Who does not love a good barbecue party? Not only do you get much-needed family time, but you also get the opportunity to feast on delicious food. But do you know how much effort it takes to host a successful one? You have to be careful about choosing all the right elements, be it a recipe, charcoal grill, or even some of the best lump charcoal.
Usually, people do not realize how different charcoals can make all the difference in the flavor of your meat. In this article, we have highlighted the importance of lump charcoal as a crucial ingredient in your BBQ. Read on to find out more about its origin, features, flavor, and the best ones in the market for your next party.
How is Lump Charcoal Made?
Lump charcoal is made by burning natural hardwoods in the absence of oxygen. This removes the sap and natural chemicals out of the wood and leaves the lump relatively dry without any moisture. Hence, this natural hardwood charcoal is widely known for its purity.
The process to manufacture lump charcoal is complex and requires extensive labor as well as a large quantity of wood. Such that, it can take days to burn all the wood in oxygen-free space to remove volatile substances like water, methane, tar, and hydrogen. Lump charcoal can be formed from logs, tree limbs, and wood scraps from furniture, flooring, and sawmills, with different brands using wood from different sources.
In the end, only 25% of the original weight is left in the form of powder and black wood. This contains almost 90% carbon and looks like charred or burnt wood to observers. Since people nowadays are leaning towards organic products, lump charcoal is gaining popularity over other varieties of charcoals. It is the most natural fuel without the addition of any fillers or additives.
Features of Lump Charcoal
Lump charcoal has many beneficial features that make it a better alternative to most types of charcoals used for grilling. To begin with, it is made from particular woods that give an amazing essence to all your food. With an ash content of just 3%, this charcoal burns with low ash and is perfect for those with respiratory health problems. Hence, you can get the healthy yet smoky restaurant-quality food right at home.
Compared to other charcoals, lump charcoal burns hotter and is more oxygen-responsive. This allows you to sear meat perfectly as well as control the temperature of your grill within a narrow range through adjustable air vents of your grill. With the temperature rising as high as 1200 degrees with some species, lump charcoal is the best option for cooking on high flame.
Apart from this, it lights up faster, reducing prep time to a minimum. It is perfect for use when you are running short on time because it requires only a few minutes to burn up. Many chefs have opted to this charcoal to save time and reduce their frustration while starting the grill.
Being the most organic option, this fuel does not contain any lighter fluids or additives and burns much more cleanly than others. Instead of a chemical aftertaste, you only get the best smoky flavor with every bite.
Although this charcoal has many benefits, it does have a few drawbacks. It burns faster and needs to be replaced constantly, which increases its overall usage. This, in return, adds up its cost, making it a pricier option. Also, they often come in irregular sizes with dust found in most bags. This makes grilling more difficult and increases the risk of choking the airflow vents.
Factors to Consider Before Purchasing Lump Charcoal
Before purchasing lump charcoal for your next barbecue party, look for the following factors to make sure you only choose the highest quality hardwood.
- They should be produced from only 100% natural hardwood and free from all sorts of chemicals.
- Good brands offer the same sized lumps of charcoal with little to no dust. Best quality ones contain large lumps that burn for a long time and produce much less ash.
- Check your charcoals for their smell. If their natural scent is pleasant, it will lead to enjoyable cooking time. In the case where your charcoal gives off acrid fumes upon lighting up, it means that it is not sourced from good quality wood.
- High-quality charcoal does not burn with excessive sparking. Even though the sparking might look aesthetic, such charcoals pose a danger to people. They are a typical feature of low-quality lightwood and are found to burn out faster.
- Brands should also produce lump charcoal from sustainable sources. Instead of sourcing them from the rainforest, you must choose brands that make their charcoal locally and from sustainable lumps.
- The type of wood used to produce the lumps is another factor to focus on before purchasing your charcoal. You can find both single-species wood as well as mixed blends in the market.
Types of Lump Charcoal Hardwood
Different woods give off different aromas, and each has a particular temperature and burning time. Manufacturers, normally, add a mix of these varieties to produce a bag of the best lump charcoal. Following are just a few types of woods available in the market.
- Apple – Available in Midwest and northeast, applewood has a mildly sweet smoke, burns at a temperature of 1190°F and is the perfect choice for pork, fish, and ribs.
- Hickory – It is the most popular wood used for grilling as it gives off a strong smoky flavor in your meat. Such that, you should opt to hickory while grilling pork or beef brisket.
- Birch – This wood is much softer than others, burns out faster, and unburnt pieces give off acrid smoke. However, it is amazing for cold-smoking fish.
- Cherry – It is similar to apple wood and has a unique sweet smoke, which makes it a great option for slow and low smoking meats like salmon, duck, and chicken. Along with this, it burns at 1099°F.
- Oak – The most common ingredient in blends, oak is known to help with temperature of the burning charcoal. Upon burning, it produces strong smoke that is slightly more bitter than hickory.
What are the Best Lump Charcoals?
As described above, lump charcoal has many benefits which make it triumph over other types of charcoals. If you are looking for organic options instead of synthetic ones full of additives, then this type of charcoal is perfect for you.
