What Are the Different Types of Charcoal?

Charcoal is a convenient, quick-lighting, hot-burning fuel source for grilling hot dogs in the park or slow-smoking barbecue. But not all charcoal is created equally, nor is it a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s surprisingly varied. There’s lump charcoal, binchotan, briquettes, and instant light—so which do you choose?

We dug into the differences so you’ll know which bag to grab, whether you’re using a kettle grill to char some chicken breasts or smoking ribs in a barrel grill.

So, What Is Charcoal?

Charcoal is made by burning wood in a low-oxygen environment causing water, sap, and other volatile substances to cook off, leaving large chunks of carbon and some trace minerals. The remaining wood (a.k.a. charcoal) is a hotter-burning fuel than the original piece since the energy required to burn off those volatile substances is no longer needed. From there, it gets more nuanced depending on the type of charcoal, which we’ll get into below.

What Is Lump Charcoal?

Lump charcoal is closest to the original block of wood, or so we can surmise. The best lump charcoal is made by burning hardwoods like oak and hickory in an airtight environment. Since the end product is remarkably pure, it leaves clean, white ash, and any charcoal that doesn’t fully burn is suitable for reuse. When buying lump charcoal, shake the bag and listen for small bits rattling in the bottom. Your best bet is a bag with the least rattling, indicating larger chunks and fewer fragments and dust. Lump charcoal is a great choice for long-cooking applications and barbecue, but it can also reach high temperatures, making it excellent for searing meat and the like. We tested 13 bags of lump charcoal, using them in both high- and low-heat grilling tests. Below are our top picks.

Our Favorite Lump Charcoal

Jealous Devil’s lump charcoal lights quickly and burns for a long time (90 minutes in our tests), providing even heat throughout the cooking process. The company claims it’s made from sustainable wood, and it doesn’t pop and spark when lighting, although it does produce a bit of smoke in the beginning before settling down. 

Before getting to the technical aspects of this charcoal, I’ll point out the “Good” in the company name. This lump charcoal is made from acacia wood from Namibia in an attempt to prevent grassland encroachment that threatens the ecology there. Now for the details. 

The Good charcoal is more evenly sized than the Jealous Devil, and sifting to reduce dust that creates smoke, sparks, and pops is part of the company’s manufacturing process. It lights in a chimney in about 15 minutes, and the large lump size minimizes charcoal loss during lighting.

What Is Binchotan Charcoal?

Now that we understand the high-level concept of lump charcoal, making binchotan will make more sense. It’s one thing to burn wood in a low-oxygen environment. It’s another to burn it at temperatures topping 2,300°F. This process yields exceptionally clean-burning, smokeless charcoal that produces infrared heat in the neighborhood of 1,200°F with no visible flame. Binchotan is excellent for high-heat searing applications. While it’s expensive, it is intended for multiple uses, meaning you can put it out by smothering it and save it for another cooking session. It’s the preferred charcoal for yakitori and Konro grills.

Our Favorite Binchotan Charcoal

This binchotan from Jealous Devil burns hot and clean, as per the style. The infrared heat sears quickly and cooks food from the inside out. As such, it quickly cooks and evaporates water from food and has great potential to leave the food dry. So, this is charcoal intended for fast, hot cooking and is not suited for low-temperature applications. 

The Bincho Grill Store charcoal is a bump in price from Jealous Devil and sells sizes between 0.75 and 2.5 inches in diameter. It’s made from oak wood and also claims to be an effective water purifier (although we haven’t tested that).

Thai-style grilling also uses charcoal logs. The brand Thaan sells a proprietary version made from fruit orchard wood trimmings. Light a few sticks of Thaan and expect four to six hours of burn time, with an incredibly clean fire. Thaan also makes lump charcoal.

What Are Briquettes?

Briquettes are probably the most easily recognized form of charcoal and are most often used in charcoal grills. The first step of making briquettes is the same as lump charcoal, but then the charcoal is pulverized, mixed with binders, and compressed into the classic pillow shape. Look for brands with high hardwood content, as some brands mix more softwoods, like pine or sometimes fruit pits, into their briquettes.

This explanation doesn’t mean briquettes are inferior to lump charcoal; they’re just different animals. Charcoal briquettes are the summertime-in-the-park classic for grilling burgers and hotdogs. Briquettes are also good fuel for smoking, as there are ways, such as the snake method, of building a set-it-and-forget-it self-feeding system that ensures a consistent supply of charcoal while maintaining proper temperature.

