H-E-B, Kingsford, Jack Daniel’s, B&B, Royal Oak and Viva Pancho

When it’s time to get a bag of charcoal, there are almost as many options on the grill as there are candy bars at any grocery checkout. And the debate over which is the best is literally heated.

What is burning the hottest? What burns the longest? What gives the best taste? Which meat goes best with it?

So we ran a fire experiment on six types of charcoal to test them to answer those chin-scratching questions. Each brand received a full fireplace lighter worth about 50 briquettes, or about a pound of the hardwoods that are not uniform in size.

With each test, the grill was cleaned so that no residue was left from a previous cook, so each charcoal could stand on its own. And with each variety, I cooked an 8-ounce thick sirloin steak on a classic 20-inch Weber kettle grill that was flavored only with kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Each steak was given five minutes per side (a total of 10 minutes) to see if it would achieve the ideal medium-rare finish of 135 degrees internal temperature in that time.

No lighter fluid was used and all of the charcoal was lit with a propane burner. Here are the results, with any charcoal rated Grill On, Average, or Bag It.

B&B competition char logs: These briquette logs are by far the most unusual variety of charcoal ($ 19.99 for 30 pounds). BBQ party.

It took them about 40 minutes to get to 450-500 degrees, but even after all this time, the size of the logs stayed about the same. They didn’t give the steak a charcoal flavor, although it turned out to be medium-rare in the 10-minute window I allowed.

But the strength of this brand is its ability to hold high heat for long periods of time with pieces of wood stacked on top of it. There’s a reason “competition” is in the name: it’s a staple in this community and the basis for countless briskets and pork ribs. Valuation: average

HEB Grand Champion apple wood: Apple isn’t much loved in Texas, so this HEB strain ($ 4.48 for £ 8) asked for a taste test. I smoke a lot of pork with apple and it creates a sweet, smoky finish. In charcoal form, the taste wasn’t quite as dominant, but this brand heated to 500 degrees in 20 minutes and stayed there like a book reader on a park bench.

The high heat created a crispy gristle on the steak that enclosed the spices like a blanket and made the beef aroma stand out more than the fuel. This is knockout charcoal that would work with anything, and it’s the runaway winner of the test. Valuation: Grill On and overall winner

Jack Daniels: The bag ($ 4.98 for 4 pounds) looks like the famous whiskey label and is infused with the white oak wood that the barrels of the goodies are made from. It also comes with a side pocket with six pieces of real barrel wood that you can use to add flavor.

It could not generate any heat and even after lighting the coals for an hour, it could not get much hotter than a maximum of 325 degrees in the closed grill dome. And the real bummer was, there was absolutely no hint of whiskey flavor. Plus, these barrel parts burn down way too quickly to give the cook anything meaningful.

This charcoal is nothing more than a gimmick that produces a ho hum steak that can’t go beyond the rarest of the rare in 10 minutes. Valuation: Put it in

Kingsford original: This old warhorse ($ 6.99 for 8 pounds) has been around for over 100 years and is the standard for backyard grilling. That creates a little tension among the cookout champions because it’s like the big shop is picking on the little guy, but it has to be the big name because it’s a great product.

Kingsford heats up very quickly (500 degrees in 15 minutes) and produces the nostalgic flavors of your childhood. It’s clearly designed with the hot dog and burger community in mind, but it’s tackled the steak like a champ, and there’s no reason it can’t continue to be your default for anything else you throw at it.

The only downside is that the briquettes get very ashy and burn quickly, so cooks that last longer than an hour will need at least a reload or two. Valuation: average

Royal Oak hardwood lumps: This type of hardwood lump ($ 7.98 for 8 pounds) is made from a mix of oak, maple, hickory, and other select woods with pieces that can range in size from a golf ball to a coke bottle. No time is wasted getting hot, it reaches 475 degrees under the dome in 20 minutes and the temperature is maintained for more than an hour.

Royal Oak burns very cleanly and the pieces of wood don’t get too ashy, which makes this a great option for “S” that you can toss the meat or vegetables straight onto the fire.

There was no problem with the steak turning medium-rare, but the taste wasn’t outstanding. Valuation:
average

Long live Pancho: Viva Pancho ($ 5.39 for 8 pounds) is made in Mexico and is pure mesquite with random sized pieces of hardwood.

It burns hot and fast and reaches 500 degrees below the dome within 20 minutes of being ignited. It kept a constant temperature of at least 400 degrees for over an hour. It produces so much smoke that you smell like a chimney sweep after cooking, but it produces a damn good steak with a sweet but smoky bite that hits the perfect medium to rare temperature in 10 minutes.

Great all round, but I wouldn’t use it for prolonged cooking because of the harshness of the mesquite smoke. Valuation: Grill on

cblount@express-news.net