Is grilling with charcoal really all that bad?

[snickerplum]

I was speaking with someone about our charcoal grill and was told charcoal is full of carcinogens and there for only use it once a week. ?? Is it really all that bad? We used to use it 3 or more times a week in the warm weather. This lady was quite insistent.

[Bluegoat]

I think there are much worse things people do to their health,  we will all die one day, and in North America, a lot of us will be fairly old and will die of cancer.

[MBM]

You can put rosemary extract on the meat first to help reduce the carcinogens. It doesn't flavor the meat too much. We just rub pounded rosemary from our garden on the meat hoping it helps. 

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080521184129.htm

[mysticmomma]

Interesting

[Guest]

Last I checked the mortality rate sat at 100%. Charcoal grills were not near the top of the rate tables. Even digestive cancers weren't.

 

It's too delicious to worry about.

[Susan C.]

We stopped using charcoal. We (really dh) use a chimney starter with newspapers in the bottom, wood charcoal (not too much so it can breathe, add a little as it gets going), then when hot, add to wood charcoal in the grill. I got the starter at a health food store, it was with the wood charcoal, and get the charcoal at whole foods or publix (greenwise brand).

[redsquirrel]

We stopped using charcoal. We (really dh) use a chimney starter with newspapers in the bottom, wood charcoal (not too much so it can breathe, add a little as it gets going), then when hot, add to wood charcoal in the grill. I got the starter at a health food store, it was with the wood charcoal, and get the charcoal at whole foods or publix (greenwise brand).

 

I thought all charcoal is made from wood? How is what you get at the health food store any different from what you get at the supermarket? I know it looks different, but charcoal is made from wood.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal

 

So, I don't think you have stopped using charcoal.

 

I personally wouldn't grill that often with charcoal, but we aren't ones to ever grill, so it's not a big deal to say that, lol.  My grill loving step-father, who doesn't seem to give a hoot about health did switch to a gas grill and he also says to avoid the carbonized parts of what was cooked on the grill. He cuts off all black parts.  That said, my mom has had cancer and while he doesn't seem to care about his own health he watches over hers like a mother hen, lol.

[Laurie]

Speaking from a neighbor's point of view, yes!  

 

People who love their charcoal grills should be sure to position them right by their own house/windows so that they can keep that wonderful smoke all to themselves.   Why put the grill on the side of your house right by the fence so that all the smoke goes over into the neighbors' yard and windows instead? 

 

(I know this post is about food safety and not air quality.   Still, I wish people would consider their neighbors when they're pouring on the lighter fluid.  We have to close all our windows around the time that the neighbors usually eat because of the stink.   At least we can open our windows after their dinner...unfortunately then we sometimes have to deal with the other polluters in the neighborhood who come out on a hot summer night to enjoy their fire pits!  I understand why people like to grill and avoid heating up their kitchens, but what's the attraction to sitting around a fire in 90 degree weather???  Sometimes it's so bad that we can't even have our windows open for hours because it's like living near a forest fire.  This year has been especially bad, and I'm really tempted to put a smoke detector out on our porch...if we have to smell their smoke they can listen to our alarm.)

 

"Hot town, summer in the city..."  :rant:  

[katilac]

Very much at the bottom of my list of things to worry about. 

[katilac]

 

  My grill loving step-father, who doesn't seem to give a hoot about health did switch to a gas grill and he also says to avoid the carbonized parts of what was cooked on the grill. He cuts off all black parts.   

 

I'm not sure that switching to gas is a big plus - anything you can smell is a strong pollutant. 

 

Also, why grill if you cut off the yummy, yummy black parts?? That's our favorite bits. 

 

I understand why people like to grill and avoid heating up their kitchens, but what's the attraction to sitting around a fire in 90 degree weather???   

 

S'mores.

 

S'mores are the attraction. Also hot dogs on a stick, but mostly s'mores. 

[Susan C.]

I thought all charcoal is made from wood? How is what you get at the health food store any different from what you get at the supermarket? I know it looks different, but charcoal is made from wood.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal

 

So, I don't think you have stopped using charcoal.

