Lump Charcoal vs. Briquettes: What’s the Difference?

If you’ve never cooked over charcoal on a kettle-style grill, you might be a little intimidated. But pros recommend playing with fire. 

“I often joke that if you’ve only experienced food on a gas grill, the moment you try that same dish off of a charcoal fire is like The Wizard of Oz turning from black-and-white to color,” says Matt Moore, author of Serial Griller. “I’m not ashamed to grill on gas — it offers convenience and consistency when needed — but the flavor of charcoal is unmatched.”

When it comes to charcoal grilling, the biggest fuel debate is lump vs. briquettes. Both are solid fuel sources for all grills, but there are some crucial differences between the two, including the presence of additives in briquettes. We reached out to chefs who work with fire every day to help you make the best choice for your summer grilling. 

What’s the difference between lump charcoal and briquettes?

Charcoal is made by cooking wood in a low-oxygen environment until it’s mostly pure carbon. That pure carbon, sometimes called char, burns with more potential energy than regular wood. Because it can reach very high temperatures when burned, charcoal is an excellent fuel source for grills. It also gives grilled foods a unique smoky flavor that you can’t achieve with gas grilling, especially when the rendered fat or juices from the food drip onto the coals.

Lump charcoal is made from all-natural pieces of hardwood, often hickory, oak, maple, or other woods. Briquettes, on the other hand, are a manufactured product made with wood by-products that are compressed into a uniform shape. Typically, additives like cornstarch, sodium nitrate, and limestone help briquettes light faster and burn more evenly. These additives can sometimes produce an unpleasant smell as they burn off. 

“I consider lump charcoal a cleaner fuel overall. It’s just hardwood — no additives,” says Blake Edmunds, chef and partner in The Culinary Creative Group and executive chef of Señor Bear and Mister Oso, both in Denver. “Briquettes are manufactured with binders, fillers, and ignition aids to help them light easier. That convenience comes at a bit of a trade-off in purity.”

Why use lump charcoal?

Purists often consider lump charcoal as the one and only fuel source when grilling. Made from all-natural hardwood, it is charcoal in its purest form, and tends to impart a more pleasantly smoky flavor compared to briquettes. It may also burn hotter and longer than its manufactured counterpart.

“Lump charcoal is my go-to. Pound for pound, it gives me the best flavor and the longest burn time,” says Edmunds. 

Another distinct advantage for lump charcoal is that it produces less ash than briquettes, Moore says. You may also get more than one use out of lump charcoal, as large pieces that don’t burn completely can easily be reused.

What are the downsides? Most manufacturers include lump charcoal in varying shapes and sizes, so you never know exactly what you’ll get when opening a bag. That means filling a chimney can be frustrating for beginners. “If you are not paying attention, you might not fill a chimney or grill appropriately if one chunk takes up too much volume, thus varying the cook time and temperature output,” says Moore.

Why use briquettes?

When it comes to faster, fuss-free grilling, many chefs reach for briquettes. They fill a charcoal chimney evenly, light quickly, and tend to burn more consistently than lump charcoal.

“Let’s say I’m grilling a few marinated summer vegetables. That’s a quick cook, so I’ll use Kingsford briquettes,” says Edmunds. “They’re ready to go in about 20 minutes. But if I’m grilling something like a spatchcocked chicken, I’ll go with lump charcoal. It holds a steady temperature, which is crucial when I need to control flare-ups by closing the lid off and on. It gives me that control and longer burn I need.”

On the other hand, Food & Wine editor in chief Hunter Lewis finds that briquettes yield more heat than lump for a longer cook, especially for bone-in poultry like chicken.

“Lately I’ve rekindled my interest in briquettes because they are so consistent,” says Lewis. “Sometimes I’ll light a charcoal chimney half full of briquettes and half full of lump, or go all briquettes, because the briquettes give me a more durable, consistent, and even heat when grilling food like chicken wings. Running out of fuel is no fun when you’re trying to get dinner on the table.” 

Briquettes’ fast light time and consistent cooking may come with unwanted additives, however. “I look for and only use real wood briquettes in our cooking,” says Kita Roberts, the recipe developer and creator behind Girl Carnivore. “We check that there are no artificial binders or chemicals in the charcoal we use as, first, they can make the coals ignite quickly and burn out faster, and second, they can transfer a chemical taste to your food.” 

If you are concerned about the additives in your briquettes, be sure to buy an all-natural variety from a reputable brand.

“Cowboy Hardwood Charcoal Briquets and B&B Competition Oak Briquets only use a vegetable binder to hold the compressed charcoal together in the pillow form, which is why they’re my go-to when grilling for the best subtle smoky flavor,” says Roberts. 

Natural or not, briquettes produce more ash than lump simply because they start out as wood pulp and sawdust. Be sure to let lump charcoal or briquettes turn white before cooking, as the initial burn can produce an unpleasant flavor in your food. 

While there is no clear research about environmental impacts of using charcoal, you should never light them indoors, as both lump and briquettes produce harmful carbon monoxide.

How to deal with ash

No matter which type of charcoal you use, you will have some ash leftover in your grill. It is important to remove this ash between uses, as it can block airflow, leading to poor or uneven heat distribution.

“Charcoal thrives with oxygen, thus if the base of your grill is covered in ash, that will prevent the free flow of oxygen from reaching the coals, thereby reducing performance,” says Moore. “It’s always a good habit to remove the ash and clean the grates prior to any [grilling].”

Some grills have panels for easy ash removal while others may require a small brush to clean. Properly cleaning your grill is one of the best ways to ensure you are getting the most out of your grill and the charcoal.

“When disposing of ash, be sure to wait for it to completely cool down, which can take much longer than you would expect,” says chef Tyler Fenton of BATA in Tucson, Arizona. “At the restaurant, we let our ashes cool overnight and then transfer them to metal-lidded storage containers.”

Luckily, all that wood ash still has purpose. “Ash has a variety of uses. You can use it to create an alkaline solution to nixtamalize corn, you can add it to your compost, or it can be added in small quantities directly to your garden beds,” Fenton says.

Safety should come first no matter what type of charcoal you are using. “One thing I always emphasize is keeping your cooking area clean and clear, especially if you’re grilling outdoors during dry or windy weather,” says chef Max Mackissock, chief culinary officer of The Culinary Creative Group and creator of Denver’s A5 Steakhouse and Ash’Kara, among others. “Stray embers can be a real hazard, so make sure your perimeter is tidy and you’re never leaving fire unattended.” It’s also a good idea to have a fire extinguisher handy.