I have been using the Fatwood Fire Starter sticks from B&B Charcoal and I am pleasantly surprised with how well they work and how much I like the product.
Let’s take a closer look at what these things actually are, what you get with the B&B product and how to use them properly.
By the way, this article is NOT sponsored, I just wanted to share my thoughts on a great product.
What is a Fatwood Fire Starter?
A fatwood fire starter is an all natural product made from the stumps of pine trees. The pine tress stumps are absolutely loaded with naturally occurring resin that is extremely flammable.
The resin loaded pine tree stumps get cut into smaller sticks and are then packaged for resale.
There are lots of companies that sell fatwood starters and, to the best that I can tell, the only difference between the brands is that marketing and how much product comes in each package.
To use a fatwood starter you need to arrange your charcoal or dried wood so it is directly over the starter while ensuring there is sufficient airflow to allow the starter to burn hot. Light the starter with a match or lighter. The fatwood will quickly ignite, burn hot and get your primary fuel to start burning.
An extremely nice feature about fatwood is that it is naturally waterproof and will work just fine if it gets wet. The product also has an indefinite shelf life so you can throw the box in with your grilling supplies and grab some out whenever you need some.
Review of the B&B All Natural Fatwood Fire Starter
I really like B&B charcoal briquettes so using the B&B Fatwood Fire Starter to get the briquettes lit seemed like an obvious choice to try.
I love the strong pine aroma you get when the box is opened! It almost smells like you have stepped into a forest 🙂
The instructions on the box say to use two sticks to light your charcoal but I found that I could just cut one stick into two pieces and it worked just fine.
You get about 20 fatwood sticks per 1 liter box so this box will last me for about 20 smoking sessions.
How Do They Work?
I loaded the charcoal ring of my 18 inch Weber Smokey Mountain with B&B briquettes and placed two pieces of fatwood on the outside edge of the charcoal grate. I used a lighter to get the fatwood lit and it ignited quickly.
I was surprised that the fatwood gave off a pungent black smoke as it burned. I have done some research and found that the black smoke is a common feature of all fatwood starters.
The fatwood did a great job of lighting the charcoal but you want to make sure that the fatwood has burned to completion before you place the body and lid onto the Weber Smokey Mountain as you do not want to season the inside of the cooker with the pungent back smoke.
I have found that it typically takes about 20 minutes for the fatwood to burn to completion and to have cleaner smoke being produced by the charcoal.
Should You Buy the B&B Fatwood Starters?
The B&B product works great for me and I plan on using them for the foreseeable future.
Like I mentioned earlier, there are several companies that sell this product so the only real difference is in marketing.
I think B&B has done a nice job in their marketing as the focus on the fact that their product is produced from reclaimed pine tress which means that they do not cut any living trees for their fatwood production.
Additionally, B&B is committed to the 3TreePledge which is a Central American initiate requiring that three trees be planted for every tree that is harvested. That is the sort of thing that I can get behind.