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Swapped from lump charcoal to briquettes for a brisket cook and never going back
Tried lump for years but kept getting wild temp swings, switched to B&B briquettes on my last 14 pounder and the consistency was night and day, has anyone else made the switch and noticed the same thing?
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riverh491mo ago
Heard Franklin's crew talking about this on a podcast once, and they basically said lump is for when you want that quick, hot fire for steaks but briquettes are where it's at for long cooks. Totally agree with you, those temp swings with lump can be brutal, especially overnight when you're trying to sleep. I did a packer last month with Stubb's briquettes and my pit stayed within 10 degrees of 250 for almost the whole 16 hours, barely had to touch the vents. The ash buildup was a little more but the peace of mind was totally worth it.
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foster.jordan1mo ago
The part people always miss is how lump charcoal burns differently based on the wood species it's made from. A lot of those cheap bags are just scraps from pallets or construction waste, so you get oak mixed with pine and who knows what else, and that's why the temps go crazy. @riverh49 mentioned Stubb's briquettes being steady and that's exactly why I switched to briquettes for overnight cooks, the consistency beat any lump I've tried. Even the good lump brands have random pockets of dense wood that flare up when you least expect it. The ash thing with briquettes is annoying but I just vacuum it out before I add more fuel and it's fine. At least with a known briquette recipe, you know exactly what you're getting every time.
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jamesf291mo ago
Man, that reminds me of the time I tried using those cheap charcoal briquettes from the grocery store that had all that weird stuff in them. I woke up at 3 AM to check my brisket and my smoker was running at 350. The meat was already falling apart and the bark was like shoe leather. I ended up just pulling it off and having a really weird late night dinner. Never made that mistake again with the good stuff.
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