Picnic Hardwood Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: February, 2004 Date Of Latest Update: January, 2008 Purchased From: Donated by PackServ, manufacturer and distributor. Date Purchased: February, 2004 Price: $4.27 Weight: 6.6 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: South American hardwoods, primarily Quebracho Rojo, Quebracho Blanco and Guayacan Strange Material?: None. Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None. Smell: See commentary below. Country of Origin: Argentina 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 suppose the when some of you see that the name of this charcoal is "Picnic", you may think that this stuff isn't serious charcoal for the serious cooker. We have to admit, we wondered just a little ourselves. But then we opened the bags and found a very good charcoal. As you can see from the photos below, when we opened up two bags and dumped them out side by side, there appeared to be a good distribution of sizes. When we sorted the lump, we were very pleased to find no huge logs and no small pieces. Again, look at the photos below and you will find that there was almost no dust and just a few small chips in the bottom of the bag. The two bags were virtually all medium-large and medium-small pieces. This is as close to 100% usable charcoal as we have seen in a lump charcoal. The charcoal is a blend of South American hardwoods, primarily Quebracho Rojo, Quebracho Blanco and Guayacan. Here is a link to some information about at least one species of Guayacan, also known as Soap Bush. Here is a link to some information about Quebracho also known as ax wood. We don't know which is which looking at the pieces of charcoal, but some pieces were very dense while others were less dense. Lighting this charcoal was a bit harder than normal. It took 4 sheets of newpaper in our chimney starter test. This is to be expected with denser woods. The fixed carbon content of this charcoal as measured by Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services is 74.7%. How does it burn? It burns a relatively short amount of time compared to other charcoals we have tested. As for ash production, it was about average compared to other charcoals we have tested. As for smoke/smell, the charcoal burns with a very pleasant mild smoke, about as mild as we have tested. Of course, this is a big plus for those who don't like a lot of smoke flavor when cooking with charcoal and it allows the cook to control the smoke by adding smoking woods as they see fit. At this time, people in Texas can find this charcoal at Brookshire Brothers, Brookshire Grocery and Food Town. In Houston, it can be found at Rice Epicurean. It also is available in some places in Florida. We give this charcoal our Above Average rating. Update: We have received a number of reports that the quality if this charcoal has gone downhill a bit as far as the size of the pieces of charcoal you get in the bag. Apparently the amount of chips and dust has gone way up. 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 None. Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "Great Taste of Natural Lump Charcoal", "No Chemicals Added", "Lights Faster, Burns Longer", "The Preferred Grilling Choice!", "Made from 100% Natural Wood", "Carbon Vegetal" "Why is Picnic® Hardwood Charcoal the preferred grilling choice? Great Taste of Natural Lump Charcoal Light Faster and Burns Hotter Contains No Chemicals or Additives Made from 100% Natural Wood" "Benefits and Grilling Tips Quick lighting Picnic Hardwood Charcoal allows for a fire that is ready to cook in 10-15 minutes time. Burns cleaner, longer and hotter than regular charcoal briquets. A hotter fire quickly sears the meat, locking in the juices and flavor. With no chemical additives, your food is left with the taste that only 100% Natural Wood Charcoal can provide. Marinate meat for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator before cooking. Never reuse marinade for basting purposes. Lightly apply oil to cold grill to help prevent food from sticking. Watch meat closely and adjust cooking time to avoid burning or overcooking." "Safety Instructions Always store in dry area or container. Barbecue away from flammable items, overhangs, and trees. Make sure grill is on a flat, level surface. Never barbecue indoors. Never add lighter fluid after starting a fire. Never use gasoline to light a fire. Make sure ashes are completely cooled before discarding. Keep away from children." Lighting Instructions Easy Lighting Instructions: With Lighter Fluid Arrange Picnic Hardwood Charcoal in a pile in the center of your charcoal grill. Allow enough charcoal so that when spread it will cover your cooking surface. Sprinkle charcoal with Picnic Ligher Fluid; allowing thirty seconds to one minute for the fluid to soak in. Do not saturate with lighter fluid as you would regular charcoal briquets. Light Picnic Hardwood Charcoal in several places. Charcoal should ash over in approximately 10-15 minutes. once charcoal ashes over spread charcoal evenly over grill and begin cooking. Keep It Natural Open air vents on grill. Place crumbled or twisted newpaper on bottom of grill. Fill with Picnic Hardwood Charcoal and light paper. onces coals ash over, spread evenly over grill and begin cooking. If using a chimney starter, fill and light according to manufacturer's instructions. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of two bags, dumped out side by side. Here are some of the larger pieces. Here are the contents of the bag sorted in large, medium, small, too small and chips/dust. And as you can see, there are only large and medium. No small pieces. And here is the sum total of the chips and dust from the box. I'd guage it to be about 2 tablespoons. Other Photos This is how the charcoal was shipped to us: well packed and padded. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information Packaging Service Co., Inc. Pearland, Texas  77581 281-485-1457 www.packserv.com sales@packserv.com