Lump charcoal is natural hardwood, tree branches, and twigs that have been cooked in a low oxygen environment to create hardwood lump charcoal. This charcoal is called lump charcoal because after the hardwood is cooked and turned into charcoal, it retains its natural shape and tree-like characteristics resulting in large lumps of coals.
How Hardwood Lump charcoal is made
Lump charcoal is made from natural hardwoods. Logs, wood scraps, branches, and twigs can all be carbonized to make lump charcoal. The charcoal is often produced from tress like Quebracho from South America, which produces a distinct flavor, but oak and hickory hardwoods are also used.
Water, tar, and other organic compounds are removed by cooking the wood in a low oxygen environment.
The result is are natural-looking wood chunks turned into charcoal, hence the name lump charcoal. Lump charcoal is recognizable due to its lump size, irregular shapes since it is all-natural. Good lump charcoal brands produce 100 percent natural charcoal that will burn clean and not interfere with food seasoning or flavor.
Why is lump charcoal Preferred, in some cases
Lump charcoal has no binder, artificial flavors, or chemicals. The natural aspect of lump charcoal attracts many BBQ enthusiasts, and many only turn to lump charcoal for smoking meats and grilling food.
Lump charcoal’s natural origins make it the closest thing to grilling and smoking food with natural wood. However, charcoal should never be considered a source of flavor. Lump charcoal, like any other charcoal, is your fuel and source of heat.
Lump charcoal is also preferred among Kamado grill owners as lump charcoal produces less ash than briquette charcoal. This is important for kamado grills as kamado’s design and efficiency depend heavily on airflow, and too much ash in the firebox will shut off the grill making it impossible to use.
Kamado grills do not have large ash boxes, and too much ah can easily clog up a kamado grill ashpan and disrupt airflow.
Another reason many BBQ Grill and smoker owners prefer lump charcoal is because it burns clean, as it is natural, and it burns hot. This means that you can potentially use fewer coals to grill a few dogs.
Lump charcoal, how over does have its drawbacks, is directly linked to its innate nature. First, lump charcoal is more expensive to produce, and therefore the price per pound is higher.
Second, the lumps are all kinds of sizes, shapes, and lengths. Having inconsistent size chunks can create uneven heat in your grill. For some, lump charcoal can be harder to manage and temperature control.
Lastly, not all lump charcoal manufactures cook their wood the same. Some have high-quality standards, but the less expensive brands use recycled woods which can introduce foreign objects to the mix and end up in your bag and therefore in your grill.
The key point here is that lump charcoal is made out of natural wood, and as with anything natural, some things cannot be controlled during the manufacturing process. Aspects like shape, size, and but the output of the lump will not be controlled as this product is a natural by-product of carbonizing natural wood.
Charcoal is for heat, and nor lump charcoal nor briquettes will make your food taste better. Try Some lump charcoal brands are made of hardwoods that can add flavor, but to get the authentic smoky flavor, smoking wood needs to be used in your smoker or charcoal grill.
One Last Word.
Lump charcoal is an excellent choice for those with kamado grills and absolutely natural products. However, natural also means is not perfect. Nevertheless, lump charcoal is good charcoal for any grilling application, including high-temperature searing and low-temperature smoking.
