Best charcoal?


 
I only use Weber lumps for grilling and Weber briquettes for low and slow and for grilling. We don't have all that fancy brands in Europe, from my experience it's cheap, ground coal or Weber so the choice is clear.
 
Fabien. There are plenty of good brands of charcoal/briqs in Europe, not just Weber.
Regarding "fancy brands". You have to remember the BBQ market in the US is massive. Backyard grilling as a hobby is big business. Especially with all the after-market fuel, wood, tools, gadgets and gizmos etc that goes along with it. Hence why there is a huge variety of choice over in the US. Those businesses are all looking to get a slice of the action.
 
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I Finally tried JD lump, and I must say, I got good eleven hours out of it in the 18" WSM. JD lump is heavier than Royal Oak lump too. I like JD lump, but I am not sure if I want to pay $1.50 per pound for it.

Are there any other brands that use this type of South American hardwood?
 
Just went back to using a charcoal grill earlier this year, after a long hiatus. I'm retired and we like to travel. That required tightening the rest of our budget. That said, I've used KBB and RO Lump, primarily, but did try a few varieties of Expert Grill (Walmart brand)as well. The EG performed fairly well and I had no complaints about the flavors, but leftover coals were falling apart, so couldn't save any of them for subsequent cooks. That pretty well ate up any savings, so they're scratched off the list.
More often than not, I use a Santa Maria attachment on my kettle found that starting with a chimney of KBB then topping off with the lump works well. Got the kettle put away for the Winter now, but in the Spring, plan on trying the same mix without the SM attachment, using char baskets for low and slow cooks.
I feel the KBB and RO lump do well for the price and would recommend both for the budget minded griller.
 
Rusty James said:
I Finally tried JD lump, and I must say, I got good eleven hours out of it in the 18" WSM. JD lump is heavier than Royal Oak lump too. I like JD lump, but I am not sure if I want to pay $1.50 per pound for it.

Are there any other brands that use this type of South American hardwood?
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Komodo Joe uses the same type of South American oak as JD. I think they use a couple other varieties from there as well. Joe's lumps have a greater range of sizes and shapes compared to JD. I am using it today for the 4th time. I had a little trouble getting my chimney started this time, and I think it might be due to this the weirder shapes.
 
CaseyMcC said:
Komodo Joe uses the same type of South American oak as JD. I think they use a couple other varieties from there as well. Joe's lumps have a greater range of sizes and shapes compared to JD. I am using it today for the 4th time. I had a little trouble getting my chimney started this time, and I think it might be due to this the weirder shapes.
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Come to think of it, I had a bit of trouble getting JD to ignite (had to use extra newspapers).
 
Jeff Boudman said:
I prefer briquettes because good charcoal is predictable.
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I find briq's end up with a huge amount of ash compared to lump.
1 smoke on the E6 and it wasn't full but was getting close. Ran it for 12 hours and there was a bit left at the end.
So much ash when I cleaned it the catcher was overflowing. It made a pretty big mess. The cook however was steady, I have yet to try JD lump in the same cook......I guess I just don't want to throw about $25 to $30 into one of those cooks. The pork shoulder cost about the same as the fuel.
I will do it here sometime soon.
 
Rusty James said:
Come to think of it, I had a bit of trouble getting JD to ignite (had to use extra newspapers).
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I have 2 bags of Kamado Joe still to try out....I have had them for months, just when I got hooked on JD lump.
JD does take more to get it lit for sure. Half chimney is no problem, Once the cube burns out I let it sit for a while longer in the chimney if I am going for a real hot fire.....a full chimney of JD might need a different fire source than 2 lighter cubes.....not sure.
 
Darryl - swazies said:
I have 2 bags of Kamado Joe still to try out....I have had them for months, just when I got hooked on JD lump.
JD does take more to get it lit for sure. Half chimney is no problem, Once the cube burns out I let it sit for a while longer in the chimney if I am going for a real hot fire.....a full chimney of JD might need a different fire source than 2 lighter cubes.....not sure.
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Throw your JD in a char-basket and use a propane torch. Game changer.
 
John Ley said:
Used to use Stubbs but when that went away, I tried Royal Oak and was underwhelmed. A ton of ash and didn't burn all that long. On a long overnight type smoke I would have to add a chimney of charcoal if not more. Never had to do that before. Saw Kingsford Hardwood briquets at HD and tried them and like them much better. They aren't too expensive, don't ash up like the Royal Oak did, burn longer and consistently. Have never tried Kingsford BB. Worried they might impart an unpleasant flavor, but I know a lot of people like it and swear by it.
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Cowboy is the same as Stubbs.
 
My personal favorite is B&B - I've used both the briquettes and the lump. For a WSM, I'd probably go with the briquettes for a more even burn but I've used both to great success in mine.
 
I also use B&B. Last summer I got their charlogs on sale. They are a bit tricky fitting them into my 14 in WSM but they work well.
 
Rusty James said:
Come to think of it, I had a bit of trouble getting JD to ignite (had to use extra newspapers).
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Using KJ Big Block for the 4th or 5th time today. Not really liking it for anything other than fairly short cooks. Maybe if I had a Kettle, I would get it again. But I am finding it too inconsistent for 4 hour or longer cooks. Temp fluxes way too many times. Had a much easier time lighting today than last time, but again that goes to consistency. I got it because the place I usually get Jealous Devil is closed on Sundays. I guess I need to plan better for the next time.
 
Has anyone heard of this brand?...

www.thegoodcharcoal.com

The Good Charcoal

www.thegoodcharcoal.com www.thegoodcharcoal.com

609acae7eed5d3246ef57a3c_TGCC_Bag_Mockup_022221_maponfront_front_nohandle-p-500.png

I picked up a bag this week, and I like it pretty good so far. It looks like branch wood in size.

EDIT: I paid about $12.00 for my bag. It looks to be an economical alternative to JD.
 
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Looks very interesting and worth a try. I will be on the lookout to get some.

Where did you buy yours?
 
Rusty James said:
Has anyone heard of this brand?...

www.thegoodcharcoal.com

The Good Charcoal

www.thegoodcharcoal.com www.thegoodcharcoal.com

609acae7eed5d3246ef57a3c_TGCC_Bag_Mockup_022221_maponfront_front_nohandle-p-500.png

I picked up a bag this week, and I like it pretty good so far. It looks like branch wood in size.

EDIT: I paid about $12.00 for my bag. It looks to be an economical alternative to JD.
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Actually Rusty, I did a review on this charcoal a month ago. Its a excellent charcoal, can be lit with a torch & doesn't spark. Not much smell at start up & long burn time with little ash. I put it right up there beside JD. Around here we get it through Home Depot. Personally I wish that it came in 35 pound bags. I burn a lot of charcoal.

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russ olin said:
Actually Rusty, I did a review on this charcoal a month ago. Its a excellent charcoal, can be lit with a torch & doesn't spark. Not much smell at start up & long burn time with little ash. I put it right up there beside JD. Around here we get it through Home Depot. Personally I wish that it came in 35 pound bags. I burn a lot of charcoal.

​

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Oops, I did a search for the item, but got no returns.

I'm going back for some more ASAP. This product looks perfect for the 14" WSM.
 
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