Reusing Charcoal


 
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Today I'm going to try the low heat/long time cooking method on some ribs. I have some left over used coals from the last time I used my Weber grill. The last time I tried to reuse old coals, I put the coals in my chimney and lit the newspapers on the bottom. The coals did not ignite.

Can I reuse old coals but putting new coals that have been lit on top of the old coals?
 
Hi Arsenio and welcome!

I try to re-use my old charcoal when possible. One problem you will have is that they pick up moisture quite readily. So, if it has rained or has been very damp since you last used them, it is best to use fresh stuff.

I simply put fresh stuff on top of the old, use the Minion method and all seems to work just fine.

Good luck!
 
You shouldn't have any trouble with the old charcoal leftover from a previous cook.

I usually take the leftover charcoal out of the WSM and use it in the chimney starter. The heat from the flames seems to help to drive out any moisture that has found its way into the briquettes.
 
Newspaper is a pain. You can fail to get ignition and even if you do there is all that <insert bad word> ash!
Cash and Carry in Bellevue carries Wick type chaffing dish heaters that work great and last forever. A Turkey fryer propane burner is what I use in Competition.
I put some fresh charcoal in the bottom of the chimney to keep the small pieces I'm reusing from falling though.
 
The Teddy Bear says:

I put some fresh charcoal in the bottom of the chimney to keep the small pieces I'm reusing from falling though.

So you put a layer of fresh charcoal followed by the used charcoal in the chimney? Never thought to do it that way.

Arsenio Locsin
 
Arsenio,

I use a Weber charcoal chimney. I put just enough new charcoal in chimney starter to cover the bottom . I then add used charcoal till about 2/3rds fill, then add new charcoal on top of the used.

I light it with Weber starter cubes and it's usually ready in about 20 mintes.

The starter cubes work great and are really inexpensive when you consider how long a few packs last.

I have found that a LOT of used charcoal packs so densely the it takes MUCH longer to light. /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif
 
Putting the used coals in the chimney seems like unnecessary work to me. Like Kevin, I just dump some new coals over the old in the WSM and use the Minion method. It's always worked fine for me. You can wire the chamber to the grate if you want to be able to easily lift the old coals out to dump the ashes out of the bowl.

Steve
 
I reuse left over charcoal every time I start a fire. I just leave it in Performer kettle. When I get ready to cook the next time, I just shovel it to the center of grate, stack up the new charcoal on top of it, and hit it with the propane flame. Never had a problem unless the old charcoal was actually wet.
 
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