Charcoal help!


 
Christopher H

Christopher H

TVWBB Fan
So a few questions for everyone here.

I have always used Kingsford Blue with a little bit of Cowboy Lump Charcoal....

I was wondering what the benefits are of using the Kingsford Competition Charcoal as well as the Royal Oak Lump?

Secondly, where can I get either/or? A big box store or only small BBQ shops, etc.? I have not seen either of those at Meijer, Kroger, Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart or anywhere else. I'm in Southeast Michigan.
 
There's a great piece on this site about the Kingsford Competition product. You can find it here.

I've never thought it was worth the extra price, but that's just me. I definitely notice that it produces less ash. I've seen it the most often at Ace Hardware, if you have one of those around.
 
I purchased some Kingsford Competition Charcoal at Costco and the only difference I really noticed from Kingsford Blue is that the Competition has less ash.
 
Joe Milczewski said:
There's a great piece on this site about the Kingsford Competition product. You can find it here.

I've never thought it was worth the extra price, but that's just me. I definitely notice that it produces less ash. I've seen it the most often at Ace Hardware, if you have one of those around.
Click to expand...

Nicely done Joe....I had never seen this post on here before...thank you!
 
Home Depot, Lowes & Wallyworld sell them where I live. Ironically, Winco has the best price on charcoal for me (about a buck less a bag (15LBS) than the other 3 previously mentioned)
 
I think it's all personal preference and like anything in BBQ - it's whatever seems to be working at the time. That said, Harry Soo of Slap Yo Daddy BBQ has won a bunch of Championships. He cooks on 2, 18.5 WSM's and only uses Kingsford Blue. Great BBQ comes from the skill of the pitmaster. I had a chance to interview Aaron Franklin of Franklin BBQ and I asked him what was the biggest skill to have if you want to make great BBQ. And he said - tending the fire. Maintaining a constant temp and knowing when your meat is done. Also, using good meat. Not the crap sold at local supermarkets that are injected with a 10% solution of who knows what...
 
K-comp lights easily as does RO lump,so I don't see a reason for using both.

Tim
 
timothy said:
K-comp lights easily as does RO lump,so I don't see a reason for using both.

Tim
Click to expand...

Tim, I agree. Both light very quickly. If we're talking about a Minion method cook though, there's one thing I don't like about briquettes. That's how the unlit ones can smoke for quite a while after lighting with a torch or when lit ones are dumped on top of them. There's much less charcoal smoke when you dump lit onto lump, though.

I do like the longevity of briquettes though, so they're great for the bottom layers. Also, they keep lump pieces from falling through. As for what goes in the chimney to light with, I prefer briquettes for two reasons. They're cheaper and they maintain steady heat after going in a cooker, whereas cheap lumps like RO lose btu's rather quickly after being dumped into an oxygen deprived environment.
 
Dave Russell said:
, I prefer briquettes for two reasons. They're cheaper and they maintain steady heat after going in a cooker, whereas cheap lumps like RO lose btu's rather quickly after being dumped into an oxygen deprived environment.
Click to expand...

Dave, I'm trying my first smoke with RO and it sounds you are having the same problems I am having right now. So what you're saying is the only way to get RO to perform in a WSM (18.5) is to use it with briquettes. If you have found any other ways of getting RO to work in a WSM or any other trips for using lump please let me know. Thanks for the help!
 
After reading some of this and doing mroe research I might just stick with my Kingsford Blue that I always use, sometimes I mix it with a little lump just to get it started faster.
 
One thing is for sure, you cannot go wrong with any of them. KB seems to be the most prevalent, and is easy to use for most any style cook. When you use it frequently you get a feel for how much to use, and how much ash to expect.

I always mix new KB with leftovers from the WSM or after a short kettle cook. I use it about 50-50, even in the WSM. I use new in the chimney and dump that on the mix.

Unless you are really anal retentive, the difference in your cook is practically negligible no matter what you choose. Some claim that briquettes leave an odor on their meat.......never noticed that. Methods seem to matter more than materials when it comes to charcoal. meat, on the other hand, is the difference between good and really good. JMO.
 
I find I get a better flavour from RO than KB if I'm not using any additional smoke wood. Weekend Warrior lump has a stronger and nicer flavour than the RO but it's twice the price where I am.
 
After running through most charcoal, I always come back to big blue. Recently, though, I've started using the Walmart brand with surprisingly good results.
 
K. Cooper said:
Dave...So what you're saying is the only way to get RO to perform in a WSM (18.5) is to use it with briquettes. If you have found any other ways of getting RO to work in a WSM or any other trips for using lump please let me know. Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. I've used RO lump by itself on too many cooks to count. I just prefer to use it with briquettes on most cooks for the reasons I mentioned. Just use the MM like you do with briquettes. You'll just likely need to adjust the vents more often if you don't use an ATC or water in the pan.
 
