Natural Lump Charcoal vs. Regular Old Kingsford

[Tim Dolan]

I just spent the summer buying the Whole Foods brand natural lump charcoal, thinking that it would be better than regular old Kingman's. After all, the bag says that it burns "longer and hotter" than regular charcoals. However, one day I ran out of the WF brand and in a pinch just went and bought some normal Kingman's charcoal.

Those normal square briquettes undoubtedly burned longer and hotter than the WF brand I had been using all summer. It wasn't even close really. My grill is a smaller Weber kettle, good for two people, which is all I need. Has anyone else experience anything similar or completely different?

[HungryC]

I use hardwood lump (certainly not Whole Foods, just Royal Oak from WalMart), mainly because it produces far, far less ash than briquettes. The excessive ash produced by briquettes clogs my Big Green Egg.

[weinoo]

I think that's Kingsford.

[andiesenji]

I use mesquite lump charcoal that certainly burns hot enough for anything I cook. I don't like the smell of the briquettes. In my experience the lump charcoal, mesquite, oak and hickory (I have used them all) do burn hotter than briquettes.

A local vendor who sells heating stoves for wood, pellitized wood, charcoal or coal burning, carries the mesquite charcoal in 50 pound bags which is a lot cheaper than buying in the small bags. If I buy two, he delivers for free.

The lumps of charcoal are mostly larger than briquettes and the coals last a long time.

The temp in the grill/oven section will reach 500° F., with the intake vents half-way open and can get much hotter if I use a bellows to force in more air.

I don't buy from Whole Foods because their lump charcoal is not from raw wood. If it is the "Cowboy Charcoal" brand, it is made from scrap lumber. There was an extensive discussion about it on a local forum here in So.Cal. with customers reporting that they had found partially burned pieces of plywood, chunks of plaster and even nails in some of the bags.

If it contains plywood, it will also contain unwanted resins and glue and God knows what else.

Look in your area for a store that sells fireplace and heating stove supplies as they often will also carry real wood charcoal.

[Tim Dolan]

Correct you are. I despise the term "brainfart", but that's exactly what that was.

[budrichard]

Cowboy is as correctly Posted made from lumber mill tailings or scrap. Even the much vaunted Royal Oak lump and their Food Service brand is now made from scrap lumber but it is still much better than briquettes which have at best binders and at worse petroleum products.

We use Royal Oak lump to get started and smoke with lump hickory wood and more and more grill with the lump hickory wood.-Dick

[John Rosevear]

In my experience, regular blue-bag Kingsford lasts longer than lump (Royal Oak, usually, in my case), burns a bit less hot, makes more of a mess, and sometimes gives the food a faint but distinctive flavor that will probably give me cancer in 30 years. That said, Kingsford's "Competition" briquettes (brick-red bag) burn a bit hotter than the regular variety and leave less of a mess (and less of that flavor) while lasting about as long. They also cost more and are harder to find, but are worth it if you don't have high-quality lump available and/or want the longer-lasting characteristics of briquettes.

[scamhi]

here is a great website for ratings of lump and I think briquettes

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

[MSRadell]

here is a great website for ratings of lump and I think briquettes

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

That's the website I always use when somebody asks a question about briquettes vs. charcoal it provides real numbers instead of opinions.

[budrichard]

The NakedWiz is a good site but you have to look at the dates of the review.

Example: NatureGlo which is Royal Oaks Food Service brand was tested in 2004 and had no scrap. Current NatureGlo I got had scrap lumber, its the method De Jour and as long as it costs less than real lump and people purchase it, we are less and less likely to be able to purchase real lump at a reasonable price. I use about 4 40# bags per season so the 'boutique' lump products are not an option, yet.-Dick

[John Rosevear]

Current NatureGlo I got had scrap lumber, its the method De Jour and as long as it costs less than real lump and people purchase it, we are less and less likely to be able to purchase real lump at a reasonable price.

This is why I've taken to buying the Kingsford Competition briquettes for the most part. They aren't ideal, but of the easily available options in my area they seem like the best alternative. I've found too much weird stuff (roofing shingles, plywood, something that looked like a broken broom handle) in bags of lump in recent years.

[andiesenji]

Check with Orchard Supply Hardware, Von's Supermarkets to see if your local store carries the Lazzari charcoals. They are real hardwood.

The mesquite charcoal I buy is from El Diablo and is made in Mexico, and is only available in the southwest states. He gets it by the truckload and sells to local restaurants and just a few long-time retail customers - he bags it in 50-pound bags for us, delivers it to restaurants in big crates. He wants to eventually phase out the retail customers, he is doing it as a favor now.

If you live in the L.A. area and want real wood for cooking or baking and real charcoal, there is California Charcoal & Firewood in Commerce, CA.

They sell to the public as well as to companies.

I found their website> superior cooking fuel products

Friends who have wood-fired bread ovens buy their woods from them.