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The fuel a grill master uses to cook their food is as personal as the recipe to the family’s secret barbeque sauce. We love charcoal briquettes because they are an incredibly straightforward way to grill or smoke your foods. Your guests won’t be kept waiting as briquettes light easily and burn long and hot.
Some companies design briquettes with ridges or grooves on their surfaces, but briquettes made with minimal fillers and mostly hardwood are the cleanest burning and best-tasting of the bunch.
The charcoal briquettes you choose largely depend on the flavors you prefer–hickory or mesquite–or if you want to make sure that your choices are eco-friendly.
Read Also: Guide on Using Charcoal Grill Correctly.
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- They burn longer and more consistently
- High heat is for perfect searing
- Distinctive ridge for easier lighting
- Gives food a woody flavor
For an easy-lighting, high-quality charcoal briquette, you can’t find a more superior product than Royal Oak Premium. A raised ridge around each briquette’s middle increases the air flow so that these briquettes start more easily and burn longer.
Royal Oak makes less mess and ash at the end of your grilling session, so you can spend your time enjoying your meal instead of cleaning out your grill. You can also find Royal Oak Premium Charcoal Briquets offered in bulk for better value for money.
Top 11 Best Charcoal Briquettes Reviews
Although this brand isn’t as well known as Weber or Kingsford, the company makes briquettes that burn longer and more consistently than top competitors.
A raised band around these briquettes allow for optimal airflow. When you’re lighting up your grill, this distinctive ridge makes lighting up a breeze.
Ash-over, when the briquette is grayish-white and ready to cook with, happens at an even pace through the whole batch, and quickly. These are the best briquettes for smoking meat as they burn for a long time. Their long burn-time and well-distributed heat index more than makes up for the slightly higher price and smaller bag.
You’ll find that you’re able to cook more consistently when using Royal Oak. No cold spots on the grill or undercooked areas in your food when you use this charcoal briquette as it keeps heat spread out over the cooking area.
Who Should Get This?
For those grillers who enjoy a distinctive woody flavor or smoke their food frequently, Royal Oak charcoal briquettes provide an even and high-heat grilling experience.
Pros
- Unique shape provides premium airflow
- No additives; all hardwood
- Ready to cook in 15 minutes
- Ash-over happens quickly
Cons
- Bags are small
Charcoal briquettes are made from compressed wood dust and other additives that hold the unique shape together, like the breadcrumbs and egg hold together a meatball. Kingsford charcoal briquettes are made in just this manner, but use all-natural ingredients and hardwoods sourced from North America.
A pair of grooves down the face of the briquette enhances its quick lighting ability. By providing more thin edges, they present more surface area to catch a spark. The briquettes also let the perfect amount of air between each piece so they burn consistently.
Kingsford briquettes come in 7.7 lb. bags, and each provides more than enough heat to grill for a sizable party.
Who Should Get This?
These affordable charcoal briquettes are produced by the #1 charcoal company in the country, and light quickly and burn evenly for an excellent price point.
Pros
- Ready in 15 mins, 25% faster than other brands
- Comes in 2 bags of 7.7 lbs. each
- Grooves on the briquette for easy lighting
- All ingredients sourced from the U.S.A.
Cons
- Doesn’t burn as long
The Kingsford Easy Light Bag is not Kingsford charcoal soaked in lighter fluid; instead you light the bag to get it started, making these the easiest and best bbq charcoal briquettes.
This is an ideal choice to bring camping or to the beach. Instead of having to lug a bag of briquettes, a charcoal chimney, lighter fluid, and more in your pack, you only have to bring one bag of charcoal to grill.
These briquettes have the classic double groove shape of a Kingsford briquette to light up easily. The grooves also mean that, once lit, the briquettes all burn at the same even pace, so you don’t get undercooked food.
Who Should Get This?
If you need a bag of briquettes to bring with you on your adventures, Kingsford Easy Light Bag provides consistent results and easy lighting.
Pros
- Perfect for camping or impromptu barbeques
- No lighter fluid or other chemical additives
- No need for charcoal chimney or other tools
- Grooves for easy lighting and consistent burning
- Provides delectable woody flavor
Cons
- May be difficult to light all parts of the bag
These all-natural briquettes are made from hardwood and have no additives, which imbues your food with a cleaner taste. The high-density of these briquettes makes them ideal for smoking meats as they burn consistently at a high heat.
