Hardwood lump charcoal suggestions needed!

[RIBeer]

I tried the Cowboy brand lump charcoal this past weekend and I was thoroughly unimpressed. Most of the pieces were small enough to fall through the coal grate in the bottom of my Weber kettle, but there were 3 or 4 huge pieces mixed in that never really got going. For the price difference, I'm ready to go back to the old Kingsford standby. Anybody have any other brands that might be fairly readily available that you would recommend?

 

[beerthirty]

Try looking in the phone book in your area. Here in the SW there are several places that deal in real charcoal. Many of the national bagged brands are made from lumber scraps. It does not make suitable charcoal since much of the woods flavor is lost during the kiln drying of the lumber.

 

[JetSmooth]

Hmmm. I've been pretty happy with Cowboy when I find it. Though it sparks like crazy.

You can't get any more authoritative than the Naked Whiz - http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

WARNING: Viewing this site may make you ditch that Weber kettle and get a ceramic smoker/BBQ.

 

[elkdog]

I tried the Cowboy brand lump charcoal this past weekend and I was thoroughly unimpressed. Most of the pieces were small enough to fall through the coal grate in the bottom of my Weber kettle, but there were 3 or 4 huge pieces mixed in that never really got going. For the price difference, I'm ready to go back to the old Kingsford standby. Anybody have any other brands that might be fairly readily available that you would recommend?

I'll be watching this thread to see what our 'q experts say. I, too, cook on a weber kettle, and I use a chimney starter. I find it hard to get a good coal bed going because so much of the hardwood charcoal that I can buy here just falls through the chimney or the grate. I've been using kingsford again, but would love to find some lump charcoal that works better.

Also, as a native southerner (moving home to NC soon, only here for grad school), I have no delusions that I will make any barbecue on my kettle. It's a grill, and I grill things on it. That's fine for now, though I plan to get a smoker when I can settle down in one place for a while.

 

[SOB]

The only lump I can find (I dont go out of my way to look) is Frontier brand at the local Meijer. I dont have anything other than Kingsford to compare it to but I like it. I've heard good things about Royal Oak if you can find that...

I usually mix the two for long smokes...start a chimney of KFord and fill the rest of the side fire box with lump. Dump the chimney on the lump when it's nice and white and it's good for about 3 hours. Then add more lump as needed.

 

[motobrewer]

cowboy is alright, a lot of pieces are pretty small. i never have an issue with getting a coal bed tho. you need to use a chimney starter with it otherwise i could see having problems.

my biggest issue is it burns way to hot and fast for 4-hour sessions. i usually try and cut it with 50% kingsford if i'm not just "grilling"

anyway, i can't answer your question. cowboy is the only thing i've been able to find.

 

[Myrdhyn]

Kingsford actually makes natural lump charcoal also. It's a bit tough to find (I think I got mine at either krogers of all places or home depot). It seemed to work very well when I used it last smoke. I think until I find a better brand locally, I'm going to use it because Royal Oak pissed me off...they have no consistency in their product, and consistency is what makes for good, easy smokin'. One bag will be beautiful perfect chunks, and the next will be practically dust.

Here's a review with a picture of the bag:

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag80.htm

 

[dataz722]

I just got a bag of Kingsford competition. It is briqettes but I have heard good things about it. I haven't been able to find decent lump around here so I figure it is worth a try.

 

[remilard]

Yes, naked whiz.

Here is some quick info.

Cowboy (aka Trader Joes, Whole Foods and formerly Wild Oats house brands): This is environmentally friendly lump as it is made from scrap lumber that has been kilned (but not chemically treated in any way). The upside, or downside, is that kilning removes essentially all of the flavor so this is a very neutral lump charcoal. I rarely use it but if I want to cook something and not add much flavor, this is one of my first choices. Dig through a bag and you are virtually guaranteed to find pieces you can identify as molding. This is how you know I am not lying about the source of the wood.

Royal Oak (aka big green egg brand, best choice brand): This is by far the most popular brand among people who put thought into which brand they buy. Consistent quality, good flavor charactaristics, burns fairly hot (I can hit 1000 with it in a big green egg if I try). Some people say that if you buy it at Wal-Mart they handle it rough so you get more small pieces and dust. Some people say that the BGE brand stuff has more selected large pieces. I am not sure of the validity of either of these claims but the BGE bag that came with my egg was a great bag. I don't mind small pieces as they work fine on top of the pile and I can usually get a hotter fire if I have some smaller pieces.

 

[DoubleXL]

RoyalOak Is the brand I like the best for lump charcoal. Stubb's makes a good one also. Not sure if its a regional thing or not my local Wally World carries RoyalOak "Its in a red and yellow bag that looks generic" Lowe's here carries Stubb's brand.

 

[azscoob]

I also use Royal Oak from wallymart, its cheap enough that I pick up 6-8 bags at a time and just store it in the garage. When I rev up the smoker I dont use lump, I use locally sourced pecan or live oak from up north. Sometimes I will use the mesquite that everyone keeps giving me.

 

[JetSmooth]

I also use Royal Oak from wallymart, its cheap enough that I pick up 6-8 bags at a time and just store it in the garage. When I rev up the smoker I dont use lump, I use locally sourced pecan or live oak from up north. Sometimes I will use the mesquite that everyone keeps giving me.

