Northern Ireland has enjoyed some fine summer days in August, and many people will have been inspired to fire up the barbecue.
Chances to grill food outdoors can feel rare in this part of the world, so many people will undoubtedly have to head out to pick up some charcoals before they can begin cooking.
Prices for charcoal can vary quite a bit between brands and sellers.
At B&M in Galwally in south Belfast, you can find a pack of three 1kg bags of Instant Light Lumpwood Charcoal for £5. Across the road at Homebase, an 8kg bag of Bar-be-quick Lumpwood Charcoals will set you back £12.
Greater variety can be found at Tesco. I visited the Knocknagoney branch. Shoppers on a budget can buy a 3kg bag of Homefire Wood-free BBQ briquettes for £3.75, while those looking to buy in bulk can get an 8kg bag of briquettes from the same brand for £9.50.
If you’re more minded to go after quality than quantity, you can pay £8 for a 4kg of Homefire’s Restaurant Grade Charcoal.
Tesco has some of big-name brands in stock, including Weber. You can get four bags of its Instant Light Charcoal for £8. Weber Charcoals are also available at B&Q, with a 4kg bag of briquettes costing £10.
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Diall Charcoals are on sale there too, with a 5kg bag of Instant Lumpwood setting BBQ-ers back £7.
The Belfast Telegraph food critic and BBQ expert John Mulgrew says that choice is everything when it comes to BBQ fuels.
“Barbecue charcoal all looks fairly similar when it’s dunked out into your kettle grill, but the quality between one bag and another can be huge,” he says.
“You’ve two main options: lumpwood and briquettes. The former are essentially carbonised pieces of wood, whereas the briquettes are made up of compressed wood into a uniform piece.
“Lumpwood tends to be favoured by those after a searing heat, but also in terms of flavour, as well as the ability to pick larger pieces out for slow cooking and smaller ones for faster cooks.
“The downside is they aren’t uniform and can be harder to predict in terms of the heat generated, as well as how long they last.
“Briquettes offer you a more controlled burn, as they are all uniform in size. But here’s where you’ll get the greatest disparity in quality.
“I’ve bought a multitude of supermarket varieties over the years and they often struggle to get hot, and then have a short burn.
“With lumpwood, the cheaper and poorer versions usually mean small, flaky pieces. These will light quickly and burnt hot, but can be done and dusted in as little as 30 minutes. Buy bigger bags and stick to some of the good brands — Weber and Big K, for example.
“In terms of lumpwood, you’ll find large 12kg blue bags labelled as ‘restaurant’ charcoal, which have served me well. You’ll normally have large pieces within and smaller bits to get you going.
“Also, don’t pick up bags of ‘easy light’ charcoal. The coals tend to be tiny and last a very short time.”