Making Charcoal
Earlier this week I finally got around to making my very own charcoal. And, it was SO easy! Anyone can do it!
Items needed:
Tin can (can be a coffee can, canned food can, etc. - I used an old 15oz bean can)
Shears or something to cut the sticks down to size
Tin foil
Heat source (fire pit, fire place, charcoal grill)
First: Find some sticks of wood. Since this was my first time trying this I didn’t look for any particular wood. Also, here in Indiana the weather has been extremely cold and snowy so I just venturing in my backyard. I grabbed some sticks that were already dead and some that were green/alive. Doesn’t matter! I will give you more ideas on types of wood at the end.
Second: Cut them down to the height of your can and place them inside. I tried to line the outer wall with the thicker pieces of wood and kept the thinner pieces in the middle for more even cooking. I didn’t pack this tight as you can see.
Third: Place tin foil over top tightly and poke a small hole in the top. Some folks have used old paint cans as well and you can use the lid too, just make sure there is a small hole.
Fourth: Get your heat source prepared! I used my charcoal grill. One the coals are ready, just plop the can right on top. I put the cover to my grill on it as well. I set a timer for 20 min so I could rotate the can.
Fifth: After the 20 min was up, I went out and rotated the can 180 degrees. As you can see it has some nice smoking coming out of the top which is perfect!
Sixth: After about 40 min, it was done. Once smoke stops coming out of the hole on the top of the can, you can remove. I used tongs and placed mine on my porch to cool down. Thankfully it’s cold here so it didn’t take too long.
I pulled the sticks out and tested a few pieces. I found that sticks that were already dried out/dead prior were very much like “willow” charcoal without being willow branches. The ones that were more green/alive were a bit harder to work with but all I needed to do was sand them down a bit with my sandpaper stump. I know that some of my pieces were oak and some were not based on the trees/shrubbery in my backyard.
quick avocado sketch with the homemade charcoal
In conclusion…
I definitely want to try this again! I’d love to go to my local park a block away and gather sticks from different trees and see how they all compared…of course once it gets a bit warmer outside :)
The timing of cooking will vary a bit based on your heat source. For me it only took 40 min which I was surprised by. If you remove the foil/top and realize it may not be all the way done, throw it back on.
Types of wood: Although you can use any wood, ideally certain types of wood will work better in your favor like: Willow, Oak, Alder, Hawthorn and Maple to name a few.
Give it a try and let me know how yours turn out! Happy sketching!