Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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The price, the well-distributed chunks, and pleasant smell impressed us enough to pick Royal Oak Charcoal Lumps as what we'd want in our grills. Read More
Kingsford always seems to be in stock everywhere and we can't argue with how affordable it is. They're also a known quantity with a fairly high degree of quality control. Read More
While we found Rockwood Lump Charcoal a bit difficult to light, we're fans of the material they're made out of and how uniformly shaped every piece is. Read More
During testing, we found that Jealous Devil was one of the hottest in the roundup, achieving a medium-rare burger in only six minutes. Read More
Fogo's Super Premium Lump Charcoal comes exclusively with large chunks, which is okay for a variety of grilling, but it does bump up the price point. Read More
Nothing screams summer more than the smell of a backyard barbecue wafting from the best charcoal grills. It’s a form of cooking dating back to the Stone Age—at least the charcoal part. But a lot has changed. Today, it’s overwhelming how many different brands and styles of grill charcoal are available. There are even charcoal briquettes made from coconut shells from Vietnam and hardwood lumps of wood from Missouri.
To determine which is the best charcoal for grilling for someone who wants to cook up some brats and burgers on the weekend, we gathered up eight highly recommended brands and put them to the test.
We judged each charcoal on a variety of metrics, including how much they cost, how well they cooked, and how well they burned. After weeks of testing, we think the Royal Oak Lump Charcoal (available at Home Depot) will serve most people the best. We really like the smell this high-quality bbq charcoal produced, its wide availability, and the distribution of the lump sizes.
We liked the assortment of large and smaller chunks of the Royal Oak Lump.
Kingsford is a known quantity with a fairly high degree of quality control.
Made of Missouri oak, maple, and hickory
Uniform charcoal chunks
Sweet campfire aroma
Difficult to light
Zip lock bag
Made from Quebracho Blanco
Unique-smelling smoke, almost a medicinal scent
Pricey
None that we could find
Fair amount of un-charred wood
None that we could find
Off-putting chemical smell
Flame height was almost 3 ft. tall
Hello, I'm Jon Chan. I'm the senior lab technician at Reviewed, which means I test everything from men's boots to pocket knives.
I should also point out that I'm not a pit master or an expert griller. However, I do enjoy a spot of outdoor cooking and have a background in designing experiments.
When it came to testing charcoals, I had a casual griller in mind. People who cook hot dogs and burgers for an occasional summer meal have different concerns than someone who smokes their own meat and has multiple dual-channel probes.
We decided to use volume over mass to test charcoals.
Step One: Upon opening each bag, we placed enough chunks or briquettes to cover the charcoal grate of a Weber Original Kettle. We then placed the charcoal into a chimney, taking care to place in as much as possible. In the instances not all the charcoal could fit, we set the extra charcoal aside and placed it into the grill on the edges.
Step Two: We used four sheets of newspaper to light our chimney and left to heat up for no more than 10 minutes. If a contender failed to light properly, we gave it a second chance but made sure to reduce its ranking.
We spread out the charcoal to see how evenly it could heat.
Step Three: After we poured the red-hot coals into our grill, we gave ourselves no more than 10 seconds to even out the coals a bit. During this time we made note of the smell each charcoal produced while burning.
Step Four: To test the overall grill temperature, heating evenness, and burn time, we placed three, quarter-pound beef burgers across the fire grate. We inserted a ThermoWorks Pro-Series temperature probe attached to a smoke monitor in each patty.
ThermoWorks is a well-regarded brand when it comes to outdoor cooking, so we trusted it for accurate readings. After placing the probes, we measured how long it took each burger to get to 130°F—the temperature for medium-rare beef.
We used ThermoWorks thermometers because of their accuracy.
Weather plays a role in how a charcoal briquette burns. We made note of the ambient conditions and factored it into our results.
The tests took place on days that were between 42°F and 56°F. There were days of high winds, up to 22 miles per hour. In the event of rain, charcoals were given a mulligan and tested again.
When the burger test finished, we replaced the fire grate and waited. We checked the grill periodically to see if it was still hot. Eventually, when the grills cooled, we measured how much ash they produced.
The final tests revolved around checking out each bag for distribution of the chunk sizes, looking for any defects in the product, and inspecting the bags themselves. A good bag should be easy to store and be durable enough to survive a summer in the garage.
Did I design the s' mores test so I could get paid to eat s' mores? Maybe.
Charcoal is wood that's been heated up in a low-oxygen environment. The process cooks off excess water and sugars to create a product that is mostly pure carbon. People cook with charcoal because it burns hotter and longer than regular wood.
There are multiple methods when it comes to lighting charcoal grills, but the chimney starter method is regarded as the best. A chimney is like a charcoal pitcher. Place charcoal inside the chimney and put two to four sheets of newspaper into the bottom.
Light the paper and place the chimney on your grill. Let the chimney heat up for 10 to 15 minutes or until the center coals glow orange. When that happens, you should dump the lit charcoal into the lower grate. Replace the fire grate and now you're ready to start grilling.
Lump is on the left and briquette is on the right
These are two types of charcoal. Briquettes are made of compressed sawdust and lumps are cooked chunks of wood. Briquettes typically burn slower and produce lower temperatures. Lumps have greater variability.
A typical bag of lump charcoal contains dust, chips, and huge chunks. Using a mixture of them, you can create a very high heat. Briquettes offer uniformity and usually a lower price. Lumps offer better heat and usually impart a bigger smokey flavor.
Jonathan Chan currently serves as the Lab Manager at Reviewed. If you clean with it, it's likely that Jon oversees its testing. Since joining the Reviewed in 2012, Jon has helped launch the company's efforts in reviewing laptops, vacuums, and outdoor gear. He thinks he's a pretty big deal. In the pursuit of data, he's plunged his hands into freezing cold water, consented to be literally dragged through the mud, and watched paint dry. Jon demands you have a nice day.
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