Briquette or Natural Lump Charcoal

[bob1961]

i use one of those starters with just newspaper balled under it to start the royle oak lump, in bout 15 minutes it's has the whole pile going when i dump it in the rest of the lump.......bob

....

 

[harleysmoker]

I was using a newspaper with a chimney for awhile and the damn ash blows all over, into the garage, in the yard (fire hazard).

I seen these Weber lighter cubes at Home Depot, around $3.50 for a pack of 24. I normally light 2 on the charcoal grate, spaced a couple inches apart and set the chimney on top of them and in no time it is ready to dump.

If I am not in a big hurry, 1 cube will get the job done.

And no black newspaper ash blowing back in my garage and yard! They work great and package says odorless so not like using lighter fluid. 

 

[deanoaz]

I don't know if this made a difference, but it is a thought.  I have used newspaper most of the time, but being the cheapo that I am (my smoker is the ECB), I decided to tear up the bags the charcoal chunks came in, sprayed with vegetable spray, to light the chimney.  I didn't seem to have as much ash left as as newspapers.  I'll have to watch it next time to see if any blows around (I was busy putting together a Mac & Cheese recipe).

 

[venture]

For reasons of economy, in my offset, I often start with 2/3 chimney of briquettes.  This will bring the unit up to heat, allow me to clean the grates, and bring the unit up to heat again.  I take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours in this process and the briquettes are nearly exhausted.  Then a switch to lump and add the meat to finish the smoke with lump only. In an emergency, I will smoke with briquettes, but I much prefer the lump.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[goat largon]

I use these firestarters to get my charcoal going.  It takes just 1 if it's not windy using my chimney starter.  They're made of 100% biomass with no chemicals and do a fabulous job.  They also are like $6 for a bag of 72!

http://www.ifyoucare.com/product/fsc-certified-firelighters-fsc-c005046

I've always used kingsford briquettes but I think I'm going to switch to lump when I run out.

 

[skull fish]

To get errr started! lump for sure.. black and white news paper if you can get it, almost every page in mine has color. splash of veg oil, Lump starts fast, no issue. 

Stubbs  briquettes for the long haul, with added lump and wood. For god sake, no starter logs, or lighter fluids,dollar store briquettes,  Whats in that stuff? do you know, cause they ain't listing the bad crap! Trust me,,,,, I bought the cheep, cheep briquettes, and it ruined my 12 hour smoke. yuk! 

 

[prefix6]

To echo the opinions of others, you can't go wrong with Royal Oak Lump.  Gets hotter, faster, than anything I've used.  It's very affordable, even though you use a higher % of charcoal per bag than with Briquettes.

 

[thsmormonsmokes]

If you've got a gas grill nearby, I discovered that my chimney sits nicely on the side burner.  So I fill it full of my fuel of choice, start the side burner, and it gets it ripping hot in no time.  This works like a charm with briquettes, lump, sticks, chunks, or any combination of the above.

FAA004B3-0109-4707-9984-BDEE67A67BE4-7714-00000C4D

• thsmormonsmokes
• Oct 19, 2012

You just have to make sure you don't forget and let it run away on you, because it will burn it so hot that your chimney can start glowing.  

Don't ask how I know that.