With more than 75 brands of lump charcoal available in the market, it can be confusing to opt for one. Thus, we have reviewed some of the best lump charcoal brands in the following section.
#1. Jealous Devil Lump Charcoal
Jealous Devil is a company based in the US and sources its hardwood from Paraguay in South America. The high quality and dense hardwood ensure that you only get the best product.
This charcoal burns without any excessive sparking and produces a low quantity of ash. This not only makes it non-hazardous but also reduces coughing and irritation produced from the usual ash.
Apart from this, Jealous Devil offers only consistent large sized lumps with much less dust compared to other brands. This reduces waste and prevents your grill from choking.
Since these charcoals are 100% natural and contain no additives or lighter fluids, you will not get a smoky aftertaste in your food. Instead, it will impart only a mild smoky flavor in every bite of your grilled food. Besides this, it can burn three times longer and two times hotter, reaching temperatures up to 1172°F.
Additionally, Jealous Devil charcoal has a cooking power of over 7000 cal/g, making sure you can cook perfectly seared and smoked food.
Pros:
- Burns two times hotter
- Burns three times longer
- Low ash
- 100% natural
Con:
- Harder to light up
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#2. FOGO Super Premium Charcoal
Fogo, originating from the Portuguese word ‘Fire’, is known widely for producing only the best premium quality charcoals. This brand sources its selected oak hardwood from Central America for each piece of coal in their bag.
80% of all the lump charcoals are larger than 4 inches and have a longer period for burning. Along with this, there are only a few small lumps and little dust present in each bag, minimizing the risk for clogging your grill’s air vents.
This brand has made sure to keep the lump charcoals all-natural, adding no extra ingredients to raise its qualities. It is sourced from hardwood trimmings and produces clear smoke upon burning. Such that, you can use it to impart a mellow smoky flavor to all sorts of food, from beef and fish to vegetables.
Apart from all this, this charcoal lights in only 15 minutes, much faster than most brands. Also, it burns at higher temperatures and for a longer duration. This makes it quite suitable for searing meat and reduces the need for replacing the charcoals frequently.
Without any excessive sparking, this brand of charcoal is perfect if you want to stay away from accidents.
Since this lump charcoal burns for a longer time, you do not have to replace it frequently. Also, it does not even produce sparkling upon burning, thereby reducing a lot of accidents.
Pros:
- Lights up faster
- Burns longer
- No additives or chemicals
- No excessive sparkling
Cons:
- Avoid lighter fluids
- Reaches high temperatures in a long time
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#3. Original Natural Charcoal
This brand of lump charcoal contains a mix of oak, apple, and cherry wood. All of these woods are sourced from Ukraine which has a climate suitable for the growth of oak and fruit trees.
Original Natural Charcoal, as the name suggests, is 100% natural and extremely eco-friendly, using only downed trees. It does not leave a bitter aftertaste like other low-quality charcoals because it does not have any additives like light fluids.
Furthermore, it preserves the juiciness in every bite and imparts a delicious, sweet, smoky flavor to all sorts of meat like beef, same birds, pork, and poultry. You can get restaurant-quality healthy food at home and hold scrumptious barbecue parties without any hesitation.
Designed for professional pit-masters, this charcoal produces low ash and smoke with minimum sparks. Along with this, it can light up very quickly, even within five minutes, and can reach high temperatures responsible for deliciously seared meat. This brand has guaranteed 100% refund within 30 days in the case where users remain unsatisfied with the charcoal.
Pros
- Reaches high temperature
- Minimum sparks
- Lights up faster
Con
- Dust and chips make up almost 50% of each bag
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#4. Rockwood All-Natural Lump Charcoal
This US-based brand has sourced its lump charcoal from oak, maple, hickory, and pecan wood from Missouri. It has less than 5% dust and chips, reducing waste and decreasing the risk of plugging the vents. Apart from this, each bag contains uniform medium-sized charcoals.
This lump charcoal burns slow and long and can reach temperatures till 900°F. It has low ash content, and the smoke is quite mild, making it suitable for fish and poultry. Rockwood Charcoal is suitable for all types of grills and smokers.
Rockwood is an all-natural lump charcoal brand that has focused a lot on renewable sources. Instead of harvesting trees to produce its charcoal, it uses the wood left after timber milling. Moreover, it uses recyclable paper bags that do not pollute the air upon burning.
Pros
- Consistent size
- Burns longer
- Reached high temperatures
- Low dust
Con
- Difficult to light up
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Conclusion
Lump charcoals are perfect for those people who prefer organic alternatives to synthetic fluids. Not only are they compatible with all sorts of grills, but they also light up faster and reach higher temperatures, which may be perfect for different styles of cooking. Along with this, they provide unique flavors to the meat with each type of wood imparting a different natural flavor.
We hope that you have gained enough information on lump charcoal along with their multiple benefits. Try opting for those brands that use sustainable resources for their wood and contain relatively larger lumps. You can choose your lump charcoal among the ones reviewed above to make your next party successful.
Last Updated on August 11, 2020 by Judith Fertig
Hector says
i tried a new brand yesterday called hardercharcoal, bigger lumps as jealous devil and cleaner charcoal.