LUMP CHARCOAL VS BRIQUETTS

[Hawging It]

Greetings fellow smokers! Hope you had a chance to get out and smoke something this weekend. I sure did! I am curious about lump charcoal. I have never used it but it seems popular. I have always used briquetts as my primary heat source with different woods added. Does lump maintain heat? What about taste? Would you also add your favorite wood with the lump? Any information would be much appreciated. If I decide to try lump it will be on a 36" Bayou Classic. Thanks everyone!

 

[JC in GB]

I use a combination of lump and wood in my smoker. I think briquettes leave a distinct taste. Not that it is a bad flavor. Some say that briquettes burn hotter and are more easily regulated than lump charcoal. I can't speak from experience but that makes sense to me because of their composition and uniformity. My go to brand of lump charcoal is Cowboy. Seems to work well for me and gives a nice flavor to the meat.

 

[Hawging It]

I use a combination of lump and wood in my smoker. I think briquettes leave a distinct taste. Not that it is a bad flavor. Some say that briquettes burn hotter and are more easily regulated than lump charcoal. I can't speak from experience but that makes sense to me because of their composition and uniformity. My go to brand of lump charcoal is Cowboy. Seems to work well for me and gives a nice flavor to the meat.

Thanks!

 

[gmc2003]

Lump in my limited experience burns allot hotter and the temps can get away from you if your not careful. Mostly because of the irregular shapes of lump allowing for more airflow. Briquettes because of their uniform shape burn more evenly and last longer. The off-taste of briquettes quickly diminishes once they have settled in. Also you have to be careful with which brand of lump you buy. I've read some bags of lump may contain metal or other foreign matter that doesn't bode well in a smoker.

Chris

 

[Hawging It]

Lump in my limited experience burns allot hotter and the temps can get away from you if your not careful. Mostly because of the irregular shapes of lump allowing for more airflow. Briquettes because of their uniform shape burn more evenly and last longer. The off-taste of briquettes quickly diminishes once they have settled in. Also you have to be careful with which brand of lump you buy. I've read some bags of lump may contain metal or other foreign matter that doesn't bode well in a smoker.

Chris

Thank you

 

[Bigtank]

From my experience lump burns hotter and faster, briquettes seem to burn slower and more even. jmho

 

[bluewhisper]

Yes, the lump comes in pieces of varying size and shape. Sometimes you want big ones, sometimes little ones. Its startup is far cleaner than briquettes, and it mixes well with smoking wood chunks.

 

[uncle eddie]

From my experience lump burns hotter and faster, briquettes seem to burn slower and more even. jmho

I agree with this ^^^.

I use an ancient heavy-as-a-tank Brinkman grill for my high heat smokes. I usually start with charcoal and, if needed, I will add lumps later on. I do not like the flavor of adding new charcoal to an existing fire/smoke.

Sometimes I will do an all lump smoke in the heavy-as-a-tank Brinkman (because I forgot to buy more charcoal). I have to watch the vents much closer to maintain the heat I want or the fire will get way too hot and very quickly.

 

[noboundaries]

Generally lump burns hotter due to physics. It exposes greater surface area of the fuel to available heat and air. Briquettes settle together more tightly.

And then you get a bag that has HUGE pieces in it. I had one piece of mesquite lump that lasted through two full loads of briquettes (see below).

I took a pic of the two largest mesquite pieces in my last bag of lump as they laid in a HD bucket. The bigger one was quite heavy, probably 5-7 lbs of a 40 lb bag of Lazzari mesquite lump. It lasted through several high temp and low temp smokes.

 

[Hawging It]

Generally lump burns hotter due to physics. It exposes greater surface area of the fuel to available heat and air. Briquettes settle together more tightly.

And then you get a bag that has HUGE pieces in it. I had one piece of mesquite lump that lasted through two full loads of briquettes (see below).

I took a pic of the two largest mesquite pieces in my last bag of lump as they laid in a HD bucket. The bigger one was quite heavy, probably 5-7 lbs of a 40 lb bag of Lazzari mesquite lump. It lasted through several high temp and low temp smokes.

View attachment 385572

View attachment 385573

Dang that is a huge piece. I am going to give the lump a shot very soon. Just want to use something different than charcoal as a heat source. Have a god one!

 

[bbqbrett]

I have used both but prefer briquettes for consistency. I have used wood chunks with both as well though and got good results.

 

[bluewhisper]

And Hawg, just to say, that's a handsome rig you have there. You could do a lot with that.

 

[Baconyoulikeapig]

I think briquettes work better for low and slow cooking methods.

When I need hot n fast cooking on the Weber Kettle I throw on some lump, but depending how I'm feeling I may also start a nice bed of briquettes and toss a couple chunks of lump on top for better searing.

 

[DustyJoe84]

Not to hijack this thread, but is it necessary to add wood to the lump to get smoke? Or can you smoke with lump only and replenish as needed as it burns down?

 

[Hawging It]

Not to hijack this thread, but is it necessary to add wood to the lump to get smoke? Or can you smoke with lump only and replenish as needed as it burns down?

That is a good question. Hopefully, someone will respond. I am curious as well.

 

[bluewhisper]

Lump by itself does not give much flavor smoke, mix it with splits or chunks.

 

[noboundaries]

Lump that is thoroughly carbonized will give zero flavor. RO lump usually fits that description. Mesquite lump ALWAYS has partially carbonized chunks and will give a slight flavor, but no where near the flavor of unburned mesquite.

My wife and I are mesquite fans, but the trick to enjoying it is to use half as much as you would other woods for flavor.

 

[Hawging It]

Lump that is thoroughly carbonized will give zero flavor. RO lump usually fits that description. Mesquite lump ALWAYS has partially carbonized chunks and will give a slight flavor, but no where near the flavor of unburned mesquite.

My wife and I are mesquite fans, but the trick to enjoying it is to use half as much as you would other woods for flavor.

No Mesquite in Mississippi but I have used some in the past and liked it. Thanks for the info.

 

[motolife313]

How about just use all wood? That’s what I do. Oak wood burns really hot if you need more heat. I never had any kind of charcoal or briquettes in my smoker. I even start it with wood

 

[indaswamp]

Little history for ya...
Kingsford Briquettes were created by Ford to utilize all the scrap wood from model A production. Sodium nitrite is added to the briquettes and this is the reason why you get a big thick smoke ring when using Kingsford briquettes.

You can check the ingredients list, it is there.....