Lump or Briquettes?

[Snuzem]

I've been cooking only with lump in my BGE and Backwoods Smoker and have never tried using briquettes. However, I read on a BBQ website that briquettes burn more evenly since they are more uniformly shaped than the irregular lump.
What differences have y'all noticed? Also,if you like briquettes, which brand do you use?
Thanks

[morgaj1]

When I'm doing doing long cooks from 275*-325*F in my Akorn, I use briquettes. They burn longer and more evenly, IMO. I prefer the hardwood briquettes and my favorite is Royal Oak Chef's Select. If you have a Do-It-Best Hardware store nearby, you can order them online and have them shipped to the store for free:

http://www.doitbest.com/Charcoal+and...sku-838136.dib

I've used Stubb's Briquettes and like them too.

[speers90]

I have been a lump only guy for everything except a stick burner, but I recently purchased a vertical cabinet smoker and I think I may be switching to briquettes because I am finding that the lump is burning to hot for me.

I will be trying the Royal Oak Chef's Select briquettes that I can get shipped free to a local Do-It-Best center for customer pick up.

http://www.doitbest.com/Charcoal+and...sku-838136.dib

[Ye Olde Party Palace]

I have tried both lump and briquettes, and I prefer lump. My reasoning is that lump gives me less ash, and a more consistent heat. When I have tried briquettes, the ash covered the briquettes and I ended up with less heat. With lump, I had a nice steady burn with a lot less ash.

[speers90]

Originally Posted by morgaj1

When I'm doing doing long cooks from 275*-325*F in my Akorn, I use briquettes. They burn longer and more evenly, IMO. I prefer the hardwood briquettes and my favorite is Royal Oak Chef's Select. If you have a Do-It-Best Hardware store nearby, you can order them online and have them shipped to the store for free:

http://www.doitbest.com/Charcoal+and...sku-838136.dib

I've used Stubb's Briquettes and like them too.

You beat me to it!

[gettinbasted]

Originally Posted by Ye Olde Party Palace

I have tried both lump and briquettes, and I prefer lump. My reasoning is that lump gives me less ash, and a more consistent heat. When I have tried briquettes, the ash covered the briquettes and I ended up with less heat. With lump, I had a nice steady burn with a lot less ash.

This. I have tried chef's select in my gravity fed smoker and I really wanted to like it, but there was so much ash. You just can't beat good old Ozark oak.

[SweetBlue]

Originally Posted by gettinbasted

This. I have tried chef's select in my gravity fed smoker and I really wanted to like it, but there was so much ash. You just can't beat good old Ozark oak.

I'm conveniently located in SW Mo so I have a steady source of this. It's at nearly every store and at really good prices. As far as ash - I'm with you there. The less work I have to do the better :)

With briquettes (and perhaps this is unfounded) I get slightly concerned with the chemicals.

[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.

[BB-Kuhn]

I like lump for grilling but low and slow? I don't see the point.

[tinman]

I am loving the burn I get from lump, but I don't like the smaller pieces towards the bottom of the bag. That last bit always gives me a high maintenance burn because it packs down so much in the charcoal basket of my UDS. The uniformity of the briquets is nice a predictable. I also get more temperature fluctuation in the UDS with lump when I have to open the lid.

[wormraper]

I prefer lump for grilling, but for smoking and long burns I prefer using briquettes.

[ErikH]

For long cooks, I prefer briquettes. I find I have to monkey around with the dampers less to get settled in to the temp I want. I usually use Royal Oak because it's readily available nearby. For grilling and shorter cooks,like ribs, I'll use lump.

[Shinka]

Commercial size briqs for me. They work best in a large unit.

[Instagator]

Hey

What brand do u guys prefer? Kings ford?

[Freddy j]

Originally Posted by Snuzem

I've been cooking only with lump in my BGE and Backwoods Smoker and have never tried using briquettes. However, I read on a BBQ website that briquettes burn more evenly since they are more uniformly shaped than the irregular lump.
What differences have y'all noticed? Also,if you like briquettes, which brand do you use?

I hate briq's for the reasons stated; are you considering them just for the bws?

You should be getting uniform temp with lump up the ying-yang on your eggs.