[flyingbassman5]

I use briquettes mostly because I like the uniform shape. It takes less work to just dump them into the charcoal basket vs having to hand pack each piece of lump into it. The brand I have stuck with through thick and thin is Stubb's. No nasty chemicals. Its 95% char wood and 5% vegetable binder. Is it a little more expensive than most briquettes? Yes but its no where near the high dollar price of "premium" lump. If I had to pick a lump to smoke with though, it would be Ozark Oak

Since lump burns hotter though, I do like to grill with it when I can't find a good deal on the double bag bundle of Kingsford. Usually for grilling I just use Royal Oak or Frontier.