Lump Charcoal
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My favorite is B&B Oak. The pieces are relatively similar in size without much dust or tiny bits, so it burns consistently. It’s not scrap. Their hickory and mesquite lump is excellent, too, but I stick with the oak and just add chips or chunks if I want to add other wood flavor to mix.
Royal Oak is quite good, too, and it might be easier to find over a larger area. Being so close to B&B’s hometown, I don’t know how widespread it actually is.
glen I’m glad to hear that Cowboy is good stuff. I tried going with Cowboy a good 15 or so years ago because the cost was so low. However, it was awful. Pieces were all sorts of sizes and shapes because it was a bunch of shop scrap. A buddy of mine even got a piece that obviously was floor tile.
TexLaw Cowboy is still a bunch of trimmings, it it is the better of the other limited brands. Other than making my own I just have to deal with whayis available.
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I watched a YouTube video awhile back, about a year ago. They went through a half dozen or so brands rating chunk size, dust, burn, etc… Might be what you are looking for if you can find it.
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TexLaw Cowboy is still a bunch of trimmings, it it is the better of the other limited brands. Other than making my own I just have to deal with whayis available.
YooperDog May be my cooking style but I never thought size disparity a disadvantage
I get longer cooks from cowboy but I note our variety here is limitedGive a man a fish and he eats for a day
Teach a man to fish and he drinks beer for a lifetime -
YooperDog May be my cooking style but I never thought size disparity a disadvantage
I get longer cooks from cowboy but I note our variety here is limitedglen I don’t get too wound up about size disparity when it comes to lump, but my problem with Cowboy was that I would get something like a 4 to 8 inch chunks of a 2x4 up at the top of the sack, a whole bunch of 1 inch nuggets at the bottom and good only knew what might come in between. It was no big deal if I was using that to start off my offset, but it was a pain to light in my chimney starter and a pain to distribute around my grill.
On a side not, a product I’ve come to love is B&B’s competition “Char-Logs.” It’s sort of the opposite of lump in that it is dense, and it burns slowly and more cool. It has no fillers or other nasty stuff that you don’t want on your food. It’s what I go to when I’m more concerned with a longer, gentler grilling and aren’t concerned about that 1000-degree sear. I also use them for starting my offset.
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glen I don’t get too wound up about size disparity when it comes to lump, but my problem with Cowboy was that I would get something like a 4 to 8 inch chunks of a 2x4 up at the top of the sack, a whole bunch of 1 inch nuggets at the bottom and good only knew what might come in between. It was no big deal if I was using that to start off my offset, but it was a pain to light in my chimney starter and a pain to distribute around my grill.
On a side not, a product I’ve come to love is B&B’s competition “Char-Logs.” It’s sort of the opposite of lump in that it is dense, and it burns slowly and more cool. It has no fillers or other nasty stuff that you don’t want on your food. It’s what I go to when I’m more concerned with a longer, gentler grilling and aren’t concerned about that 1000-degree sear. I also use them for starting my offset.
So here is my bottom line on charcoal, buy what is available locally, or you can get a store to order in for no extra cost (ie site to store through Ace Hardware or the like). I don’t see any sense in paying to have something shipped in just because “it’s the best” in someone’s opinion, maybe even your own. Also think about how many hands are going to handle a bag of charcoal if you have it shipped to your door, don’t even begin think they are going to handle it with care. Even terrible store brand charcoal such as Kroger or the like, still puts off heat and will cook your food. TexLaw I have seen the char logs, but have never used them, I might have to give them a shot if they go on sale. B&B briquettes in a 17.5# bag are on sale for 9.99 right now at my local ACE, and if I spend $50(which is nearly impossible not to do in a hardware store) I have a coupon for $15 off, which makes them $7 a bag, I’ll probably get some and try them out in my PK.
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I have tried B&B, which is pretty good, Western which I liked the most actually (especially for steaks, etc as the lumps were smaller & more consistent) & the price was right too, & Royal Oak & Cowboy too. I used to also make my own, but it is a job & you really need to be able batten down the hatch once you get the cut wood chunks in there to turn to charcoal.I still have several sacks full & it is truly what I like the best & I know what I am getting. The price is very right, but I work for peanuts.
