When it comes to charcoal, size matters
Every bag of lump charcoal has pieces of mixed sizes, from very large chunks all the way down to charcoal dust. Bigger is not necessarily better. It depends on what you're cooking.
What's in a typical bag of lump charcoal?
This is a representation of what a typical lump charcoal bag contains:
- Large pieces (softball or larger)
- Medium size pieces (tennis ball)
- Small pieces (golf ball)
- Very small pieces (size of a coin)
- Tiny pieces and dust (smaller than a coin)
What every piece size can do for your cooking fire
Large or very large pieces
Large or very large charcoal pieces take a fairly long time to get to an even burn. But once they get going, they can burn for several hours. These chunks are great for slow cooking, including BBQ / smoking.
Note: the softball in the picture is a little less than 4 inches. Once in a while you'll find pieces that are up to 6 or 7 inches in a lump charcoal bag. Those very large chunks are usually not very good for grilling, as they will take much longer to get burning than the rest of your charcoal. But they will be fine for slow cooking and smoking.
Medium size pieces
Medium size pieces (around the size of a tennis ball) are the best for grilling. Depending on the type of wood and the air flow on your grill, these chunks can last for a couple of hours. And they will be ready for grilling much faster than large charcoal pieces.
Good quality charcoal bags must have a good portion of this size.
Small pieces
Small pieces (around the size of a golf ball) are also good for grilling. They can produce very high temperatures fairly fast, but they will burn for a shorter period than medium and large chunks. With good air flow on your grill, these pieces will probably last less than an hour.
For grilling burgers and small steaks that don't take too long to cook, this size is OK.
Very small pieces
As you can imagine, very small pieces (around the size of a coin) are not what you want out of your charcoal bag. Most of these pieces will go through your charcoal grate to the bottom of your grill. If some of them catch fire and burn, they will do so for only a few minutes. They can also block the air flow and make it harder to get your charcoal fired up.
A good bag of charcoal should have a minimum of this size.
Tiny pieces and dust
These particles only make it messy. They will not provide any heat and will only fill up your ash tray. Decent quality charcoal bags should have a very minimum of this.
Note: it is impossible, even for high-end charcoal brands, to eliminate dust from their bags 100%. The shipping and handling process that a bag goes through from the packaging facility to the store shelf is long, and it puts pressure, vibration and friction on the bags. That creates dust.
The right mix of sizes
Every lump charcoal bag is different, and they will have chunks of all sizes. A good charcoal bag will have a mix of large, medium and small pieces and a very minimum of tiny particles and dust.
The right mix of sizes will give you cooking fires with a good balance of fast startup and long-lasting coals.
Become a distributor
Order from one pallet to one truckload. Contact us for pricing and availability.
Same number for calls and WhatsApp · We speak English
