The fuel used to do grilling can sometimes be all the difference. When you get fed up with boring tastes and unevenly cooked food, it is time to know of a game changer hardwood lump charcoal. This natural alternative is unlike its more prevalent counterpart, briquettes because it will burn hotter and is very quick to start up, which furthers your outdoor cooking experience. So what is hardwood lump charcoal? Why change and why consider changing to the switch? To find out how this superb grilling fuel can open up a new flavor dimension to your personal favorite meats and vegetables, let us immerse ourselves into this world. It is time to buy out the gas grills!

What is Hardwood Lump Charcoal

Hardwood lump charcoal consists of natural hardwoods, such as oak, hickory or maple. It is made by combustion of wood under a low-oxygen atmosphere which expels moisture and contaminants. The result? Easy-light 100 percent carbon which burns hotter than standard briquettes.

The difference between hardwood lump charcoal is that it can be used to have more flavour to the grilled foods. When it burns, it smokes, and some aromatic fumes are released, which lend depth, a smoky flavor to your meats. All the pieces are different in size and shape because they are merely lumps of wood that have no additives.

Better temperature is also possible to control during grilling with this type of charcoal. You can use the vents of your grill to consistently regulate the degree of heat by increasing and/or reducing the amount of air to your grill, which is recommended whenever you prefer to grill on a higher or lower controlled temperature.

Elevating your cook with the use of hardwood lump charcoal also puts you in touch with the ancient tradition of grilling over actual fire.

The Difference between Lump Charcoal and Briquettes

Lump charcoal and briquettes are alike in terms of usage and use but largely different in their composition and performance. Lump charcoal is also prepared using natural hardwood carbonized. It does not remove the flavor of the wood in this process meaning the wood can give a smokey flavor to what you are cooking.

Briquettes, however, are made through compressed material of sawdust blended with fillers. They usually have some additives such as the presence of binders or chemicals that may influence the flavor of your grilled foodstuffs.

When it comes to heat generation, lump charcoal ignited faster and burned hot as compared to briquettes. It implies that it takes less time to cook steaks or vegetables that demand hot temperatures.

Nevertheless, briquettes normally have extended burning times and even temperature. They may be more appropriate to you in the event that you are considering a long day of grilling.

The real question then is what flavors do you prefer in your food and how long do you intend to grill using any of the two.

Benefits of Using Hardwood Lump Charcoal for Grilling

The quality of grilling is enhanced in numerous ways by hardwood lump charcoal. Among its outstanding characteristics is the taste that it adds on food in a natural form. You will find a very tasty rich smoky flavor that will complement meat and vegetables.

The other benefit is its efficiency in heat. Hardwood charcoal lumps burn hotter compared to conventional briquettes which makes them easy to sear and save time in the process. This implies grilled steaks with ideal grillings are about to come soon.

Another has to do with the proportion of ash produced during the use of hardwood lump charcoal and briquettes. As compared to briquettes, the ash produced during usage of hardwood lump charcoal would be a low quantity and therefore cleaning up after a cookout would be simple.

Nonetheless, you are not sacrificing the flavor or the quality of the grilled foods as well, since, unlike typical sausages, there are no such additives. It consists of carbon wood. Simply that.

It also heats fast and using it does not call for too much energy to change temperatures during the grilling process. It will be naturally the way you will always enjoy excellent outcomes as you use this high quality source of fuel.

How to Choose the Best Hardwood Lump Charcoal

The quality of your grilling can be accelerated by the best hardwood lump charcoal. First you can look at brands that get their wood originated in sustainable forests. This will make you be assured that you are using a product, which not only suits in grilling but also that which is environmentally friendly.

Then see whether the lumps are of the correct size. You desire various sizes of wood to ensure that they take up on heat and also serve to regulate air in your grill. The bigger ones take longer to burn whereas the smaller ones catch on fire easily.

Also look out at the moisture content. The hardwood lump charcoal must be dry as this makes it to be of good quality since it burns easily and also smokes less.

Consider packaging as well; use of transparent bags allows you to determine quality even before buying. To make your grilling foods as pure as possible, avoid grilling foods with very additive-filled or binder loaded brands.

Tips for Using Hardwood Lump Charcoal in Your Grill

In order to obtain maximum performance of hardwood lump charcoal, begin by cleaning your grill. Remaining ash may cause congestion and interfere with the combustion process.

In case of lighting, you might want to consider chimney starter. It does not leave any chemicals that might contaminate the taste of your food; it burns evenly. Ashes the coals over prior to cooking after they have been lit; it means that they are now ready to give off even heat.

Make sure to put coals in such a way that it forms zones, one side with hot coals and another with coals that are not as hot. By so doing, you will be able to sear your meats on one side, but they get to cook at a slow pace on the other.

Place a bottle of water (spray bottle) close. In case the flare-ups appear, a brief mist will assist you contain flames that will not extinguish your fire!

Keep watch over temperature during grilling. An instant-read thermometer is a great device that will guarantee perfectly cooked meat every time you have some coals burning!

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Grilling with Lump Charcoal

It is so easy to become excited when grilling with hardwood lump charcoal and forget a couple of main details. These are some of these possible pitfalls.

To start with, do not miss out on the lighting process. Most of the amateur grillers attempt to hasten this process or spray lighter fluid at random. Rather than that, you can use a chimney starter or natural fire starters, which will improve the flavor but will not leave unnecessary chemicals.

The other error is lack of sufficient time to ensure the coals are hot enough to cook. The hard wood lump charcoal is easy to light and also takes time to set properly in pattern of distribution. Do not put food on the grill before your coals turn to white color.

Also, do not forget about the air circulation when grilling. Covering of vents causes cooking inconsistencies and may produce a lot of smoke. Have enough ventilation thus making your charcoal burn clean and with consistency.

Another thing you should remember is to avoid putting too many food items on your grill at a time. It might reduce the heat level by a great deal and cause inconsistencies in the cooking period of the particular substances on the grill.

Do not forget about cleanup! It would be easy to do nothing more than leave remnant ashes on the ground when you have had a wonderful cookout but removing remaining ash contributes to preserving airflow so that you will be able to resume cooking with ease and keeps your gear in a healthier condition.

When you bypass these recurring mishaps in utilizing hardwood lump charcoal, you will realize the full reward of a grilling expert in every sense of the word!