Nature's Grilling Hardwood Blend 100% Natural Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Select A Charcoal From This List To Read A Review:    A-Fire Coconut Charcoal    America's Choice Lump Charcoal    Atlanta Grill Company Lump Charcoal    B&B Char-Logs    B&B Expert's Choice Premium Charcoal (2004)    B&B Hickory Lump Charcoal    B&B Mesquite Lump Charcoal    B&B Oak Lump Charcoal (2004)    B&B Oak Lump Charcoal (2021)    B&B Texas Size XL Lump Charcoal    BBQ King Lump Charcoal    BBQ-Pro Lump Charcoal    Barbeque Wood Flavors Lump Charcoal    Barbeque's Galore Lump Charcoal    Basque Sugar Maple Lump Charcoal    Best Choice Natural Wood Charcoal    Best Of The West Mesquite Charcoal    Better Wood Products Lump Charcoal    Big Green Egg Canadian Maple Lump Charcoal    Big Green Egg Brazilian Lump Charcoal    Big Green Egg Lump Charcoal (2002)    Big Green Egg Lump Charcoal (2021)    Billy Bones B.B.Q.Lump Charcoal    Black Diamond Charwood    Blackwood Canyon Mesquite Lump Charcoal    Blackwood Canyon Lump Charcoal    Blazing Coco Extruded Coconut Charcoal    Blues Hog Premium Lump Charcoal    Braseiro Lump Charcoal    Carbon del Sur Lump Charcoal    Carolina Cookwood Lump Charcoal    Char-Broil Center Cut Lump Charcoal    Charcos Coconut Charcoal    Chef Wagon Lump Charcoal    Cherokee Chief Lump Charcoal    Chigger Creek Lump Charcoal    Cleveland Charcoal Supply Lump Charcoal    Coshell Coconut Briquettes    Cowboy Mixed Hardwood (Mexico) (2022)    Cowboy Oak and Hickory Lump (USA) (2022)    Cowboy Lump Charcoal (2007)    Cowboy Lump Charcoal (2013)    Dragon Breath Mexican Lump Charcoal    Dragon Breath Lump Charcoal    Duraflame Hardwood Charcoal    El Gallito Mesquite Charcoal    Expert Grill Lump Charcoal    FOGO Coconut Charcoal Briquettes    FOGO Eucalyptus Lump Charcoal    FOGO Premium Hardwood Charcoal (2013)    FOGO Premium Lump Charcoal (2021)    FOGO Super Premium Lump Charcoal    Fire And Flavor Lump Charcoal    Fire King Lump Charcoal    Forestlumps Lump Charcoal    Freds Music and BBQ Restaurant Lump Charcoal    Fresh Market Lump Charcoal    Frontier Hardwood Lump Charcoal (2023)    Frontier Hardwood Lump Charcoal    Frontier USA Lump Charcoal    Frontier XL Lump Charcoal    Full Circle Lump Charcoal    GATA Lump Charcoal    Genuswine Lump Charcoal    GrillHunx Lump Charcoal    Grove Lump Charcoal    Halls Hill Lump Charcoal    HardCoals Lump Charcoal (2004)    HardCoals Lump Charcoal (2008)    Harder Charcoal    Harris Teeter Hardwood Charcoal    Hasty Bake Lump Charcoal (2002)    Hasty Bake Lump Charcoal (2017)    Hawgeyes Cherry Lump And Chunk    Hot Wood (California) Mesquite Lump Charcoal    Humphrey Lump Charcoal    JURK Competition Lump Charcoal    Jealous Devil Lump Charcoal (2016)    Jealous Devil Chunx Lump Charcoal (2022)    Jealous Devil Onyx Binchotan Charcoal    Kamado 2002 Tamarind Lump Charcoal    Kamado 2003 Philippine Coconut Briquettes    Kamado 2006 Thailand Coconut Briquettes    Kamado 2007 Indonesian Coconut Briquettes    Kamado 2007 T.I.Y. 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As Nature's Mesquite is our highest rated mesquite charcoal, we were really looking forward to trying Nature's Hardwood lump charcoal. Unfortunately, the charcoal didn't live up to our expectations and it received a poor rating. Fast forward 6 months. We were contacted by Nature's Grilling Products and informed that they had taken the review to heart and decided to do something about it. "Something" turned out to be not only changing the charcoal but also building their own production facitilities so that they have complete control over the charcoal from selecting and harvesting the wood, to producing the charcoal, to delivering it to retail outlets. (You may be interested in reading this additional information about Nature's Grilling Products' approach to making charcoal in a sustainable, fair and natural way.) They sent us samples of their new charcoal and requested that we do a new review. (While they did send us the samples for this review, you can buy the charcoal at Harris Teeter, Winn-Dixie, Wal-Mart Canada, most natural food stores across the country, and independent retailers across the country.) The old charcoal should be off the shelves by now, so let's see how they did with this new charcoal. Upon opening the bag and dumping it out on the ground for photographing and sorting, we were immediately struck by the uniform size distribution of the pieces of charcoal. Take a look at the photo of the contents of the bag freshly emptied out of the bag and you should also be struck by the uniformity. While there are no truly large pieces of charcoal, the overall distribution is great, as you can see from the following table: Large 0.0 pounds 0.0% Medium 3.0 pounds 42.2% Small 3.5 pounds 50.5% Chips/Dust 0.5 pounds 7.1% Total 7.0 pounds The 7.1% chips and dust is very low compared to other charcoals we have tested, proving again that manufacturers can deliver bags of charcoal that aren't full of chips and dust if they want to. The contents of the bag weighed in at 7.0 pounds, well over the 6.6 pounds indicated on the bag. When sorting through the contents of the bag, we found no scrap, no funny stuff and only one small piece of uncarbonized wood. This charcoal proved to be very easy to start in our chimney starter test, requiring 2.5 sheets of newspaper which is very low compared to other charcoals. While there was some sparking and crackling, there was no popping in the chimney starter. The smell of the charcoal was a mild to moderate