Blackwood Canyon Mesquite Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: March, 2004 Purchased From: Provided by Blackwood Canyon Date Purchased: February, 2004 Price: $4.99 Weight: 8 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Mesquite Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Typical mesquite smell. Country of Origin: Mexico Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Photos of Contents: Click Here Other Photos: Click Here Photo of UPC Code: Click Here Contact Information: Click Here Rate And Comment On This Charcoal: Click Here Commentary We were contacted by Blackwood Canyon and asked to do a new review of their product. They have switched to a new supplier of mesquite charcoal and the packaging has been changed a little. This is the updated review. You can tell the old from the new by the packaging. The old product said "Mesquite Lump Charcoal" in the orange box on the front. The new product says just "Lump Charcoal" and there is a small diagonal band in the upper left corner that says "With Mesquite". The main substance of the change seems to be to de-emphasize that the lump is made from Mesquite. See the photo below of the two bags side by side. The first thing we noticed when we dumped the contents out was the large amount of chips and dust. As you can see in the photo below of the sorted contents of the bags, the quantity of chips and dust is larger than any charcoal we have reviewed except for BBQs Galore mesquite lump. We weighed the chips and dust and it came out at 4 pounds out of a 16 pound sample, or 25% of the sample. Compared to the older sample, there are more chips and dust in this new product. (We decided to go over to the local Ace Hardware and buy a bag to see we were just unlucky with the bags that were shipped to us. The bag from Ace Hardware was about the same as had been shipped to us with just over 25% of the bag by weight being chips and dust.) There were a few pieces of wood that had not been carbonized and one small clump of dirt, as you can see in the photo below. Lighting was easy, taking 2.5 sheets of newspaper in our chimney starter test. Once lit, the fire spreads quite rapidly. The smell was that unique smell that you can only get from mesquite. Burntime was very low. A 6 pound sample burns for about 9.5 hours. Ash production was high when you consider the amount of ash produced per hour of burntime, so you would need to be concerned about ash blocking your grates and air flow on a long cook. So, what to give this charcoal? We feel with 25% of the product being unusable, Blackwood Canyon has slipped a bit. With a very low burn time, high ash, high percnetage of chips and dust, and a relatively high price, we think this charcoal rates our below average rating: To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. Now that you have read our review, 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 None. Unusual or Unique Statements Caution: Because the natural mesquite used to make this charcoal was exposed to the elements, it may throw off sparks when igniting. Use in a safe place. Statements From The Bag "With Mesquite", "100% Natural Lump Charcoal", "Product of Mexico" "No sodium nitrates, no limestone, no starch, no anthracite coal(!) No kidding. Unlike leading brands of artificial "briquettes", Blackwood Canyon is 100% pure and natural." "The difference is 100% natural. Yes, it's different. We know this isn't the charcoal you're used to. For starters, it's real. It's all solid natural wood. (Ever wonder what the ingredients are in briquettes?) It's lumpy. Each chunk is hand cut, so they come in odd shapes. (Ever wonder why the other guys' briquettes are all identical?) It's 100% natural. Our charcoal contains charcoal. Period. No chemicals or additives are combined and pressed in a factory. (Oh, that's why those briquettes are identical.) Our charcoal burns hotter, searing in juices. It also burns cleaner, longer and completely. You can even use it in a smoker, where you wouldn't want chemical-laden briquettes. Lighting Instructions Keep it natural. Try these cleaner no-petroleum lighting techniques: If you must use starter fluid, refer to instructions on can. We recommend two cleaner, dependable methods of firing up your grill. Either way, you'll get the great flavor of foods grilled over pure and natural wood charcoal! The Chimney Method: Put the chimney on the lower grill, filling the bottom "chamber" with two crumpled sheets of newspaper. Fill the top to the brim with charcoal. Light the newpaper, and when the coals are ashed over (turn white), carefully pour them on the grill. Replace top grill. Another Clean Method: Put larger charcoal pieces in a ring on the lower grill. Saturate three crumpled paper towels with vegetable oil; place in center of ring. Cover towels loosely with more charcoal. Light towels (always keep coals uncovered until ready to cook). As center coals start to ash over (turn white), move cooler coals (on outer ring) to center using tongs. (Tip: Keep a separate set of tongs handy for moving coals around the grill.) Once all coals ash over, break up and spread out as desired. Replace grill and begin cooking. Enjoy! For extended cooking time, add more charcoal as needed. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Those are 1 inch squares on the measuring bar. Here is a closer view of the 2002 sample. This is a closer view of the 2004 sample. Here are the larger pieces we found in the 2002 bag. Some of the larger chunks in the 2004 sample. Here the 2004 sample is sorted into large, medium, small, and chips and dust. Some of the uncarbonized pieces found in the 2004 sample. Other Photos This is how the bags arrived. Here are the old and new bags, side by side. Note that the word "mesquite" no longer figures prominently on the front of the bag. There were several instances on the back of the bag where the word "mesquite" was removed. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information www.bigbriq.com P.O.Box 342 Flossmoor, IL 60422 1-708-799-8415