Kingsford vs Lump Charcoal

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What do you use?

  • Kingsford, I LIKES me some ash.

  • Lump kilned chunks

  • Raw chunks(not kilned)

  • Logs, sticks, or things I find in the yard.

Results are only viewable after voting.
cheezydemon3

cheezydemon3

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HOLY ****.

Hadn't used kingsford in years, recent price jumps made me grab a 2 pack at wallyworld.

I have never seen such a crappy lack of heat and such a gigantic pile of ash.

NEVER again.

I guess that back when I always used kingsford, I just figured that was how it was.

I now get the lump hardwood at Lowe's, I also like the unkilned wood chunks at kroger, if you HAVE to use kingsford, a few of those thrown on top will mask some of the crappyness, but won't reduce the ash significantly.
 
cheezydemon3 said:
I now get the lump hardwood at Lowe's, I also like the unkilned wood chunks at kroger, if you HAVE to use kingsford, a few of those thrown on top will mask some of the crappyness, but won't reduce the ash significantly.
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Is that the cowboy lump? I got a bag of that and wasn't impressed. I like the Wicked Good Weekend Warrior for low and slow and have been pretty impressed with the BGE for grilling. However, the costs getting so high on the stuff I'm thinking of getting a couple of steel barrels and start making my own.
 
Bensiff said:
Is that the cowboy lump? I got a bag of that and wasn't impressed. I like the Wicked Good Weekend Warrior for low and slow and have been pretty impressed with the BGE for grilling. However, the costs getting so high on the stuff I'm thinking of getting a couple of steel barrels and start making my own.
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Cowboy lump really crackled on me, and high heat...i like the competition charcoal briquettes for more steady heat. Recently bought trader joes natural briquettes to try, impressed to far! Less pops, and more steady heat...can't recall how much $, though
 
Yeah, the Wicked Good Weekend Warrior really cracks and pops if you try to get it to grilling temps, but burns really long and ashes low for low and slow. BGE is good all around, but I find it better for grilling. Right now I'm using the Primo (BGE competitor BBQ) brand and don't like it as much as BGE; however, last night I was running about half old lump and half new Primo and was still able to get my egg up to 750 degrees to sear my NY strip. Usually if I have completely new lump in the egg I can push it to 900 so I was happy about the 750.

How are the competition brquettes for ash?
 
I have a couple bags on kingsford i've been trying to get through. every time I use it in the egg the bottom needs to have the ash removed. I usually only add it when I'm grilling, not for a slow cook. Only buying lump from here on out.
 
competitions are still ashy, although not as bad as the original...i'll probably end up using the trader joes this summer until they/I run out of stock, then use competition for the winter months. unfortunately, i'm in the city and have limited options, so i've been happy to use the competition until the TJ's opened up nearby. from what i've read, the TJs coal is rebranded rancher

the competitions are better for grilling (you can get them pretty hot), but i've used them with some lump for slower cooking.
 
Lump is getting so expensive around here I'm wondering if I should buy a few pallets to cut the cost. We are running around $25 for a 20lb bag here, I'm betting that down south its a hell of a lot cheaper.
 
Bensiff said:
Lump is getting so expensive around here I'm wondering if I should buy a few pallets to cut the cost. We are running around $25 for a 20lb bag here, I'm betting that down south its a hell of a lot cheaper.
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I get the Cowboy lump at Ace Hardware for about $10/20-lb. I would never have used it if it were $25. In a pinch, I get the grocery store brand bricquettes but I much prefer the lump.
 
Yeah the cowboy stuff at Lowe's gets hot and leaves minimal ash.

I am by no means an expert, any suggestions of something better would be great!
 
What's available seems to be pretty regional, but slowly places are catching on to the idea that real charcoal is better than the crap Henry Ford gave us when he was trying to figure out what to do with all the wood waste from making his cars. If you all checkout the Naked Whiz (no its not porn) they have a charcoal database that will help you out with what is the best out there.
 
I use Weekend Warrior for BBQ and Royal Oak (American) for grilling. Though I'll leave whatever Weekend Warrior was in there and add in extra royal oak as needed.

