Charcoal is not just charcoal!

Fire starters are not just fire starters!

The BIAG (Barbecue Industry Association Grillverband e.V.) recommends only EN certified grill charcoal/ charcoal briquettes and the certified grill fire starters of its members.

see PDF - Datei "Holzkohle und Holzkohlebriketts"
see PDF - Datei "Grillanzünder"

Often expensive, high quality food is cooked on a grill. Therefore also fire starters and grill charcoal should be of top quality and safety as otherwise they can ruin your meal; a good bargain is not always the best and safest in quality! We warn especially from using fire starters which do not meet the consumer safety standard EN 1860-3 and are not marked correspondingly.

Fire starters with DIN, TÜV, AF, LGA or other safety marks/icons burn cleanly and residue-free. Whether you prefer to use liquid or solid fire starters is up to you. When using liquid starters, the charcoal is first spread out in the ember pan and the liquid evenly sprayed before lighting. Using solid fire starters, we recommend that you pile up the charcoal into little pyramids, stick the starters into them and then light. Finally, spread out the glowing charcoal, add on and spread out more until the right amount of embers has been produced. Use barbecue mitts and a tool to spread out the embers and make sure that children are kept far away from the grill.

Experts are opting more and more for chimney starters. With this device charcoal is lit safely and extremely fast and is also easy to store.

CAUTION: never use petrol, benzol, methylated spirits or other fire accelerants to start a fire, these substances produce a combustion and uncontrollable flare-up and easily can cause the worst types of burns. Ensure that children are never near the grill.

There are different kinds of charcoal available in the market:  hardwood charcoal (carbonised wood or even coconut shells) or charcoal called grill briquettes made from pulverised lignite (pressed brown coal dust). Almost all containers (bags, sacks and boxes) nowadays bear the proper labelling, especially when they show the safety mark/icon of a certification institute like for example DIN - CERTCO in Germany. This icon guarantees compliance of the content – pure charcoal or charcoal briquettes - with EN 1860-2.  Grill briquettes cannot comply with EN 1860-2 as they are not made from wood but from lignite. They burn very hot and keep the grilling temperature for a very long – up to four hours - time. Their ashes are brownish coloured compared to the white ashes of good quality charcoal briquettes.

There are two different types of grill charcoal:  Lump hardwood charcoal and pressed charcoal briquettes. Lump hardwood charcoal is easier to ignite, burns somewhat faster and is best used for food which is quickly cooked (sausages, steaks, chops etc). Pressed charcoal briquettes need a little longer to ignite. The charcoal briquettes based on coconut shells need even more time to ignite but burn at a high temperature and for a long time. It is recommended to use them only in heat adjustable grills or grills with adjustable cooking grids. They hold the heat for a very long time and are perfectly suitable for larger roasts or long barbecue parties. As a general rule: Grill above the embers (direct) or between the ember containers (indirect) and not over the open fire. Place your food on the grill only when the fire starters burned off completely and the grill charcoal is completely covered with a white layer of ashes, - grill briquettes have a somewhat browner coloured layer.

Also when buying grill charcoal watch for an EN safety mark/icon (for example in Germany the registered DIN - CERTCO quality mark). If the packaging is stating only "according to (DIN -) EN 1860" without showing a testing institutes icon the grill charcoal does not necessarily comply with regards to safety and good quality.