Kingsford question


 

LeeJay

New member
Hey all, I am having an issue with my 22" WSM. I am using Kingsford BB that is probably 2 years old. The bags are stored off the garage floor and sealed. When using them in my WSM, it seems considerably more smoky than it used to (leaving a sooty flavor on the meat) and it seems to burn a lot faster. I keep the temp around 225. The Kingsford site says that as long as the bags don't get wet, the charcoal should be fine. I have cleaned it out good, thinking that might have something to do with it, but that hasn't helped either. I always use the water pan.

Has anybody noticed any difference using newer vs. older charcoal? Any thoughts on anything I might try different?

Thanks for your help in advance!!!
 
I usually over stock up when the 2 packs go on sale so I have bags that are a few years old and I’ve never noticed a difference. Can’t imagine it goes bad if it’s kept dry. Do you live in a humid climate? It’s possible your concrete floor holds a little moisture, concrete is porous and can get damp - put a bag of dry concrete mix on a concrete floor and eventually it will solidify. Maybe put the charcoal on something instead of directly on the concrete.
 
Something sounds odd with that, you say the bags are off the floor so, I have a hard time thinking that they are seriously wet, unless some creature got in there and used the bags as a latrine I can’t see what might have caused the nasty result,
How are you lighting the coals?
 
Occasionally posts like this pop up. I don't know the answer. The only thing I can think to further troubleshoot is maybe pickup a bag of fresh and see if it cooks differently. I've got 5 twin packs in the garage, 4 of which have been sitting in there a year. We've had just an incredible uncharacteristically wet May and early June so far so I'm hoping mine don't soak up moisture. I've never had it happen though and I'm guessing if the charcoal is in the bag it would be hard for it to get in there.
 
I use a chimney and light them up with the Weber cubes. I use the Minion Method, dropping the lit chimney in the middle.
 
Hi LeeJay. I've used KBB in my WSMs for years and have often used bags of charcoal that are at least a year or two old due to stocking up during the great sales that happen a few times each year. While I sometimes have a weird cook out of a single bag, I haven't noticed any consistent issues with using older charcoal versus newer charcoal. As has been said above, as long as the bags have been stored in a dry environment, there shouldn't be any issues.

Have you experienced the problem from multiple bags or from just one?
 
we've had so much rain in the NE that mold is borderline uncontrollable. Some of my bags felt damp event though I store it off the ground and have a plastic barrier under my shed.
I would definitely go with new coal.
 
Hey all, I am having an issue with my 22" WSM. I am using Kingsford BB that is probably 2 years old. The bags are stored off the garage floor and sealed. When using them in my WSM, it seems considerably more smoky than it used to (leaving a sooty flavor on the meat) and it seems to burn a lot faster. I keep the temp around 225. The Kingsford site says that as long as the bags don't get wet, the charcoal should be fine. I have cleaned it out good, thinking that might have something to do with it, but that hasn't helped either. I always use the water pan.

Has anybody noticed any difference using newer vs. older charcoal? Any thoughts on anything I might try different?

Thanks for your help in advance!!!

I use 2-year-old+ KBB stored in my garage here in low humidity California. No problems.

I think you're getting good advice from others...
 
Well, it's been a couple of months and I think I may have figured it out. I have been using my Traeger (I know) a lot since I picked it up last year and there is obviously a huge difference in the smokey flavor between the two. I am starting to think that I got used to the pellet flavor and when I would use my WSM, it tasted different. As for how fast the charcoal burns, it might just be me. The charcoal doesn't seem damp, I store it off of the floor, but since it has been very humid this year, maybe that had a little to do with it. We'll see. I am going to use my WSM more and back off on the Traeger. I really do like the flavor from my WSM.

Thanks everyone!!! I just want to take a sec and thank you guys for your responses. They helped a lot and got me thinking about things that I missed.
 
Well, it's been a couple of months and I think I may have figured it out. I have been using my Traeger (I know) a lot since I picked it up last year and there is obviously a huge difference in the smokey flavor between the two. I am starting to think that I got used to the pellet flavor and when I would use my WSM, it tasted different. As for how fast the charcoal burns, it might just be me. The charcoal doesn't seem damp, I store it off of the floor, but since it has been very humid this year, maybe that had a little to do with it. We'll see. I am going to use my WSM more and back off on the Traeger. I really do like the flavor from my WSM.

Thanks everyone!!! I just want to take a sec and thank you guys for your responses. They helped a lot and got me thinking about things that I missed.

Well that's cool that you answered your own question.:)
Alot of what we do is trial and error, and we learn from our's (and others ) mistakes.
Putting it up on the board, makes it worthwhile for others.

Tim
 
Hey LeeJay; you didn’t mention how you are starting your WSM. Are you nesting the wood in the coal? Are you adding it on top? Are you giving the WSM a little time after startup to “normalize” the burn?

When you light your chimney, you’ll see a lot of sooty black smoke; you wouldn’t want that on your meat! After that burns off and gets good and hot, remember that adding it onto a heap of unburned charcoal in the WSM will generate some of more of this initially. Also, the wood will catch fire and generate white smoke until it gets to a smolder. Try waiting 10-15 minutes until that burns off and you see the smoke start to change from white to a bluish color. That might help.
 
About 45 years ago my father shared his tips and tricks with me about using charcoal to smoke meats. One of which was not to be in a rush to put your meat on. Let your charcoal get up to temp and burn for an hour before. He claimed that l would be happier with the end product. I've only had a WSM for 3 yrs now but l still follow that piece of advice.
 

 

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