Our Favorite Briquette Charcoal

Because of its higher hardwood content, Royal Oak Premium burns hotter and longer than many competitors. It deviates from the classic pillow shape, with grooves molded into the flatter surfaces, increasing the airflow across the briquette. Better airflow equals easier lighting and hotter temperatures. But don’t let the mention of hotter temperatures pigeonhole this charcoal; it’s also great for smoking and slow grilling.

Contrary to what many believe, one of the most commonly used woods for barbecue isn’t hickory or mesquite—it’s oak. Oak presents a definite smoke flavor but is more subtle than the other two, which can overwhelm and sometimes turn bitter when used in large quantities. B&B Competition Oak Briquettes provide that subtle flavor in long cooks, but this charcoal also burns hot for searing burgers and steaks. It burns down to light clean ash when done, making cleanup easy.

What Are Instant-Light Briquettes?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned griller; sooner or later, you will use at least one bag of instant-light charcoal. Instant light is a charcoal born of convenience and is simply briquettes pre-coated in a lighter fluid-like substance. Add it to your charcoal chimney and hold a match to a few briquettes, and you’re ready to grill. A word of warning: Don’t be me. I once tried to light an unopened bag of instant light, thinking the bag’s paper would aid in lighting. It did, but I didn’t factor in the physics of expanding heat in an enclosed container, and, well, BOOM. 

Our Favorite Instant-Light Charcoal

Kingsford is an easy-to-use instant-light charcoal available in many grocery and specialty stores, so you won’t have to look hard for it. Because of the lighter fluid coating, be sure your charcoal completely burns down to coals before adding food to the grill to avoid potential off flavors or toxins. Likewise, if you need to add more charcoal during cooking, either add it with no food on the grill and let it burn down or light it in a charcoal chimney and add it to your grill when it’s ready.

FAQs

How do you light charcoal on a grill?

There are a few ways of lighting charcoal briquettes and lump charcoal. I’ll list them in order of effectiveness and convenience.

• Charcoal chimney starters: Chimneys are the easiest and most effective means. Place your charcoal in the hopper, add crumpled paper to the bottom chamber, and light the paper. By design, natural convection occurs, lighting the charcoal above, which you then dump into your grill for cooking. A reusable chimney requires no special accessories except some paper and a lighter.
• Lighter blocks: I’ll use “block” as a descriptor, as lighter blocks can be made of dense, compressed sawdust, like these from Masterbuilt, or bundles of wood fiber like these from Kingsford. In either case, the block consists of wood coated with flammable material, often harmless paraffin. You place one or more of these blocks under your charcoal, touch a flame to them, and they light the charcoal.
• Lighter fluid: Use it if you must. Yes, lighter fluid is effective when applied properly, but there are some guidelines for minimizing off-flavors. Many people douse their charcoal in lighter fluid and immediately light it. That can work, but more often than not, it simply burns the lighter fluid without igniting the charcoal. They then add more fluid to a fire that may or may not be visibly burning; the fluid flares and they become contenders for viral videos. Allow the lighter fluid to soak into the charcoal for five to 10 minutes, and the odds change in favor of lighting the charcoal and lowering the chances of your immortalization via internet presence. The same rules apply here as instant-light charcoal: Let the flames burn out completely before adding your food.
• Propane torches: I’ve never had much success with these methods, but I know people who swear by lighting charcoal with a propane torch or an electric lighter. The idea is to apply high heat to the charcoal, and off you go. There’s something primally fun about applying intense flame to things, like in the case of a torch, but the charm wears off when the charcoal starts sparking and popping onto your hands and arms. Not that I, uh, know anything about that.

What’s the best way to store charcoal?

Most charcoal comes in a bag with either an inner moisture-repellent liner or a coating on the paper. That protects the charcoal from rain, but after opening the bag, it does little to protect it from ambient humidity. If you live in a particularly humid environment, you can purchase a moisture-resistant storage bin such as one made for storing pet food or a specialized charcoal bin. Either way, keep your charcoal out of the rain or snow for best results.

Can you use charcoal for smoking?

Absolutely. My tastes run toward less smokey smoked foods, and I find that hardwood lump charcoal, typically oak unless specified, provides a good, subtle, yet distinctly present flavor to the foods I smoke. Hardwood briquettes work equally well. What’s absent in charcoal is the water and sap found in plain wood, so there’s less popping, smoking, and creosote flavor in the foods.

Can you reuse charcoal?

Yes. While typically reserved for lump or binchotan, you can smother the fire by cutting off the air supply and saving unspent charcoal for another cooking session. (A moisture-resistant container is your best bet for this.)

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