This paragraph should be hidden.
When you’re using a charcoal BBQ, you need to choose your heat source – lump charcoal or briquettes. Don’t worry – you got this!
Lump charcoal, which is naturally irregular in shape and size, is the purest form available, made without any additives. It lights quickly, cooks hotter and leaves less ash behind than briquettes, which is helpful if you’re cooking on a grill that doesn’t have a lot of space for ash to collect. It also gives your food that delicious smoky flavour often associated with charcoal BBQs.
Briquettes are made from the bits of charcoal leftover when lumps are created. Additives are used to bind everything together and create uniform pieces of charcoal. Briquettes don’t burn as hot as lumps, but they do last much longer.
Shop all charcoal >
If you want to get a good sear on a steak, lump charcoal will give you that extra heat and help you seal in the meat’s juices.
Briquettes, on the other hand, will serve you well if you are grilling fish, slowly cooking pork tenderloin or cooking for a crowd at a picnic.
Consider combining lump charcoal and briquettes to get the best of both worlds.

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
Canadian Tire Privacy Charter
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies, the aggregated data will not include your visit.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.