Aldi Cooks' Brand Charcoal, 8 pounds for $2.99. Anyone tried this? (Now $1.99)


 
Tim Snyder

Tim Snyder

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I couldn't pass up trying charcoal for 37 cents a pound (that's $7.40 for 20 pounds, nothing close to that price in my area). Now I have to decide what sacrificial meat to use to test it out.

Any experiences? Made in Indonesia with all natural ingredients and a vegetable binder. How bad can it be? :LOL:

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Well try it quick so I know if I should run to Aldi! I bought some at Lidl and it was fine. It was inexpensive but I don't remember the price.
 
I burn more lump than briquettes, but my initial impression is that it burns hot and fast. Lights easy enough with charcoal bag paper and the chimney 3/4 full. No unusual smells or smoke. It was a busy cook with wings, brats, vegetable kabobs and cubed roasted potatoes. I had the lid open and closed quite a bit so it was difficult to maintain high heat for the wings so I resorted to a direct cook toward the end. Vortex in the Master-Touch.

The food was delicious, I'll try it with some burgers next week.
 
Tim Snyder said:
I burn more lump than briquettes, but my initial impression is that it burns hot and fast. Lights easy enough with charcoal bag paper and the chimney 3/4 full. No unusual smells or smoke. It was a busy cook with wings, brats, vegetable kabobs and cubed roasted potatoes. I had the lid open and closed quite a bit so it was difficult to maintain high heat for the wings so I resorted to a direct cook toward the end. Vortex in the Master-Touch.

The food was delicious, I'll try it with some burgers next week.
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I am really tired and have not had enough coffee. I read "It was a busy cook with wing, brats...", as "bat wings" and had to really refocus to see what new experiment Tim was working on now. :)
 
Michael Richards said:
I am going to stop on my way home and check it out to see if that deal is the same here 90 minutes from you at my local Adli.
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At my store it was on the bottom shelf of the paper products aisle. I also saw a few pallets of Cooks' at outside one of my local Giant supermarkets, for substantially more money (but I can't remember the exact price).
 
Tim Snyder said:
At my store it was on the bottom shelf of the paper products aisle. I also saw a few pallets of Cooks' at outside one of my local Giant supermarkets, for substantially more money (but I can't remember the exact price).
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Everything is more expensive at Giant. I have an Aldi's mins from work and one mins from home (one in Maryland and one in PA) so I am going to stop at both here in the next hour.
 
Michael Richards said:
Everything is more expensive at Giant. I have an Aldi's mins from work and one mins from home (one in Maryland and one in PA) so I am going to stop at both here in the next hour.
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I thought Cooks' might be an Aldi oddball brand so I was surprised when I saw it at Giant. Only one of the three local Giants had/has it though (I haven't been back there in a few weeks). I'm thinking it was $7.99 a bag at Giant, not positive though. That would be their cheapest "bag size" offering, maybe that's why they have it.

I bought three more bags today and have used two others so far. I save it for quick cooks like burgers, fish, shrimp, sausage, or thin cuts of meat. Seems to burn hot and fast for me. I always add a lump of hardwood. The leftover coals go in the bottom of the chimney and they seem to help the lump get going for the longer cooks. I like dealing with the smaller packaging too.

Interested in other opinions, for sure.
 
Tim Snyder said:
I thought Cooks' might be an Aldi oddball brand so I was surprised when I saw it at Giant. Only one of the three local Giants had/has it though (I haven't been back there in a few weeks). I'm thinking it was $7.99 a bag at Giant, not positive though. That would be their cheapest "bag size" offering, maybe that's why they have it.

I bought three more bags today and have used two others so far. I save it for quick cooks like burgers, fish, shrimp, sausage, or thin cuts of meat. Seems to burn hot and fast for me. I always add a lump of hardwood. The leftover coals go in the bottom of the chimney and they seem to help the lump get going for the longer cooks. I like dealing with the smaller packaging too.

Interested in other opinions, for sure.
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I picked up the last 4 bags they had for $1.99 each. 32 lbs of charcoal for 8 and some change, not bad. I will use it for tons of weekday night chicken and other quick cooks. I probably won't cook with it until next week, but I will give an update of take on it.
 
The reviewer used charcoal fluid.

www.aldireviewer.com

Cooks Charcoal Briquets | Aldi Reviewer

This post contains affiliate links. When I purchased the Range Master Kettle Charcoal Grill for review purposes, I knew I was going to need some supplies. First and foremost, I was going to need some charcoal, along with a means to light it. I’d heard far and wide that Kingsford charcoal was the...
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Michael Richards said:
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I picked up the last 4 bags they had for $1.99 each. 32 lbs of charcoal for 8 and some change, not bad. I will use it for tons of weekday night chicken and other quick cooks. I probably won't cook with it until next week, but I will give an update of take on it.
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I wanted to add, the store in Maryland had like 20 bags, but not on sale so I passed. I went to the store in Pa and it was on sale for the $1.99, so I grabbed the four bags they had. If it cooks ok, I will check back on the Maryland store to see what happens in the next week or two with their price.
 
I used some of this charcoal to lit the camp fire (in the smoky Joe) on Saturday night, then again in the smoky joe yesterday to char some veggies for some salsas. Then I used it with a mix of Cowboy All Natural Hardwood Briquets for my Al Pastor cook. I have zero complaints about the Cooks charcoal. There was some real think black smoke during the first few minutes while lighting, but after that there was no bad smoke or smell. I actually think they were pretty mild in smell. I missed the smokey wood flavor from the Cowboy Briquets that I have been using recently, but for two bucks for eight pounds, I am happy. Also I had to run to Gaint late last night and saw this. 12 bucks for a 15 or 16 lb bag.
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Bob Correll said:
Still $3.89 at my Aldi. they had at least 8 bags.
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I had a senior moment a bit ago. (not unusual)
Went to Aldi for various items, checked to see if they had the Cooks marked down, saw a price of $3.89 and thought hey, that must be the clearance price so I picked up a bag.
Came here and saw my old post and then said a bad word, but.... when I checked my receipt it was marked $1.99. No cook planned today but maybe I'll do a little trial burn for a hot dog to see if I want to clean them out tomorrow.

Update, it did a fine job on my beef frank for lunch. Not much smoke, no off odors.
It's a solid little briquette, reminds me of Stubb's, now called Cowboy, and best I recall similar to Trader Joes from a few years back.
 
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I bought 4 bag, then 10, and then 4 again, I have like three left, it is all I am using right now. Justed used if for a long cook on the kettle with the diffuser system and worked great. It is extremely mild and I am actually missing my Cowboy All Natural Hardwood Briquet smoke flavor. I have to go back to Aldi here soon and will be tempted to buy more, but I really want to go get more Cowboy also.
 
Michael Richards said:
I bought 4 bag, then 10, and then 4 again, I have like three left, it is all I am using right now. Justed used if for a long cook on the kettle with the diffuser system and worked great. It is extremely mild and I am actually missing my Cowboy All Natural Hardwood Briquet smoke flavor. I have to go back to Aldi here soon and will be tempted to buy more, but I really want to go get more Cowboy also.
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You've gone through a lot of Charcoal...are your cooks that long/that often or do you find you have to use more of this brand to get the same time as other brands? Then again....maybe it's so cheap it doesn't matter???
 
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