Top 5 Best Charcoals For Grilling

There is truly nothing like grilling great food, and the best charcoal for grilling can help you accomplish that. Many believe that charcoal is the only way to grill. No matter where you fall in the debate, you cannot argue that the smell of charcoal lets you know that summer is here. The most important thing is that you use the best charcoal for grilling. There are many from which to choose. This article highlights the best of the best charcoal for grilling to make that choose easier for you. Read our charcoal reviews & ratings to find the best charcoal for grilling today.

The 5 Top Grilling Charcoals

When looking for charcoal for your grill, there are a lot of choices on the market and a lot of different aspects to consider, too. We found the best charcoal for grilling to help you find the best brand for you.

* Ratings are determined using our specialized rating system.

Jealous Devil 20LB All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal

The Jealous Devil All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal is the top pick for the best charcoal for grilling because it gives you two times the cooking power, the hottest temperatures and much longer burning times. This charcoal burns for more than four hours on an open grill. You never have to worry about chemicals, metal, or fillers because the Jealous Devil is 100 percent natural. It does not pop or spark and produces a low amount of ash.

Your charcoal remains dry and secure in a bag that is dust and waterproof. The bag has a handle to make it easier to carry out to your grill. The top of the bags zips open and close so you can easily access your charcoal. This charcoal is mild and enhances your food instead of taking away the natural flavor of your food.

IPPINKA 3 Lbs Kishu Binchotan BBQ Lump Charcoal

IPPINKA KIshu Binchotan BBQ Charcoal is another one of our best charcoal for grilling selections. This is one of the highest grades of charcoal you can find. It has a long lasting burn. It is all natural and free of all chemicals, so you do not have to worry about it leeching into your food. It activates during a high burning temperature, then a cooling period to preserve the natural juices in all your food. It gives food a nice sear making your food taste delicious.

The IPPINKA charcoal comes directly from Japan. IPPINKA uses binchotan, which is a Japanese Oak tree for this premium charcoal. This charcoal requires you to use a charcoal chimney to light the chimney. If the charcoal does not burn all the way during cooking, you can use it again. The package is a 3 pound bag which may seem smaller than most, but because it is long burning, you will not notice.

COCO-BBQ Eco-Friendly Coconut Shell Barbecue Charcoal

The COCO BBQ Eco Friendly Barbecue Charcoal is not only one of our favorite charcoals for grilling, it is also great for the environment. This is a coconut shell charcoal that has organic compounds and reduces waste. In addition to being good for the environment, this charcoal is good for you, too. It is GMO free, which is something you may not think about when it comes to charcoal.

The coconuts used in this charcoal are organic. The coconut gives the charcoal moisture so they burn longer. The charcoal burns three times longer than average charcoal. The COCO charcoal is a delicate balance creating just enough smoke. The best thing about this charcoal is you can use less of it because you only use one roll per grilling use. The COCO charcoal brings out the natural flavor in your food and adds a bold taste.

Checkmate Eco Charcoal Brazilian All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal

The Eco Charcoal Brazilian Hardwood Lump Charcoal is another one of our best charcoal for grilling options. This is a high-quality restaurant grade charcoal that you can use in your own backyard. The Eco Charcoal is easy for you to light and burns long so you can enjoy grilling all the food you want. This charcoal burns longer than most of its competitors. This size of this charcoal is extra large. This charcoal has a burning heat that is really high. This charcoal is 100 percent natural and does not contain any chemicals.

MUXI 4-Piece Portable Grilling Charcoal Briquettes

The MUXI Portable Grilling Charcoal Briquettes is our last but not least on the list of best charcoal for grilling. This is one of the fastest igniting charcoals as it lights as quickly as three seconds without ignitor fluid or prep work. You can begin grilling within 10 to 15 minutes of lighting the briquettes which gets your food to table much faster. These bricks are 100 percent natural with only charcoal powder, corn starch adhesive and botanical combustion improver as its ingredients.

It is packaged well as each briquette is individually wrapped and packaged in a box. This makes it dust and moisture proof. It is also really durable and easy to pack to take with you anywhere you would like to grill. The MUXI charcoal briquettes burn clean and do not have fumes that could be harmful to you and your family.

