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Had a debate with a neighbor about charcoal vs wood chunks after his pulled pork sucked
I was at a cookout last Saturday in Austin and this guy named Dave brought a dry, bitter shoulder that clearly came off a weber kettle with too much match light. His whole argument was that lump charcoal is all you need for smoke flavor, but I've been running a stick burner for 5 years and I think you need real wood chunks to get that deep ring. Am I crazy for saying you can't cheat real smoke with just charcoal?
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singh.harper6d ago
Jump right into his face and tell him lump charcoal on its own is like trying to bake bread with just flour and calling it done. You need the wood chunks to actually season the meat, it's the same thing as adding salt to pasta water or a bay leaf to a pot of beans. People think one ingredient does it all because they saw some Youtube influencer with a fancy offset and no actual patience. Next thing you know, they'll be telling you ketchup counts as a barbecue sauce.
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williamhenderson6d ago
You ever have that buddy who swears by just using charcoal and calls it a day? I had a guy at a cookout once tell me his brisket was the best because he used "premium" lump charcoal. Tasted like nothing but smoke residue, no depth at all. Threw some hickory chunks in my firebox the next time and he couldn't figure out why mine had that actual flavor. What kind of wood do you usually grab for pork shoulders?
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nelson.wren6d ago
That line about "just using charcoal and calling it a day" hits close to home... I've had that same argument more times than I can count. But here's what I always wonder about those lump charcoal purists - do they honestly believe the tiny bit of smoke from the charcoal itself is gonna penetrate a 10 pound shoulder for 12 hours? Because that stuff burns so clean it barely leaves a kiss, let alone a ring. When you say that guy couldn't figure out why yours had actual flavor, was he the type who also claims you don't need to wrap at the stall, or did he just double down on the charcoal thing?
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