Charcoal: Lump vs Briquette

[Deephaven]

10 hours ago, paulraphael said:

 

The one situation that's sketchy is when the coals burn down in the middle of cooking, and you want to add more. This is where impatient people sometimes end up smoking food on top of briquette additives. I think this is the best use of lump charcoal: when you need to add more in the middle of cooking.

 

I reverse sear all the time.  Kamado Joe Jr is ready temp wise in 20min.  Most of the lump is black and stays that way.  Some even stays black during the sear albeit only the edges.  I can usually get 2-3 meals out of a load although I always add a handful of two of fresh on top 

[Laurentius]

10 hours ago, paulraphael said:

No matter what additives are in the briquets, they're gone by the time you put the food on the coals.

 

Given the fact that briquettes burn from the outside inward, this makes very little sense.  Anything that was in the mix is still there, at least until the combustion is complete.

[paulraphael]

9 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:

No, borax is not flammable, but there's little of it in briquettes to start with, and even less by the time it's packaged for sale, because it's only used to promote release of the briquette from its mold.

You're right; I misread the MSDS.

 

9 hours ago, Dave the Cook said:

I'm not sure what to make of the Myhrvold claim, because he's an award-winning BBQ cook, because he's right so often, and because he seems immune to received wisdom. It's true that controlling air flow is a key to maintaining temperature control, and it seems so obvious that lump contains more air that perhaps he didn't see a need to test it. It's hard for me to imagine, however, that the difference in the amount of air in the fuel matters more than the amount of air surrounding the fuel, which is bound to be much greater in volume.

 

I reread the passage in MC; he attributes the difference not to air, but to ash. Which also might run counter to the Cook's Country test result:

Quote

 

The composition of the charcoal does affect its ash content. Briquettes contain more incombustible minerals and thus leave behind a lot of ash. The blanket of ash insulates the embers somewhat but also diffuses their heat, so they burn cooler but also slow and steady. Hardwood charcoal leaves less ash, so it burns hotter but usually faster and less predictably. 

Neither of these effects matters to the flavor, however. Carbon is carbon; as it burns, it imparts no flavor of its own to the food being grilled .

 

 

Edited September 23, 2023 by paulraphael (log)

[Laurentius]

9 hours ago, paulraphael said:

Briquettes contain more incombustible minerals and thus leave behind a lot of ash.

What does a "lot" mean here?  It may be true that lump leaves less ash than briquettel, but burn 5kg of briquettes, and you get comparatively very little weight of ash left behind.  I think NM may be confused by the fluffy consistency of undisturbed briquette ash.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Laurentius
Word choice (log)

[Laurentius]

Here's an interesting article on how briquettes are made:  http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Charcoal-Briquette.html

[dcarch]

The amount of leftover ash also substantially depends on burn temperature, and shape of the burner.

Ash is extremely light, it flies up with hot air current. The hotter the burn, the "chimney effect" gets stronger.

 

dcarch 

[Laurentius]

23 minutes ago, dcarch said:

The amount of leftover ash also substantially depends on burn temperature, and shape of the burner.

Ash is extremely light, it flies up with hot air current. The hotter the burn, the "chimney effect" gets stronger.

 

dcarch 

Yes.  And the white smoke shortly after lighting is largely steam.

[AlaMoi]

not to belabor the point, but "steam" is not visible.

[rotuts]

correct.

 

it only becomes visible when it condenses 

 

 

[dcarch]

3 hours ago, rotuts said:

correct.

 

it only becomes visible when it condenses 

 

Below dew point. 😉

 

dcarch

 

 

[Dave the Cook]

". . . not to belabor the point. . . " is usually a warning from someone who is about to belabor the point, just like "I don't mean to offend you, but . . ." precedes some sort of personal offense, in both cases as if the precedential phrase excuses the insult of what follows. It doesn't.

 

It is true that steam, as technically defined, is not visible. But what most people think of as steam (which is, okay, really water vapor), is. 

 

And in any case, what's the point? Whether I've got a cup of ashes (about 1/3 pound) to clean up, or a quart (about 1-1/4 pounds), it's still a chore. The quantity (not to mention whether or not its production is preceded by steam or water vapor) doesn't really affect that fact. 

[Laurentius]

4 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

not to belabor the point, but "steam" is not visible.

Read the article I cited.  White smoke from briquettes indicates the higher initial moisture content at ignition.  It's not all steam, but the white smoke is caused by moisture in the fuel cooking off, i.e., steaming away.

