I make my own charcoal. Get some seasoned hardwood like oak, hickory or mesquite. Put it in a fire chimney. Light with paper. When the wood gets going and starts to burn
down add it to your pit. Watch it as you cook and add more wood directly to the fire before you need it.
A buddy bought a shit load years back when we were cooking whole pigs. He bought B&B Charcoal & another brand that was rainforest hardwood like the Brazilian Churrascoria's use.
Buy yourself a cactus burner to light it! The Brazilian did alot of popping & launching hot embers. I wore FR shirts while getting the pits lit for that reason
H-E-B near my house carries a central market brand. I use that. Cuz it’s the biggest bag they carry. Recently they were out so I picked up a big bag of Royal from Home Depot.
There was a lot of 2 by lumber scraps in it. Plus it burned fast. I’ll stick to the central market stuff. Or B&B of H-E-B has their big bags.
I’ve only used b&b, I like the temps I got with it, but the popping and ember extravaganza was a bit much.
I’ll probably stick to kings Ford with wood chunks when needed.
Rockwood is the best lump I've used. My local Ace Hardware carries it or you can get it online. It's a little higher, but great quality and worth it IMO. If not Rockwood, then Royal Oak in the orange bag at Home Depot.