Lump or Briquettes?

[jmoney7269]

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.

Whole heartedly +1
I feel unburned briquettes give kind of a off flavor tha I don't care for, really noticeable in kingsford blue. With my vault preheated I can cook 8 hrs @300-325 and still have a little left over. Don't ever put my briskets on before 6 am and they are always done before noon. I have found the 10 lb bags of lump to be better than the 20 lb bags which get slung around and have lots of fines in them.

[Deeg]

I am in no way an expert and I've never used briquettes so tread lightly. :) I would think that any smoker where the temperature is controlled via the flow of oxygen (e.g. UDS) could use lump or briquettes with equal heat results. The amount of heat generated corresponds directly with the number of O2 molecules converted to CO2 during the burning process. In a high-oxygen environment lump should be slightly hotter because it can burn faster (because it doesn't have filler), which uses more oxygen. However, in a low-oxygen environment like a UDS I would expect pretty much all the oxygen to be used regardless of lump or briquettes.

[Smoothsmoke]

Lump not burning evenly is a myth to me. In my WSM's or kamado's it burns even and steady all day.

[Snuzem]

Freddy,
Your exactly right, I'm fine with the way lump burns in the BGE, but thinking about trying some briquettes in my Backwoods

[Big George's BBQ]

I use whicked good lump in my Egg and get really long burns and good flavor. You can now order through ACE Hardware and they will deliver to your store

[ButtBurner]

Originally Posted by Big George's BBQ

I use whicked good lump in my Egg and get really long burns and good flavor. You can now order through ACE Hardware and they will deliver to your store

no, you cant. they stopped carrying it online

[Gnaws on Pigs]

For high-temp grilling, when I'm lighting all my coal before cooking, I use briquettes. When I'm slow smoking, I want nothing to do with briquettes, I use lump. Briquettes contain coal dust and all kinds of other nasty crap, and the smoke coming off of them is acrid and smells and tastes like s**t. Until briquettes are fully lit and ashed over, you get the acrid, nasty flavor from them. Lump is pure wood, and has no nasty flavor when burning, it smells and tastes like wood. About 3# of lump will give me 10-12 hours of cooking time in my Akorn when partially lit.

[cricky101]

Originally Posted by wormraper

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

I keep both on hand for the same purposes.

[Daggs]

I thought briquettes were just for starting the lump...
I'm only serious

[Freddy j]

Originally Posted by Snuzem

Freddy,
Your exactly right, I'm fine with the way lump burns in the BGE, but thinking about trying some briquettes in my Backwoods

Ok cool. I'm with smooth smoke on the "not burning evenly" debate. I've joy used lump in my PBC (when I had it) and wsm 22 & mini and always get a good burn, consistent temp and great flavor.

Not sure why others get un even temp with lump, it's all about air flow control.

[Freddy j]

Originally Posted by Snuzem

Freddy,
Your exactly right, I'm fine with the way lump burns in the BGE, but thinking about trying some briquettes in my Backwoods

Ok cool. I'm with smooth smoke on the "not burning evenly" debate. I've joy used lump in my PBC (when I had it) and wsm and always get a good burn, consistent temp and great flavor.

Not sure why others get n-even temp with lump, it's all about air flow control.

[DriverWild]

I only burn lump in my BGE, other cookers I sometimes use briquettes. The reason I won't us it is the amount of ash it produces and can fill in places that you wouldn't want filled in for air flow on the BGE. Also, I don't want to risk binder resin to embed into my ceramic pores and become a permanent fixture if you know what I mean. Just like you never want to use lighter fluid.

[Bludawg]

Dirty Smoke, More ash, Lower heat. The self proclaimed expert was probably sponsored by Kingsford . Switching from lump to briquettes is like trading in 2 20 yr old po0n Kittens for and 88 yr old Granny.

[Untraceable]

I think reverse flow verticals are more susceptible to the funky smoke from kbb because it doesn't just vent out like a more tradition design. Lump was a huge change in my bws but the odd sizes make my cooker way less stabile than kbb. I've found humphreys natural briquettes on firecrafts website with free shipping on 100 dollar orders. Going to give them a try next week

[Peter B]

I find that most briquettes imbue an unpleasant odor/flavor that a good lump like royal oak does not. There is less ash with lump as well.