All Charcoal Is Not The Same

For propane grillers, there really isn’t much variation to your fuel options. Either you go stand online on a Sunday morning at the local Home Depot/Loews/Gas Station and fill or swap your tank (depending where you live), or you have a direct hookup with a converter to your house's gas line. Growing up, my family had a gas grill with a direct hookup to the house. I have always said that one of the best wedding present I ever got was a BBQ grill from our neighbors in Bridgeport, CT. For us charcoal users, there are many options out there for us to consider that will not only give the best flavor but also have the best performance during our BBQ. For a long time charcoal grillers reached for the Kingford Blue Bag, otherwise known as the Sure Fire charcoal bag. 

They also used lighter fluid to get their fire going which is a topic we will shelve for another time. The problem I have found with the 'blue' bag is that it gives off a smell, smoke that burns your eyes and throat, and creates a lot of ash. Ash is bad because on a charcoal grill, the idea is to keep the vents open on the top and bottom of the grill to maintain the heat from the charcoal inside. If the bottom vents get clogged with ash from the charcoal, your BBQ won’t last that long. A few years ago a friend at work, Gus, mentioned the competition briquets and how they got his grill hotter with less ash and none of that chemical smell or taste that I was getting with the blue bag. I first found these bags at Home Depot, and ran home to try them.

On my very first BBQ using these charcoal, I saw my grill reaching temperatures that I hadn't experienced before. 

Thankfully we have joined Costco which sells this charcoal in bulk in the form of two 18 lbs. bags.

What kind of charcoal do you use?