Why?

RittmanRod · December 2006

all the instructions and bout everyone on here always says, ONLY Lump,
there was a pic posted a couple days ago and I got a kick over the shock that there was Kingsford Briquettes in the pic, question is Why do we ONLY use lump and not Briquettes? besides flavor is there a scientific reason? Not suggesting blasphamy, just wondering.

HolySmokes · December 2006

RittmanRod,[p]read the label on a package of "briquettes", if it actually has one,
or better yet go to the naked whiz' site !ohmygod, here I go: (or click below)
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm
and read..., no..., become the tao of charcoal.[p]we prefer not the chemical nature of petroleum based products, but rather the refined byproduct of pure organic cellulose.[p]be one with the smoke, HS
[ul][li]I'm the whiz, nobody beats me[/ul]

dhuffjr · December 2006

RittmanRod,
Briquets produce more ash. More ash requires more work. Work is that thing we Q to escape. To create work whilst Qing is counter productive.[p]Unless of course when your smoking cheese. I figure if it works out and I like it then the bag I bought will last me about a decade.

BlueSmoke · December 2006

RittmanRod,
Unless someone is smarter than me (and granted, that is a long line), briquets cannot be extinguished; they are last "only one use". All the material turns to ash which accumulates quickly. Lump can be extinguished, and the rate of ash buildup is accordingly slower.[p]Ken

Unknown · December 2006

RittmanRod,
i just like saying "lump".

stike · December 2006

BlueSmoke,
you can extinguish them, but you are right about the ash, and there is far more ash than with lump.

stike · December 2006

RittmanRod,
you may get the guru (The Naked Whiz) to weigh in.[p]but for me, it's as simple as this. lump is pure carbon, made from hardwood.[p]briquettes are made with lump, which is pulverized and bound together with, well, binders, and extenders to make uniform sized units. these burn at a predicatable rate. [p]because of all the extenders and binders, it produces much much (much!) more ash than just plain old lump.[p]i like lump because small pieces work best for my lo-and-slo cooks, big pieces for nuke searing, and medium sized stuff for in between. and any flavor from it is meant to be there, since it was in the tree to begin with.[p]

The Naked Whiz · December 2006

RittmanRod,
The main reasons for me are:
* Briquettes don't last as long as lump, in general
* Briquettes don't get has hot as lump, and
* The top reason is that briquettes produce unimaginable quantities of ash.[p]Primarily the ash is the problem. In a ceramic cooker with a bowl-shaped firebox, the ash will quickly fill the bowl and block the airflow. I think you would have a hard time with an overnight cook because I think the ash would finally snuff the fire. Here's a comparison I did:[p][p]TNW
[ul][li]The Tao of Charcoal: The Book Of Lump And Briquettes[/ul]

egret · December 2006

RittmanRod,
Beside all the things NW said, that picture you saw was one posted by Sandbagger showing his smoked cheese setup. This is a special application where the briquets are better suited due to their relatively low heat output as compared to lump. I, too, have some Kingsford briquets and only use them when I'm smoking cheese. 5 or 6 briquets is all that's required for doing this.......

Celtic Wolf · December 2006

RittmanRod,[p] There as segment of a show on the Food Network that showed Kingsford making the charcoal. They combined scraps of all kinds of hardwoods and turned them into char. They pulverized the char, drowned the char in water and then mixed them with COAL. COAL as in dug out of the Mountains of West Virginia, Black Lung COAL.[p] They compressed the sludge into little pills, dried them out and filled a bag with them.[p] I never again asked why don't we use briquettes..[p]

RittmanRod · December 2006

RittmanRod,
Thanks to all that responded, "you had me at .... Ash"
I love the distance a bag lasts and like I said, wasn't trying to cheat just wondered, and as usual thoughtful, informative, and educational as always on here, thanks guys!

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