Lump VS. Briquettes

DawgDrvr · Sep 16, 2010

Ok, so its an age old debate 'Lump or Briquettes'. Sense I am new to smoking,And very new to smoking on my 'Bandera' I am needing some input on what would be better for long and slow cooks. My options are Trader Joe's (Rancher) Briquettes. I can get an 18.lb for $6.50 or a 40.lb bag of Lazzari restaurant grade lump for $12.00 .At Cash & Carry.

The only lump that I have tried, was a generic bag of Mesquite ,Imported from Mexico. It had no other markings on the bag other than 'Hardwood Mesquite lump Charcoal'. When i used it, It popped and spit sparks for 3 hours.I have used 'Stubbs' briquettes but my local Lowes jacked up the price after labor day and i don't feel like paying $9.00 for a 10lb bag

any info or input would help.

thanx guy'z

Cody

Smokey Al Gold · Sep 16, 2010

Well this really boils down to personal preference. Some people like lump some like briquettes so you won't get a straight answer. You can really use either to successfully smoke. You can get a long burn with both but with lump you may need to pack it together really well to get a good even burn. Briquettes usually give you steady even burns as long as you use a quality brand. Most guys here use regular blue bag k and royal oak lump available at wally world. Mesquite lump almost always pops and sparks by the way. I would try smoking with both once and see which suits you more. Hope this was of some help to you.

Chef Jim · Sep 16, 2010

I use lump in my bandera along with sticks or rounds. I don't think it make any difference in what you use, it's all in the fire control.

Sticks are used for fuel and smoke so choose whatever type you like.

Long and slow means tending the fire. On mine that means every 40 minutes or so. No sleep on long cooks.

If you need help on fire control, that another question.

Big_T_BBQ · Sep 16, 2010

I like briquettes for uniformity - I add hickory, apple, or birch chunks to them for smoke. My preferred brand is Royal Oak Briquettes from Do It Best (they ship to local stores for free) $17.99 for 40 Lbs. More even burns than blue k and MUCH less ash.

http://doitbest.com/Charcoal+and+Lighting+Items-Royal+Oak-model-10426-doitbest-sku-838136.dib

Harbormaster · Sep 16, 2010

Big_T_BBQ said:
I like briquettes for uniformity - I add hickory, apple, or birch chunks to them for smoke. My preferred brand is Royal Oak Briquettes from Do It Best (they ship to local stores for free) $17.99 for 40 Lbs. More even burns than blue k and MUCH less ash.

http://doitbest.com/Charcoal+and+Lighting+Items-Royal+Oak-model-10426-doitbest-sku-838136.dib

Dude, we must be related.

I have gone pretty much exclusively to the Royal Oak Chef's Select from DoItBest as well. Best of both worlds, as it's a natural briquette; ground up lump and plant starch.

And I thought I was the only guy that used birch.

altongrady · Sep 16, 2010

I have been able to manage very well with Royal Oak Lump on my Bandera
It is readily available in Alabama at Walmart and is a reasonable price.

Red57Bird · Sep 16, 2010

Big_T_BBQ said:
I like briquettes for uniformity - I add hickory, apple, or birch chunks to them for smoke. My preferred brand is Royal Oak Briquettes from Do It Best (they ship to local stores for free) $17.99 for 40 Lbs. More even burns than blue k and MUCH less ash.

http://doitbest.com/Charcoal+and+Lighting+Items-Royal+Oak-model-10426-doitbest-sku-838136.dib

Gotta agree here as well. Very consistent briqs with very long burn times. I ended up having problems with the magnets I use for air control on my UDS and I was unable to snuff out the fire. My UDS burned at about 275 degrees for a total of almost 3 full days. My coal basket holds maybe 10-12 pounds and there was maybe 2 cups of ash after the full burn. It's the only thing I used in my UDS.

Big_T_BBQ · Sep 16, 2010

Harbormaster said:
Big_T_BBQ said:

I like briquettes for uniformity - I add hickory, apple, or birch chunks to them for smoke. My preferred brand is Royal Oak Briquettes from Do It Best (they ship to local stores for free) $17.99 for 40 Lbs. More even burns than blue k and MUCH less ash.

http://doitbest.com/Charcoal+and+Lighting+Items-Royal+Oak-model-10426-doitbest-sku-838136.dib

Click to expand...

Dude, we must be related.

I have gone pretty much exclusively to the Royal Oak Chef's Select from DoItBest as well. Best of both worlds, as it's a natural briquette; ground up lump and plant starch.

