ProFagus

Origin and background

ProFagus is a German manufacturer from Bodenfelde, Lower Saxony, that has been making barbecue briquettes since 1933. It's one of the historic names in European charcoal, with almost a century of industrial track record and a clear specialisation in beech, the noble wood of Germany's great forests.

Its barbecue range is sold under the "Grillis" name — briquettes made from PEFC-certified European beech, pressed with no chemical binders. On Amazon Spain, however, only the small 2.5 kg format arrives; the large 10 kg sack remains all but exclusive to the German market.

What sets it apart

A binder-free pressed-beech briquette is a fuel aimed at anyone who wants a clean, long, steady-temperature ember bed. The PEFC certification points to sustainable forestry, an increasingly relevant argument in barbecue charcoal. With no chemical binders, it avoids the smoke and odours that cheaper briquettes of doubtful origin give off.

Our assessment

At mikamado we added ProFagus to the catalogue because it's a European briquette from a historic maker with clear traceability — a profile that's in short supply. Based on the specifications, the brand's standing within the community and our own cooking on our Big Green Egg Large, a dense, binder-free briquette is a solid ally for holding steady temperatures in ceramic over long cooks.

The honest caveat: the 2.5 kg format is limiting for a kamado on long sessions — it runs short and forces you to buy several packs — so in Spain it works better for the occasional grill than for smoke marathons. If ProFagus brought its 10 kg sack here, the equation would change.

Who it's for

For anyone after a certified beech briquette, chemical-free and from a brand with history, for mid-sized grills or to sample ProFagus quality. For low-and-slow marathons on a big kamado, the 2.5 kg format available in Spain falls a little short.