What may work great for direct high temperature searing may not be best suited for low and slow smoking. The main thing that I gathered from my analysis is that different scenarios call for different brands and types of lump charcoal. Instead of just a heat source, lump charcoal should be viewed as a go to resource for any pitmasters of all experience. Entities such as specialty bakeries, restaurants, caterers and backyard bbq experts are all in on the advantages of using lump charcoal. In just the past decade lump charcoal sales have more than tripled. While charcoal briquettes have maintained a large and consistent lead in market share, lump charcoal has gained a considerable deal of ground over a fairly short period of time. The organic movement is a likely contributing factor of the sudden uptick in lump charcoal popularity. With a greater demand for transparency consumers demand to know exactly what is going into the resources they use to cook food. Lump charcoal seems to be gaining main stream traction at precisely the right time. This leaves only black carbon to be later ignited and used as charcoal.įaster lighting time, better temperature control, low ash production, longer burn time and incredible flavor are a few of the overall characteristics that have made lump charcoal a highly sought after heat source. Using large kilns, lump charcoal is made through a process of slowly burning small and medium size pieces of wood in the absence of oxygen until all the natural chemicals, sap and moisture are completely removed from the wood. Lump charcoal is all natural carbonized hardwood, with no fillers, binders, or petroleum-based additives. Though I’ve used lump charcoal consistently for the past several years I still felt the need to gain a better understanding of what exactly it was, where it comes from and how it was manufactured. Thus I came up with this fairly in-depth analysis of a few brands that I have used as well as some that I hadn’t up until now. I needed to dig a little deeper to figure out exactly which brands were best suited for my style and needs. Of late I’ve come to the conclusion that Lump Charcoal is the way to go. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with a plethora of charcoal varieties and brands.