Since the author is considered an expert in the art of barbecue, he is often asked what kind of charcoal or firewood I use. I’m not sure I have the experience to be considered the barbecue guru for the people, but this is a question that I can answer from experience.
Let’s recap the difference between grilling and broiling. For purists, barbecue is simmered. The ideal temperature for smoking is 225-250 degrees F. Now there are a few guys out there (most notably Myron Mixon with the Jacks Old South BBQ team) that cook high and fast with outstanding results. In fact, at the time of writing, I think Myron is tied for the most barbecue championships in Memphis in May with Big Bob Gibson’s Chris Lily. Most guys still subscribe to cooking at lower temperatures to get the best barbecue.
On the other hand, grilling takes a much longer time. A typical charcoal grill can operate at 350-450 degrees and a ceramic pot (Big Green Egg) can exceed 1000 degrees. It is ideal for cooking steaks, pork chops and hamburgers. In fact, I still use an old Weber-style charcoal grill for my quick cuts of meat. My gas grill has been in need of a new burner for most of 18 months, but I haven’t cut down on my outdoor cooking at all.
Charcoal briquettes (we all know Kingsford well) are great for hot, quick cooking. Briquettes generally light faster and burn reasonably well. Burning gives off enough flavor to be certainly better than cooking in the oven or in a skillet. I rarely use the briquettes, just because I actually taste it or not, I unconsciously taste the chemicals. Briquettes use binders and fillers when pressed to hold their shape. The biggest drawback of using briquettes is the amount of ash that remains at the end of cooking. In my experience the ash left is at least 5 to 1 compared to using wood.
That leads me to use firewood for cooking. Cooking wood really comes in two forms. Real wood logs or chops and what is known as hardwood lump charcoal. Large barbecue smokers can hold logs without a problem, but that is not feasible for smaller smokers or grills.
The best option is hardwood lump charcoal. This is where the wood chips are pre-burned and then cooled and then packaged for sale. What you have is real wood, but easy to light and burn. Charcoal in hardwood chunks emits tons of smoke (as much or more than if you were burning whole logs) and tends to burn for long periods of time (at the right temperature) and with constant temperatures. A big advantage of using lump charcoal is the small amount of ash that is generated. Because there are no fillers, binders, or chemicals, there isn’t much left in the end.
I recently used my smoker for 5 days straight and only used about 40 pounds of lump charcoal. In the end, there was less than a quart-size bowl of ash left over. Using lighters, I would have measured in gallons. This can be a problem especially with a smaller smoker. Too much ash build-up can limit the amount of air that gets in and make it difficult to maintain constant temperatures.
The best thing about today is the high availability of lump charcoal. Almost any Wal-Mart or other large store sells pieces of hardwood. During peak barbecue season, you can find it at home improvement centers like Home Depot or Lowes. The three most common brands found in Alabama are Royal Oak, Cowboy Lump, and Rancher. I’ve had success with all three, but Royal Oak is the easiest to come by. If you’re like me, I usually use my smoker year-round and the availability during the winter can make it quite scarce. I tend to stock up for the winter just before Halloween, when the holiday stuff starts to take up space in the garden center.
Please don’t think you need a smoker to cook with lump charcoal. It has been at least 10 years since I last used briquettes. Now I only use lump charcoal, even on my charcoal grill when I cook burgers, steaks, and the like. No lighter fluid is needed. To start lump charcoal, your best bet is to find a charcoal fireplace. A little newspaper and a lighter is all you need to start a big fire.
Cooking with real wood requires another article to be published soon. For smoking, wood is the preferred energy source. In my smoker, I use lumps to build a good fire and supplement them with logs of wood. They come in all types, including oak, walnut, peach, apple, and mesquite, to name a few. I’ll go over each one in detail in my next article, including how to make your own lump charcoal if you’d like.
Happy smoking!
