Why briquettes instead of Charcoal?

Briquettes burn for at least 2–3 hours whereas charcoal is usually burnt out after about 1 hour. Using briquettes means you will not have to keep adding fuel when barbecuing larger pieces of meat or whole chickens etc that need a longer amount of cooking time.

Another important reason for using briquettes is to avoid the unpleasant taste that ash from charcoal can bring to your food. Traditional charcoal produces ash which will whirl around the food in the barbecue and attach to the food giving that gritty taste. Lump charcoal also has a tendency to spit sparks out at you and the food.

You will also find with good quality briquettes (don’t buy cheap briquettes) that they will burn consistently and at a more even temperature. They will also work out cheaper as they can be re-used…

Once you have finished cooking, simply limit the to the briquettes and they will extinguish and you can reuse them over and over again until they have completely turned to ash. The Weber kettle BBQs are great for this as you can simply close the vents at the top and bottom and the briquettes will extinguish themselves and be sat waiting for you the next time.

How to choose briquettes

So which briquettes should you buy? The simple answer is: briquettes from Weber. They have been specially developed to provide the best barbecuing performance – for example, they burn evenly for up to 4 hours. Other briquettes sometimes burn out in as little as 2 hours.

If you cannot find briquettes from Weber, choose hard wood or mineral briquettes. Both of these types of briquettes burn the longest and most evenly.
If you buy hard wood briquettes, remember to check for the FSC mark, which guarantees that the wood has been cultivated and felled in accordance with the international principles for good forestry.