charcoal briquettes vs lump charcoal

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austin buckeye

Smoke Blower
Original poster
May 29, 2014
102
33
Austin TX
Question. ....

I plan on smoking brisket with oak splits. Is it a waste of money to start the fire using lump charcoal and then adding the splits or should using briquettes to start the fire be the way to go? Does it even matter even though lump charcoal is a few dollars more per bag than briquettes?

What do the veteran smokers use to initially start the fires?
 
I don't think it matters. I use briqs to start my offset most of the time, but when I have lump, I use it instead. It's just a matter of preference... and availability. 
icon_biggrin.gif
 
You can get a really good value on briquettes, especially during summer holiday sales (Memorial Day, J4).  Briquettes also burn longer than lump, so I prefer them actually.  But I only use them to start my fires.  I'll start with a full chimney of briquettes and then just add splits from there.  And then of course I do a lot of grilling with them.  I know briquettes get a bad rap on here because of ash deposits and filler products, but really the main filler is just starch to bind the briquet together which is just made of coal and charred wood.
 
You can get a really good value on briquettes, especially during summer holiday sales (Memorial Day, J4).  Briquettes also burn longer than lump, so I prefer them actually.  But I only use them to start my fires.  I'll start with a full chimney of briquettes and then just add splits from there.  And then of course I do a lot of grilling with them.  I know briquettes get a bad rap on here because of ash deposits and filler products, but really the main filler is just starch to bind the briquet together which is just made of coal and charred wood.

nice. Thanks
 
I'll echo the above. To start a fire in our Lang, I usually start with a chimney of cheap briquettes and stack wood on top. I would use lump in a pinch, but for the purposes of a fire starter, cheaper is better, until you get to dried dung.
 
I'll echo the above. To start a fire in our Lang, I usually start with a chimney of cheap briquettes and stack wood on top. I would use lump in a pinch, but for the purposes of a fire starter, cheaper is better, until you get to dried dung.

Thanks. I will go with the briquettes
 
Last edited:
Thanks. I will go with the briquettes
Austin Buckeye,

What sort of smoker are you running? If you are running a vertical smoker I wouldn't start it with briquettes... I'm on board with the "cow dung" line of thinking.

If you are using a smoker with easy access to the firebox/pan/basket, then I guess you could start it with anything you like. 
 
Austin Buckeye,

What sort of smoker are you running? If you are running a vertical smoker I wouldn't start it with briquettes... I'm on board with the "cow dung" line of thinking.

If you are using a smoker with easy access to the firebox/pan/basket, then I guess you could start it with anything you like. 

old country Pecos horizontal offset
 
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