Charcoal Briquettes or Lump Charcoal

Fueling the Fire

Summer is here and many of us are heading out to the backyard and dusting off our charcoal grills.  Before you read any further, this isn’t an article about the difference between cooking with gas vs. cooking with charcoal. But, if you’re interested, check out my post about the pros and cons between using the two.

Cooking With Gas and Cooking With Charcoal

I’m also not going to discuss the differences between grilling and barbecuing, two words that are often used interchangeably.  In my opinion, true barbecuing is cooking “low and slow”—barbecuing from a low-heat smoke for a long period of time. But that’s also an article for another time.

What I really want to talk about is charcoal. More specifically, charcoal briquettes vs. lump charcoal.

Back in the day, my father always used charcoal briquettes, and for years and years I did the same. But about four years ago, my buddy—we call him BBQ Bob—convinced me to make the switch over to lump charcoal.

Until I researched to write this, I thought that lump charcoal was more gourmet because it was “all-natural.” Unfortunately, people don’t like briquette charcoal because each piece supposedly contains added toxins. But I learned that as long as you stay away from the self-igniting kind, you can avoid these harmful additives to enjoy the benefits of briquette charcoal.

So, since doing a little research, I’m back to my old fondness for briquette charcoal. But I’ll give you the information so you can decide for yourself.

What’s the Difference?

You’ve probably heard of Kingsford, a company that dominates the manufactured charcoal briquette market. Briquettes are produced by cutting scraps of wood into identical shapes and sizes.

These pieces are then tossed into a charcoal retort (a steel barrel oven) for roasting. The resulting char produced from the retort is mixed with other materials to create the charcoal. Briquettes are then shaped, packaged, and commercially sold.

Lump charcoal pieces are produced in the same way. However, they are sold purely as natural hardwood products without adding extra ingredients. Instead of being uniformly cut and molded, lump charcoal pieces vary in shape and size. As a result, many pieces of lump charcoal I pull from my bag must be more balanced and easier to grill consistently.

Starting

My word of caution: never use instant, self-igniting charcoal. The chemicals and additives in them will permeate the food, leaving you with a bad taste in your mouth.

I recommend against using lighter fluids which can cause flare-ups on the grill's surface. Although flare-ups are fun to look at, you should avoid them.

The best way to light either briquette or lump charcoal is to use a chimney fire starter that can be purchased at most hardware stores. Then, add some newspaper to a charcoal chimney, and you’re good to go—no nasty additives necessary!

Additives

Many people, myself included, hesitate to buy briquette charcoal because of the extra ingredients that manufacturers add to the individual pieces. Before doing my research, I avoided briquette charcoal because I thought it contained toxic waste products and unhealthy additives.

In truth, manufacturers add products that hold the charcoal together and enhance its combustibility on the grill. According to a press release from Kingsford, here is the list of extra ingredients added to their briquette charcoal:

Wood char: a wood by-product that is used as a heat source.

Mineral char: a form of coal also used as a heat source

Mineral carbon: an almost pure-carbon coal that helps heat up the briquette

Limestone: a sedimentary rock that makes the resultant briquette ash look nicer when it's released

Starch: holds the briquette together on the grill

Borax: in small quantities, it’s a non-toxic mineral that separates briquettes from their commercially made molds.

Sodium nitrate: used as a starter for briquettes

Sawdust: also a starter

According to the press release, none of these added ingredients will cause you any harm, but I would advise you to do your homework to determine if these "additives" suit you.

Heat and Burning Time

Because of the condensed and uniform size of briquettes, they often burn longer and more consistently than the uneven lump charcoal pieces. However, briquettes don’t burn as hot as lump charcoal, so some prefer the latter.

How hot charcoal burns doesn’t really matter, especially if you’re genuinely barbecuing and cooking on low heat for the long time required when barbecuing ribs or pork shoulder. But if you want to make something especially hot on the grill, why not add more briquettes or pile them up higher?

Most of my grilling these days uses a two-zone technique where I start on a very hot zone to get a sear and then finish on the cooler side of the grill with the cover on.

Cost

Lump charcoal is pricier than briquette charcoal—nearly twice the cost—but people tend to splurge on lump pieces because they are more efficient at producing heat. But, again, how hot you want the grill depends on what you’re cooking.

So, there you have it. I will relook at charcoal briquettes and see if there is any "funky" taste associated with them, but if you want to get your temps up on the grill, you may as well spend a few more bucks to get the lump variety.

That being said, you still want to check the ingredients list on any charcoal briquettes you purchase to ensure no nasty additives.

Need More Wood Flavor

I recently read in the New York Times that it’s worth buying oak, cherry, or hickory-flavored Hardwood chunks separately to get a nice wood-smoked flavor. Then, you can combine these chunks to either briquette or lump charcoal to add a more authentic smoky flavor to both.

onlinesources: Grills & Outdoor Cooking

There are many sources for purchasing top-of-the-line Grills, Barbecues & Outdoor Cooking Equipment.  I suggest you check out your local department stores and kitchen supply shops.