Lump Charcoal vs Briquettes and variations in brands
I've been experimenting with BBQ on a variety of smokers for the past few years.
Originally I tried some Kingsford Briquettes and had a hard time managing the temperature. There was an excessive amount of ash generated that seemed to choke out the fire. I did a little research and found that clay is added to briquettes to give them their shape, and this was likely the cause of all the ash.
Since then (until recently), I've used lump charcoal and have been fairly happy with the results.
This summer I mistakenly purchased another bag of briquettes - Stubbs brand - and I've been using that ever since. This charcoal seems to burn hotter and longer than the lump and without the excessive amount of ash I found when using the Kingsford.
Have others experienced this as well?
- Do briquetes burn hotter and longer (in general) than lump?
- Is Kingford a very "ashy" charcoal or maybe did I just get a bad bag?
Best Answer
When you're talking about briquettes, much of the "ash" you're talking about is actually clay and binders to hold the briquette together. That also tends to mean a cooler burning form of charcoal.
Overall, charcoal is made by taking wood (or a few other materials, but usually hardwood) and heating it to burning temperatures without enough oxygen for it to actually burn. The result is something that burns more cleanly and steadily than the original wood, which burns a fairly volatile way until it gets down to coal. That means that charcoal sort of "skips" the volatile burn and gets right to the steady cooking burn.
Briquettes are lots of little bits of charcoal, bound together with those binding materials into the little forms in the bag. Lump charcoal is just chunks of wood that go through the process and come out the other end still sort of resembling the piece of wood that went in.
Lump charcoal burns much hotter than briquettes and, since there are no binders or fillers, very little is left behind when you're done. However, it tends to burn out faster too, meaning for a long fire (like for slow smoking pork), you'll need to refill with lump charcoal more often than for briquettes.
Kingsford (which dominates at least the US market) is a company that comes directly from when Henry Ford really came up with the process for making charcoal. For most of that time, they've pretty much stuck to the same form factor with the binders, and focused on adding things like a few shavings of mesquite or pre-soaking them with petroleum-based lighter fluids.
However, recently, they've introduced a "competition" briquette that is actually much closer in how it burns to lump charcoal and has fewer of the binders in it. While I generally prefer to use lump charcoal, I wasn't nearly as disappointed when I tried these new briquettes.
Pictures about "Lump Charcoal vs Briquettes and variations in brands"
Does lump charcoal brand matter?
Lump charcoal is the way to go if you like quality smoked meats or hot fires. Choose brands that use sustainable methods, have big pieces, and are consistent from top to bottom of the bag. Lump charcoal works with any type of grill, and it lights quickly, so you can start grilling or smoking in about 7 to 10 minutes.What are the different brands of charcoal?
- Weber Grill Lighter Cubes.
- Weber Rapidfire Chimney Charcoal Starter.
- Rockwood All-Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal.
- Royal Oak Lump Charcoal.
- Jealous Devil All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal.
- Kingsford Original Charcoal Briquettes.
- Royal Oak Premium Hardwood Charcoal Briquettes.
Is there a difference with charcoal brands?
There are many different types of charcoal to choose from, and your decision could affect the taste of your food. The best charcoal for the average backyard barbecue fan is Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes. It burns hotter and longer than most other charcoal, and doesn't leave much ash behind.Which is better lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes?
Beyond that, lump charcoal has a lot of attractive qualities; it lights faster, burns hotter, and leaves very little ash compared to briquettes. Lump charcoal is also more responsive to oxygen, making it easier to control the fire's temperature if your grill has adjustable air vents.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Skitterphoto, Milan, Ruslan Rozanov, Dexter Fernandes