Brian Thomas
TVWBB Pro
I got a 18lb bag of Winco charcoal a couple weeks ago and finally had the chance to put it to the test last night. For me the true test for any brand of charcoal is how well it performs when doing roti chicken. If it does well with that, then it will be fine for everything else I cook 
A couple things to note with this charcoal.
No question that its made by Royal Oak. The ridge pattern on the briquettes is a dead give-away.
The briquettes are a little larger than the standard RO ones, and take slightly longer to light (probably due to the larger size).
I usually put in 70 briquettes in the chimney when using K-Pro or KBB when doing roti chicken but due to the slightly larger size of these briquettes, I cut the amount back to 66 and could have cut it back to 64 and it would have been fine.
Once the briquettes were fully lit, I dumped an equal amount in each basket, put in the drip pan, put the chicken on the spit and inserted it into the moter, put the lid on, and was off and running.
Took off lid at the 1hr mark and checked the temp in the breast. Right at about 140F. I added 8 briquettes to each basket and closed the lid and set timer on my phone for 15 min. Checked it again when timer went off, temp was 152F. Another 5 min. Checked temp again and bird was done. 165F in breast and 180F in thigh. Probably should have gone for 3 min instead of 5 and it would have been fine.
Anyway this charcoal passed the roti chicken test with flying colors so I now know that it will work for everything else also
.
At $5.98 for a 18lb bag, you can't go wrong. I'll be buying more of this from here on out. Really nice option if the KBB and K-Pro summer holiday sales are no bueno this year.
A couple things to note with this charcoal.
No question that its made by Royal Oak. The ridge pattern on the briquettes is a dead give-away.
The briquettes are a little larger than the standard RO ones, and take slightly longer to light (probably due to the larger size).
I usually put in 70 briquettes in the chimney when using K-Pro or KBB when doing roti chicken but due to the slightly larger size of these briquettes, I cut the amount back to 66 and could have cut it back to 64 and it would have been fine.
Once the briquettes were fully lit, I dumped an equal amount in each basket, put in the drip pan, put the chicken on the spit and inserted it into the moter, put the lid on, and was off and running.
Took off lid at the 1hr mark and checked the temp in the breast. Right at about 140F. I added 8 briquettes to each basket and closed the lid and set timer on my phone for 15 min. Checked it again when timer went off, temp was 152F. Another 5 min. Checked temp again and bird was done. 165F in breast and 180F in thigh. Probably should have gone for 3 min instead of 5 and it would have been fine.
Anyway this charcoal passed the roti chicken test with flying colors so I now know that it will work for everything else also
.At $5.98 for a 18lb bag, you can't go wrong. I'll be buying more of this from here on out. Really nice option if the KBB and K-Pro summer holiday sales are no bueno this year.