You use only wood for your heat? Doesn't that burn really hot? I'm assuming you've got one helluva smoker to get the heat indirect? :rockin:

 

[azscoob]

You use only wood for your heat? Doesn't that burn really hot? I'm assuming you've got one helluva smoker to get the heat indirect? :rockin:

I have a cheap Brinkmann Smoke-n-Pit v1 offset smoker that I modded with distribution plates, a direct heat shield, and an extended stack, works great with good temp control, I now get about a 1°or 2° variable throughout the entire smoker. With that setup a little wood goes a long way!

 

[Fletch78]

I had the same problem with Cowboy the 1 time I tried lump. They say Longer and Hotter. They are half right. It does burn hotter. But it didn't seem to burn any longer except the bigger pieces. But, since most of them were busted up, they burned up pretty quick, therefore "hotter". Perhaps that's the "hotter" part their marketing department refers to. For coals, I stick with Kingsford. I use to experiment with generic brands, and was disappointed with each one for a variety of reasons. In the end, the extra $1.38 for Kingsford is worth it. Although, I did notice a significant drop-off in Kingsford quality right about 3 years ago. Not only the coals, but the lighter fluid too.

I just lucked out and moved into a place this month where the previous owner left a big pile of seasoned oak and fruitwood logs and splits. I won't be buying charcoal for a while.

I have a similar setup to azscoob but completely unmodded. Using wood doesn't necessarily make everything hot as hell. But that's another discussion.

I think lump charcoal is a rip-off.

 

[RIBeer]

I also noticed the drop in quality of the Kingsford stuff that you mentioned. It was right when they switched to the "new" style briquettes with the grooves in them. They definitely burn a lot faster.

 

[mklawz]

Cowboy lump is horrible stuff. I gave up on lump-cooking because its hard to find anything other than Cowboy around here.

IMO, lump charcoal is good for direct grilling only. Low n slow, Im fan of briquettes combined with wood chunks.

 

[Fletch78]

IMO, lump charcoal is good for direct grilling only. Low n slow, Im fan of briquettes combined with wood chunks.

+20000 I'd say GREAT for direct grilling, which is what alot of people mean when they say "bbq"

Kingsford experimented with their own lump brand for a while which was horrible, but you are right, there may be good lump out there, but if I'm going to that trouble to find it, I can literally just buy wood off Craig's List, hypothetically speaking.

Also, slightly OT, but for the record, the Kingsford with "wood chips" with the wood embedded in the coals is the absolute worst of the worst.

 

[SOB]

The one thing to remember with KFord is you should start it in a chimney or at least get them nice and white before cooking over them. The binder that they use is not natural and some say produces off flavors and can actually be harmful. That's why for a long smoke I start with a chimney of KFord then add the natural lump that doesn't need to be pre-lit.

Not only the coals, but the lighter fluid too.

A little OT but...I would suggest moving away from the lighter fluid. You really need to be sure it is all burned off before cooking over it and you still have the smell (and some can tell the taste) left behind. For $10-$20 you can get a chimney starter which uses only newspaper and a match. Well worth it...it works faster than lighter fluid too!

 

[remilard]

IMO, lump charcoal is good for direct grilling only. Low n slow, Im fan of briquettes combined with wood chunks.

This is really set-up dependent. I agree that briquettes burn cooler than lump, but I can hold 200 + - 5 degrees for 24 hours (adjusting every 15 minutes or so for the first hour and then ever few hours thereafter) using lump in a BGE without any electronics. With electronics +- 1 degree. A less temp stable cooker is probably going to do worse with lump and without electronic control.

 

[chefmike]

I use all lump... never had the problems some of you are experiencing. I get bags either from the grocery store or Home Despot, depending on whose is less beat up. Home Depot usually wins, as they often bring in whole pallets and the ones in the center will be intact. Grocery stores bring in less bags at a time, meaning they get thrown around at the warehouse, in the truck, the stockroom and the shelf.

And if you still want to stack coals lighter fluid style... try a crumpled brown bag with vegetable oil on it on the bottom edge of your stack (to the side so you can light it). It will get a pile going fine. Not as dramatic as lighter fluid... which is probably why we use it!

Since I have firewood around, I usually cut 5 inch sections and split them. I use this in combination with lump to use less and get even more flavor.

 

[mklawz]

This is really set-up dependent.

That is true. My setup just doesnt do well with lump charcoal. particularly my offset smoker.

And FWIW, I dont particularly like lump in my Weber Performer either. It burns TOO hot in my opinion, and like someone else said, it's really annoying when half of it falls thru the grates.

Hey briquettes vs lump is sorta like the plastic vs glass debate in brewing!

 

[RIBeer]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great feedback. I had a bit of free time yesterday and poked around the different stores in town. The only lump I could find anywhere was Cowboy, which as I mentioned in the beginning, I was less than impressed with. I did find some Kingsford competition at Stop & Shop, which I may give a try. I'm off of work all next week - gotta love April school vacation, so I have plenty of time to grill & chill. MY Stella clone is ready to go, and the weather here is supposed to clear by Monday or so. The pond at the club I belong to is also stocked with trout - my girls are itching to get fishin - we may be doing some smoked trout later in the week. I'll give a report on how the competition stuff works.

 

[remilard]

I think every wal-mart carries royal oak.

 

[RIBeer]

I checked Wally World last night - they carry the briquettes, but no lump. Are the briquettes worth trying over Kingsford?

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I'm just finishing two bags of Royal Oak for Walmart and mine were the semi-beat-up bags, lots of pebbles. I was previously using Kingsford briquettes. TBH, I found the briquettes easier but I wanted hotter. >90% of the time I'm just grilling steaks/chops/fish with it and I want it about as hot as I can get it.