Source: Cook's Illustrated http://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5

What's the Hottest Charcoal?

Conventional wisdom dictates that hardwood (or "lump") charcoal flames up
fast and furious, while charcoal briquettes burn low and slow. For that
reason, most of the outdoor-cooking guides in our library (including our
own) recommend briquettes for barbecue (cooking ribs and briskets) and
hardwood for quick, direct-heat grilling (cooking burgers, steaks, and
chops). Two dozen grilling gurus couldn't be wrong, right? We headed to the
test kitchen's back alley to find out.

We filled 6-quart chimneys with either hardwood charcoal or briquettes. Just
before lighting the match, we outfitted the cooking grate with seven
thermocouples -- wire probes that feed temperature data to an attached
console -- and set about recording heat levels at five-minute intervals. We
ran the tests a dozen times and then analyzed our data.

The results were startling. In every test, the briquettes burned as hot, or
hotter, than the hardwood. In the grilling tests, the fires produce nearly
identical heat for about 30 minutes-enough time for most quick grilling
tasks. From there on, the hardwood coals quickly turn into piles of ash,
while the briquettes slowly lost heat.

As we've always contested, slow-cooking a pork shoulder for eight hours
would be a high-maintenance affair with hardwood. Our briquettes took nearly
three hours to fall below the 250 degree mark; in that time we'd have to
refuel the hardwood fire twice. The slow, steady descent of the briquettes
is perfect for this job.

So what about our old assumptions? Hardwood is, in fact, the hotter-burning
charcoal, at least when comparing charcoal pound for pound. But most outdoor
cooks measure out charcoal by volume (filling a chimney), and a 6-quart
chimneyful of briquettes weighs more than twice as much as the same volume
of hardwood.

And briquettes are cheaper: Filling a chimney with lump charcoal costs about
$2 compared with just $1.37 for briquettes.

Michael (Piedmont)

On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
> Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5

Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.

Briquettes-diesel fuel
Lump = goodness

On 15 Jun, 22:52, Tutall > wrote:
> On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
>
> > Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5
>
> Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
> of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.
>
> Briquettes-diesel fuel
> Lump = goodness

Sorry, can't agree with that viewpoint. I started off using lumpwood,
about 30 years ago. I've moved gradually to briquettes and I don't
think the difference is that important.

If you want good food, start by buying good food! From there, good
fire control and lots of practice are what will make the difference
between the mediocre meat burner and the good barbecue host.

John
www.morgans-net.com

On Jun 15, 4:01 pm, John Morgan > wrote:
> On 15 Jun, 22:52, Tutall > wrote:
>
> > On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
>
> > > Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5
>
> > Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
> > of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.
>
> > Briquettes-diesel fuel
> > Lump = goodness
>
> Sorry, can't agree with that viewpoint. I started off using lumpwood,
> about 30 years ago. I've moved gradually to briquettes and I don't
> think the difference is that important.

Suit yourself, I know what my nose knows. And it knows the difference.
I can also taste the difference grilling and don't need to add
anything to the fire to get a wood smoke flavor.

I see that a lot of the travelling circuit Qers use the stuff. Well,
they do a lot of other silly things that you and I wouldn't do in our
backyard too. And I'm not about to copy any of that either.

John Morgan wrote:
> On 15 Jun, 22:52, Tutall > wrote:
>> On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
>>
>>> Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5
>>
>> Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
>> of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.
>>
>> Briquettes-diesel fuel
>> Lump = goodness
>
> Sorry, can't agree with that viewpoint. I started off using lumpwood,
> about 30 years ago. I've moved gradually to briquettes and I don't
> think the difference is that important.

There is a significant difference. There a brands of briquettes that are
better than others, like Royal Oak; but lump beats briquettes hands down.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

"Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
> "Tutall" > wrote in message
> > On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
> > > Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5
> >
> > Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
> > of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.
> >
> > Briquettes-diesel fuel
> > Lump = goodness
> >
> Sounds like we need a blind taste test!

I'm halfway there already! °~O

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~

"Tutall" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
> > Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5
>
> Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
> of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.
>
> Briquettes-diesel fuel
> Lump = goodness
>

Sounds like we need a blind taste test!

On Jun 15, 5:49 pm, "Dave Bugg" > wrote:
> John Morgan wrote:
> > On 15 Jun, 22:52, Tutall > wrote:
> >> On Jun 15, 1:08 pm, "Michael \(Piedmont\)" > wrote:
>
> >>> Source: Cook's Illustratedhttp://tinyurl.com/2nxvl5
>
> >> Wonder why they overlooked flavor. Seems that most each and every one
> >> of these comparisons you read ignores the flavor difference.
>
> >> Briquettes-diesel fuel
> >> Lump = goodness
>
> > Sorry, can't agree with that viewpoint. I started off using lumpwood,
> > about 30 years ago. I've moved gradually to briquettes and I don't
> > think the difference is that important.
>
> There is a significant difference. There a brands of briquettes that are
> better than others, like Royal Oak; but lump beats briquettes hands down.
> --
> Davewww.davebbq.com

That's right, there isn't a respectable BBQ place that uses Kill-ford
is there? Shit, I bet even the bad places skip that step straight to
par boiling. Might as well.