The 16 lb. bag provides you with everything you need for multiple grill sessions, and with that delicious woodsy flavor, you’ll want to use it all the time.
Cooking is a cinch as these briquettes light easily and burn consistently. Made from 100% hardwood with no additives or other chemical fillers, Bayou Classic briquettes produce less smoke and less mess at the end of your meal. The material is also ethically sourced from renewable forests, so they’re a great eco-friendly option.
Who Should Get This?
If you are very discerning when it comes to the flavor certain briquettes give your food, the Bayou Classic comes in a generous bag for multiple grillings.
Pros
- 16 lbs. bag for multiple meals
- Produces less ash than other brands
- No chemicals create a delicious flavor
- All-natural ingredients for even burn
Cons
- A lot of dust in the bags
The most distinctive characteristic of Jealous Devil Maxxx is the fact that it’s twice the size of any other charcoal briquette on the market. The size and pillowy nature of these briquettes provide an incredibly high heat output and a long burn time.
Not only does Jealous Devil Maxxx provide a better burn, these briquettes imbue an excellent flavor with very little acrid smoke and no ash to clean up after you’re done.
Some reasons the Jealous Devil briquettes don’t produce a lot in the way of smoke or ash is because they’re made from quebracho hardwood with a dash of vegetable starch to hold it all together.
Who Should Get This?
If you need to grill or smoke your food with long, consistent heat, the Jealous Devil Maxxx are twice the size of normal briquettes and burn even longer.
Pros
- Double the size for faster burn time
- No fillers or chemical additives
- Minimal amount of harsh odors or smoke
- Reusable, waterproof, resealable bag
- Dense hardwood plus a pinch of vegetable starch
Cons
- Briquettes may fall apart
Although you can’t add mesquite flavors to every food you grill, most of them benefit from the tasty smoke of all-natural mesquite. With Kingsford Charcoal Briquettes with Mesquite, the flavor doesn’t come from artificial additives but real mesquite pressed with hardwood with no other additions.
The telltale double groove makes these mesquite briquettes easy to light. These grooves also make it possible to stack these on top of one another, creating the perfect air flow for a long, even burn.
These briquettes are a fabulous addition to any barbeque, although they produce a lot of ash to clean up and the mesquite flavor isn’t for everyone. At an affordable price point, these mesquite charcoal briquettes from the #1 charcoal company in America are an interesting flavor addition to any grilling menu.
Who Should Get This?
These mesquite charcoal briquettes imbue foods with a lovely tang with no chemical additives. Use them if you enjoy hot smoking meat and fish.
Pros
- Excellent smoky, mesquite flavor
- Ready to cook in 15 minutes
- Made from mesquite and hardwood; no additives
- Twin grooves for air flow
Cons
- Produces lots of ash
- Flavor doesn’t match all palettes
If you’re concerned about the environment and want to make sure that all your grilling choices are eco-conscious, you now have the option to choose an eco-friendly fuel source.
ECONEW Eco Charcoal is an all-natural sustainable alternative to traditional charcoal briquettes. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Rainforest Alliance have certified that these briquettes are made sustainably so you can feel good about your choice.
All-natural hardwood imbues your food with bold, smoky flavor without producing billowing smoke that can ruin your outdoor events. These briquettes also burn for a long time, so you can use fewer briquettes to grill for long periods, saving you money and resources.
Who Should Get This?
For grillers who want to make sure they are using the most sustainable type of charcoal briquette, ECONEW Eco Charcoal is certified by the RA and FSC.
Pros
- Eco-Charcoal for more sustainable grilling
- FSC and Rainforest Alliance certified
- Burns up to 6 hours
- Adds excellent smoky flavor to food
- No flare-ups or extra ash
Cons
- Hard to light at times
If you are a person who loves the taste of smoked meat, but also likes to grill over various temperatures, this high-end charcoal briquette is the perfect addition to your grilling toolbox.
Royal Oak already makes a fantastic briquette, but the Select Premium is even better. These briquettes are made from American Oak trees and Hickory, and grilling over Royal Oak’s Select Premium gives your food a lovely unique woody taste.
