Kingsford Competition Briquets press release


 

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
I got this recently from Kingsford, thought I would share it now that Jan. 1 has arrived.

Regards,
Chris

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KINGSFORD BRINGS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE HOME WITH HIGH-HEAT BRIQUETS
Latest Product from America’s #1 Charcoal Brand Allows Backyard Barbecuers to Grill Like Experts

OAKLAND, Calif. (Embargoed until Jan. 1, 2009) – Today the Kingsford Products Company brings tantalizing cook-off quality home with a charcoal briquet that combines convenience, high heat and long burn times. From grilling to searing to slow cooking, 100 percent natural Kingsford® Competition Briquets are designed for fast lighting, too.

The briquet once ruled on the cook-off circuit, where tangy scents linger and competition sizzles, but lately, chefs have shifted to using lump charcoal instead, to achieve the high heat necessary to bring home a trophy. Now Kingsford offers the best of both worlds.

“These new briquets are going to give folks at home the versatility and quality I get at competitions without the expensive equipment,” said Chris Lilly, owner of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala., and six-time Memphis in May world champion. “The briquet form is going to give you a much easier time controlling the hot burn compared to traditional lump charcoal.”

Kingsford® Competition Briquets will help take grilling to a new level – whether it’s a quick meal fired up for a family of four or championship cuisine cooked low and slow overnight to impress the judges on the barbecue competition circuit. Made with all-natural ingredients for an authentic barbecue flavor, Kingsford® Competition Briquets allow the temperature flexibility needed for advanced cooking methods including grilling, searing and slow cooking.

To showcase the versatility of Kingsford® Competition Briquets, Lilly has created these recipes for home cooks:

• Peppered Ahi Tuna with Cantaloupe & Pineapple Salsa – Utilize high heat by searing fresh tuna steaks to perfection
• Beer-Basted Pulled Pork Sliders – Get low and slow with competition-worthy pulled pork in bite-sized form
• Apple Cider Ribs – Use direct and indirect grilling methods to prepare baby back ribs with a tasty twist

Kingsford® Competition Briquets light more quickly than traditional charcoal briquets with a light-to-cook time of approximately 14 minutes. Temperature is controlled by arranging the briquets and adjusting the vents according to the cooking method and food choices. Lilly’s instructional videos are available on www.Kingsford.com along with how-to’s for advanced grilling techniques and information about Kingsford® Competition Briquets.

“We want the home chef to knock the socks off their families and friends with competition-quality barbecue,” said Ryan Elvers, Kingsford marketing manager. “Now anyone can grill like an expert at the next backyard barbecue.”

As with all Kingsford® charcoal products, Kingsford® Competition Briquets are manufactured in an environmentally-conscious way: Wood waste is converted into useful fuels, combustion gases generate heat for use in production and process water is contained to be reused for the next batch of charcoal. Because of their all-natural ingredients, Kingsford® Competition Briquets leave less ash than traditional charcoal.

Kingsford® Competition Briquets will ship to grocery, mass, club and home improvement retailers in January 2009 and will be widely available by April 1, 2009. The new briquets are available in a 12-lb bag (lasts the same as 14-lb original) for the approximate retail value of $9.49 and two 16.5-lb bags (lasts the same as two 21-lb original) for the approximate retail value of $16.99. For more information about new Kingsford® Competition Briquets, charcoal grilling recipes and tips, visit Kingsford.com.
 
Thanks for the info Chris. My guess is Wal Mart/Sam's will prob be the first to get it. I'll keep my eyes open for it at BJ's, and in my travels. Price isn't bad at all. Well of course I'm going to try it.
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Looking forward to learning more and giving it a try. Recently purchased a couple of lump products to try. One question:

How many 'All Natural' ingredients are there in charcoal?
 
Originally posted by Dave Hutson:
Feces are "all natural"...........

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True. Just as "poultry byproducts" in pet food can include cooked feathers. (Or, conceivably, beaks and rooster combs.)
 
I look forward to giving this new product a try. If it is as claimed I will use it. The biggest turn off for the current K product are the unknowns that can be smelled at light up, which gives me even further pause about using it for a Minion burn. I hope it is a winner.

Gary
 
I'd be interested to find out what the difference is between this new product and their standard briquet. Their website lists the standard as "made with natural ingredients and real wood." Is the new product more natural? Why will the new product burn hotter? It's curious that they offer the new product while they also offer their lump or 'charwood'. They must be feeling a hit from other lump manufacturers.

The other statements in the release seem to be just marketing fluff. "These new briquets are going to give folks at home the versatility and quality I get at competitions without the expensive equipment,”; you need expensive equipment to burn lump?

