The Best Charcoal for a Kamado: Lump Charcoal vs Briquettes

Above: hardwood lump on the left, briquettes on the right (illustrative image).

Whatever you burn ends up in your food. So what should go in the fire box?

The best charcoal for a kamado is large-piece hardwood lump. In the lump charcoal vs briquettes debate, lump wins here for one reason above the others: it leaves little ash, so air keeps flowing through a long cook. It also burns hot and responds quickly to the vents. Plain briquettes will burn, but they leave more ash. Instant-light charcoal never belongs in a kamado.

We sell our own coal, so read this knowing that. The checklist below works for any brand, and we show you the prices of the others too. New to kamados? Start with how to use a kamado grill.

Lump charcoal vs briquettes at a glance

	Hardwood lump	Briquettes
Made from	Pieces of real hardwood, carbonised	Sawdust and char pressed with binders
Shape	Irregular, mixed sizes	Uniform
Heat	Burns hotter	Moderate and even
Response to vents	Quick	Slower
Ash	Little	More
Burn	Less predictable in an open grill	Steady and predictable
Reuse in a kamado	Yes	Possible, but more ash to clear
Best suited to	Kamados	Kettles and other open grills

Neither is bad charcoal. They suit different grills, and a kamado’s design decides this one.

How each one is made

Lump charcoal

Hardwood is heated in a kiln with very little oxygen until only carbon-rich charcoal is left. That’s why lump still looks like wood, in irregular chunks. Nothing has to hold it together.

Briquettes

Briquettes start with sawdust and char fines, pressed into shape with a binder, often starch. Some contain fillers too. The binders and fillers are where much of the extra ash comes from. Instant-light versions also contain an accelerant, and that’s the type to avoid completely.

Why kamados run best on lump

A kamado has one control system: air. The bottom door lets it in and the top vent lets it out, through openings that are often very small. Our brisket runs on a 2 mm crack at the top and one finger at the bottom.

At openings that small, ash matters. It collects on the charcoal grate underneath the fire and restricts the air. On a 20-minute cook you’d never notice. On a long, low cook, a fire short of air can sag or go out while you sleep.

Lump’s usual weakness barely applies either. In an open grill it can burn out faster than briquettes, but a sealed ceramic dome starves the fire of air. Our 18-hour brisket runs on one 4 kg load.

Can you use briquettes in a kamado?

Yes, you can burn plain briquettes, and they won’t harm the food. Expect more ash to clear, and less headroom on long cooks.

Two cautions:

• Never use instant-light briquettes. Ceramic is porous. It soaks up the chemicals, and you’ll taste them for days.
• Check your warranty. Some kamado makers set rules on fuel, and burning the wrong one can void the warranty. Whichever kamado you own, read its terms.

What to look for in a bag of lump

This checklist works for any brand:

• Big pieces, few fines. Dust and chips sink into the charcoal grate and block the air.
• Dense hardwood. Heavier pieces generally burn longer. Good bags name the wood.
• No chemicals or accelerants. It should say so.
• Dry coal. It shouldn’t feel damp or smell musty.
• A stated origin. Charcoal production has a real environmental footprint, so look for a named source or FSC certification.

What about coconut shell charcoal?

It’s usually sold as pressed briquettes, so check the bag for binders and treat it the same way. Judge it on ash and piece size, not on the word “coconut”.

What about binchotan?

Binchotan is a Japanese white charcoal known for clean, intense heat. It’s slow to light and expensive. It suits a short direct grill, but it’s hard to justify for a long smoke.

What charcoal really costs per cook

A price per bag tells you little. Here’s what our recipes actually load, and what that costs with our own coal at AED 18.75 per kilo:

Cook	Dome	Time	Coal load	Coal cost
18-hour brisket	125°C	16–18 h	4 kg lump + 3 oak chunks	AED 75
Lamb shoulder matfoon	120°C	10 h	3.5 kg lump + 2 oak chunks	About AED 66
Beef ribs	130°C	8 h	3 kg lump + 2 oak chunks	About AED 56
Roast chicken	180°C	1.5 h	Half the fire box	Varies by size
Shish tawook	250°C	20 min	Half the fire box, fully lit	Varies by size
Stone-baked pizza	350°C+	1 h	Fill to the fire ring	Varies by size

These are the most you’d spend. Oak chunks are extra, and the coal left at the end of a cook isn’t wasted, because it lights again next time.

