Gus Fring we are not the same

Why use lava to cook in the furnace when you can burn animals in lava to cook them? Only one saves a bucket.

using lava keeps the bucket too

?

using lava in a furnace will still preserve the bucket

I know that now. Still, charcoal is more available than dripstone (dripstone allows you to make a renewable lava farm.

if you set up enough dripstone farms, you won't run out of lava, so that quickly becomes irreverent- in fact, lava becomes easier as it both lasts longer and doesn't require you to go out and chop trees.