Last edited:
Dave Russell said:
Absolutely not. I've used RO lump by itself on too many cooks to count. I just prefer to use it with briquettes on most cooks for the reasons I mentioned. Just use the MM like you do with briquettes. You'll just likely need to adjust the vents more often if you don't use an ATC or water in the pan.
Click to expand...

The Minion Method was how I started this morning. I think I may have over compensated for lump burning hotter that briquettes. I did not fill the charcoal ring and at around 220* I closed all three bottom vents to 50% open. The temp stayed around 220* for around 4 hours then it slowly deteriorated over the next hour and the only way I could regain temp was to open the door with full open vents.
I would love to make RO work exclusively so I am open to any advice you may have. Also, I wanted to use RO due to the fact that I felt like my end products (brisket or butt) would come a little bitter using Blue bag. Again, would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Cooper
 
K. Cooper said:
The Minion Method was how I started this morning. I think I may have over compensated for lump burning hotter that briquettes. I did not fill the charcoal ring and at around 220* I closed all three bottom vents to 50% open. The temp stayed around 220* for around 4 hours then it slowly deteriorated over the next hour and the only way I could regain temp was to open the door with full open vents.
I would love to make RO work exclusively so I am open to any advice you may have. Also, I wanted to use RO due to the fact that I felt like my end products (brisket or butt) would come a little bitter using Blue bag. Again, would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks again,

Cooper
Click to expand...

No reason to compensate with cheaper lumps like RO since oxygen deprivation (once the cooker's dome goes on) will quickly slow down the lit lump's burn. (Better lumps like Wicked Good are a little different.) Just like with briquettes though, start with a partial chimney of lit and pour into a packed, full ring if smoking butts or briskets.

I've never had Kbb give me a bitter product. It just changed the smoke flavor a bit. The cleaner briquettes burn, the less they smoke, and so most of the smoke they produce will come during the first hour or two of the cook. That's why it's often advised to wait and let the charcoal smoke clean up a while after dumping the lit on.

There's little smoke with the lump, but you want to leave the vents wide open long enough so that the cooker will come up to temp with cold meat on. The cooker is more responsive to vent changes with lump, so even if you err on the hot side, it's not the end of the world. Shut the vents back some and the temp should soon fall. Be ready to refuel if smoking butts or briskets with cheaper lumps like RO though, especially if using water in the pan or using the big 22" wsm.
 
Dave Russell said:
No reason to compensate with cheaper lumps like RO since oxygen deprivation (once the cooker's dome goes on) will quickly slow down the lit lump's burn. (Better lumps like Wicked Good are a little different.) Just like with briquettes though, start with a partial chimney of lit and pour into a packed, full ring if smoking butts or briskets.

I've never had Kbb give me a bitter product. It just changed the smoke flavor a bit. The cleaner briquettes burn, the less they smoke, and so most of the smoke they produce will come during the first hour or two of the cook. That's why it's often advised to wait and let the charcoal smoke clean up a while after dumping the lit on.

There's little smoke with the lump, but you want to leave the vents wide open long enough so that the cooker will come up to temp with cold meat on. The cooker is more responsive to vent changes with lump, so even if you err on the hot side, it's not the end of the world. Shut the vents back some and the temp should soon fall. Be ready to refuel if smoking butts or briskets with cheaper lumps like RO though, especially if using water in the pan or using the big 22" wsm.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Dave. I think I will give RO another chance on it own and do as you said. I may have left to big a gap in the middle with too little lit to begin with and I'll pack the ring next time. Oh, one other question I do have is regards of letting the charcoal smoke clean up, what about the unlit charcoal? Would it not also give off the same less desired smoke once it is lit later in the smoke?

Thanks!
 
K. Cooper said:
Thanks for the reply Dave. I think I will give RO another chance on it own and do as you said. I may have left to big a gap in the middle with too little lit to begin with and I'll pack the ring next time. Oh, one other question I do have is regards of letting the charcoal smoke clean up, what about the unlit charcoal? Would it not also give off the same less desired smoke once it is lit later in the smoke?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

With lump, I don't make the center depression quite large enough for all of my lit. I want lump heaped up and after the meat goes on, wood goes around the lit.

As for any charcoal smoke later during the cook, it's burning very clean by then so most of the smoke will be from the wood. That's part of the beauty of the Minion method.
 
Dave Russell said:
With lump, I don't make the center depression quite large enough for all of my lit. I want lump heaped up and after the meat goes on, wood goes around the lit.

As for any charcoal smoke later during the cook, it's burning very clean by then so most of the smoke will be from the wood. That's part of the beauty of the Minion method.
Click to expand...

I wish I could start this morning all over again. Thank you so much for your input!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top