Though many claim that Thomas Edison and Henry Ford were the original inventors of the charcoal briquette, a closer look into the United States patent library reveals the original inventor was Ellsworth B.A. Zwoyer. At the time he designed and patented the original briquette (1897), he was living in Reading, PA, and later moved to Perth Amboy, NJ.

After World War I, Zwoyer and his son Paul started the Zwoyer Fuel Company, which built charcoal briquette manufacturing plants in Buffalo, NY, and Fall River, MA. In 1927 he acquired two more briquette patents for a “Briquetting Method” and a “Method of Carbonizing Fuel Briquettes.” The Great Depression took its toll on Zwoyer's company and he moved his family to Illinois.

It remains a mystery how Edison and Ford came up with the idea to make their charcoal briquettes.  Zwoyer was reportedly an acquaintance, if not a friend, of Edison and Ford, and we know that Edison and Ford used left-over sawdust and glue from Ford's automobile assembly lines to make the briquettes.

Zwoyer also leaves us with a great design for fisherman, which he patented in 1887 - the “Fisherman's Pole Rest” for lazy days by the river. Perhaps while he was daydreaming and his pole rest was doing all the work, he came up with the crucial element for grilling his fresh catch – the charcoal briquette!

Lump Charcoal

Lump or “natural” charcoal is produced by partially burning wood or by heating wood without oxygen. Unlike charcoal briquettes, lump charcoal contains no additives and is not compressed or molded; instead, it retains the shape of the wood from which it was produced. Lump charcoal is made from either natural wood (from trees or saw mills), or from processed wood (from building material scraps, furniture remnants, pallets, flooring scraps, etc.).

If unlimited oxygen is available, lump charcoal will burn hot and fast. Therefore, lump charcoal is best suited for grills that allow the user to control the airflow, thus regulating the temperature and speed at which the coals burn.

Many experienced grillers prefer lump charcoal due to the smokey flavor it adds to food or because they wish to avoid the additives used in charcoal briquettes.

Charcoal Briquettes
Charcoal briquettes consist of crushed charcoal mixed with various additives that improve combustibility and bind the charcoal together. The mixture is compressed into uniform, pillow-shaped chunks, which generally burn slowly at a consistent temperature, regardless of airflow. Therefore, briquettes are useful when cooking on an open grill or whenever airflow can't be controlled.

Manufacturers now offer a variety of charcoal briquettes, including briquettes infused with wood flavors and instant-light briquettes which can be ignited without lighter fluid. Charcoal briquettes are readily available in supermarkets, and are usually cheaper than lump charcoal.

Some experts advise against using instant-light charcoal since the additives in these briquettes can leave a bad taste in your food and can be harmful if not fully burned off. If you do use instant-light charcoal, be sure to let the charcoal burn until all the accelerants are eliminated.

Other grillers avoid charcoal briquettes altogether, asserting that the additives in briquettes give foods a bad flavor and are harmful when released into the air.

Ceramic Briquettes
Ceramic briquettes can be used in gas or electric grills to improve heat distribution. These briquettes don't actually burn; instead, they absorb the heat from the flames and reradiate this heat, helping to create even temperatures throughout the grill.

Before using ceramic briquettes, consult your grill's owner's manual – today, most grills are designed to function without briquettes; use of briquettes may be unnecessary and could invalidate your warranty.

Lava Rocks
This natural, volcanic rock performs the same function as ceramic briquettes. Although lava rocks are typically cheaper than ceramic briquettes, they need to be replaced more frequently. Consult your grill's owner's manual before using lava rocks.

Lighting Charcoal Briquettes
Arrange the charcoal in a pyramid and coat with a thin layer of lighter fluid. Re-cap the lighter fluid, move it safely away from the grill, and light the coals. After lighting charcoal, always be sure to allow it to burn for the time recommended by the manufacturer before putting food on the grill. In general, you should be sure to allow the briquettes to burn to a gray ash before grilling. This ensures that lighter fluid and other additives are burned off so that they don't end up in your food.

Lighting Charcoal Briquettes without Lighter Fluid
Want to avoid using lighter fluid? No problem – a number of alternatives exist. Charcoal can easily be ignited with an electric charcoal starter; just plug the starter into an electrical outlet and place it in the coals. Check the owner's manual to determine how long you need to heat the coals before removing the starter.

Charcoal can also be ignited using a metal chimney starter or “charcoal chimney.” This is a metal tube with two compartments; the top section holds charcoal above a fire, which can be started in the bottom compartment using newspaper or sticks.

You can also avoid lighter fluid by using natural wood lighters or lighter cubes to ignite your charcoal.

For more information:

Grilling Basics – Better Homes and Gardens

Lump Charcoal Site

BBQ Association BBQ trivia

- by Chris Hunt
with contributions from Jill Peterson and Diane Hatz

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