These briquettes work well for both low and high-temp cooking, so you can use them to smoke food for long periods or sear your meats over high heat. The larger bags make this an ideal choice for the griller who has a high-output of smoked food or grilled options.
Who Should Get This?
For those who use their outdoor grill mostly as a smoker, Royal Oak Select Premium is all-natural, burns well, and injects a lovely hickory tang to food.
Pros
- 40 lbs. bags for high-volume grillers
- American Oak and Hickory blend for unique taste
- Great for both low- and high-temp cooking
- Very little ash produced
- Drip tray is included for easy collection, disposal
Cons
- Lots of smoke produced
You can make the most out of these charcoal briquettes as they burn for a long time; the unique pillowy shape to each briquette lets them stack precisely as they’re burning, providing an even heat across the cooking surface area.
There are absolutely no chemicals, limestone, or coal additives to these briquettes, just hardwood and a little veggie starch to bind it all together. You can tell that they’re a quality, pure product from the tasty woody flavor these briquettes impart.
The even heat of these briquettes and their long-lasting quality means you won’t ever get partially raw food. Cooking with Duraflame Cowboy briquettes doesn’t produce clouds of acrid smoke, which is apparent in the clean taste of the food.
Who Should Get This?
If the idea of using limestone in your charcoal briquettes leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, try the natural flavor of Duraflame Cowboy charcoal briquettes.
Pros
- No coal, chemicals, or additives
- Long-burning and consistent heat
- Pillow-shaped briquettes for uniform heating
- 95% hardwood; 5% vegetable binder
Cons
- Expensive for charcoal briquettes
If you have just bought your first grill, and are trying your hand at cooking up delicious BBQ, Best of the West All Natural Briquettes are the best place to start. For an excellent price, you get two bags of premium briquettes.
With the Best of the West, you don’t have to worry about sparks or flare-ups, and you’ll always get an even, consistent cook time, no matter where you place the food. All-natural 100% hardwood imbues a subtle wood taste to anything you cook over these briquettes.
When you’re grilling out, you want cleanup to be as easy as possible, and these briquettes produce very little ash, which makes tidying up a cinch. And lighting up is fuss-free, as these briquettes ignite almost immediately.
Who Should Get This?
These briquettes light easily and burn evenly and long, which makes them perfect for a beginner griller or someone switching from charcoal lumps to briquettes.
Pros
- Burns incredibly hot
- Charcoal briquettes light in 10 minutes without lighter fluid
- Adds natural smoky flavoring to grilled food
Cons
- Smoke may be highly aromatic
If there was a briquette that could be rightfully called a top-notch cooking tool, the Original Natural easily earns that title.
Some briquette manufacturers add limestone to their mix to hold the briquettes together, but Original Natural is made of 100% hardwood, and you can taste the clean-burning charcoal right out of the bag. There are no chemicals or additives in these briquettes, and you can really tell by the end result.
The briquettes’ high quality also means that when you burn them, they produce a minimal amount of smoke and ash.
They light easily too, so you don’t have to fiddle around with igniting your briquettes but can concentrate on grill-time. And for a great price, you get two bags per purchase for multiple grill sessions.
Who Should Get This?
If you want a clean, woody taste to your grilled meat and veg, Original Natural briquettes are made of nothing but hardwood with no fillers.
Pros
- 100% hardwood for clean taste
- 2 bags per purchase
- Decreased amount of ash and smoke
Cons
- Bags aren’t as filled as they could be
Best Charcoal Briquettes For Your Money
Whether you are a grill beginner or a seasoned pitmaster, charcoal briquettes offer a fast, clean burn and impart an extra depth of flavor to food that can’t be achieved with a gas or electric grill. But you need the right briquettes for the job.
With a unique ridge around the center of each charcoal briquette, Royal Oak Premium Charcoal Briquets burn longer, light easier, and give you an even grilling surface.
These briquettes a high-quality construction in a practical package as they stack easily to increase airflow.
With Royal Oak Premium briquettes, you can grill, sear, smoke, or broil anything you’d like, and you won’t be stuck lighting or cleaning up as these briquettes don’t produce a lot of ash and are easy to light.
