charcoal v. lump coal

[jared]

what is the differece between charcoal and lump coal? Does lump choal burn hotter and work better than coal? I seems that everybody in this forum recommends using lump coal, while charcoal creates too much ash. Being a rookie I have used charcoal, but I start using lump coal. What will happen if you use lump coal that is oak, while using another wood like hickory to smoke? Any recommendations welcomed.

[3 Dogs BBQ]

Jared,

I used charcoal briquettes when I started cooking as well. Mostly because I did not know about lump charcoal. The first time I used lump was at my first competition and I did well. The main reason I changed was because I didn't like the smell or flavor produced by adding new briquettes to my fire when the fire went down. At that time I was using a brinkmann smoke n' Grill and a Brinkmann Smoke n' Pit.

I now use WSMs and a full ring of lump will last as long as I need it. I have consistently had burn times in excess of 12 hours.

I feel that the lump is a cleaner burning fuel. There is no funny smell or flavor produced when adding new lump to the fire.

Having said that, I think that investing in a bag of Royal Oak, which is usually readily available, and cooking your favorite meat would be a good experiment. Then you can make an informed choice.

Good Luck!!
_________________
Enjoy,

Dan
3 Dogs BBQ

WSM x 2
Weber One-Touch Silver x 1
Brinkmann Pitmaster x 1
Brinkmann Smoke'n Grill x 1
Charbroil Gasser x 1
Stoker x 1

[Mark H]

I have used lump charcoal in my Weber grill for at least the last 30 years, so when I started BBQ there was really no transition.

Lump charcoal lights fast, burns hot, burns clean, and only flavors the food with natural wood flavors.
There are no fillers, binders, is no coal dust, sawdust, or fly ash added. I can't imagine using anything else.

I usually use a base of lump charcoal for heat, with mesquite or hickory chunks for smoke flavor. Lump also makes a good base of coals for cooking with wood in an offset. Here is where the ash problem with briquettes comes in. If you use briquettes as a base, they produce this fluffy white ash that chokes the supply of oxygen to the fire. This ash also tends to fly into the meat. While lump produces ash, it's more of a heavy mineral like substance, not this fluffy white crap.

As has been said, it certainly is your decision. I really think you should try a bag though, even if you have to order some on-line. Try it yourself to see what all the fuss is about.
Mark H

[bigabyte]

I'm mostly a lump guy, except for in my WSM. I use long burning briquettes in my WSM. I do think the briquettes have an off smell, but have not noticed a difference in the taste of my food. I find lump a little too wild for the WSM, I prefer to just fire it up with briquettes and set it and forget it like you're suppsoed to with those things.

Now for my offsets however, only lump will do. Briquettes have too much ash, and the amount of fuel I go through in the offsets mean ash accumulation is a major factor. The lump also burns hotter meaning I get more heat in the offset with lump than with the briquettes.

That's how I do it. May not be applicable in all states or local jurisdications. Results may vary.
_________________
--Chris Baker
--Mad BBQ Scientist
--When my lab fills with smoke, that means it's working!

[Jason_Florida]

Ever since I got my chimney starter, the only thing I use is lump or actual wood. Before I got the chimney starter I mostly used Matchlight charcoal. I experimented with lump a few times, but had trouble getting it to stay lit.

[DaHorns]

Here is a couple facts about lump that I found for ya.....

PRODUCT ADVANTAGES:
- No other Charcoal burns CLEANER, HOTTER, AND LONGER, than B&B Oak and Mesquite Lump Charcoal.

- There are NO Chemical Additives or Fillers, just 100% PURE Oak and Mesquite Lump Charcoal! Making any food more flavorful and palatable.

- Because it burns Hotter and Longer, it sears meat quicker locking in the natural flavor with the added bonus of saving you both time and money.

www.bbcharcoal.com -I bought some of thier stuff a month ago and was very happy with it. They also ship almost anywhere.....
_________________
Slow and low is the way to go......
Yellow Dog Barbecue Team

[adolpho]

Like Wooodoggy, I use lump in my offsets (B & B Oak, Viva Pancho Mesquite & Royal Oak). B & B and Viva Pancho have some big chunks and work great in the offsets because it seems like your sometimes putting in mini preburned logs (yes they're that big). I also like the thin smoke that lump produces, so you add less chunks or logs to the box.
In my verticals, I'll use Royal oak or briquettes since they're not too large. I've noticed that briquettes are easier to stablelize the temp and the way the WSM is designed, the ashes never really choke off the air supply. If there ever is a build up, I stick a skewer in the dampers and the ashes fall out that are right near by, but that only happens on really long smoke sessions (15 hours+).
I taste very little difference between lump and briquettes, but sometimes that little bit is enough to kick the taste buds into high gear.
_________________
"Tag line? We don't need no stinkin' tag line!"

[loveQ]

Hi,

Lump Charcoal are just natural Charcoal with varying qualities between products,

Charcoal(Briquettes) are Charcoal with binder and with/without other additives/chemicals depending on what products u are using. The binder also varies.

Generally, Lump Charcoal lights easier but it is because of the lesser density. There are really high quality Lump Charcoal that can as hard or even harder to light than the usual Briquettes but these are rare to find.

Charcoal Briquettes, those commonly available in the market are generally quite bad products, due to the different additives and poor quality of their Briquettes. This had made a bad name for Charcoal Briquettes.

However I have used really high quality Natural Charcoal Briquettes in Thailand which I will rather use anytime than most Lump Charcoal.

[adolpho]

[Top Gun]

Jered... Love Q "hit the nail on the head".

