Nature's Own Basque Hardwood Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: August, 2002 Date Of Latest Update: January, 2008 Purchased From: People's Woods Date Purchased: July, 2002 Price: $13.00 Weight: 17.6 Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Maple, Birch Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: Small amount of tongue and groove, sawn pieces. Smell: Nice smokey smell, more than BGE, less than Maple Leaf Country of Origin: Canada 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 NOTE: This charcoal is no longer carried by People's Woods. You may find it in food service packaging (17.6 lbs/8 Kg) through small to midsize distributors on the east coast in cities like Boston and New York. Look for it in Massachussetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. It is also available in large cities in eastern Canada. We have been informed by Basque Charcoal that they will be pursuing greater distribution in the United States. We always seem to start off each review by telling you how anxious we were to review this brand. I guess we are just eager beavers, but yes, we were anxious to review this brand becuase he had bought a bag before that was very disappointing. It was 90% small chips. Virtually useless in a cooker that relies on a grate to keep the charcoal up off the bottom to allow for airflow. So, what did find in this bag? We were a lot happier with this bag. As you can see from the photos, there are lots of nice sized pieces and basically we got about what we would expect from a good quality charcoal. It lights easily, burns hot and has a nice smokey smell. The smell is stronger than BGE lump, but less than Maple Leaf. We'll leave it up to your individual taste (or smell) as to where this fits in the spectrum. Although People's Woods (who no longer carries this product, incidentally) made a big thing about this being 100% natural charcoal with no scrap wood in it, in actuality you will find a small amount of scrap wood in this charcoal. The manufacturer, Basques Charcoal, was kind enough to explain to us that a small amount of scrap wood is used to start the fire for the charcoal-making process. The wood which is converted to charcoal is too large to easily start the fire. The amount of scrap is minimal, however. This charcoal gets our Recommended 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 None. Statements From The Bag "Made in Canada by Produits Forestiers Basques inc. for Nature's Own", "Quebec Maple Hardwood" "Helpful Hints 1. Do not use damp charcoal. Store in dry place. 2. Barbecue grill should have proper ventilation = oxygen helps ignition. 3. Place some charcoal pieces in closed places as fridges, boxes, etc. to avoid odors. Charcoal is a good absorbent conditioner." Lighting Instructions "Instructions 1. Do not use a barbecue grill too small. 2. Place small crumpled balls of newspaper and/or twig kindly at the bottom of the grill. 3. Pile charwood over in pyramid form. 4. Light newspaper in several places and leave until charcoal is red hot. 5. Adjust grill height to suitable temperature zone or heat required. 6. Add some charcoal from time to time in order to extend cooking duration and to get better food taste. 7. When using electric starter, place single layer of charcoal in barbecue grill. Place electric starter on top of charcoal, add more charcoal on top of starter to form a pile and allow sufficient time to start the charcoal. 8. When using solid type fuel, arrange cubes near bottom of pile, use 5 to 6 cubes arranged in different positions around the pile. 9. Caution: Charcoal is faster for cooking goods than briquets. 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. Scrap lumber, tongue and groove! Saw marks! Other Photos None. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information This charcoal is no longer carried by People's Woods. You may find it in food service packaging (17.6 lbs/8 Kg) through small to midsize distributors on the east coast in cities like Boston and New York. Look for it in Massachussetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. It is also available in large cities in eastern Canada. We have been informed by Basque Charcoal that they will be pursuing greater distribution in the United States. Basques Charcoal 121, Ste-Luce, P.Q. G0K 1P0, Canada Telephone: 418-739-4894, x151 www.basquescharcoal.com