What are the differences between lumpwood charcoal and charcoal briquettes?
You can buy charcoal in two primary forms: lumpwood charcoal and charcoal briquettes. (You can also buy “ready to cook” bags of briquettes, where you put the bag and all into the BBQ or oven … but we won’t mention that! Unless, of course, you like the aroma of burning accelerants and cardboard in your food).
Lumpwood charcoal is the better of the two forms. By miles. It’s just wood, nothing else, heated to a high temperature without oxygen. No additives. When you look at a piece of lumpwood charcoal it looks like, well, wood: you can see that it was once part of a tree, with the characteristic rings and layers. If you’re an expert, you can even determine the species of tree.
Common species used to make lumpwood charcoal are ash, oak, beech and birch. Each species will have its own characteristics and distinctive aroma. The density of the original species is important: denser wood equals longer burn. It’s lovely to experiment and see what works for you. Rather like wine tasting. As a rule of thumb, a single species charcoal will give you confidence in its provenance and quality.
Typically, the sizes of the lumps will vary from species to species, producer to producer, tree to tree, batch to batch, and even within each bag. Fewer, bigger lumps tend to burn for longer (think surface area to volume ratio). Small lumps and flakes tend to burn out pretty quickly.
The quality of the charcoal you use is essential.
Not all charcoal is the same. There is a vast difference in quality. Most of us are familiar with buying charcoal for the BBQ in the summer from our local supermarket or garage. The price might look good but is the fuel as good?
If it's imported, it may well have chemicals added to stop it from catching fire in transit, and it might even originate from a rainforest. Charcoal is a surprisingly unregulated commodity.
And these added chemicals in some imported charcoals and in most briquettes are the origin of that old adage of waiting for the coals to go white before cooking. This is because those added chemicals need to burn away first. Most of us can conjure up the memory of the acrid smoke fumes which die out once the coals turn white. Throw in a bit of lighter fuel to get things started, and you are a long way from the restaurant flavours we long to create at home.
But this is far from the whole story. If you choose the right charcoal, it's very, very different. No chemicals, no fumes, no waiting. Just the alchemy of fantastic flavour and aroma. Charcoal imparts flavour. That's where the flavour magic lies. Think of charcoal as an ingredient.