 

I personally wouldn't grill that often with charcoal, but we aren't ones to ever grill, so it's not a big deal to say that, lol.  My grill loving step-father, who doesn't seem to give a hoot about health did switch to a gas grill and he also says to avoid the carbonized parts of what was cooked on the grill. He cuts off all black parts.  That said, my mom has had cancer and while he doesn't seem to care about his own health he watches over hers like a mother hen, lol.

 

OK, it is called charcoal. In my mind, charcoal is the black pieces. Our's says "100% natural wood charcoal" and it looks like wood (not black). And we don't use lighter fluid.

 

[redsquirrel]

I'm not sure that switching to gas is a big plus - anything you can smell is a strong pollutant. 

 

Also, why grill if you cut off the yummy, yummy black parts?? That's our favorite bits. 

 

 

S'mores.

 

S'mores are the attraction. Also hot dogs on a stick, but mostly s'mores. 

 

Those are the bits with the carcinogens, delicious, delicious carcinogens.  You can tell they are carcinogenic because they taste good

 

[snickerplum]

We do not use lighter fluid.

I'll just tell concerned people that charcoal is more Paleo than gas. No one disses Paleo. :-)

[Laura Corin]

OK, it is called charcoal. In my mind, charcoal is the black pieces. Our's says "100% natural wood charcoal" and it looks like wood (not black). And we don't use lighter fluid.

 

 

So charcoal rather than briquettes?  Husband prefers charcoal, but only because he likes the way it cooks.  I don't think there's much of a health difference, is there?  Isn't it all carbon?  And if the briquettes are made out of coal, then that's wood/carbon too, isn't it?  

 

We don't use lighter fluid either.

[Bluegoat]

I thought all charcoal is made from wood? How is what you get at the health food store any different from what you get at the supermarket? I know it looks different, but charcoal is made from wood.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal

 

So, I don't think you have stopped using charcoal.

 

I personally wouldn't grill that often with charcoal, but we aren't ones to ever grill, so it's not a big deal to say that, lol.  My grill loving step-father, who doesn't seem to give a hoot about health did switch to a gas grill and he also says to avoid the carbonized parts of what was cooked on the grill. He cuts off all black parts.  That said, my mom has had cancer and while he doesn't seem to care about his own health he watches over hers like a mother hen, lol.

 

A lot of charcoal briquettes are made from coal dust I think, not wood at all.  You can also make real charcoal out of other things than wood though - i manage to make it in my oven from time to time.

[PrincessMommy]

Very much at the bottom of my list of things to worry about. 

 

mine too.

 

[gardenmom5]

the carcinogens add lots of flavor.  I much prefer charcoal.

 

I have a texas BBQ book.  it gives lots of tips for doing texas bbq - one of the priceless responses was how to do texas bbq with a gas grill.   'don't bother'.

[Word Nerd]

Very much at the bottom of my list of things to worry about.

It doesn't even appear on mine.

[redsquirrel]

A lot of charcoal briquettes are made from coal dust I think, not wood at all.  You can also make real charcoal out of other things than wood though - i manage to make it in my oven from time to time.

 

According to the wiki briquettes are made of compressed sawdust and then burned to charcoal etc.

 

It isn't safe to cook food on coal that you get from the ground. Coal is like solid motor oil, it is fossilized plant material, it is a mineral. You wouldn't cook your food on petroleum gasoline because it would taste nasty and it would be toxic to eat the fumes that were stuck to your food. Coal is the same thing

 

Charcoal isn't a type of coal.  I know it is confusing because the words are so, so similar and they both burn, but we don't cook our food on actual coal.

 

I mean, maybe it has been done, but I can't imagine anyone did it out anything other than desperation. Coal is smokey and dusty and its smoke leaves yucky black powder all over everything. That is why it went out of fashion as a house warming fuel as soon as something else could be found.

[Guest]

We don't use lighter fluid, either. Tinder, oxygen control, patience, meat!

[Bluegoat]

According to the wiki briquettes are made of compressed sawdust and then burned to charcoal etc.

 

It isn't safe to cook food on coal that you get from the ground. Coal is like solid motor oil, it is fossilized plant material, it is a mineral. You wouldn't cook your food on petroleum gasoline because it would taste nasty and it would be toxic to eat the fumes that were stuck to your food. Coal is the same thing

 

Charcoal isn't a type of coal.  I know it is confusing because the words are so, so similar and they both burn, but we don't cook our food on actual coal.

