{"id":849,"date":"2020-05-10T09:24:31","date_gmt":"2020-05-10T13:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smokinlicious.com\/blog\/?p=849"},"modified":"2021-08-20T12:58:33","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T16:58:33","slug":"how-to-use-charcoal-with-wood-in-cooking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smokinlicious.com\/blog\/how-to-use-charcoal-with-wood-in-cooking\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO USE CHARCOAL WITH WOOD IN COOKING"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adding grill wood chips<\/a> to charcoal brings added flavor to any cooking category<\/p><\/div>\n

HOW TO USE CHARCOAL WITH WOOD IN COOKING <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

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The questions are quite frequent: \u201cSince (the equipment) uses lump charcoal, do you need to add wood for smoke flavor?\u201d \u201cDo wood chips or chunks work best if they are needed or desired?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGenerally, how much lump charcoal does equipment use for 10 hours of smoke?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Learn Adding Charcoal with Wood
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The intent today is to give you a comfort with cooking fuel woods.\u00a0 That includes charwood, charcoal, smoking wood chunks<\/a>, and charcoal wood chips<\/a> in all shapes and sizes.\u00a0 Know that all these products are made from wood \u2013 hardwood to be specific since you never want to cook with any other type.\u00a0 But, differences do exist between products.<\/p>\n

Product Differences
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Although the products listed above have their beginnings as hardwood trees, there are some noted differences between the products.<\/p>\n

Charcoals:<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0Yes, charcoal starts out as wood but not all charcoals are created equally. \u00a0There are 2 distinct types of charcoal: briquettes and lump hardwood.\u00a0 The key difference?<\/p>\n

Briquettes<\/em> are not pure charcoal but rather a combination of charcoal, coal, the starch used as a binder, sawdust, and sodium nitrate for ease of lighting.\u00a0 And, yes, that means they are not a \u201cnatural, organic\u201d product.\u00a0 In fact, some brands are manufactured with lighter fluid as an ingredient.<\/p>\n

Lump hardwood<\/em> charcoal<\/em> is 100% hardwood that is sourced from flooring, building material, sawmill, and furniture manufacturers as a scrap wood or bye product.\u00a0 With the use of these materials, a great deal of variation in the size of the charcoal is generated which translates to variation in carbonization of the wood.\u00a0 Often, there is more carbon ash in this type of charcoal but as a 100% wood product, it is viewed as a \u201cnatural\u201d product.\u00a0 Keep in mind, many lump hardwood charcoals cannot be sold as a single wood type charcoal due to the production from scrap and bye product woods, so \u201cmixed\u201d hardwood is the general product.<\/p>\n

Charcoals do not produce smoke or flavor.\u00a0 They are intended strictly for heat with the output level dependent on the brand.<\/p>\n

Charwood:<\/em><\/strong> Often described as possessing the consistency of briquettes and the organic benefits of lump charcoal, charwood is a term reserved for those products that have a higher carbonization level which makes them much more efficient as a fuel source.<\/p>\n

Smoking Wood Chunks<\/a> & Smoking Wood Chips:<\/em><\/strong> These are pure hardwood that can be used for both heat and flavor.\u00a0 The difficulty?\u00a0 Moisture<\/a>.\u00a0 All hardwood contains water and, depending on the level, ease of lighting and the ability to burn or combust will vary.\u00a0 This is the primary reason why most people do not use only wood when cooking but a combination of charcoal and wood.\u00a0 The bigger reason?\u00a0 Wood is the flavor producer!<\/p>\n

So now that you know charcoal is for heat and hardwood is for flavor, how do you use both together for perfection in outdoor cooking?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have a piece of equipment that can use both, you\u2019re on your way to an absolutely fantastic flavor.<\/p>\n

Tips For Combining Charcoal with Wood<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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