briquettes vs lump

CdnQer · March 2006

A buddy of mine who hasn't converted yet to the BGE (but at least he cooks with charcoal - briquettes though)was asking me about lump charcoal.

I extolled the benefits over briquettes, but then I got thinking. In the BGE, we can control how much air gets to the lump, but in a "traditional" charcoal BBQ, you have no control over this.

My question is, if he uses lump instead of briquettes, wouldn't it get to lava temperatures pretty quick with unrestricted airflow, and if so, would this melt his metal BBQ? He told me he heard that briquettes don't burn as hot as lump charcoal.

Any thoughts?

Erik

Unknown · April 2006

This past weekend we had an Easter Egg hunt, which originally was to take place at our house but due to weather got moved to the Church. I borrowed my neighbors barrel style charcoal smoker and used lump (my Egg is built into a table and moving a 300lb object did not sound like fun). It worked fine although, I found that the temperature was harder to control due to the fact that the metal grill was not air tight. I actually wasted a good amount of lump as the grill even when I closed both vent still burned through the remaining lump.

As for the lump getting hot enough to due damage, probably not under normal use. Maybe is the 700-900 degree temps.

The Naked Whiz · December 2007

Having unrestricted airflow is not the same thing as having a roaring draft like you do in ceramic cookers. I doubt he will have any problem. People use lump in offsets, WSM's etc.

Steve753 · March 2012

I've used lump in my Weber One Touch Gold before. The good news is that it burns really hot. The bad news is that it doesn't last all that long.
In a BGE, it's a different story.

Begger · January 27

My Weber had a controllable vent on the bottom. Why NOT use lump? Just turn it down!

rekameohs · January 27

ATK recently did a review.
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2539-all-about-charcoal

rekameohs · January 27

ATK recently did a review.
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2539-all-about-charcoal

rekameohs · January 27

ATK recently did a review.
https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2539-all-about-charcoal

caliking · January 27

I feel like this would be a good time for @jonessteave to weigh in...

rekameohs · January 29

Sorry for the duplicate posts. I clicked on Post, then it didn't do anything, so I tried again (and again).

Teefus · January 30

I've tried Royal Oak and Rockwood in my Weber Kettle. It works OK for grilling but burns hot and fast. For lid on roasting it's hard to control. I've come to the conclusion that the Weber kettles are optimized for briquettes. Weber Mesquite is my go-to for the kettle. Rockwood is my standard for the BGE.

Teefus · January 30

I've tried Royal Oak and Rockwood in my Weber Kettle. It works OK for grilling but burns hot and fast. For lid on roasting it's hard to control. I've come to the conclusion that the Weber kettles are optimized for briquettes. Weber Mesquite is my go-to for the kettle. Rockwood is my standard for the BGE.

briquettes vs lump

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