Charcoal has COAL in it, among other things. That is one of the reasons it leaves so much ash.

Lump is charred wood, period, if you good stuff. If you have a smoker, strongly urge you to learn to use lump.

If you have a Weber Kettle (like I did for a long time) you almost gotta use charcoal. And I've done some mighty fine pulled pork that way! And, the WSM is designed/set up for charcoal... so use charcoal.

As good as my Weber Kettle was, my Brinkman SNP with Alien's mods and B & B lump (Oak) beats it hands down for taste!

Now that I have learned a few things... Mesquite lump is GREAT for steaks on the Weber... burns REAL hot for searing purposes!

My $.02 worth.

Jim

[loveQ]

hi guys, nice to meet you guys.

From what I know, there are few kinds of Briquettes,

But most Briquettes uses coals, and chemicals to aid the burning, binding and etc. Thus when these stuff burns, it might be harmful. And some have undesirable smell.

Another factor is the poor quality Charcoal/Coal which these poor quality Briquettes uses, which does not burns clean enough.

When I say "bad product", I mean various factors which includes:
- heat produced
- whether it burns cleanly
- how it burns
- ashes
and etc, and it varies from product to product.

However THERE IS still quality natural Briquettes you can find, that does not have these additives and are very good to use too. I uses these Briquettes most of the time too and I enjoy using them.

I see that many people refers to Charcoal Briquettes as Charcoal. Note that what you normally uses such as Kingsfords etc are actually called Charcoal Briquettes, and Lump Charcoal are Irregular Shaped Natural Charcoal.

Charcoal I think it can means both Briquettes and Lump Charcoal, just my opinion

[loveQ]

[adolpho]

[loveQ]

dear aldopho,

I will like to explain when I say "Bad product" I meant various factors such as,

- heat produced
- whether it burns cleanly(without odor, virtually without smoke etc)
- how it burns
- ashes
- how long it burns and etc

Whether when the chemical burns be it harmful or not, if I have a choice to use a Natural Briquettes/Lump Charcoal and a Briquettes which contains coals and chemicals which gives off smells(some products are more obvious than others), I WOULD Rather use the quality Natural Briquette. It is a preferential thing, like you said.

I think if you have the chance to use really high quality Charcoal products, you will see the difference.

One of the difference between quality Charcoal and poor quality Charcoal that might affect health is the volatile matter content, which is higher in poor quality Charcoal.

The reason I say "...Charcoal Briquettes, those commonly available in the market are generally quite bad products, due to the different additives and poor quality of their Briquettes. This had made a bad name for Charcoal Briquettes...",

did you notice how many people are starting to dislike Briquettes and stereotyping Briquettes products due to its bad qualities such as ash, heat level and also its ingredient. However, there are products out there which are very good in quality, less ash, higher heat, longer lasting, and only uses Charcoal in their ingredient. It is quite wrong to stereotype Briquettes or any type of Charcoal as what many are doing.

This is what I was trying to say.

[adolpho]

Thanks for the explanation!
I use both and prefer lump, but I feel my only problem with briquettes is ash build-up. I mainly use Kingsford or Sam's choice briquettes. Would they be considered bad briquettes? They have an off order when lighting, but then it goes away.
_________________
"Tag line? We don't need no stinkin' tag line!"

[loveQ]

Hi aldopho,

I have not used Sams choice briquettes thus I do not know their quality. However I only tried Kingsford a few times and I never used it again. Because of the ash, burning time and etc compared to other products . I don't like it, adding the fact about its composition.

Like you said, it can be up to individual preferences too.

I am not a Charcoal nor a BBQ expert, but I am lucky to have tried many products from different places because Charcoal is one of the products my company deals with.

[1MoreFord]

Here's a suggestion.

Google the charcoal Brand for an MSDS.

I.E. Kingsford Charcoal MSDS. Then take a look for yourself.

http://www.thecloroxcompany.com/products/msds/index.html#Charcoal%20Products

Not all of them may be available but most of the big names will be.

[adolpho]

1MoreFord, that's what I wanted to see. I googled Royal Oak's briquettes, too. In both cases, it seems the main hazard is dust (basically ashes). Sam's Choice didn't come up. Dust can come from anywhere, including charcoal. I can now see how people with severe allergies shouldn't risk exposure to briquettes, nor should they be a carpenter.
Now to be fair, I googled lump charcoal, and guess what? They have they same hazard, dust exposure.
Here's the link: http://www.martinpreferredfoods.com/images/lump%20charcoal.pdf

The single use BBQ bag is a different story.
"Solvents similar to those contained in this product have caused adverse kidney effects in male rats after prolonged and repeated inhalation exposure. Reports have associated repeated and prolonged occupational exposure to solvents with permanent brain and nervous system damage." from http://www.thecloroxcompany.com/products/msds/index.html#Charcoal%20Products
I'm glad I have never used them.
_________________
"Tag line? We don't need no stinkin' tag line!"

[Harry Nutczak]

I have read or seen on a TV news show that did a chemical analysis of briquettes from a major manufacturer, and they found actual anthracite coal in the mix.

Do you want to be cooking foods for up to 24 hours with a not-so-clean burning petroleum based product
??

I have been using lump since the first time I have ever seen it, (1984) I was cooking bratwursts at the Milwaukee art museum "Art in the park" festival.

we got it in 50 pound bags. for about $8-10 each. it is just a far superior product if it is made in the USA, keep an eye out on point of origin for royal oak lately, and many others. nakedwhiz is a rel good source for ratings on lump.

[adolpho]