Bois de vache instead of briquettes

[Oregon Bill]

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Del, anyone: It was probably a little tough to find bags of briquettes at a rural Texas mercanitle circa 1868. Has anyone worked with dutch oven cookery using cow or buffalo chips? Seems like it would be particularly satisfying to bring off a nice cobbler using "wood of the cow" ...

[Delmonico]

I never use briquettes, or rather I have just a couple times, I use the embers of a woodfire.

I was going to do a cow chip demo one time, but made a call first to a fella I kinda know at UNL, a fella shooter and a Dr. in Animal Sciences.  He said no, the risk today around food from the BIG E, as in coli, makes it a risk that should not be taken.

[Goatlips]

Dang!  Guess I gotta powerwash my kettle grille and go buy some briquettes.... 

Goatlips

[Delmonico]

Well as someone who had the big E back afore it got so popular, I can tell you two things, one you don't want it.   And two, "always drink up-stream from the herd" is very good advice.

Modern Charcoal Briquttes came out in the early 1920's and the original company "Kingsford" is or was a part of Ford Motor Company.  Cars of that vintage have the bodies made of a frame of ash wood with the steel pannels nailed on.  Henry hated to waste anything and his scientist's developed these by grinding the wood into sawdust and charring them, starch is used to hold them together.

The "natural charcoal" or "cowboy charcoal" that is now the rage among grillers is  just chunks of wood carred into charcoal and it is a period product.  It was often used by blacksmith's in area's where good coal was scarce because it is easy to make if there is good hardwood near by.

[Just George]

I seem to notice a bit of difference between natural charcoal and the cowboy charcoal.  The natural charcoal is somewhat larger than CB charcoal.  At least in the bags I buy it in.  I get the natural stuff from Home Depot.  It's made by Kingsford and works very well for smoking and grilling.  Somewhat to large for dutch ovens cooking.  The cowboy stuff I get from the local feed store.  Much smaller and works great under and atop the oven.  It burns fast, so you have to watch it more.  Remember, the made charcoal in the mid 1880's and it was used mostly at home, and on the trail when heading into woodless areas such at the desert.

[Delmonico]

It might be a differance in size, but it just fire wood that has been charred, nobody wants to try and provide me charcoal for a 3 day event that might use 10-15 dutch ovens a meal.   I don't have much trouble getting wood.

BTW you can make it at home, get a 55 gallon drum with a lid that bolts down with a band.  build a iron stand and fill the barrel up with the desired amount of hardwood.  Seal up the drum, wut leave a 1/2 in hole and build a fire under the drum.  when the smoke comes out the hole, try to light it till it lights.  When the fire in top goes out, drop a 1/2' bolt in the hole and put a hunk of wet clay on top.  This will keep the air out and keep the wood from burning up.  Put out the fire and wait till the drum is cool to the toch, you have natural charcoal. 

This is just a larger scale version of makin' charr cloth fer yer flint and steel.

[Just George]

Hey!  That sounds like fun.  I wish I had the time to try making my own.  When it comes to charcoal, is hard wood better than soft?  I know here in the desert they used mostly pinion pine from the higher elevations.  Most of the charcoal they made here went to the smelting ovens for the gold and silver mines. Thanks for the "how to" on making charcoal.

[Delmonico]

The harder the wood the denser the carbon (charcoal)