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Briquettes or lump? I think it boils down to what you are cooking and for whom? If I want to grill up some hots dogs and burger meat, a few briquettes are fine. Briqs are cheaper, for me, cleaner and easier. If I am smoking brisket, sausages, tri-tip, or anything else that requires lots of love and perfection, I will use quality wood. I have found cheaper off-brand or store brand briqus require a lot of lighter fluid and don't give good flavor.

My husband says I make the best grilled cheese sandwiches. You know my secret?? Parmesan cheese sprinkled on the buttered slices before they go into the pan. Just sprinkle then pat down with a knife. Creates a lovely cheese texture on the tops and bottoms of the sandwiches. Try it!

Use Jarlsberg. It's heaven. Especially with a Roma tomato and red onion.

There was a legendary post on the Big Green Egg forum years ago by Elder Ward (archived at http://www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm) in which Ward brilliantly explains how to achieve a long burning, low temperature fire using lump charcoal for a long, low smoke. He opens an entire bag of lump and sorts the coal by size. Clean all of the ash out of the bottom of your grill (especially important for the Big Green Egg where airflow can be controlled precisely if ash isn't clogging the airway). Place the largest pieces evenly in the bottom like a jigsaw puzzle. Use smaller pieces to fill in the gaps. Light with a little square of wax/sawdust firestarter. Following Ward's method in my Egg, I can keep a steady 200 degree fire going for twelve straight hours or longer. Because the fire can't be set off center, I use a ceramic deflector to create an indirect kind of heat.

Let me clear up one myth- lump does not burn hotter. Cooks Illustrated Magazine investigated this a few years ago and found that the temps of both were about the same. I think the idea that lump burns hotter comes from the fact that lump burns faster. I think it was a guesstimate that if it burns faster it must burn hotter. But, per Cooks Illustrated, this was not proven true.

All of that said, I prefer lump because it has a cleaner flavor. If you are cooking steaks or burgers it probably does not make a flavor difference. However, when I crank up my Weber for an overnight smoke of a pork butt, the difference is readily noticable. If I smoke for say 12 hours using Kingsford, the coal taste from the charcoal is easy to taste. The lump is a pure BBQ smoke flavor which I prefer.

Maybe Kroger brand charcoal contains no coal but I know that Kingsford does (see www.virtualweberbullet.com). To each his own. Some may like the coal flavoring. I know of a pizza restuarant in Florida that bakes its pizzas using a coal fired oven and the pizza crust does pick up the coal flavor. Hower for pork BBQ I don't want the coal flavor.

I think that the issue of lump burning faster can be an issue if you are open top grilling because the lump can burn out faster. That said, for smoking, I have never had a issue with lump or charcoal running for say 12 hours with only one reload.

let's see, there are people who like briquettes casue they " don't burn as hot"... not quite sure what scientific evidence there is to that , but I do know that if an ember is coated with ash, the heat will be diminished, maybe that is why it "don't burn as hot"
... AND they, the briquettes, burn longer, another legend I'd like to se proven..

Facts are facts.. if you do any smoking that last more than a few hours, that briquette stuff will produce so much ash that the fire gets choked....

try smoking a brisket using them chemically pressed briquettes, and see how much ash is produced.. if you learned how to use lump charcoal, or all wood, you wouldnt have that problem

as well, some of the proponents of briquettes are grilling, not smoking... have it man, but once you've tried grilling with lump, you'll never go back

just my humble opinion

well, if it were me... these classic ice cream sandwiches have a cake like taste and feel to the 'cookie' part. it's almost like a brownie. But brownies would be pretty darn hard to scrape off the pan and make a sammie out of. So it must be crisper, cookie like, at least when it's first cooked and cooled. I gather it gets 'soggy like' once it's on the ice cream and wrapped and stored. So, if it were me i'd make the batter for a chocolate cookie and spread it kind of thin on the sheet pan. You'll might have to use some shortening in place of some of the butter so it doesn't get too crispy. But the classic one has all those holes. They're probably there for a reason. I don't know. Maybe in really large batches they need to cool them quickly or need the air space to get them off the pans. Dunno. But for sure you'll have to score the 'big' cookie right after it comes out of the oven so it breaks apart along the lines. Good Luck. Sorry I can't help you with a recipe but i haven't made any chocolate cookies.

Once I went lump, I could never again return to that other crap again.

From my experience, there is no difference in flavor between the two (if it is a high quality briquette, Kingsford does a good job). There is a smell from briquettes, but for some reason, this smell does not impact the flavor of the food. Also, it tends to be more predictable when cooking.

Nice rundown. I have to admit, I've never had the chance to use lump charcoal, but I'm kind of in love with the aesthetic.

And I agree with many posters above. No lighter fluid. It's needlessly expensive and gross. My dad always used a chimney he'd made from a bottomless coffee can with holes drilled/nailed into the bottom third. Packed the bottom loosely with crushed newsprint before stacking briquettes on top and lighting from the bottom. Worked fine every time.

I am all for briquettes, but mainly because the last time we had lump charcoal it firecraked, and little bits came out and landed right inbetween my toes, not fun.

I just Watched the Video...

I think that is Called...

"the Money Shot"!

This Place is a Novelty!
The burgers are Not Good, Just Weird!

When I was on a trip a asked about Local burgers and was sent there,
"Ahh, you Gotta Gow, it mighty good."

I didnt even finish it - Yuck!