How to make a charbecue
Sharon Stevens in conversation with Dennis Enright
What could be better than a summer barbie with family, friends, and neighbours?
To Dennis Enright, the answer is obvious: switch out the barbecue for a charbecue. “It’s a lot of fun.”
You’ll still cook up your kai, and you’ll also make biochar (see sidebar). You’ll enjoy the usual social benefits, plus you’ll have a ready-made conversation starter. “By themselves charbecues are small potatoes, but they’re a great way to connect people to issues,” he says – issues like soil regeneration and carbon sequestration.
The whole charbecue whānau. Clockwise from left: Dennis’s DIY cone charbecue, supported by a separate stand, a standard-sized kettle charbecue, and a tabletop kettle charbecue in the front.
Photo: Dennis Enright
From barbecue to charbecue
A charbecue differs from a barbecue by inhibiting the flow of air through fuel. When barbecuing, you burn charcoal in the presence of oxygen and get ash; when charbecuing, you heat wood, burning off its volatile components. Biochar’s the result.
