Questions about using lump charcoal.


 
JeffB

JeffB

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I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I have not been able to find the answers so far in this forum, so I am posting new here.

First, does lump burn hotter than coal?

Second, does lump burn longer than coal?

Finally, the Cowboy brand lump charcoal I purchased has many large pieces and many tiny pieces. The tiny are too small for the chimney starter as they fall through the bottom. They also fall through the grate on the bottom of my WSM. The large seem much too big for "starter" coals and don't fit easily in the chimney.

So I guess my question is do I dig through the bag for "medium size" pieces of lump for the chimney starter and put the larger stuff in the charcoal ring, or should I be using the large pieces in the chimney?

This seems like such a simple question, but I have the gut feeling that there is a "correct" and an "incorrect" way to do this. Thanks.
 
Jeff, I would get rid of Cowboy Charcoal fast. Worst I ever found with furniture parts, laminated woods, flooring & plywood being found in it. Then there is the size issue but YMMV.

Overall, most types of lump burn hotter & with less ash than briquettes. The tradeoff is most lump costs more & some brands are erratic with sizes.

Those smaller pieces can only be used in creative ways or discarded.

Without restarting the old lump or briquettes argument (I use both depending on the purpose), for a nice lump that is widely available and of good quality, try Royal Oak from Walmart.
 
Hi Jeff, I'm assuming that by 'coal' you mean briquettes? I use only lump so I can answer a couple of your questions. Given an unrestricted flow of oxygen, lump can get hotter than briqs, that much is true. But when you restrict the airflow it's not hard to keep the temp of lump down just like you can with briqs. So if you wanna use it in your smoker it works just fine. I wouldn't say that lump burns longer than briqs though, in fact I'd say it may even burn out quicker. I think briqs can be more predictable, especially if you use the same type all the time.
With regards to your Cowboy brand lump, I'd say to use medium sized chunks in your chimney, if you can find them. As far as the smaller pieces falling through the charcoal grate goes, find yourself a kitchen supply store and get a stainless cake-drying rack- a round one about the size of your charcoal grate- and put it in there. It will keep your smaller pieces from falling through and won't taint your food. Smaller lump is useful to help pack the ring because it gets into the cracks and makes for a good, tight pack of charcoal. It doesn't have to be packed super-tight, but it's a good way to use up the smaller pieces.
Good luck with it, and don't forget to take lots of pics, the folks here love that.
 
Jeff, for years I used only Lazzari brand Mesquie lump. I bought 200 lbs of Lazarri hard wood briquets this year as a trial. Overall I like the lump. Less ash and I find a hotter fire, which is great for HH cooks. One of the main problems with large bags of this lump is that after sifting I get a couple pounds of powder and pieces so small they fall thru my double coal grate ring. By double grate I mean you use 2 and set then 90 degrees to each other making nice small openings. I have my coal grates wired to my coal ring and set it on top of my small metal ash can and sift my lump. I then make the really large pieces small with a hand axe. In my chimney I use the pre burned left over coals from a previous cook. Whew! sounds like a lot of work, but for the price and the little ash production I like it.

Mark
 
Originally posted by Jeff Bryson:
I apologize if this has been discussed before, but I have not been able to find the answers so far in this forum, so I am posting new here.

First, does lump burn hotter than coal?

Second, does lump burn longer than coal?

Finally, the Cowboy brand lump charcoal I purchased has many large pieces and many tiny pieces. The tiny are too small for the chimney starter as they fall through the bottom. They also fall through the grate on the bottom of my WSM. The large seem much too big for "starter" coals and don't fit easily in the chimney.

So I guess my question is do I dig through the bag for "medium size" pieces of lump for the chimney starter and put the larger stuff in the charcoal ring, or should I be using the large pieces in the chimney?