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I have tried B&B, which is pretty good, Western which I liked the most actually (especially for steaks, etc as the lumps were smaller & more consistent) & the price was right too, & Royal Oak & Cowboy too. I used to also make my own, but it is a job & you really need to be able batten down the hatch once you get the cut wood chunks in there to turn to charcoal.I still have several sacks full & it is truly what I like the best & I know what I am getting. The price is very right, but I work for peanuts.
calldoctoday I’ve got tons of french and american oak ‘shipping bungs’ used when shipping wine barrels. I’ve been meaning to turn them into charcoal for a couple of years now but have yet to get around to it. They are perfect briquette size.
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calldoctoday I’ve got tons of french and american oak ‘shipping bungs’ used when shipping wine barrels. I’ve been meaning to turn them into charcoal for a couple of years now but have yet to get around to it. They are perfect briquette size.
Joe Hell That should make some real good stuff. I tried some of the actual wine barrel staves once too (for actual smoking)& that was pretty decent too on some turkey & ham if I remember correctly.
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YooperDog May be my cooking style but I never thought size disparity a disadvantage
I get longer cooks from cowboy but I note our variety here is limitedglen no it isn’t perfect and I have used some brands that delivered great heat and consistent product, but they aren’t sold around me. I have just learned to use what is available. I am okay with Cowboy when I can get it, some of the generic store brand stuff can be worse.
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I think I have seen B&B somewhere here I might give it a try
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I think everyone has an idea about which lump is their favorite. There is, however, one guy called the naked whiz who has, for many years, Impartially tested different brands, showing pictures of bag contents, rating brands, and listing other users ratings. He has even tested Cowboy more than once. If you want an interesting look at his lump charcoal database, give naked whiz a try.
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I think everyone has an idea about which lump is their favorite. There is, however, one guy called the naked whiz who has, for many years, Impartially tested different brands, showing pictures of bag contents, rating brands, and listing other users ratings. He has even tested Cowboy more than once. If you want an interesting look at his lump charcoal database, give naked whiz a try.
Robb said in Lump Charcoal:
Robb, thank you for this site. This is what I was hoping to find. -
Robb Thanks for the reminder about Naked Whiz. I used to look at the site a long time ago and had forgotten completely about it. It’s good to see that it’s still excellent.
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Glad you folks found it useful! I am not aware of anyplace that is more comprehensive than this site. Unfortunately my favorite lump for smoking in my clay Imperial Kamado (the Big Green Egg is a ceramic version of the old Imperial Kamado) is no longer available, but there are lots of good charcoals out there.
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Glad you folks found it useful! I am not aware of anyplace that is more comprehensive than this site. Unfortunately my favorite lump for smoking in my clay Imperial Kamado (the Big Green Egg is a ceramic version of the old Imperial Kamado) is no longer available, but there are lots of good charcoals out there.
Robb So, with all this research, what coal do you use?
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Glad you folks found it useful! I am not aware of anyplace that is more comprehensive than this site. Unfortunately my favorite lump for smoking in my clay Imperial Kamado (the Big Green Egg is a ceramic version of the old Imperial Kamado) is no longer available, but there are lots of good charcoals out there.
Robb So, with all this research, what coal do you use?
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Chef I was surprised at some of the ratings. My favorite for the money is still Western & I have received very good results from it. I was surprised at some of the comments for Western too as I did not experience that at all after purchasing it for many years. However, their rating was just not that good. Second or maybe even equal or better, but much more expensive would be B&B. However, their rating for B&B not all that good either & also had some strange comments, that I did not experience. Then there were some others that I don’t think are that good, that got some pretty decent ratings. I know I have tried some others, that were not on the list. However, I rarely see them, but did not recognize them in the ratings list, surprisingly. Most were from Mexico or down that way & I do not remember all the names. There were a vast number of brands in the ratings that I have never seen that looked very interesting & I would like to try some day. Then there is my own that I really like & have several bags of still, but do not make it much these days as I have just not been doing that type in a while. The rating report was indeed very intriguing.
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Chef I suppose, each to his or her own then!
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Chef
My favorite for smoking was Wicked Good Competition Blend. However it hasn’t been available for years. Their replacement is Weekend Warrior, which I like. I like Royal Oak too, which is usually available at WalMart. I have tried the Kamado Joe, which is pretty good too. I am looking for long burn times and little ash, and I have found these to do well. I certainly have not tried them all, by any means. I have found these to meet my needs, but there are plenty of others that I’m sure would be just as good. As you said: each to his or her own.
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