# What charcoal/lump do you prefer?



## GonnaSmoke (Jan 28, 2021)

I've looked and did not find a thread specific to these questions, maybe I didn't look hard enough, but what do you prefer, lump or briquettes? Which brand? I saw these questions posted on a fishing forum that I frequent and since I'm a "newbie",  was curious as to what the gurus here think.

Personally, I'm a lump person and like Jealous Devil and Harder Charcoal. Royal Oak is a fallback as it's readily available. No briquettes for me whatsoever...


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## TNJAKE (Jan 28, 2021)

I use royal oak or b&b lump


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## SmokingUPnorth (Jan 28, 2021)

I use to use royal oak when I could get it, or embers. Lately I’ve been using GFS briquettes and it’s great for the price. Leaves a little more ash others but I don’t mind it. They make limo also but I haven’t tried it!


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## Sowsage (Jan 28, 2021)

Depends on the vessel.....i use lump in my UDS and Briquettes in my grill or weber kettle.


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## whistlepig (Jan 28, 2021)

I’ve tried Royal Oak and B & B lump. Recently got some B & B Char-Logs and like the the longer burn time of the Char-Logs


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## thirdeye (Jan 28, 2021)

Depends on the smoker/grill but B&B (original and mesquite), and Royal Oak for lump and Kingsford Long Burning for pucks.   Some bags of B&B will have big pieces and I like that for certain cooks.


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## yankee2bbq (Jan 28, 2021)

Briquettes and lump charcoal are two different animals. Lump charcoal burns hot. Fast. Briquettes charcoal burns not as hot and slow. 
Each are good. All depends what you are cooking. Lump charcoal I would use for grilling a steak, hamburgers, hot dogs...etc. Hot and fast.
Briquettes charcoal I would use it for pork butts, ribs, brisket..etc. Low and slow.


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## SmokinEdge (Jan 28, 2021)

B&B mesquite, Royal oak(always at my Walmart) and the Cowboy lump is good too.


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## jcam222 (Jan 28, 2021)

I only use B&B lump. I find it to be superior to anything else I’ve tried. I have never found any scrap in it. It burns hot and clean. I usually use the Oak lump but sometimes the hickory.


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## SlowmotionQue (Jan 28, 2021)

Jealous Devil.

Second to that Kamado Joe Big Block.

I've used B&B, FOGO, Royal Oak, Cowboy,   But Jealous Devil IMO tops them all.  Some by a long shot.

I don't burn briquettes at all and haven't now for a few years.


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## Weaversbbq (Jan 29, 2021)

Pancho villa Mesquite lump charcoal  if i need to . .


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## TuckersBarbeque (Jan 29, 2021)

Kingsford Briquettes, blue bag, for long cooks.  They are wicked cheap and available everywhere.  Most importantly, they burn low and slow and are so consistent that I can count the number I need to dial in a temperature with super reliability.  The problem with lump is that it burns really hot and fast, and due to the different densities and sizes, it isn't as consistent.  Also, Kingsford doesn't try to add flavor, and I like that.

I'll use lump for short barbeques like burgers, kabobs, chicken, etc...


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## Chasdev (Jan 29, 2021)

For lump I use Fogo and KJ jumbo lump.
For briquettes (burgers, steaks, spatchcocked birds) I use Kingsford Pro Comp. it's by far the best.
It burns very hot, lasts a long time, is re-usable and leaves very little ash.


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## Brewandque (Jan 29, 2021)

Kingsford for briquettes.
For lump I've only ever used RO but I picked up a bag of jealous devil this fall that I haven't broke into yet.  Then found my local Lowe's sells Komado Joe big block for $20 a bag so have some of that on deck too.


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## phatbac (Jan 29, 2021)

I pretty much stick to royal oak lump or briquettes unless the store is out of royal or there is a really good deal on another brand. there is some kiawae lump i would like to try just never gotten around to buying a bag

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)


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## Sowsage (Jan 29, 2021)

Not to derail the thread but has anyone played around with prime6 charcoal. Seems like intrsting product.


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## Chasdev (Jan 29, 2021)

Interesting...wonder how close it comes to Japanese  Binchotan Charcoal .
I would love to try some but it's way spendy for my purposes.
Anyone seen the show/s about how  Binchotan is made and used?
A piece of it broken in half looks like black glass, it's really out of this world.


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## TuckersBarbeque (Jan 29, 2021)

Sowsage said:


> Not to derail the thread but has anyone played around with prime6 charcoal. Seems like intrsting product.
> View attachment 482257


I've seen it, but can't wrap my head around the claims... 4 hours of consistent heat from a single "tube"?  1 lb of tubes = 3 lbs of charcoal?
They're pretty big!  I can see why a single piece lasts longer.... 

