hate throwing something I paid for away, so I always figure out a way to "repurpose" it. Bottom line, don't use questionable charcoal on good food :)
 
I like the suggestion from @ChuckO.

I would also like to comment on my previous post:
DanHoo said:
Yup. I put it in a plastic bucket and forget I have it for a year and then just use it.
Click to expand...

This works for me because I have a shed that is very dry and in full sun so it gets hot and will dry out anything in the shed. This might not work as well in a humid climate, so YMMV
 
DanHoo said:
I like the suggestion from @ChuckO.

I would also like to comment on my previous post:


This works for me because I have a shed that is very dry and in full sun so it gets hot and will dry out anything in the shed. This might not work as well in a humid climate, so YMMV
Click to expand...
It is a rather humid climate here. HOWEVER, I question whether the paper layers of the charcoal bag keep out the humidity? Maybe it's a special bag? I dunno. But I do need to figure a better way to store the charcoal, that is certain.
 
Cassondra said:
It is a rather humid climate here. HOWEVER, I question whether the paper layers of the charcoal bag keep out the humidity? Maybe it's a special bag? I dunno. But I do need to figure a better way to store the charcoal, that is certain.
Click to expand...

Cassondra, perhaps this thread has some ideas for you.

tvwbb.com

Good Containers to store Charcoal/Pellets/Wood Chunks. What do you use?

Do you have something you like using to store Charcoal / Pellets / Wood Chunks? Here's an inexpensive container I use to store Charcoal Briquettes & Smoking Wood Chunks. "Buddeez Food Storage and Dispenser, Black" 32 qt. at Sam's Club for $12.68...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
Good storage is really important, I have probably 20 bags on a palllet in the garage (normal stock) and have never had an issue. They are unopened and still in their plastic over wrap so, there is less chance for much moisture invasion. Open bags go in the blue Kingsford branded “Budeez” containers and generally live under a counter outside all year around. You will be fine, once you find a setup that works for you.
Glad you were able to get a good burn out of your stock.
 
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