This seems like such a simple question, but I have the gut feeling that there is a "correct" and an "incorrect" way to do this. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Lump will burn hotter, if you let it, as in open the vents up. As with using briqs, it's all about air flow and the control of said airflow.
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Lump if packed very tight in the charcoal bowl will burn a long time. Prob not quite as long as briqs, I get about 16-17hrs out of a well packed, high mound of lump in my 18" WSM.
Cowboy is about the worst choice in lump, as it's made from lumber scraps, plywood, flooring and the like. IMO, not good at all. Have you seen the double grate mods, and such for using lump HERE
Hope this helps you.
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I use nothing but Lump.
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DEFINITELY get rid of the Cowboy!! Royal Oak has pretty good lump. If you can find it down in Maryland, there is a Canadian Sugar Maple Lump called Basque's Nature's Own that is just fantastic. a bit pricy though. Another great lump is Wicked Good. Since for smoking, you're doing low and slow anyway, check out Stubb's briquets. Lowes carries it. Great briquet, only 5% binder which is all natural and produces very little ash. PLUS it's got a great burn time!!
 
Didn't see anyone point to this reference:

Lump Database and Reference

They've tested/reviewed just about every brand of lump out there. Very detailed.

I'm a lump bigot. Loose lump. I will use hardwood charcoal briquettes when I want to do minion. I use it for starter coals.

I used Cowboy once a few years ago when I was out of Humphrey, which I use pretty much exclusively. Won't do it again, I'll find another substitute in a pinch. Lots of scrap lumber, flooring, trim, plywood, sparking and burned really fast. Didn't like the smell either.

Not the best choice if you are trying lump to see how you like it for the first time
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Originally posted by r benash:
Didn't see anyone point to this reference:

Lump Database and Reference


I will use lump briquettes
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Click to expand...

Ray, what are lump briquettes? I thought lump was non formed charcoal and briquettes are pressed and formed. I must be missing something. I do use natural wood briquettes on occasion, perhaps that is what you are refering to?

Mark
 
Hey Mark - it's a lazy term for hardwood charcoal briquettes
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As in made from ground up lump
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I've edited my original post to replace with the proper term.
 
On this topic, I picked up 3 bags of Stubbs at Lowes this past weekend. Was looking for Stubbs "lump charcoal" but all they had was Stubbs briquettes. I think I got the right thing? I paid about $8 + change per bag. Sounds a bit high to me.
 
I tried so hard with lump, but alas it was not to be! I like lump charcoal as a theory, unfortunately the reality was not as good. I did learn from the experience though.

First, get GOOD lump. Should be big uniformed chunks of hardwood (heavy chunks). Then you HAND PACK the chunks in the charcoal ring of you WSM. This helps with temperature consistency and burn time. Pack it as densely and as uniformly as you can. Light with the minion method using briquettes. Most importantly, KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON IT. I could never get the temperature consistency with lump that I could with briquettes. This was particularly true early (first several hours) of the cook. Nor was I able to get the burn time from lump (even with all the added fuss of hand packing the charcoal ring). Nor could any of my friends or family detect a taste difference.

Wasn't worth it to me in the end. YMMV.
 
Originally posted by Jeff Bryson:
On this topic, I picked up 3 bags of Stubbs at Lowes this past weekend. Was looking for Stubbs "lump charcoal" but all they had was Stubbs briquettes. I think I got the right thing? I paid about $8 + change per bag. Sounds a bit high to me.
Click to expand...

Jeff, for the reasons that Lou just mentioned in the last post, I rarely use lump in the wsm, but I've not seen Stubbs lump. I find that Stubbs BRIQUETTES get PLENTY hot given enough air, so I prefer them for their versatility on both the wsm and the grill. They're great for low-n-slow smoking since they have MUCH less ash than other briqs, especially K, and with less binders, that means you get more wood CHAR in the CHARcoal. That's why they'll burn so good....less fillers (binders that end up as a lot of ash).

I typically only use lump for grilling steaks, or for grilling chicken if I'm doing a lot of basting. I notice no difference in flavor, but lump does have a slight edge in searing steaks, and basting over briqs makes my chicken get a little "sooty", even though you probably can't taste it.
 
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