Quote:
Originally Posted by wayner123
There is also some discussion really whether or not lump charcoal of a particular type of wood can actually impart flavors based on the wood used. There is a very nice lump maker "Real Montana" lump charcoal and he says that you don't need any fruit woods with his lump because he is traping the flavor of the wood in his lump. However, Ro, Kingsford, etc (we'll call them national brands) have used hickory, mesquite and pecan woods in their lump for years. However people still need to add sticks for the respective flavor. What are your thoughts on lump adding particular wood flavor?
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I feel that any natural fuel, briquettes, lump or logs, will impart flavor into the food, how much varies by the base wood used and how it is processed and if additional near flavorless fillers are added. If you want no flavor imparted, use gas or electric and make sure the drippings don't flame up and smoke.
I have been grilling for many, many years longer than I have been BBQing and for the last decade and a half bascally the only lump I have used is
Lazzari and I can say with 100% certanty, it does impart flavor into the food, both when used for grilling and when used for BBQing. Prior to that, I used K-briqs for grilling, but after grilling just one time over Lazzari, I fell instantly in love with it and how it flavored the food.
I have also tried
Cowboy brand lump, but found it to be mild and inconstant (funny, just reading their review about it and their comments about finding plywood in there - first time I opened a bag of the stuff, I was like "WTF? This is fracking recycled lumber, not natural lump. How long uintil I find something with paint on it in here?").
Funny thing is, as much as I love the Lazzari mesquite lump, I really only use it for grilling now. For BBQing, I've gone over plain old blue bag K-briqs because they are the ultimate in consistency of any natural fuel, they burn at a lower temperature, and they are more mild and very neutral in flavor, allowing me to control flavors with chunks of various woods.
Just my ZW$7,000,000,000,000...