 

I mean, maybe it has been done, but I can't imagine anyone did it out anything other than desperation. Coal is smokey and dusty and its smoke leaves yucky black powder all over everything. That is why it went out of fashion as a house warming fuel as soon as something else could be found.

 

Hmm.  Wikipedia says it is made from coal dust.  Which does sound awful but might account for people not wanting to use it.

 

The charcoal briquette, made commercially using mostly compressed coal dust, was first invented and patented by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania in 1897^[5] and was produced by the Zwoyer Fuel Company. The process was further popularized by Henry Ford, who used wood and sawdust byproducts from automobile fabrication as a feedstock. Ford Charcoal went on to become the Kingsford Company.

[mathwonk]

when our smoke alarm started going off in the house i started cooking virtually all our meals on the charcoal grill outdoors, summer, fall, spring and winter.  that was what, 20 years ago?  I have a friend who freaks out about carcinogens, but I am healthier than he is.  I did get one melanoma but I doubt that was from eating charcoal grilled food.  Besides I am over "3 score and 10" so I should be dead anyway.  I think I got more carcinogens in the air in Atlanta all those years.  In short, I wouldn't worry about it.  My friend claimed I wasn't cleaning my grill often enough, so next time i invited him over i bought a brand new grill just for him, and served him from it first time i used it.  I suspect being that frightened of your food is worse for your health than charcoal grilled food.  Relax and enjoy. 

 

(I do not use starter fluid, but a "chimney" started with paper.  I learned this when my neighbor told me he could smell the fumes from the starter fluid.  I also tried hard to position the grill so the smoke went down the driveway away from any neighbor's house, but wind is changeable and tricky.  Now I live on an isolated 5 acres and no one can smell anything.)

 

As to the choice between a huge $1200 gas grill and a small manageable $100 charcoal grill that makes food that tastes better, I don't have a big problem there.  I do prefer briquettes myself because they all burn completely down to ash, but I also keep hardwood charcoal for my purist friends who like it.  The difference is it heats up faster to a hotter temperature, and burns away quicker, and costs more.  So you might use it for steaks or something that you want to sear.  But for chicken and pork you want a slower fire and briquettes are easier to manage that with. 

 

But i just try to keep everyone happy.  The point is to enjoy the experience.  I know people who are really skilled grillers, who will only use hardwood charcoal, and even one who brings his own wood in his suitcase when invited, to give the fish or chicken a special flavor.  When my son turned 30 I flew in the king of these experts from Boston to Atlanta to give son the best possible grilling experience.  We had three grills going and it went off rather well as I recall.  When I left Cambridge Mass for Washington state in 1970 I also gave a huge grilling party, for all the hippies in the square, the mathematicians at Brandeis, and the meat luggers I worked with in "Southie".  The expert I flew in for my son's bday was one of the principal cooks at that one too.  All he needs to put on a majestic occasion is a trench that he digs with a stick, some wood, and a makeshift grill improvised from an old refrigerator shelf.  We had a 20-30 foot trench at the big event in 1970.

 

And now I am reminded it is time to start the grill for the chicken thighs.

[peachskittles]

Kingsford ingredients

Kingsford sends a form letter in response to consumers' questions about the ingredients.  According to the form letter sent in August, 2000, Kingsford contains the following ingredients:

• wood char
• mineral char
• mineral carbon
• limestone
• starch
• borax
• sodium nitrate
• sawdust

Purpose of ingredients

There so many ingredients because the addition of each requires another to offset its negative affect.  For example, in order to make the briquets easier to light, sodium nitrate is added.  But then limestone is added so that, when the briquettes get started, they have the typical light-ash color.

Here are the purposes for each of the ingredients:

• wood char:  for heat
• mineral char:  also for heat
• mineral carbon:  also for heat
• limestone:  for the light-ash color
• starch:  to bind the other ingredients
• borax:  press release
• sodium nitrate:  to speed the ignition
• sawdust:  to speed the ignition

http://old.cbbqa.org/wood/Kingsford.html

[gardenmom5]

Speaking from a neighbor's point of view, yes!  

