faqs

B&B makes specific species lump charcoal. It is actual pieces of trees that are burned in a special oven to make the lump.  It is not a mix of different hardwoods.  So that means Oak lump only contains Oak, hickory is just hickory, and so on. 

After we process the Oak lump, we take the smaller pieces and form them into our briquets. There are no minerals, accelerants, sawdust, or chemicals in our briquets. 

Lump burns hotter with more smoke flavor.
Briquets burn longer with more predictable temperatures. 

We like briquets for steaks, with wood chunks. Lump is good in offset smokers and Kamado style grills. 

We do use a binder in our briquets and char-logs, which is corn starch. The percentage of the corn starch is very low. Compared to other brands, we use 2-3 times less corn starch in our binding process.

Charcoal can easily become contaminated in the garage. Place it in an empty trash can or storage bin and close the lid to protect it. Of course, charcoal must be kept completely dry. Damp charcoal not only doesn’t burn well, but can grow mold that will produce a harsh flavor in the grilling appliance.

B&B Charcoal burns the lump in earthen clay lined ovens. It leaves more cellulose membrane in the organic plant matter giving you higher BTU’s and a more authentic wood smoke flavor.

B&B Oak Lump Charcoal is our most popular product.  It has a subtle smoky base flavor and offers high BTU’s to keep you pit rolling at ideal temps.  Our Competition Char-Logs are a different animal, they are uniquely designed for longer smokes (they’ve been tested to last over 50 hours in a UDS) and consistent temps.  Most pitmasters use the Competition Char-Logs as the base and then add wood lumps or chunks for additional smoke flavor layers. In ceramic smokers put the larger lump pieces in the center of the coal grate and scatter smaller lump pieces around the larger ones.  B&B Lump is heavy, and you won’t need a lot, it burns hotter and longer. 

Char-logs are made with Oak and Hickory char.  They are 3 times denser than our briquets, so they will last 3 times longer. 

For lump charcoal, some prefer large pieces, while others prefer smaller pieces. It all depends on how they cook and the type of grill they are using. B&B strives to hit a medium between the two, but it is possible that there can be breakage during shipping as charcoal is quite malleable. We pack our bags with extra-large pieces knowing that they will break some during shipping so that when they reach your backyard they reach a large-medium size. If you ever get an extra large piece, luckily lump charcoal can be broken up very easily.

Our lump charcoal is made in kilns with stone firewalls on the inside. As we produce a lot of charcoal, inevitably some bits of rock can make their way into the charcoal. Our charcoal is thoroughly checked for such debris, but there is still a slight chance that they can make it into the bag. Luckily, this is completely safe.

Typically we look for Team B&B Pitmasters for the upcoming year in the fall of the previous year. Our best suggestion is to keep your eyes peeled for posts on our social media pages for more information on that year’s specific process, requirements, and information.