 

"Thick white smoke is dirty smoke and is caused by moisture evaporating from the surface of the charcoal or wood." 

 

https://beardedbutchers.com/blogs/news/dirty-smoke-what-is-it-and-how-to-avoid-it

[dcarch]

12 hours ago, Laurentius said:

Read the article I cited.  White smoke from briquettes indicates the higher initial moisture content at ignition.  It's not all steam, but the white smoke is caused by moisture in the fuel cooking off, i.e., steaming away.

 

"Thick white smoke is dirty smoke and is caused by moisture evaporating from the surface of the charcoal or wood." 

 

https://beardedbutchers.com/blogs/news/dirty-smoke-what-is-it-and-how-to-avoid-it

 

 

Interesting article.

Interesting also not one word was mentioned about creosote.

 

dcarch

Edited September 24, 2023 by dcarch (log)

[AlaMoi]

but that's not what your said.

"Yes.  And the white smoke shortly after lighting is largely steam."

 

so, is it steam, water vapor, or particulate smoke?

[rotuts]

I didn't realize briquets were ' wet '

 

all the ones Ive used were very dry .

[Laurentius]

1 hour ago, dcarch said:

Interesting also not one word was mentioned about creosote.

Yes, very.  As someone who's heated and cooked with wood for many years, I have an intimate relationship with creosote.  The #1 rule is:  don't burn green, i.e., undry, wood.  It may burn, but so much heat is lost driving out the moisture, it's mostly not worth it.  And the incomplete combustion in the presence of that moisture makes for dangerous accumulation of creosote in your flue that is not easy to remove.

 

Briquettes and wood have a range of moisture content, and so, with a fed fire, there is some ongoing creosote  and soot ormation.  Last year's Briquettes, like last year's bagged concrete, have more moisture than fresh.

 

Have you perchance seen the Masterclass episodes on classic American BBQ?  One legendary place avoids creosote by stoking their pits with only live wood coals, shoveled in at the right time.

Edited September 24, 2023 by Laurentius (log)

[palo]

8 minutes ago, Laurentius said:

dangerous accumulation of creosote in your flue that is not easy to remove.

 

 

 

Two solutions to creosote build up:

 

1. Chimney sweep

2. Chimney fire

 

p

[weinoo]

I am SO glad I only cook indoors now.

[dcarch]

In the very beginning when I first started BBQing and smoking, the smoker had a small bottle hooked up at the low point of the chimney. Some time later the bottle collect a lot of black mess. I asked an expert what he called that stuff in the bottle . He said, "Cancer In A Bottle"

 

dcarch

Edited September 24, 2023 by dcarch (log)

[AlaMoi]

the process of turning "wood" into "charcoal" is supposed to burn off all the nasties and leave (nearly) pure carbon.

in the world of today's "everything is controlled" that happens most 'reliably' when the wood chunks pieces are a similar size. 

large tree trunks/roots, etc, do not fully carbonize under the 'usual' circumstances. 

(this is why I decline to buy Cowboy "Made in Mexico" - it has small to boulder sized pieces....)

 

Mr. Kingsford - a relative of Henry Ford - and set-up (with Ford's financial help) - an operation to coke wood into charcoal for use in Ford's blast furnaces (producing iron/steel) - the smelting process does not tolerate piles of impurities.  that's why the wood is "coked" into charcoal - gets rid of everything but the pure carbon for max heat / least 'unwanteds'

 

Kingsford then branched out into briquettes for the trending demand . . . .

 

some brands offer "nuttin' but pure"

Kingsford 100% Natural Hardwood Briquets
B&B Competition Oak Briquets -They claim to use nothing but hardwood
Royal Oak 100% All Natural Hardwood Charcoal Briquets

. . . often not widely available . . .

[Laurentius]

7 hours ago, rotuts said:

I didn't realize briquets were ' wet '

 

all the ones Ive used were very dry .

Well, moisture content varies depending where the bricks are made, what of, and how they're packaged, handled and stored after leaving the retort.  I've read that the moisture can range as widely a 5-35%.  They all feel dry to the touch.  Unless you deploy a moisture meter, you're not going to know.

 

It's the same with firewood.  The rule of thumb is "seasoned" wood is 12% water or below.

[Laurentius]

8 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

so, is it steam, water vapor, or particulate smoke?

All three and probably more.  The idea that Briquettes, coal or even lump charcoal are pure carbon is hokum.