Making friends around a braai

If you follow me on social media will know that I’m fortunate enough to do quite a lot of travelling. On one of my trips through Tzaneen, I was braaing at a family friend’s house and I discovered Gravelotte Charcoal.

Gravelotte is a small town just outside Tzaneen. This is where Paul and his team have been making charcoal sice 2001. Gravelotte Charcoal is very well known throughout most of Limpopo, and if you’ve ever been to the Kruger National Park, then chances are you’ve braaied on their charcoal.

Unfortunately (for me), I had never heard of them before. But very glad I discovered them that evening. Unfortunately Gravelotte Charcoal is distributed mainly in the northern parts of the country… and they had no retailers here in Gauteng. Transporting it was going to be quite pricey too… but Paul managed to organise a lift with another delivery, and hooked me up with a mountain of coals (both charcoal and briquettes) as well as 2 bags of his restaurant grade lump charcoal.

@braaiboy

I discovered these guys on a recent trip to Limpopo and fell in love ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 … so I ordered a “few bags” for back here in the Bistro in Pretoria (unfortunately you can’t get them in the shops here in GP… but they were kind enough to organise a lift with another delivery that was passing through) 🔥🔥🤘 … The folks at #Gravelotte must have been feeling really generous, because this is 3X my actual order… and I JUST managed to squeeze all of it into the back of car… but definitely not complaining 💪💪 How long would this last you? How long do you think it’ll last me? Winner gets a *high-5* 😜😜 #braai #bbq #charcoal #newtoys

♬ It’s Lookin’ Good – Becca Lynn

What is Restaurant Grade lump charcoal?

Restaurant grade charcoal is the same thing as household charcoal, except the pieces are larger.

Restaurant Grade vs lump Charcoal vs briquettes

Technically all of it is charcoal! They all start off by burning wood (preferably hardwoods) in a low-oxygen environment to remove moisture, sap, and other volatile substances, until only pure carbon remains.

Briquettes are made from compressed charcoal fines/dust, coal, sawdust and/or biomass. Combined with a binder (usually some form of starch), and on occasion some additives for a consistent burn.

Lump charcoal is just hardwood that has been burned and turned into charcoal. It’s become common (albeit slightly incorrect) to refer to restaurant grade as “lump charcoal” and household as “charcoal”. Restaurant grade and household are actually both what is know as lump charcoal – Restaurant grade is just the larger pieces (often too big to fit into smaller packs for retail).

lump Charcoal vs briquettes – which is better?

As with most things in the braai & BBQ game: It depends on what you want to do. 😉

Lump charcoal lights faster and burns hotter than briquettes, whereas briquettes will burn longer.

For a long braai for many people I would go with briquettes, and the same goes for BBQ smoking & potjiekos. Briquettes to create a “bed of coals” and my smoking wood chunks for flavour. For a quick and really hot steak braai, where I’m looking for a lekker sear, lump charcoal is the way to go.

Looking To do some shopping?

Buy Charcoal and other Braai Accessories online with BraaiBoy.