12 13
led) drop in temperature. Both can influence the results as
one may lose control over the cooking process.
All in all the lower ash content (white residue) remains a
decisive advantage, which does not hinder the heat ra-
diation from the ember during direct grilling and ensures
that there is little ash residue overall.
In addition the grain size also plays a role. The smaller
the coal pieces are, the larger the specific (reaction) sur-
face area, which in turn means that more carbon reacts
with air at the same time and generates more heat. The
disadvantage is that during ignition, the supply of air that
drives the reaction is hindered by the denser bulk and
smaller pieces of coal burn off faster than larger ones.
Charcoal briquettes
Charcoal briquettes consist of charcoal dust which is
pressed into shape with binders and other substances.
In terms of carbon and ash content, charcoal briquettes
are inferior to „natural“ charcoal. However, charcoal
briquettes feature a longer burning time and temperatu-
re constancy.
DIN-EN 1860-2
In Germany, the minimum requirements for charcoal
and briquettes are standardized by the DIN-EN 1860-
2 standard as follows
Good quality charcoal clearly exceeds the requirements
of the DIN-EN 1860-2 standard and achieves carbon
contents of over 85% with an ash content of less than
2%. The same applies to good charcoal briquettes.
Burning time and heat
The burning time depends on the type and grain size
of the charcoal or briquettes used, the grill used and
the amount of air supplied to the charcoal grate. As
already noted, it is generally true that charcoal briquet-
tes burn slower than charcoal. Charcoal briquettes are
therefore more suitable for slower indirect grilling than
for fast direct grilling. Also mixtures of charcoal and
briquettes can be the means of choice.
As a guideline, good charcoal on the Kenia is glowing
through after about 15 minutes and after reduction of
the air supply remains ready for grilling for a good
hour, whereby the maximum temperature of 300-500°
C is only maintained for the first 30 minutes and then
Test criteria Requirements
Charcoal
Requirements
Charcoal briquettes
Carbon content > 75 % > 60 %
Ash content <8 % <18 %
Humidity <8 % <8 %
bulk density 130kg/m3 -
Grain size
between 0 und 150 mm
max. 10 % >80 mm
at least 80 % >20 mm
max. 7% 0 – 10 mm
max. 10% >20mm
higher than direct imports would suggest. The WWF‘s
2017 market analysis has confirmed this: 40 percent
of the charcoal tested came from tropical or subtropical
countries.
Grillwerk therefore recommends the use of charcoal
from verifiably sustainable production such as FSC and
PEFC certified products. The WWF charcoal market
analysis also offers insights to products that should not
be purchased.
Product recommendations
Grillwerk particularly recommends products from Profa-
gus (www.profagus.de) and Nero (www.nero-grillen.
de). Charcoal and briquettes from these manufacturers
exceed the requirements of the DIN standard, come
from sustainable production and are FSC or PEFC
certified.
1https://www.destatis.de/DE/PresseService/Presse/Pressemitteilungen/zdw/2018/PD18_12_p002.html.
2http://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/WWF_Holzkohle_Marktanalyse_Deutschland_2017.pdf.
drops. For charcoal briquettes, these times should be
approximately doubled; in addition, the temperature
attainable with charcoal briquettes remains below the
temperature attainable with charcoal.
Environmental protection
Grillwerk strongly advocates not to use charcoal and
charcoal briquettes from non-sustainable forestry, in par-
ticular products that originate from rainforest logging.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis),
around 215,000 tons of charcoal were imported
to Germany in 2017. The most important supplier
countries were Poland (79 000 tons), Paraguay (32
000 tons) and the Ukraine (23 000 tons). According
to the WWF, Poland itself imports a lot of charcoal
from Nigeria and Paraguay. It can be assumed that
the proportion of tropical wood-containing charcoal is