“Now anyone can grill like an expert at the next backyard barbecue.” Oh that's why I didn't take home 1st place; it was my charcoal
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!

I'll wait for reviews from this site and the NakedWhiz before trying.

Paul
 
A while back there was a post im 90% sure by Chris A. I think he took a 'tour' of the Kingsford.. uh place or something like that. after pausing for a moment to think of how to phrase this for everyone (so no-one gets an angry tear), I don't think there are any "unknowns" in the charcoal. ...i just always kind of giggle at this, but hope that makes you feel better. I don't think I can find that post or I'de link it to you, you'll have to forgive me, Im a bit slower on the computer.

I think this is the thing I remember, I actually found it on the actuall site, not the forums, I forgot where to look.
 
The folks at Kingsford may know exactly what is in the product, and list the contents properly, but the stuff smells off, unlike any other product I have tried. That is an unknown.....

Gary
 
ya, i don't use a lot of it either, lump does smell delicious, do you ever hover around your cooker just to smell it? LOL.

*good post below.. good eye Scooter
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Now don't take this wrong (because I'm glad company's listen to people), but does this not feel like back when Coke had to re-release Coke Classic??

The fact they are trying to market this as by saying things like "chefs have shifted to using lump charcoal instead, to achieve the high heat necessary to bring home a trophy" is a stretch at best. I think the earlier part of the sentence gives the true reason
briquet once ruled on the cook-off circuit, where tangy scents linger and competition sizzles.

Of course you can market a new product by saying "actually we are reverting to the older methods where we don't pump our product with chemicals and byproducts".

I'm also not impressed with a press release saying things like The new briquets are available in a 12-lb bag (lasts the same as 14-lb original)..... so essentially they burn for the same length but we aren't going to pass any value to you the customer as you will pay the same $ per hour of burn. This doesn't even account for the environmental impact of more packaging per lb of charcal either.
 
i almost fell asleep from the fluff making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. same bull as when they brought out the new and improved briquettes.
time will tell though. but the price is downright crazy compared to others so far. we will know for sure in the spring.
 
I just visited the site, and there is no mention of the new charcoal, or Chris Lilly, or those interesting sounding recipes.
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And BTW, Chris, the link in your original post includes the comma at the end. No worky!!!

JimT
 
I spent the better part of today visiting the staff at the Clorox Technical Center in Pleasanton, CA and cooking ribs on the WSM with the new Competition Briquets. They sent me home with several bags, so I will be able to try them on other stuff and also maybe in an overnight cook on the 22" WSM.

The ingredients are simple: wood char, starch binder, and the slightest bit of borax as in blue-bag Kingsford as a press release.

I noticed the briquets are very lightweight, just like lump, due to the lack of coal and limestone. We did a Minion Method start, and the 30 coals in the chimney lit super-fast compared to blue-bag K. The stuff burns somewhat hotter and leaves behind white, fluffy ash like lump. The characteristic K smell is much less pronounced...I need to try it again to render judgment on the smell because for some reason as we stood around the cooker the direction of the smoke kept following me and my nose really got blasted with a lot of exhaust and apple smoke wood.

I will post some additional info and pics in an article on the website soon.

Scooter, not sure I understand your comment at the end of your post...the value to the customer is supposed to be the lack of smell and ash production that some people find objectionable, in a briquet form that burns more consistently than raw lump.

Regards,
Chris
 
i THINK he was saying why not keep them in a 14 lb. bag w/ the new stuff, that way we get more coal, more burn time, etc. passed to us, cant speak for him though.
Im kind of looking forward to this myself, it sounds great. I've always loved the stability for a lot of certain cooks. It may become a favorite around my house. Appreciate all the info. I like how everyone should be able to find it too, not all of us get to use "Hump lump" (i want to bad) etc. and everyone should be able to find this. hopefully a winner. we'll see if it can pry me away from lump a bit more now.
 
Originally posted by Dan H.:
i THINK he was saying why not keep them in a 14 lb. bag w/ the new stuff, that way we get more coal, more burn time, etc. passed to us, cant speak for him though.
I guess they are selling by volume, not weight. The bag size and number of briquets is the same as before, but lack of coal and limestone in the mix makes each briquet weigh less, therefore the entire bag weighs less than before. Sort of like how a big bag of lump weighs less than a big bag of blue-bag K but burns as long or longer than K does.

Chris
 
Hah!

You'll have to pry my hardwood lump from my cold/dead fingers...
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Sounds interesting, but doesn't excite me.
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