Lump Charcoal?

[riverrat56]

I hear some talk of "lump" charcoal from time to time, supposedly better taste than briquettes, but I really have no idea what it is or where to get it?

[Jim Almquist]

Take a look at Menard's or Home Depot. The brand we can find up here is Royal Oak.

[upnorth]

Compliments of the web.

Quote:

ou make the right choice.

Lump Charcoal

Charcoal is made by burning wood in the absence of oxygen, and lump charcoal is the product of that. Since lump is charcoal in its most natural form, it's no wonder purists will almost always prefer it. Beyond that, lump charcoal has a lot of attractive qualities; it lights faster, burns hotter, and leaves very little ash compared to briquettes. Lump charcoal is also more responsive to oxygen, making it easier to control the fire's temperature if your grill has adjustable air vents.

Pros: Lights quickly, burns hotter, little ash production, easier temperature adjustment, all natural

Cons: Burns faster, more expensive, less consistent (bags can contain unusably small pieces of charcoal)

We use it, I think the wife picks it up at Wally World.

Also to get rid of the starter smell and taste we use one of those lighting chimneys. If you have not used one yet, they are well worth the few $$.

[thirdeye]

Lump or natural charcoal is just that, made without forming into briquettes and it has no fillers. It burns hotter, I think it burns longer, it produces less ash and has a real wood flavor over the flavor produced by briquettes. You don't want to use lighter fluid because lump does not have to fully ash over before it is ready to use, you can use a chimney starter or a propane torch to light a couple of spots, just give it some time to catch and let the fire settle down and you are ready to go. In my bigger cookers, I use 8 to 10 pounds in the basket, start it on top of the pile and give it 30 minutes to get a established fire. Then it will burn for 12 hours, the fire finds new fuel as it spreads. Here is a 10# basket, 11 hours later.

You can add some wood chips or splits mixed into the lump for smoke throughout the cook. When cooking big things like pork shoulders or brisket, you can put a couple of chunks on top of the pile too. The greatest thing about lump is that when you close your vents, it goes out and can be re-lit the next time you cook.

Some brands like Cowboy use hardwood mill scraps that seem to burn faster. Some brands are from South America and seem to spark more during lighting, as does mesquite lump. Royal Oak is available at WalMart and the US lump is all hardwood. They also have a South American lump in the same color bags, just check the fine print.

Try a bag or two, you might like it.

[riverrat56]

Thanks for the info guys, so thirdeye do you buy yours or make your own?

[thirdeye]

No, I buy it. The Royal Oak brand is redily available around here and so is Lazarri mesquite.

[polarsusd81]

Yep, Royal Oak at Menards is what I use too. But they have the stuff in red bags and another from Royal Oak in green bags. Don't use the green bags, that stuff sparks like crazy the whole time it burns. I bought two bags of it a few weeks ago and am nearly done with the second bag already and wont buy the green stuff again. Royal Oak Hardwood in the red bag is the way to go, unless you can find Cowboy brand. I love that stuff too.

[justlivin']

I just started using Hardwood lump charcoal Humphrey's brand There is a warehouse up in Shakopee That a friend of mine found $14.99 for a 20lb bag the stuff is awesome I have grilled at least 10 times on one 20lb bag and still going. I grill for a family of 5. I will never go back to regualar charcoal again and as stated earlier the taste is awesome as well as the smell of the grill

[stick]

Does anyone make their own? I was wondering this at the campfire this weekend. I was burning oak, and dumped water on it to put it out when my glass was empty...I mean...when I went to bed. It looks like chunk coal, and I thought about doing this to make it. It does sound cheap to buy it, but if I could be self-sufficient with great acces to oak, even better.

[Outfitter17]

If you were using it in a charcoal grill, would you use less than with regular charcoal? If it lasts longer and burns hotter you would think?

[HuskerBen]

You use less weight, but more volume. Lump charcoal is less dense than briquets.

I like the stuff (haven't used briquets in a few years), mostly because it's so easy to control the fire with my grill's vents. Plus, it smells great, and if I start running low in the grill, I can just throw a few more chunks in without getting the briquet smell.

If you haven't tried it, you're missing out.

[Outfitter17]

Thanks for the info.

[riverrat56]

Thanks for the info guys.