Scott Barentsen
TVWBB Member
I want to thank Chris for his feature this month on charcoal, and specifically, for the information on Kingsford briquettes and why he uses them. This piece is informative, thoughtful, and based on the facts. Frankly, I used to be a bit of a lump snob, making pilgrimages to Lazarri in Brisbane to buy hundreds of pounds of the stuff. No more. Now I’ve got a couple hundred pounds of $.17 lb. Kingsford in my garage. In my experience, lump is more expensive, has no flavor advantage, burns less consistently, and is a hassle to use (compared to Kingsford). I use it in my Hasty Bake for both grilling and smoking. If your cooker can handle briquettes, I recommend it highly.
I also question the consensus that Lump burns hotter than Kingsford. Cook’s Illustrated recently did a burn comparison between the two fuels and found that both burn equally hot. In addition, they printed a graph showing how quickly the temp of Lump drops off after it peaks. Kingsford burned much longer at a more consistent temperature, leading IMO, to better heat control.
The last reason I like Kingsford is that I’m more confident that it’s sourced and produced in an environmentally sensitive way. I could be wrong, but I think the wood going into my briquettes is more likely to be industrial waste than is some of the Lump imported from the third world. I know many lump companies say they don’t harvest live trees for charcoal (instead using stumps, prunings, and dead wood), but I’m just not sure they do that all the time. Thanks Chris.
I also question the consensus that Lump burns hotter than Kingsford. Cook’s Illustrated recently did a burn comparison between the two fuels and found that both burn equally hot. In addition, they printed a graph showing how quickly the temp of Lump drops off after it peaks. Kingsford burned much longer at a more consistent temperature, leading IMO, to better heat control.
The last reason I like Kingsford is that I’m more confident that it’s sourced and produced in an environmentally sensitive way. I could be wrong, but I think the wood going into my briquettes is more likely to be industrial waste than is some of the Lump imported from the third world. I know many lump companies say they don’t harvest live trees for charcoal (instead using stumps, prunings, and dead wood), but I’m just not sure they do that all the time. Thanks Chris.