I bought a small side smoker a few months ago and love it. I have been trying to find the best charcoal.
What do you guys think is the best charcoal? Briquettes or lump? Brand?
lump (hardwood):
Pros: Lights quickly, burns hotter, little ash production, easier temperature adjustment, all natural
Cons: Burns faster, more expensive, less consistent (bags can contain unusably small pieces of charcoal)
briquettes:
Pros: Burns longer, easier to maintain consistent temperature, cheaper
Cons: Longer to light, chemical smell, large ash production
the above was excerpted from here: http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/05/grilling-smackdown-lump-charcoal-vs-briquette.html
I recently smoked 15lbs of pork on a little brinkmann, used both but started with Kingsford (regular, not match light) and added hardwood lump a couple hours in to keep the heat going. there are some really good tutorials, recipes, and tips online from a guy who calls himself “MeatHead”, worth looking up his take on temperature regulation, kinds of smoke, making a dry rub to create a bark, etc… some really in-depth stuff. http://amazingribs.com/meathead/meet_meathead.html
You’re right on with pros & cons. I have tried Royal Oak & Teeter brand lump and couldn’t tell the difference. However, the Royal Oak had pieces that were shaped like baseboard. All natural?
Briquettes are so much easier to control temp. Right now, I’m using Stubbs Natural briquettes, doesn’t have the chemical taste. Supposedly, they use corn starch for a binder.
I’ll check out the Meathead site. Take a look at this site. Has ton of ratings, but most of the stuff isn’t available locally.
Never get the matchlight stuff. Get a nice chimney starter and you can light the coals without lighter fluid. Just a couple pieces of paper and the coals will be perfect. Pour them when the whole batch is orange.
yes to the chimney starter, and yes to the Royal Oak- I found similar baseboard pieces in the huge bag I got from Walmart for $10, wondered about their origin and decided they would be great at catching some heat and lighting off anyway!
that’s one heck of a list of charcoal brands, the standard royal oak got pretty good ratings. gonna take me a while to burn through my bag…
must be lunch time… I’m hungry!
Great little smoker. I had to fire caulk the joints and put a gasket on the door, but works great.
Still use the brinkman for small stuff like chicken and turkey breast.
quote:
Originally posted by WallyBGreat little smoker. I had to fire caulk the joints and put a gasket on the door, but works great.
Still use the brinkman for small stuff like chicken and turkey breast.
What kind of gasket did you use? I want to improve the seal on my weber.
When I got my Kamado Joe I started with a bad of Wicked Good (bought from Truluck pool), but they can’t get it anymore. Great results, long burn, little ash. Next, I gave Rockwood (number 1 rated on http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumprankpoll) a try, which you can get at Ace hardware on Dorchester. I was not as impressed. My current bag is Kamado Joe brand (from Truluck again) and I really like it. Nice mix of big and small pieces. I did a 14-hour cook and had quite a bit in the cooker when done.
I’ve pretty much shifted away from briquettes because I am not sure what binder is used to shape the briquettes. I bet some are great, some maybe not so great.
15’ Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro
Got the gasket on Amazon. It and the fire caulk were less than $15. Made a big difference.
Doschers has a brand of hardwood charcoal i use that is relatively cheap and good. I forget the brand name… May even be the store brand, but its not bad. Seems to be cheaper than any other hardwood bag ive seen. Lights very fast, burns hot, but you can control the burn time and temperature if you mess with it and add pieces as needed