Best charcoal for BBQs 2023, tried and tested for summer grilling

We can’t get enough of this British charcoal. Not only is it top quality, with (frankly enormous) chunks that burn cleanly for absolutely ages, it’s amazing value. You can bag a full 12kg for the same price that many other charcoal brands on this list charge for just 8kg. If you’re a regular barbecuer or have an especially large grill to fill, the difference in price quickly adds up.

And yet, despite the savings, you’re not compromising. You can use this lumpwood charcoal for all kinds of occasions – grilling, smoking, slow-cooking, even barbecue-style baking. It’s made with sustainable hardwoods such as oak and beech, all ethically sourced from the West Sussex area. And if you have the storage space, you can buy it in bulk – as many as 10 bags in one order – for a discount that drops the cost down to the equivalent of £1.63 per kg. No wonder it’s such a popular pick with restaurant kitchens.

If you’re into your barbecuing, you’ll have heard about Big Green Egg – the kamado-style ceramic ‘cue that’s part master grilling machine, part oven-style slow-cooker. These premium charcoal barbecues are brilliant at delivering flavourful food, partly because the ceramic interior absorbs charcoal smoke character over time. With each new cook, the barbecue itself is basically seasoning your food. Think of it as the equivalent to a cast iron pan.

Because you want good flavour infused in your ceramic, you want to use great quality charcoal – and that’s where this Big Green Egg’s stalwart comes in. It’s made from varied chunks of American oak and hickory hardwood, giving you characterful taste without toxins or accelerants. We love how easily this charcoal lights – and also how long it can burn for (we’ve done countless slow-cooked pork shoulders or lamb legs on just a few large handfuls of the stuff). It might be made for the Big Green Egg, but we’ve also used it in everything from portable open models to kettle-style grills, always with reliable results.

It’s Big Green Egg’s biggest competitor, and it’s easy to see why. The bright red-domed Kamado Joe is seriously impressive – we even love its portable Joe Junior (£499, Bbqworld.co.uk), which was one of our best portable barbecues of 2022. And, unsurprisingly, the brand’s charcoal doesn’t disappoint either.

The brand calls it “big block” and it really means it – our bag was packed with seriously hefty chunks. It’s big on results, too, as it imparted impeccable flavour on our food and burnt for crazy-long periods (Kamado Joe claims it can do 18 hours). The charcoal itself is a blend of dense, exotic hardwoods – Guayacan, Guayaibi, Mistal and White Quebracho – all created by Argentinian charcoal pros in traditional outdoor ovens. The resulting fuel burns clean and consistently, and in our experience works with everything from burgers to a whole roast chicken. You don’t need to reserve it just for Kamado Joes, either – it worked just as well in our kettle-style grill too.

You can probably guess that different types of wood burn differently – and the same goes for when those woods are turned into charcoal. Enter, Big Green Egg’s maple variation. In our experience, this one burns a little bit hotter than the brand’s oak and hickory blend (£28, Biggreenegg.co.uk), and comes with a notably smoothe, sweet, crowd-pleasing charcoal flavour.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but on balance, of all of Big Green Egg’s excellent fuel offerings, it’s our favourite. Perhaps it’s the large, easy-to-light chunks – sourced only from trusted plantations – or that the charcoal truly burns for ages. Or maybe it’s that it produces minimal ash, making for less clean-up when the barbecue session is over. Whatever the reason, it’s an option not to be overlooked.

This hardwood lump charcoal is designed to be sold with the Masterbuilt gravity series of barbecues – a combined charcoal grill and smoker where low-temperature cooking is as much the point as high. We don’t have one of those, but no matter, we found this charcoal to be a solid performer in our standard Weber kettle-style ‘cue. Expect a good, consistent burn perfect for burgers and skewers, as well as smoking. It doesn’t come with quite the same elaborate story as some other charcoals – though it is made in Mexico using artisan-style kilns – but like all the 100 per cent hardwood options on this list, it’s easy to light and notably efficient.

When it comes to boutique British charcoal brands, Whittle and Flame seriously impresses. Founders Matt and Chris don’t just know and love barbecues, the brand cares about making top-quality charcoal in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Using hand-felled British trees – sourced five miles from its location on Cornbury Park – the company makes its charcoal in a unique process called “thermal destructive distillation”. Basically that means preserving the tree’s original carbon structure when it turns to charcoal, and therefore, theoretically, its unique properties and flavours.

As a result, this ash charcoal comes with plenty of character. It lights easily and burns nice and hot, bestowing a lightly smoky flavour to your food. But Whittle and Flame make plenty of other varieties too – lime, sycamore, wild cherry, field maple and oak included. Because the bags are on the smaller side of 4kg, you can easily order a few different charcoal varieties to sample. Alternatively, that compact nature also suits barbecuers with limited storage space.

Family-owned newbie Slate Hill makes all its charcoal in Wiltshire, from single species wood sourced in Britain. The star of the range? This unique alder charcoal. Super light and consistently hot burning, its perfect for flash grilling steaks and burgers or adding a gentle sweet smokiness to fish.

Alder trees have been used as charcoal for centuries, and grow quickly, making them among the most sustainable options for charcoal production. Speaking of which, Slate Hill is a major champion, and is committed to producing a fully traceable charcoal. In fact, the brand is so open about how it works, that it’ll even give you a tour of its production process if you’re in the area. Part of its business promise is to use only British deciduous hardwoods – ideally harvested on a coppice rotation – and to process the charcoal using the efficient “retort” method. Even Slate Hill’s packaging, a two-ply brown kraft paper bag, has been designed with a minimal environmental footprint in mind.

Want good-quality charcoal but can’t justify paying upwards of £2 per kg? This is an excellent go-to. While it doesn’t have quite the lengthy burn time as some of the others on this list – it guarantees two hours rather than the double-digits of some brands – unless you are planning on slow-cooking something for hours on end, it will more than get the job done. The charcoal is still made from hardwood, burns hot and is fairly easy to light. Keep it to hand for those big gatherings where you’re sticking to crowd-pleasing burgers and sausages, where the smoky flavour is the supporting act rather than the star.