Yakitori Charcoal Insights: Charblox Ultra Premium Charcoal Part 2 - Final Grill Test and Conclusion

This is part 2 of the Charblox Test and Review. In this video, I'm doing additional grilling tests to see if I can get more of the distinct smoke flavors favorable in Yakitori using Charblox charcoal.

In the search for the accessible Binchotan alternative for Yakitori so far we've tested Thaan, Lump, and Briquette charcoals. Today we're testing out another Ogatan style charcoal called Charblox.

This is part of the ongoing series where I share insights of cooking Yakitori with charcoal, for example, the distinct smoke flavor you want in Yakitori is not that of smoked wood such as mesquite, applewood, cherry etc, but from the vaporized chicken fats. Something that true odorless charcoals like Binchotan can provide. I'm testing out the Charblox to see if these flavors are achieved, as well as see how hot it gets, how prone it can be to flareups, and how long the charcoal lasts in the grill.

Part 2: More grilling test, longevity and final conclusions

Disclaimer:
I purchased the Charblox charcoal from Amazon to make an honest review for the Yakigang community.
I am not paid by Charblox for this video nor for any sales of their products. All thoughts, opinions, and demonstrations stated or shown in this video are my own.

Support this channel:
If you're enjoying the tutorials so far and interested in a way to support this channel, I have a page where you can donate some chickens! Thanks!

To purchase Yakitori equipment such as skewers, charcoal, knives, grills, and even seasonings on my Amazon shop.

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Note:
There are many ways to make Yakitori and the methods are slightly different depending on the region or traditions passed down the shops in Japan. This video shows the methods based on what I learned from Yakitori masters in Japan and the US. Combining those learnings, I've adapted the steps and put together the easiest or tastiest method for me, which I hope works for you too!

[mazyforwarded]

Thanks for making these comparison videos! Prior to finding your channel, I only know lumpwood and briquettes type of charcoals. You've made many of us google binchotan and actually tried it to see, smell, and taste the differences. How a humble chicken would taste differently with different charcoals and it's just as how you would describe it in your videos. 5 months on, with your guidance, I learned that yakitori is more than just grilled chicken, and charcoals aren't just charcoals. Excited to learn more the @Yakitoriguy. Here for the long haul!

[KFlyguy]

I make my own charcoal. I mainly use Osage Orange, it is absolutely the hardest and most dense wood other than desert wood. My point is Osage Orange charcoal could give the high end charcoal a serious run for the money! It burns so hot people that use wood stoves are very careful how much they put in at a time! The stove will turn red with heat! I enjoy your content, well done video! Thank you for sharing your passion!

[CH-ebny]

Having watched both videos, I think the target market for this briquette is more aimed at replacing Kingsford-style briquettes. If you're coming from pillow briquettes that produce ~20% ash, these may seem great, but compared to binchotan and ogatan at 2~3% ash, it looks very ashy. And the more ash one is dealing with, the more risk of incomplete combustion causing flareups and bad smoke. 

Fundamentally, there's nothing one can do about relatively high ash content, except bury it under better charcoal. If though one is looking to keep costs at around $3/lb for charcoal (versus binchotan at $6/lb and up), having to buy binchotan to avoid the ash problems is going to put it well over the price of just using Thaan charcoal or other good kiln-fired briquettes in my opinion.

[science]

I would love if you tested out Blazing Coco Charcoal Logs. I'm doing Indonesian sate.

[liamdavitt]

Is the smoke more important before or after dipping a skewer in tare?

[CameronCold]

How would you compare this to pok pok thaan?

[chuk]

Now I know why one skewer of yakitori costs around 4.50 euro in a Japanese restaurant= THE BINCHOTAN or other expensive TAN~S!

[Biggisaljouj]

I love your passion, respect and dedication. I am an avid griller and you inspire me to continue learning. I can’t wait to see you with millions of subscribers, to meet you in person one day and grill with one another! Much love from Canada!

[oferjakov]

You have a great channel, thank you for those videos :-) The dilema is quite big, i'm ordering Binchotan and love how it works in my small Shichirin, but the cost is huge and it's always about 50% more then quoted, when adding the shipping costs to my country. Pondering what to do, don't like what i see here and in the Thaan video regarding ash, hope to find in your future videos something that will hit the "sweet spot" of cost/effective.. Thanks !

[Kimo]

Thanks for continuing to test out these different alternatives to binchotan charcoal. Instead of having to buy and test them myself I have found these test very helpful.