Our Charcoal

Not all charcoal is created equal!

When you purchase charcoal from Turn Up the Heat, you can rest assured ALL of our charcoal is all-natural. ALL HARDWOOD, no softwoods. There are no additives or chemicals, just pure 100% hardwood charcoal. Even briquettes are pure, using potato, wheat or corn starch as a binding agent.

All of our charcoal is tried and tested by our team, to ensure the highest standards. So whether your firing up your kamado or ugly drum grill we've got you covered.

Lump vs. Briquette

The age old debate of lump vs briquette is a topic argued amongst barbecue fans worldwide. Go check any of the Facebook barbecue communities an you'll see. No really go check now, we'll wait. Back now? Good.

The truth is, both are good. They both have their uses and they both have their strengths. As long as the product you use is all natural you can get amazing results. Let's take a closer look at the two types and how to light charcoal.

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Lump Charcoal These random sized pieces of hardwood charcoal are made from wood—nothing more.

Lump charcoal will burn at a higher temperature than briquettes and is normally used for grilling steaks, chops, and burgers. With the right airflow and the right unit Lump Charcoal can even be great for low and slow. 

Briquette Charcoal These uniform, pillow shaped briquettes are simply left over byproducts from the Lump Charcoal Producers. They take the left over pieces, grind it to consistent size and then use potato, wheat or corn starch as a binding agent. All of our briquettes are free of chemicals, but we can't speak for other retailers.

Briquettes burn at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, making them ideal for doing ribs low and slow at 225°F for 4 hours or chicken, roast or turkey. Some briquettes are even great for grilling! They provide lower amounts of smoke, but let your wood chips and chunks really shine.

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Lighting Charcoal

We do not and will not sell liquid charcoal starters! We strive to provide all natural products and we do not endorse the use of gasoline type lighters. For the health of you and your loved ones (and the taste of your food), PLEASE RESIST THE TEMPTATION!

Chimney Starters In our opinion the best device for lighting charcoal. You never have to worry about an extension cord, and it’s as convenient as using two sheets of newspaper to get your charcoal going. Another added advantage of chimney starters is that they give you the ability to add lit charcoal when you need more fuel during a longer cook.

Electric Starters Work great. If you use electric starters, be careful not to leave them plugged in for too long as they can melt their own plastic handle—10 minutes max!

Fire Starters Very handy, work great, especially in tight lighting areas. Try our all natural Flamers, you only need one!

Our Stock

We have one room devoted to charcoal. This room is larger than most of our competitors’ entire floor area for barbecues. At any given time we have multiple brands of charcoal from all over the world.

What do you use? Show us your hottest charcoal shots and we may even feature it in a future post.