Loading tip: put the big pieces at the bottom and the smaller ones on top, so air can move through. Bury wood chunks through the coal rather than on top. On the 15″, break large pieces into smaller fragments so they fit the fire box.

Can you reuse charcoal in a kamado?

Yes, and it’s one of the quiet savings of owning one. Close both vents fully when you finish, and with no air the fire goes out. Next time:

1. Stir the old coal so the ash drops through.
2. Clear the ash out.
3. Top up with fresh lump.
4. Light it with a chimney starter, paper or kindling. Never lighter fluid.

Smoking wood: the seasoning on top

Charcoal is the base flavour, and wood is the seasoning. Add hickory, oak or cherry the way you’d season a dish. Our brisket, beef ribs and lamb all use oak chunks buried through the coal. For a shorter cook, chips in a hot smoker box set in the coals add an extra layer.

Flavour differences between good charcoals are small next to this. Clean, thin blue smoke matters most, so wait for it before the food goes on. Our low and slow smoking guide shows how.

Buying charcoal in the UAE

Here’s how two options sold in the UAE compare per kilo:

Charcoal	Type	Bag	Price	Per kg
Burnt-Carbon Coal	Hardwood lump	8 kg	AED 150	AED 18.75
Kingsford briquettes (ACE)	Briquettes	7.2 kg	AED 99	AED 13.75

Prices as listed by each seller, checked 31 October 2026. Check before you buy, as they can change.

Ours costs more per kilo than these briquettes, and other sellers offer cheaper lump, so compare before you buy. Whichever you choose, read the bag against the checklist above, because “BBQ charcoal” on the front tells you very little.

Store it well. Keep bags sealed, dry and out of the sun. Coastal humidity makes coal damp and slow to light, and sand finds its way into any open bag.

What we use, and why

Burnt-Carbon Coal is restaurant-quality hardwood lump: large pieces, no chemicals, 8 kg. We searched Ghana, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka for coal clean enough to sit under food, and it’s the same grade used in Dubai restaurant kitchens. It gives a base flavour subtle enough to build on, which is the point.

The short version

Big lumps, no chemicals, kept dry. That’s the best charcoal for a kamado, whoever makes it.

Get Burnt-Carbon Coal →

Questions people ask

What is the best charcoal for a kamado?

Large-piece hardwood lump with no added chemicals. It burns hot and clean, reacts quickly when you move the vents and leaves little ash, so air keeps flowing through a long cook. Avoid bags full of dust and small chips, and never use instant-light charcoal.

Can you use briquettes in a kamado?

You can burn plain briquettes, but they leave more ash, which can block the charcoal grate and starve a long cook of air. Never use instant-light briquettes, because ceramic soaks up the chemicals and you'll taste them. Some kamado makers also void their warranty if you burn briquettes, so check yours first.

Why can't you use briquettes in a kamado grill?

It comes down to airflow. A kamado controls temperature through small vent openings, and briquettes leave a lot of ash from their binders. On a long, low cook that ash builds up under the fire and restricts the air. Lump leaves far less, so the vents keep doing their job.

Does lump charcoal burn hotter than briquettes?

Generally, yes. Lump lights faster, burns hotter and responds more quickly to the vents, which suits a kamado well. Briquettes burn more evenly and predictably, which is why many kettle owners like them. In a sealed ceramic kamado, a long burn comes from controlling the air.

Can you reuse charcoal in a kamado?

Yes. Close both vents when you finish cooking and the fire goes out, leaving unburnt charcoal behind. Next time, stir it so the ash drops through, clear out the old ash, top up with fresh lump and light it.

Does lump charcoal go bad?

Not if it stays dry. Charcoal doesn't spoil, but it absorbs moisture, and damp coal is slow to light and smokes more. Keep it sealed and off the ground, somewhere dry and out of the sand. On the UAE coast, humidity makes a sealed bag worth the trouble.

How long should lump charcoal burn before cooking?

Until the smoke runs thin and blue and the dome is steady at your temperature. Our low-and-slow recipes settle for 20 to 30 minutes at temperature before the meat goes on. For direct grilling, wait until the coal is fully lit.

Which is better for smoking, lump or briquettes?

In a kamado, lump. Briquettes give a steady heat in kettles and other smokers, but in a kamado their ash can build up over a long smoke. Lump keeps the air moving. Most of the smoke flavour comes from the wood chunks you add, not the charcoal.