There are two main types of charcoal: lump wood and briquet. Experts share how they differ and when to use each kind while grilling.

An expert analyzed bags of lump charcoal and found that did not give buyers as much effective grilling fuel as their labels ...

What’s the difference between lump charcoal and briquettes? Charcoal is made by cooking wood in a low-oxygen environment until it’s mostly pure carbon.

People dedicated to the art of grilling often choose lump charcoal—actual pieces of wood that have been turned into charcoal—over briquettes, which are compressed charcoal dust with other ...

We determined the type of wood the charcoal was made from by examining each lump under a microscope or handheld magnifying lens and matching the patterns in the wood structure with the ones in our ...

A spot-check I helped conduct on lump charcoal for sale in the U.S. has revealed that the information on the label does not always match what is inside the bag.