Hello all
Anyone have any suggestions on lump charcoal as a primary fuel for smoking? I know it burns hotter and shorter than briquettes, but briquettes have binders and glue and stuff. Don't do it? Use less because of heat?
Hello all
Anyone have any suggestions on lump charcoal as a primary fuel for smoking? I know it burns hotter and shorter than briquettes, but briquettes have binders and glue and stuff. Don't do it? Use less because of heat?
Hey Big Maple,
I'm a bit confused on your questions.
Don't do it?: are you asking if you should not use lump to smoke?
Use less because of heat? :Are you asking if you will use less lump because of the higher heat?
Hello all
Anyone have any suggestions on lump charcoal as a primary fuel for smoking? I know it burns hotter and shorter than briquettes, but briquettes have binders and glue and stuff. Don't do it? Use less because of heat?
First off, it has not been my experience that lump burns faster than briquettes. Indeed, quite the contrary.
I use FOGO lump charcoal. It's dense, has a very good size distribution (75% XL & L, 20% M, and 5% S and fines), burns hot with very little ash, has a remarkably mild odor, doesn't spark, lasts quite some time, and is more consistent from bag to bag than any lump I've seen. I use it exclusively.
I've had a load of FOGO last 50+ hours at 350°F in my Komodo Kamado.
What are you cooking and what are you cooking it in?
I think this is a personal choice. Theres no wrong answer on this one. IMO
I will say that there is nothing thats going to hurt you in a briquette. I do burn both lump and KBB. I do not use KBB with a SnS for long smokes but use lump in the SnS for grilling.
I think both have a place. Maybe do along cook with each and see what you think.
edit: If you do a butt on an SnS with lump your going to need to feed it much more often.
When it comes to smoking I stick with Kingsford Blue. I do use lump for shorter cooks but with irregular shaped pieces it can be a bit unpredictable for low/slow.
Plenty of people win BBQ competitions using Kingsford Blue and wood chunks.
JeffJ - I've used lump for over 20+ years in 4 different brands of kamado; never had a single problem with temperature transients. So have tens of thousands of other kamado users.
I've used KBB for some sears and that's about it. I find it's short burn time disqualifies it for low-n-slow cooks.
I've never tried to smoke with lump. I just keep going back to the fact that people win competitions using briquettes. The last time I used lump (a few weeks ago) it seemed to provide a subtle difference in taste. Not enough to supplant cheap briquettes though.
So I went to the FOGO site https://www.fogocharcoal.com/collect...-lump-charcoal and ordered their Premium Hardwood Lump. They have 2 listings for what appears to be the same product, one in a red bag and one in a green bag. What's the difference, if any?
I ordered a bag of each just to make sure.
Thanks for the advice, I've not had good experience with lump from the big-box stores. I'm looking forward to trying the FOGO in the Summit Charcoal.
I've used both. I have a Kamado Joe and have only ever used lump in it. No problem holding low and slow temps in the 225-250 range for hours and hours. A full load of lump seems to last me about 12-18 hours, depending on the brand (some seem to last longer). I also have a Weber Summit Charcoal and I've only used briquettes in it. The briquettes I've used seem to be made from charcoal dust and starch. I've also had no issues with temp control with the briquettes and they can burn for a long time as well. The biggest difference that I have found between the two is that lump in my experience adds more of a charcoal flavor, whereas the briquettes are a bit less in terms of charcoal flavor. Briquettes also create more ash. That said I have not tried briquettes in the KJ or lump in the Weber, but I expect the results would be the same.
If you buy good lump or good briquettes you will get good results either way.
So I went to the FOGO site https://www.fogocharcoal.com/collect...-lump-charcoal and ordered their Premium Hardwood Lump. They have 2 listings for what appears to be the same product, one in a red bag and one in a green bag. What's the difference, if any?
I ordered a bag of each just to make sure.
Thanks for the advice, I've not had good experience with lump from the big-box stores. I'm looking forward to trying the FOGO in the Summit Charcoal.
billg71 - the FOGO I use and love comes in a simple brown bag. The bag holds 35# (15.9 kg). I'll take a pic and post it here. The guys who import FOGO also import Quebracho and Kebroak. All 3 are good, but I feel FOGO is best.
I emailed Fogo about this, they responded that the charcoal mix was the same but some of their customers preferred one color bag over another. I tried starting it with a MAPP torch but gave that up since I don't have a welder's hood and jacket. It works better in a chimney over the sideburner.
CeramicChef , is that their bag that comes with like 80% large lump? The ones I ordered were the 70% medium lump, I thought that would work better in the Summit Charcoal.
billg71 - this is the only bag I know about for dead sure and certain. I know Quebracho comes in a similar bag too the one above. After that, I'm clueless (as usual). I've missed so many memos ...
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