Why lump?

[Huskee]

Attjack Yes. Dadof3Illinois I get it, just haven't noticed it myself like others have.

[Troutman]

I've never had good luck with lump in my Weber kettles. The burn rate is just too uneven. I just know how charcoal is going to react after hundreds of cooks in an SNS so I stick with what I know. Now when cooking Santa Maria style, open fire or with something like a Vortex, lump really shines because it produces a bit more heat. I think if I was a kamado guy I would think it superior in that venue, but alas I am not.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Huskee for me it's not just the cleaning up of the ash but on my SnS XL in my 26 the ash from the briquets clogs the holes and doesn't shake out.

[Attjack]

But do you use a kamado? That's where less ash is very advantageous.

[Huskee]

I just use briquets/briquettes/brikketz. Like you say- predictable. I don't worry much about the ash, whether I clean out a lot of ash or not quite a lot I still gotta clean it out. I've used lump before, but I haven't been overly wowed by it to make it my thing.

[Steve R.]

Can you get kicked out of Michigan for saying that? I rarely use lump, but I agree on the B&B briquettes over KBB. The cost is higher per bag, but with the much longer burn time, it's really not more expensive. I can easily get 12+ hrs of low and slow out of a SnS XL load of B&B in my Weber 26" kettle. I was getting more like 6 hrs with KBB. The only trouble with B&B is finding it.

[ecowper]

If you are going to try lump rickgregory, try the good stuff. The crud at the grocery store is pretty crappy. Just order a two pack of Fogo from SNS. Good stuff.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Okay, I accidentally deleted my post hat was here...😂😂🙄🙄.
I had said that I actually had a great cook using B&B oak lump. It held temp much better than I had expected and will be doing it again just to double check my results. Below is a screen shot of the cook.
the only swings was from when I opened the lid to stir the coals and knock the ash off.

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[frailinryan]

I use both lump and briquettes. As mentioned already, less ash with lump charcoal. I also think it smells better. One thing that annoys me though is the variable size ranging from wood chips to logs. In terms of briquettes, I now prefer B&B over Kingsford.

[Oak Smoke]

I may have caught OCD from my wife. I sort my lump into three size groups. Large pieces on the bottom of the basket, medium size in the middle, small on top. I actually learned this way of building a fire here on AR. It works great in my Kamado. I have a Weber kettle, but use lump in it on the rare occasion that I fire it up. I don't even own a bag of briquettes right now.

[Andrrr]

I knew it!

I’m a hand jockey mama. Not like you face and body boys...

[SmokeyGator]

Its two different ways to do the same thing. But with some cookers, one does work better. Kamados like lump. Kettles like briquettes. You CAN use lump in a kettle and you CAN use briquettes in a kamado, but you get better results if you don't.

I wouldn't say one is better than the other overall, it really depends on what you are burning it in.

[Attjack]

Yeah I use it for LnS in my kamado because it produces very little ash and is easy to snuff out and relight for the next cook. If I load my Primo XL up I can get many cooks off of one load. Plus it's a cleaner charcoal than briquettes (which I use in kettles).

[Dewesq55]

Burns hotter, less ash - a lot less.

[LA Pork Butt]

I think both lump and briquettes have their advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on what you are cooking on, at what temp and what you are cooking. Low and slow on my Kamado with lump can easily go 20 hours without adding charcoal or clogging with ash. I don’t think I can say that for briquettes. While I haven’t tried lump on my kettle with slowNsear, I think grilling with briquettes is a better choice.