Definitely interesting, I'd like to see more "large charcoal", but at that price it seems more like the next fad that will die out.  At $50/22 lbs,  I can't imagine it taking off in the backyard.


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## Hamdrew (Feb 1, 2021)

kingsford original briquettes over here so while i can't help ya i am intigued.

i usually burn down some hickory in the chimney after i dump the first one (chimney), tho


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## JWFokker (Feb 12, 2021)

Sowsage said:


> Not to derail the thread but has anyone played around with prime6 charcoal. Seems like intrsting product.
> View attachment 482257


They're like heat beads. More dense than your average briquettes, burns longer but not as hot, needs to be started in a chimney starter. Also you have to break the sticks down into a proper size.


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## Smoking Allowed (Feb 13, 2021)

I'm not a briquette person, only use lump in my Weber kettle for steaks, burgers, etc. If I want a longer, slower cook, I'll use my offset stick burner.


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## nipster (Mar 12, 2021)

I want to try B&B, but the only places that sell it around here (Ace Hardware and Lowes) only sell the lump. I want to try the Briquettes, but can't get it without ordering it. 

I mostly use Royal Oak and have for years, but I want to see what the big deal is with B&B and want to give them a try...


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## Twomorestrokes (Jul 10, 2021)

Saw a bag of B&B at Ace earlier. I grabbed a bag of Blues Hog instead.  Huge chunks on top followed by mostly small pieces underneath. I've never had the pleasure of trying Royal Oak. My last bag was Frontier from Sam's Club. Worked okay but there were a few rocks in the grate afterward.

I don't buy Cowboy brand anymore after finding charred particle board chunks in my last bag! Ick.


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## BBQ Bird (Jul 10, 2021)

In my Masterbuilt Gravity 800, I've used B&B briquette, Kingsford briquettes, Royal Oak briquettes (orange bag),  and Cowboy lump. 

B&B briquettes  and the regular Kingsford were ok.  Smoke was maybe a little thicker than you'd want during the initial start up, but it would thin out after a short while, and flavor was pretty good on the meat.  Kingsford seemed to last a little longer.

Royal Oak briquettes were the worst so far.  Very thick heavy smoke that imparted some bitter flavors, didn't last very long, and produced a lot of ash.  Won't be using them again.

Last two cooks have been with Cowboy lump.  So far, the smoke quality has been great.  Thin blue smoke from start to finish.  It does burn pretty quickly though, and the chunk sizes can vary significantly. 

Picked up a couple of bags of Kingsford Competition.  Gonna try them out when the Cowboy lump is used up.

Bird


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## chopsaw (Jul 11, 2021)

SmokingUPnorth said:


> I’ve been using GFS briquettes


I use the lump . I like it .


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## mliebs (Jul 11, 2021)

I use Fogo in the black bag or Jeaslous Devil.  I prefer the Jeaslous Devil but ordering it's kind of a pain.


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## SmokingUPnorth (Jul 11, 2021)

chopsaw said:


> I use the lump . I like it .



I got the lump once and it was mostly a lot of small pieces that just fell through the grate. I’ll have to give them another try


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## Twomorestrokes (Jul 11, 2021)

SmokingUPnorth said:


> I got the lump once and it was mostly a lot of small pieces that just fell through the grate. I’ll have to give them another try


Yes that can be a problem. I still like lump in the smoker because the buildup is a lot less and I can also use the ash in my compost.


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## chopsaw (Jul 11, 2021)

SmokingUPnorth said:


> I got the lump once and it was mostly a lot of small pieces that just fell through the grate. I’ll have to give them another try


I would agree . I use it in addition to briquettes . Grab the bigger pieces out . I probably have a half bag of nickle sized pieces out there . .


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## Hamdrew (Jul 11, 2021)

chopsaw said:


> I would agree . I use it in addition to briquettes . Grab the bigger pieces out . I probably have a half bag of nickle sized pieces out there . .


i use greased newspaper to light my chimney, so when using lump always try to put the tiny pieces in first, on the bottom of the chimney. 

I like a mix too, but always end up stockpiling either during sales (Schnucks RO ridge the other week at $6/15lb most recently), so often won't have both. Will  have to try GFS charcoal next time I'm out that way.


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## TMR (Jul 18, 2021)

I mix Kingsford professional,  Masterbuilt lump charcoal and some pretty big wood chunks. I put these briskets on last night at 1 am. It is now 8am and still going strong. Probably a quarter of the hopper left. Im sure I will need to add more because I do not wrap the meat and I will use the Kingsford


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