1st time w/ lump = Happy HH Brisket


 
S

S. Fink

TVWBB Fan
After years of smoking exclusively w/ Kingsford (inc. the new Competition K) I decided to take the plunge w/ lump. I had read so many positive things on here, that when I saw bags of Royal Oak at the store, I had to give it a shot.

I followed the typical HH brisket plan with a Minion start. Filled the ring w/ RO and got it started w/ about 25 lit Kingsford briquettes. Added 5 small chunks of oak, thew on a 5.5 lb. flat (still can't find a packer in CT) and it was off to the races. The meat hit 160 about 2 hours in (maintaing around 350 at the lid), I threw it in a pan, foiled, and it was tender about 2 hours later.

The brisket was one of the, if not the very best one I've done. Very moist, not too smokey (I attribute that to the oak) and quite tasty.

A few things I noticed about using lump: 1) good thing I had read some previous posts, because the popping/crackling of the lump would have scared me otherwise; 2) no unwanted smoke odors; 3) ran nice and hot; had no problem keeping 350 temp w/ out cracking door or lid; 4) responded to vent changes very quickly; seemed more responsive than K.

Do you think the successful results had anything to do w/ the lump? In any case, it was fun trying something new and I'll definitely experiment more w/ future cooks.
 
I also tried out lump (ACE HW mesquite lump, 20#/$12) for the first time this weekend. Did a couple of grill/direct cooks (korean bbq and direct BB) on a OTP and was very impressed. (I know, BB should have been done indirect. It was time constraints....) Had to learn to NOT heap the lump because it got too hot -- a shallow layer was the best in the OTP.

1. MUCH faster to light than briquettes, much less smoke -- didn't mind the small amount of popping, sparking.

2. Burned much hotter, and was ready much faster than briquettes.

3. The unburned remains lit just as fast as the previous day and was just as hot. Most of the time, I find not-completely consumed briquettes useless the next day (crumbles apart).

4. Very little smoke from the lump. Very little petro-like-fuel flavor. (Did add some apple wood for smoke flavor with the BBs).

Am itching use the lump in the WSM soon.

I'd attribute your successful cook to your skill; ease/difficulty of lump is just another tool.
 
A recent convert to lump but I think the fact that I started with K briqs and became proficient helped make the transition smooth. My first lump cook was great and I now use lump (Wicked Good) all the time and love it. Less ash and I especially like that I can use the the leftovers on the next cook (or for the kettle grilling) so much a great feature) I'm also usingless wood chunks that with than I did when I smoked with the briqs.
 
Need y'all input, I have never used lump before, only charcoal. is lump good for long cooks like 12-14 hrs cooks? or is just right for the shoter cooks? and how about high heat cooks? I have seen royal oak at the west lake hardware store and they always sems to have a lot of it and at a good price
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by dave caston:
Need y'all input, I have never used lump before, only charcoal. is lump good for long cooks like 12-14 hrs cooks? or is just right for the shoter cooks? and how about high heat cooks? I have seen royal oak at the west lake hardware store and they always sems to have a lot of it and at a good price </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You can use lump the same as you use briquettes for long or short cooks, low and slow or high heat. It is still a matter of adjusting air flow to lower or raise temps. No difference IMO. It helps to shake the charcoal ring a couple of times as you load the lump so that it settles, because you want all the pieces touching other pieces, but I don't find that much of a problem. You can use lump to start the MM although many use briquettes for that. For those really long cooks, fill up the ring
 
Dave-

It depends a lot on the brand of lump that you use.

If you use Cowboy (or one of their store brands) you'll be lucky to get more than 8 hours.

If you use Royal Oak ( commonly found at Wal mart) you'll likely get your goal if conditions are OK.

If you find a high quality lump, the sky is the limit (16-24 hours) on burn time.

Check out this link
 
Which lump brands are considered higher quality when compared to Royal Oak? And are they worth it for what I assume is a higher price?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by S. Fink:
Which lump brands are considered higher quality when compared to Royal Oak? And are they worth it for what I assume is a higher price? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, where to start. Lets start here. Lump is a region thing with most, but not all brands of lump. Find what's availble in your area, and then check it out on the Whiz. Just stay away from Cowboy lump.
icon_wink.gif

Yes lump costs more, but has so many more +'s than -'s IMO. Very clean burning, hardly any ash, no putrid smell when burning, food tastes better too me, you can see what you are burning, etc. I love lump. I prefer lump, others do not, it is all about what you are into.
icon_smile.gif
 
Yes, great Link. Thank you. I was surprised by some of the results. It seems that the key with Royal Oak is to pay attention to where it was made. The American hardwood seemed to rate high. B & B did not rate as high as I thought it would have
icon_frown.gif
. I have had good experience with it, better than Royal Oak, but of course I did not pay attention to which Royal Oak I was using (I did not know that there was different types of Royal Oak.) Very Interesting.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Weldon:
B & B did not rate as high as I thought it would have
icon_frown.gif
. I have had good experience with it, better than Royal Oak, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Weldon, I'd take B&B oak lump over RO any day. I love B&B lump. Ozark Oak lump, is also another great lump. To me RO is a good/average lump, but not great. JMO
icon_smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top