And I thought I was the only guy that used birch.

Well, we are Brethren :thumb:

My parents did some heavy trimming of a birch tree when they recently moved so I got about 25 lbs of 2-3" x 12" pieces for nada. The garage rafters in the spring/summer work well for rapid drying.

murk20 · Sep 16, 2010

I find that lump coals burn out alot faster. I stick briquettes

ChicagoSizzlin · Sep 16, 2010

murk20 said:
I find that lump coals burn out alot faster. I stick briquettes

I use lump when I do direct cooking like steaks and such. Its good for high temp stuff or some indirect cooking even. Other than that I use K Briquettes for low n slow on the UDS. Lump burns much faster in my UDS than Briq's does. The same amount of Briq's I would use for a 14 hours cook lasts maybe half the time using lump. I buy both for specific cooks but for Low n Slow stick with briq's.

Q-Dat · Sep 16, 2010

One thing I've noticed with the high humidity here in south Louisiana is if you keep briquets for a while they tend to absorb moisture out of the air more so than lump. Makes it harder to light, but they do have the consistency advantage hands down. Plus as I have seen others say on here thatbriquets

Q-Dat · Sep 16, 2010

Sorry hit the send button by mistake.

I was saying for whatever reason, btiquets seem to give a nicer smoke ring. Not a big deal in the yard, but at competitions it helps.

2Fat · Sep 16, 2010

Harbormaster said:
I have gone pretty much exclusively to the Royal Oak Chef's Select from DoItBest as well. Best of both worlds, as it's a natural briquette; ground up lump and plant starch.

And I thought I was the only guy that used birch.

thought you still had about 1200bags of Rancher lump still in reserve<lol>

MOS95B · Sep 16, 2010

I use both Stubb's briquettes, and Cowbly lump. I like the brquettes for starting the fire, and lump for maintaining

prudog · Sep 16, 2010

I always use rancher in my vertical gravity feed unit when smoking. Not only does the briq feed better, I feel that briq gives very consistent results and much longer burn times. But, I burn my share of lump when grilling, which I do more than smoking. So... I got bags of both.

It was only recently that I could get Rancher locally, and I still went way out of my way to keep it stocked. I really love the Original Charcoal Company lump that I tried last time I made a run... I guess there is a time and place for everything.

jetfxr27 · Sep 16, 2010

Briqs, better control. Wider availability. Lots of ash.

Lump, burns hotter, cleaner and less ash.

DawgDrvr · Sep 16, 2010

Smokey Al Gold said:
Well this really boils down to personal preference. Some people like lump some like briquettes so you won't get a straight answer. You can really use either to successfully smoke. You can get a long burn with both but with lump you may need to pack it together really well to get a good even burn. Briquettes usually give you steady even burns as long as you use a quality brand. Most guys here use regular blue bag k and royal oak lump available at wally world. Mesquite lump almost always pops and sparks by the way. I would try smoking with both once and see which suits you more. Hope this was of some help to you.

when you say 'regular blue bag k ' are you talking Kingsford?????

smoke it if ya got it · Sep 16, 2010

Smokey Al Gold said:
Well this really boils down to personal preference. Some people like lump some like briquettes so you won't get a straight answer. You can really use either to successfully smoke. You can get a long burn with both but with lump you may need to pack it together really well to get a good even burn. Briquettes usually give you steady even burns as long as you use a quality brand. Most guys here use regular blue bag k and royal oak lump available at wally world. Mesquite lump almost always pops and sparks by the way. I would try smoking with both once and see which suits you more. Hope this was of some help to you.

I agree with smoky al but what i do is put a few big pieces of lump in the bottom and some briquets on top. It works good for me.

Harbormaster · Sep 16, 2010

2Fat said:
thought you still had about 1200bags of Rancher lump still in reserve<lol>

Thanks Buzz!
I bought 1000 lbs of it when it got to $2.00 for 20 lbs, but that was two years ago, and I burned through it all. Can't find it at that price anymore.

2Fat · Sep 16, 2010

Harbormaster said:
Thanks Buzz!
I bought 1000 lbs of it when it got to $2.00 for 20 lbs, but that was two years ago, and I burned through it all. Can't find it at that price anymore.

well was sure a mutual coon hunting acquaintance said it was a 2000 bags--or maybe I misheard<lol> I used my last this weekend--will look for those RO briq

Lump VS. Briquettes

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