In the Charcoal Grills thread, @Tripolar and I are in a bit of a debate over whether lump charcoal or briquets are better for BBQing. Tripolar is in the lump charcoal camp, and I am partial to good quality briquets with real chunks of hardwood added.
So I’m curious-- I know there are a lot of dedicated BBQers, smokers and grillers here. I’m prepared to have my mind changed on this important matter. Please feel free to support your poll choice with any and all experiences, anecdotes, advice, etc.
Also, it’s just a perfect time of year for a BBQ thread
For simple grilling, good briquette charcoal. I will use lump if I need higher temperatures, but most direct grilling works fine over Kingsford (preferred brand).
For offset barbecue or smoking, generally briquette charcoal and the appropriate chunk smokewood.
It is only a bit of a debate. A debatelet at best. Lump has inconsistent quality and size. Hardwood briquets are rarer than other forms, made only of hardwood they burn hotter and impart better flavor. However, hotter burns aren’t what’s needed for slow smoking. I use real wood in addition to charcoal also. Wood works well initially in a smoke, and again at the end. Even harder to control in a long burn than charcoal.
I’m sure you and I have the same opinion of @CookingWithGas. Not the Doper specifically, I’m amusing myself by drawing him into this debatish subject.
The majority of briquettes are garbage and create an unnecessary massive ashy mess - I’d much rather grab a bag of Cowboy lump than Kingsford briquettes if im going to grill on a Weber.
But that’s a debate for grilling, not BBQ.
For BBQ, you need something that’s going to smoke, which is either hardwood or pellets, which is determined by your equipment. Most good quality offset smokers burn hardwood, and are probably going to produce better BBQ than my pellet PitBoss. But my PB is easier to manage, it can live on my porch, and takes up 1/3 the space. Really the biggest downside is the fact that the pellet reservoir makes it neatly impossible to swap between types of pellets between cooks.
I typically use lump charcoal. As mentioned above, Cowboy brand is probably the best I’ve found. If I’m just grilling, it’s lump charcoal with a few small pieces of wood tossed on for flavor.
If I’m going low-and-slow and/or smoking, I initially use lump charcoal to get the natural hardwood going, then it’s straight natural wood after that.
Yeah, I have to tend the grill a bit more than most folks would care to, but it’s my hobby, and my labor of love. I know the Mrs. appreciates the end product
I chose pellets, which I use for the smoker, but I use briquettes or lump for grilling. I used to be very fond of lump, but found (on my own and from reading) I get more predictable results from some brands of briquettes.
It depends on what I’m cooking. Lump charcoal for direct heat. Briquettes for indirect heat. Lump is hotter, but burns out fast. Briquettes last longer (though not as long as they used to).
As someone who grew up in the South, we need to make sure we all agree on what we mean by “BBQing”
For grilling in my Weber kettle grill I just use briquets.
For BBQing in my Weber Smokey Mountain I use a mix of briquets and real hardwood chunks (which is what I picked in the poll). Lately I’ve been using the dead branches I pruned from the oak tree in my backyard.
Good point! I am well aware of the difference. For the purpose of this thread I was going for cooking with wood-based fuels in general, but yes, grilling vs. true low & slow BBQ are two entirely different things, and I should have been more specific.
For BBQ, I use a mix of briquets and briquet-sized wood chunks (in about a 75% / 25% ratio, or maybe a little higher on the wood side) in my Weber Smoky Mountain bullet-style smoker. I burn the coals using the minion method (I also had great success BBQing an entire brisket in my Weber kettle grill using a snake ring method).
For quick grilling, let’s say steaks, I often use a combo of briquets and wood chips that I soak in water beforehand (yes, I know wet smoke is not the greatest, but the chips just burn up too quickly otherwise). I will also sometimes make a small separate hardwood fire and add the mostly spent wood embers to the coals on the grill. But I’m thinking, since a lot of posters are saying that lump burns hotter, I’ll switch to lump for quick, hot grilling, to get a better sear on my steaks.
Then there’s an in-between, with a hot coal side in my kettle grill (mix of briquets and dry wood chunks) and a cool side for indirect heat. This is good for say, chicken parts or whole chickens, or for medium-sized roasts-- get a good sear all over the meat on the hot side of the grill, then move to the cool side for a lowish & slowish finish.
I used to use nothing but lump charcoal and smoking wood in my Weber Smoky Mountain. Lump does burn faster, but I can finish a pork butt or a brisket with only one refill, typically at around the 5-hour mark.
Then somewhere years into my smoking, I decided to give briquettes a shot, and I haven’t looked back. I get probably about an extra two to three hours of burn for the same volume of charcoal, and I don’t notice a lick of difference in the taste or smell or anything. It’s a bit more predictable, I can pack it better in the ring. Hell, when I got married, we had a morning wedding followed by a luncheon. I threw a packer cut brisket on the smoker with as many briquettes as I could fit in there without choking the fire. I went off, got married, got home at about five pm for the afterparty and, to my great joy, the brisket cooked fine, completely unattended. There was still a little heat radiating from the smoker. A good time was had by all!
Since then, I stopped giving a shit about briquettes vs lump and mostly use briquettes (Royal Oak if I could get it).
Oh, and the briquettes are the plain kind. I don’t use the quick lighting ones.
If I’m just grilling burgers or hot dogs, briquettes work just fine for the purpose, but better cuts of meat and certainly BBQ demands a good hardwood for a nice smokey flavor and will add that in addition to briquettes.
I’m a lump guy through and through. I try briquettes every once in a while, those sales sure do tempt. But I’m always disappointed: too ashy but mostly it’s the lack of wood flavor & aroma.
I selected briquettes & wood, but really use all of the above depending on purpose. Start briquettes in chimney to set base for hard wood in offset firebox smoker (and to supplement on longer cooks like brisket), lump or briquettes in the kettle (prefer lump), pellets in the now seldom used RecTec smoker. Pellets are also useful for adding smoke to the propane grill using a metal cylinder.
I’ve been away so just saw this today. I’m not a BBQ expert. I use a gas grill not because it’s necessarily better, but for the convenience and expediency. I have sometimes soaked a couple of chunks of hardwood and put them on the burners to get some smoke but I have never gotten great results like that.
As for the OP, no idea which of those choices is best.
BTW not sure who @solost was wishing a happy birthday but I also celebrated mine on 4/30, along with Willie Nelson. Who is older than me.
I think it’s a slice of cake emoji on one’s Dopeaversary, and a whole cake with candles emoji on one’s birthday. Of which TriPolar had the latter that day.
