We all love to barbecue but how many of us really know much about the fuel we’re using? Apart from doing your best to light it quickly and hope you’ve lit enough for the cook your about to do!
Most people have heard of the main BBQ charcoal terms, briquettes and lump, but do you really know the difference? And why should you care? If our 20 years in the business of producing BBQ Charcoal has taught us anything, it’s to be educated about the product you buy and the fuel that is going under and around the food you are about to eat!
So here’s the low-down for you, the difference between briquette charcoal and hardwood lump for the BBQ.
Briquettes, for the most part are manufactured with a binding agent unless it’s a sawdust based product like our Firebrand briquettes which has zero binding agents or chemical additives. In the case of sawdust BBQ briquette charcoal, the manufacturing process uses heat and pressure activate the natural resin found in the make up of the raw material which essentially acts as a glue to bind the sawdust together producing bio logs. This then goes through a carbonisation process resulting in a pure carbon end product.
In non-sawdust briquettes, most of the time, the binders in the manufacturing process are food grade and safe to use. However, some briquette charcoal in the market is unfortunately manufactured with potentially hazardous binding agents which usually emit a foul odour on lighting. If you come across these types of briquettes (no matter what shape) steer clear.