Fuel the Flame

The best charcoal for all your grilling needs

- Greg Baker

CHARCOAL DOESN'T get the credit it deserves. It's a huge technological innovation: The result of heating wood without oxygen, charcoal burns longer and hotter than the wood it's made from. It's how humanity achieved the temperatures needed to smelt metals, ushering in the Bronze and Iron ages. It's no exaggeration to say that without charcoal, modern civilization as we know it would not exist.

But today, we primarily see charcoal as a cooking medium for our charcoal grills. As a fuel for grilling, it's more controllable than wood and contributes more charred and smoky flavor than propane. To prepare you for barbecue season, we tested a dozen charcoal brands. Here are five of our favorites.

BEST OVERALL