Since BGE is Royal Oak, it sounds like I have a charcoal twin.

I don't care what Weekend Warrior costs. When you cook for 24 hours on a large BGE and have 30-40% of your fuel left, that's good stuff.

Supposedly the Weekend Warrior briquets are low ash enough for a ceramic cooker. I think in theory I could cook like 80 hours with that on an egg if it never clogged. I can't imagine why I would need to do that, but it is nice to know that you could. I'd use those if I had a WSM or something like that as it is probably the longest burning charcoal in existence based on my experience with the lump.
 
You missed some choices in the poll. A good quality briq. They aren't all crap like K is. Personally the only thing I use anymore is Stubbs. To me it is the best of both worlds. It has little ash, burns fairly hot, doesn't have all the additives and extra crap that is in K, smells like wood when it burns and not chemicals, consistent, and cheap.

I have also tried every lump I have found around me,and while I havne't been able to find some of the better ones, all the ones I have tried I hated, especially cowboy.
 
Good to know data722. Stubbs? I'll check it out.

Are you grilling and smoking? What did you hate about cowboy? Thanks!

Real wood doesn't "burn consistently" I guess I don't need to be babied by my charcoal, but I understand the appeal of pressed chunks that burn consistently.

I have added chunks of known wood from the yard to whatever I am using with good results.

I split a little firewood each year and use the chips after they dry.
 
cheezydemon3 said:
Good to know data. Stubbs? I'll check it out.

Are you grilling and smoking? What did you hate about cowboy? Thanks!

I have added chunks of known wood from the yard to whatever I am using with good results.

I split a little firewood each year and use the chips after they dry.
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When I am smoking I will only use stubbs and 90% of the time when I am grilling its what I use too.

If I remember right about cowboy (it has been a while so I may have it confused with another brand) it was extremely inconsistent. Half the bag would be pretty much crumbs and the other half huge pieces that barely fit into my chimey. They also burned really inconsistent because the thickness of the pieces varied hugely. Add that to the fact that they were actually using leftover construction lumber to make it just sealed the deal for me.

The only place I have ever seen stubbs is at Lowes, just to let you know. A few months ago it was on sale for $4.25 a bag. I filled the entire backseat of my car with it at that price. Then got home to realize I have nowhere to keep it so it has been driving around with me for 2-3 months now, eventhough it is only about half the size that it was.
 
Oh, and just a note to all you guys using the BGE charcoal. You can get the EXACT same thing just in a different bag for about half the price if you buy Royal Oak.
 
coryforsenate said:
I'm a wood guy. I pay the wood man $30 bucks and he comes by and fills the entire bed of my truck up with dry pecan wood.
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So I use lump and generally use cowboy mainly becuse it's easy to get.

I'm curious do you use wood all th time? even for grilling? I can get oak, and hickery where I live very easy.
 
dataz722 said:
The only place I have ever seen stubbs is at Lowes, just to let you know. A few months ago it was on sale for $4.25 a bag. I filled the entire backseat of my car with it at that price. Then got home to realize I have nowhere to keep it so it has been driving around with me for 2-3 months now, eventhough it is only about half the size that it was.
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That's pretty funny.

Cowboy has WAY too many small pieces. I use it, but I'm getting away from it for this reason (1 more bag to use up). I'll try Stubbs next. Thanks Data.
 
so where is this $30 guy?

Real wood is great, I just have .5 acre and no chance of self sustenance..........

I am seeing the idiocy of buying kilned construction scraps, but I also work in a suit and have 3 small kids...........also...no vehicle suitable to grab scraps from the roadside....

DAMMIT.
 
lschiavo said:
Wouldn't you oversmoke things using only wood? Or do you let it burn down to just coals before cooking?
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I'm ver interested in technique. I have oak waiting to chunk and split for the outdoor fire place. So if I can use that I will start using natural.

Also, do you chunk it into small chunks like charcoal?
 
Like charcoal, wood can be burned into a pile of coals that won't smoke.....(much).

Wood is probably ideal if you have it.

If I had an oak grove(or pecan, even better), this thread would never have happened.
 