Features to Consider for the Best Grilling Charcoal

When looking for the best charcoal for grilling, there are some important features to consider before you make your next purchase. The two main categories of charcoal are lump charcoal and charcoal briquettes. If you choose lump charcoal, you want it to be an all-natural hardwood. This type of charcoal gives you food a smoky flavor. It is important that your charcoal is free of chemicals, additive, binders, and fillers.

You want to pay attention to the size of the lump charcoal. The size of your charcoal makes a difference when grilling. The larger the charcoal means the longer and hotter the charcoal burns. You want to look for charcoal chunks that are a consistent size. When charcoal is all a similar size, it produces less ash. You should look at the amount of dust in the bottom of your charcoal bag. You want to avoid as much dust as you can. It hinders your grilling ability by causing sparks and clogging the air vents in your grill.

If you opt for charcoal briquettes, it is import to avoid the ones that are already coated with lighter fluid. This kind of charcoal tends to have fumes when burning. Those fumes impact the way your food smells and tastes. You do not want to inhale those fumes while you are grilling. However, there are some benefits to charcoal briquettes. They are always the same size and burn consistently.

Benefits of Using Grilling Charcoals

Choosing the best charcoal for grilling tends to come down to personal preference. However, there are some advantages to selecting the best charcoal. It is a consistent size which gives you better burning time and consistent heat on your food. Depending on the food you like to grill, you may want to have two different brands of charcoal that you use. You want one that allows you to grill low and slow, while another allows you to grill at a really high heat.

Once you find a brand you like, you should stick with it. This way you know exactly how it is going to impact your food and you do not spend a lot of time playing with charcoal that may not make a huge impact on your grilling. Cost may be a factor for you when it comes to purchasing charcoal. If you grill all the time, charcoal may be something you buy often. There are some really expensive charcoals on the market, but you’re likely to get a higher quality of flavor in your food if you use them.

Precautions When Using Grilling Charcoals

There are some points you should consider before you ever start to grill. You should never charcoal grill inside. Charcoal grills release carbon monoxide. This gas is colorless and odorless, so you should grill in an area with a lot of ventilation. If you choose to use a lighter fluid, or some other liquid lighter starter, allow it a few minutes to soak into the charcoal before you light it.

Lighter fluids may have vapors that are explosive and if you wait a few moments, those vapors dissipate. Never add any type of lighter fluid after you have already lit the grill. Make sure that you are a safe distance away from the grill when lighting it, just in case there is any type of spark. You want to keep water near the grill, just in case anything happens.

Note that charcoal can only be used with certain types of grills. Charcoal grills can obviously use it, but so can kamado grills and a few other types of camping grill like kettle grills. Infrared grills and electric grills don’t use any fuel source at all, while pellet grills, offset smokers, and smoker grills use wood as a fuel source. Other grills, like propane grills and natural gas grills, use different types of gas and liquid fuels as a fuel source.

Be sure to store your charcoal somewhere dry and clean when not in use, or it can inhibit the burn. Storing it under the grill cover with your grill can be a good move, but you may also choose to just bring it inside. When you’re using it, consider mounting it on your grill stand with your grill tool set, grill brush, and bbq grilling gloves to keep it off the ground where moisture could seep in and have everything on hand for when you need to clean your grill.

Conclusion

Of all the charcoal listed here today, the winner for me is the Jealous Devil All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal. It is the best charcoal for grilling because it has everything a grill master needs to create a food masterpiece. When compared to all the other charcoals, it gives the longest burning time so it never quits before your food is finished. As a result of producing the hottest temperature, it gives you more cooking power.

It does not have any kind of fillers or chemicals, so it does not produce any fumes. A mild amount of flavor is added to the charcoal to enhance the natural flavors of your own food. One of the best features of this charcoal is the bag is resealable and protects the charcoal from dust and moisture. It has a handle making it easy to move around. This charcoal has a middle of the range price tag, too, making it affordable and quality. That’s why we have to reward this charcoal the title of best charcoal for grilling.

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