Had to pick between charcoal and wood chunks for my brisket cook

So I was getting ready for my first brisket of the season last weekend and I realized I was out of my usual charcoal. I had a bag of lump charcoal and a bag of hickory chunks staring at me on the shelf. I went with the lump because I thought it would burn cleaner and give me a better bark. Big mistake. The temp was all over the place and I ended up having to babysit my offset for like 8 hours straight. The bark turned out way too dark and bitter tasting honestly. My buddy who uses straight wood chunks swears by it but I think I messed up the fire management. Anyone else struggle with choosing between lump and wood for long cooks?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_murphy20d ago

Well I'll be honest, I think folks overthink this whole lump versus wood chunks thing way too much. It's just fuel for a fire, not a science experiment. I've been cooking on an offset for nearly twenty years now and I've used everything from old pallets to store bought charcoal and the meat comes out fine as long as you pay attention to the fire. Lump does burn hotter and faster, sure, but that's not a big deal if you adjust your air intake and don't open the door every five minutes. Your bark got too dark because you ran it too hot, not because of the charcoal. I'd say just use what you have and learn how to manage the fire instead of blaming the fuel.

joelthomas20d ago

Man you ever just throw a whole bag of something in the smoker and hope for the best? I did that once with cherry chunks and my brisket came out tasting like a bonfire. The bark was black and crumbly but the meat was actually decent. Now I mix lump with a couple wood chunks and call it good. Temp control is a nightmare though I swear my offset has a mind of its own.