I bought my 1st bag of Cowboy lump at Lowe's and I'll never buy it again. So what the heck am I supposed to do with all those stones and rocks? Line my driveway? And how about 1/4 the bag of tiny charcoal chards that clog my chimney? I bought some Stubbs briquettes that were good. I'm also going to experiment with the blue Kingsford and another brand of local lump charcoal that so far has been excellent.
 
dataz722 said:
Oh, and just a note to all you guys using the BGE charcoal. You can get the EXACT same thing just in a different bag for about half the price if you buy Royal Oak.
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There is a theory that BGE selectively gets bigger pieces.

The one bag of BGE I had (the one that came with the egg) would definitely qualify as a better than average bag of Royal Oak, but that's not enough to say I believe the theory that it is always better.

For me BGE I have to go out of my way so I never get it. Wicked Good and Royal Oak I can get at a store 4 blocks away. I know I am lucky on the Wicked Good, when I started using it a couple of years ago that was one of like a dozen retailers, they have hundreds now but still usually just one in a city. The same store sells great wood chunks (typically cherry, plum, oak, hickory, mesquite, persimmon, apple, grape, several others) and packers they trim in house to 1/4" of fat. They are trimmed exactly how I would trim them, only better than I could do it, so I buy them like that (50 cent a pound premium over Costco maybe) and it saves a ton of time. McGonigles is the place for anyone near KC, though I imagine everyone that does BBQ in KC knows the place.
 
I have been wanting to try Wicked Good for a long time now but it was never available near me and I wasn't about to pay to have it shipped. I just recently saw that there is a place about 45 minutes from me that carries it now. I am hoping to get down there soon and get a bag or two to try.
 
MW66 said:
I bought my 1st bag of Cowboy lump at Lowe's and I'll never buy it again. So what the heck am I supposed to do with all those stones and rocks? Line my driveway? And how about 1/4 the bag of tiny charcoal chards that clog my chimney? I bought some Stubbs briquettes that were good. I'm also going to experiment with the blue Kingsford and another brand of local lump charcoal that so far has been excellent.
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I use the wegmans brand. According to Naked Whiz it's the Royal Oak. I've always been happy with it. I'll used Cowboy if I have to, but those are really the only options I have down here.
 
JLW said:
This thread has given me a great reason to fire of the chainsaw!
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I was thinking the same thing. I need some more applewood and this one died last year:

applewood.jpg
 
I have a gazillion ash trees in my back yard. I've tried using strictly ash for a couple of Q's but just wasn't all that excited about the flavor. I love Hickory! So, I'll use lump & hickory chunks to get the smoke into the meat & then move on to Ash once the meat is foiled, if I foil. Cheers!!!
 
dataz722 said:
I have been wanting to try Wicked Good for a long time now but it was never available near me and I wasn't about to pay to have it shipped. I just recently saw that there is a place about 45 minutes from me that carries it now. I am hoping to get down there soon and get a bag or two to try.
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If you like low and slow I would load up on the stuff...it cracks and pops when you heat it up though, so avoid it for grilling.
 
hamiltont said:
I have a gazillion ash trees in my back yard. I've tried using strictly ash for a couple of Q's but just wasn't all that excited about the flavor. I love Hickory! So, I'll use lump & hickory chunks to get the smoke into the meat & then move on to Ash once the meat is foiled, if I foil. Cheers!!!
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I agree. IMHO the best smoking woods are Hickory, Cherry and Apple. Myron Mixon would probably argue that peach should be thrown into the mix also.
 
I really just started this thread to HATE on kingsford, but it has actually yielded some good discussion.

Picked up some Cowboy AND some Stubbs at Lowe's yesterday. Looking forward to firing them up!

I also planted an apple tree and a pecan tree........;)
 
Sawdustguy said:
I agree. IMHO the best smoking woods are Hickory, Cherry and Apple. Myron Mixon would probably argue that peach should be thrown into the mix also.
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Those are my favorites as well. I also like persimmon. Not sure how widely available it is, I think there is just a glut of it in MO since they don't make golf club heads with it anymore. I like plum for applications where I want a subtle smoke flavor.

They know how to cook a brisket in Texas, but mesquite is not my favorite.
 
CornyKegs 300

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