woodsy smoke. Then in our maximum temperature test, the charcoal burned at 975 degrees which is very high compared to other charcoals. There was quite a lot of sparking going on while the charcoal was burning full blast, but the sparks that were exiting the cooker through the lower vent extinguished themselves before hitting the ground. The sparking did tend to die down with time. In light of our experience with some other sparky charcoals, we made a point of looking to make sure that there was no grit deposited by the sparks anywhere outside of the cooker. (In the past we have observed particles of grit deposited up to 10 feet away from the cooker!) We also cooked steaks (sear and dwell) and chicken (moderate heat) and checked to make sure that there was no grit on the food. So, other than the visual effect, the sparkiness of this charcoal seems to present no issues. Lighting with a MAPP torch proved to be pretty sparky with a fair amount of popping, so as always, exercise care if using a torch to light your charcoal. This charcoal burned a long time, ranking high compared to other charcoals. The ash production was average. So, it looks like Nature's Grilling Products have made the most of their efforts to improve their hardwood lump charcoal. We have a charcoal with a great size distribution, very low amounts of chips and dust, it's easy to start, burns hot and has a high burntime. It easily earns our Recommended rating. Reader's Score: 4.24  (104 votes)   5 - Best Ever  64  (62%)   4 - Good Stuff  18  (17%)   3 - So So  9  (9%)   2 - Pretty Bad  9  (9%)   1 - Worst Ever  4  (4%) To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. If you have used this charcoal and would like to rate it and leave your comments, Click Here To view reader ratings of all brands, Click Here. Other Information Announcement of partnership between Nature's Grilling Products and Trees For The Future Information about Nature's Grilling Products commitment to plant 1,000,000 trees Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "Gourmet Alternative to Briquets!", "Natural Hardwood Flavor!", "Gourmet Hardwood Blend", "100% Natural Wood Charcoal", "Enjoy Grilling the Natural Way!", "All Natural Product", "Trees for the Future" "Our Commitment To The Environment Through Sustainable Best Practices Nature's Grilling Products™ is committed to delivering a 100% natural grilling experience, while protecting our customers, workers, environment, and ecosystems from which we source our wood. Each of our products is: Sustainable: We use forest management practices that minimize ecological impact. Fair: Employees and harvesters of Nature's Grilling Products™ are fairly treated and compensated. Natural: Our products are made from 100% natural woods, with no chemicals or artificial ingredients. Active Replanting: Nature's Grilling Products™ has committed to plant 1 million fast growing, multi-purpose trees in 2008 through our planting partner, Trees for the Future. TfgF teaches communities not only to plant and grow trees, but also how to use these trees to feed and sustain themselves economically, with land-use systems thaat integrate local agriculture, trees, people, and animals for better soil and water, higher crop yields, and improved standards of living." "Experience the Gourmet Advantage of Nature's Grilling&Trade; 100% Natural Wood Charcoal" "Superior to Traditional Briquets and Regular Lump Wood Charcoal! Nature's Grilling™ 100% natural wood charcoal does not contain any coal, chemicals, or other fillers, resulting in a more consistent burn without excessive smoke or objectionable fumes or smells -- ensuring that the natural flavor of your food is delicately enhanced and not masked." "Natural Hardwood Flavor! Nature's Grilling™ 100% natural wood charcoal consistently impart a delicate hardwood flavor into all of your grilled foods." "Premium Quality! Nature's Grilling™ 100% natural wood charcoal is made from a gourmet blend of tropical hardwood trees, and does not contain any construction scraps or other foreign wood products found in other brands. 100% natural!" "Burns LONGER and HOTTER! Due to hardwood's natural dense structure, Nature's Grilling™ 100% natural wood charcoal is a low smoke, slow burning charcoal that maintains a high cooking temperature." "CAUTION: This is a natural product and can throw off sparks. Use only in a safe place." "Safety Tips Never use gasoline to light charcoal. Do not add lighter fluid directly to burning or hot charcoal. Keep out of reach of children and pets. After cooking, make sure ashes are completely cool before discarding." Lighting Instructions "Directions (If using starter fluid, refer to manufacturer's instructions) 1. Begin stacking the charcoal in a pyramid. 2. Add in natural starter sticks; OR (Natural Grilling Tip: crumpled papers saturated with vegetable oil). 3. Complete pyramid on top of starter sticks/papers. 4. Light the starter sticks/papers in several places (always keep grill uncovered until ready to cook). 5. What charcoal is mostly ashed, spread evenly in a single layer." Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Those are 1 inch squares on the measuring bar. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here is the one uncarbonized piece we found in the bag. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Other Photos This is how the bags arrived. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information Nature's Grilling Products, LLC 706 Front St., Suite 2 Louisville, CO 80027 www.naturesgrillingproducts.com