How to Have a Better BBQ with Briquettes

Ever since briquettes came on the fuel scene, all charcoal grill enthusiasts have welcomed them as a great alternative to lump charcoal. The main advantage is the non-messy use. Moreover, charcoal briquettes are safe and more convenient. In terms of storage also, briquettes are much more convenient than lump charcoal.

Briquettes can be defined as a block of flammable material that fuels a fire and keeps it going. Charcoal briquettes and biomass briquettes are the most popular fuel used by bbq fans. Charcoal briquettes are a good idea because it can give you an almost smokeless fire that is long lasting. This makes it very desirable for outdoor cooking.

They contain binders to pack them tightly, which is what makes them less messy than lump charcoal. The additives that are added to make them ignite quickly burns off in high heat, so that it is not a problem.

Generally, though, charcoal briquettes contain two ingredients. One is the traditional charcoal or char, which makes the briquette light up easily and put that smoke flavor into your favorite recipe. Here hardwoods like beech, birch, hickory, oak or hard maple are used. Pine and other organic material are also used. The other ingredient is coal, which brings about the high temperature and long lasting fire. There are different kinds of coals from the sub-bituminous lignite to anthracite, which are used in making charcoal briquettes. Other ingredients used in small percentage are the binding agent made out of corn or wheat. There is an accelerant and a whitening agent like lime for the ash. Seasoned barbecuing specialists can tell when the briquettes are perfectly ready to be used.

There are also wood briquettes, which are essentially made of sawdust. This is considered more environmentally friendly. These are made under high pressure without the necessity for binding material. Wood briquettes can be used for burners that use solid fuel burners other heating systems. Some briquettes are made out of carbonized wood and use vegetable paste as a natural binder.

Briquettes that are injected with fuel for lighting instantly are more expensive than the standard charcoal or wood briquettes. But it is not mandatory to get these, as you can also get your bbq or grill started instantly with chimney starters. Chimney starters work on the simple principle of putting crumpled newspaper at the bottom of a metal flue. The main chamber takes the briquettes. When you light the newspaper, the fire reaches the briquettes, and when they are ready, you can roll out the briquettes on to your grill.

Briquettes from established brand names are packed densely, enabling them burn slowly unlike the cheaper stuff that burns out quickly because it is loosely packed.

Another type of briquettes is the peat briquette made out of natural Irish peat. These are quite easy to light and produce a good flame. Peat briquettes do not contain any additional binders and are all natural. Also, there is no black soot. These are environmentally friendly since their sulphur emission is low. Peat briquettes burn drier than other fuels without any deposit.

Then there are ceramic briquettes that are available in different wood flavors and replace the lava rock. Ceramic briquettes reduce flare-ups, as they do not absorb grease. They produce better heat distribution and last longer. Best of all, they are self-cleaning.

Briquettes are flexible fuel and can make your electric or gas grill much more efficient. Since they react faster than coal they are easy to light and very handy for domestic fires. Where solid fuel is used, briquettes are suitable.