 

People who love their charcoal grills should be sure to position them right by their own house/windows so that they can keep that wonderful smoke all to themselves.   Why put the grill on the side of your house right by the fence so that all the smoke goes over into the neighbors' yard and windows instead? 

 

(I know this post is about food safety and not air quality.   Still, I wish people would consider their neighbors when they're pouring on the lighter fluid.  We have to close all our windows around the time that the neighbors usually eat because of the stink.   At least we can open our windows after their dinner...unfortunately then we sometimes have to deal with the other polluters in the neighborhood who come out on a hot summer night to enjoy their fire pits!  I understand why people like to grill and avoid heating up their kitchens, but what's the attraction to sitting around a fire in 90 degree weather???  Sometimes it's so bad that we can't even have our windows open for hours because it's like living near a forest fire.  This year has been especially bad, and I'm really tempted to put a smoke detector out on our porch...if we have to smell their smoke they can listen to our alarm.)

 

"Hot town, summer in the city..."  :rant:  

 

or you could go over and say since the grill is going full steam, do they mind if you throw your slab of beast on too?  get to know your neighbors.

[Annie G]

The Big Green Egg Organic lump charcoal has no added ingredients- just wood. There's a generic version of it available at places like Home Depot. Several places sell lump charcoal that has no added ingredients.   My dad and relatives wouldn't dream of using anything else. 

 

I use a good quality charcoal and no lighter fluid but honestly I'm pretty sure I do other things that are more dangerous to my health than grilling meat.  

*benandjerryshabit*

[LucyStoner]

I will happily die a day or three sooner to not have to grill on gas or cut off the lack parts of my grilled meat. I'm eating red meat 1/2 the time I am BBQing anyway. The red meat is the riskier choice. By far.

[redsquirrel]

Hmm.  Wikipedia says it is made from coal dust.  Which does sound awful but might account for people not wanting to use it.

 

The charcoal briquette, made commercially using mostly compressed coal dust, was first invented and patented by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania in 1897^[5] and was produced by the Zwoyer Fuel Company. The process was further popularized by Henry Ford, who used wood and sawdust byproducts from automobile fabrication as a feedstock. Ford Charcoal went on to become the Kingsford Company.

 

Interesting.  It looks like it might have some coal dust in it to make it burn hotter. But it is not lumps of coal

 

From the wiki I linked to above:

 

Commercial charcoal is found in either lump, briquette, or extruded forms:

• Lump charcoal is made directly from hardwood material and usually produces far less ash than briquettes.

• Pillow shaped briquettes are made by compressing charcoal, typically made from sawdust and other wood by-products, with a binder and other additives. The binder is usually starch. Some briquettes may also include brown coal (heat source), mineral carbon (heat source), borax, sodium nitrate (ignition aid), limestone (ash-whitening agent), raw sawdust (ignition aid), and other additives.
• Hexagonal sawdust briquette charcoal are made by compressing sawdust without binders or additives. Hexagonal Sawdust Briquette Charcoal is the preferred charcoal in countries like Taiwan, Korea, Middle East, Greece. It has a round hole through the center, with a hexagonal intersection. Mainly for barbeque uses as it does not emit odor, no smoke, little ash, high heat, and long burning hours (exceeding 4 hours).
• Extruded charcoal is made by extruding either raw ground wood or carbonized wood into logs without the use of a binder. The heat and pressure of the extruding process hold the charcoal together. If the extrusion is made from raw wood material, the extruded logs are then subsequently carbonized.^[14]
• Japanese charcoal removes pyroligneous acid during the charcoal making. Therefore when burning, there are almost no stimulating smells or smoke. The charcoal of Japan is classified into three kinds.
  • White charcoal (BinchÅtan) is very hard and has a metallic sound.
  • Black charcoal
  • Ogatan is made from hardened sawdust. It is most often used in Izakaya or Yakiniku restaurants.

The characteristics of charcoal products (lump, briquette, or extruded forms) vary widely from product to product. Thus it is a common misconception to stereotype any kind of charcoal, saying which burns hotter or longer etc.^[15]