Briquettes or Lump?

[Guest]

Hi,

What do you use in your WSM? Which product gives you the best temerature control? Longest burn? What about chemicals in briquettes such as Kingsford?

Eric

 

[Kevin Taylor]

Eric.....

I am a die hard user of Kingsford for smoking and lump charcoal for grilling. I think the briqs give you much more control and they are much more consistent than lump. Will lump work in the WSM...yes, I have used it successfully a few times. But will it last for a 22 hr. cook....not likely.

Not sure about "chemicals" in briqs...they do have various fillers and such but obviously nothing dangerous....otherwise the FDA would not allow their sale for cooking purposes.

I think you will also find the briqs are held in VERY high regard by the BBQ community.

BTW, welcome to the board!

 

[Guest]

Eric:

Make sure you're using straight Kingsford and not Match Light (Kingsford plus lighter fluid). Chemically, Kingsford is as close to chem-free as you can get in charcoal. Any chemicals will immediately burn off in the lighting. By the time they ash over, you're cookin' good!

Mark

 

[Bob McFadden]

Eric, welcome. I agree with Stogie and I think probably the majority of the members use Kingsford. BTW when you go to light it don't use lighter fluid, it smells and tastes awful.

Bob

 

[Guest]

Hi Eric,

I'm one of the minority here who dislikes Kingsford, and prefers lump.
Using lump requires a little more attention to maintain a stable temp, but it's not that difficult. Using the Minion method, I have held stable temps for 18 hours.
I prefer lump for flavor, and for a much lighter ash that is less prone to choke the fire. I also don't care to cook with a product that contains anthracite coal.
This is just my personal preference. There are many very experienced folks here who swear by Kingsford, and I'm not disparaging their opinions in any way.
My advice is to do some cooks with Kingsford, and then try some with lump. Decide which you prefer.
It's all part of this happy art we call 'Q.

Jim

--
Life is what happens while you're making plans.
Kevin Gilbert ( RIP )

 

[Guest]

The only time I used briqettes in my WSM was when I recently tested Big Briq natural briquettes (nothing but charcoal and vegetable binder). All other times I use lump and get great cook times with stable temperatures using the Minion Method. With the briquettes, I had to keep opening the door and stirring the coals to knock the ash off. With lump, I hardly have to worry until it's almost all gone.

 

[Kevin O.]

I've used both Kingsford and several types of lump in my WSM. Kingsford is stable, but is ash-heavy which can lead to the ash choking out your fire, thus the "stir the coals." I've used regular lump, which I agree is a bit quicker burning and a little harder to control temperature-wise. I recently tried some "Wicked Good" lump which is much denser than even Kingsford. It was extremely stable temperature wise, though a bit hard to get lit, and produced little ash. It's similar to the coconut lump which I haven't tried yet, but am looking forward to. Big drawback with these though is price. Anyway, my plan is to use Kingsford for most smoke due to cost and few drawbacks, but will use the fancy lump for those "special occasion" smokes or if I know I'm going to be smoking for over around 12 hours straight to avoid ash problems.

k