Good prices for charcoal?
- Thread starter Shaun H
- Start date
Jason Duhamell
TVWBB Fan
If you have a Home Depot they run there Kingsford twin packs on sale around holidays for 7.97-9.97. That is for 2- 20 pound bags I think the next sale is on 6-30. That is when I stock up on charcoal.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Last two years or so, I've hit the HD Kingsford loss leader sale as well, but I'll add that IMHO, then and ONLY then is the price right...'cause there's certainly better fuels for both our cookers and our grills. I do use the Kingsford though...just not for long cooks or HH cooking...mainly burgers and such.
For grilling, Sam's Clubs now has a giant 40lb. bag of mesquite lump for about $15, called "Best of the West". The stuff burns HOT, and I think it's a heck of a deal....chunks so big that I use my little folding camp shovel to break down....but you'll know that's a good thing, if you've ever bought a bag of lump that had so much dust and small pieces in it!
For bbq, you want stuff that'll last a long time, so if you have a Lowes nearby, Stubbs briquettes is my wsm fuel of choice. If no Stubbs, I'd either be buying Wicked Good briqs (from specialty stores) or ordering Royal Oak Chef's Select briqs through Doitbest.com. I don't remember any of those prices right off, but the RO is probably the cheapest. Get the big Chef's Select briqs, though. Doitbest is a site that deals with hardware stores across the country and has the product shipped to a nearby partner, no added shipping charge to you, just sales tax. I've done it a couple of times with absolutely no hassle.
If you choose Kingsford for long bbq cooks, you might just want to stir the coals after several hours to knock all the ash off. I've had bad luck on all my long cooks using them where they tend to suffocate themselves, but folks have used K for years, and just deal with it. It is good and cheap if you buy it as a loss leader.
Hope that helps!
Adam Edmondson
New member
Walmart has two 16lbs bags of Kingsford blue for $7.50 right now if you want to stock up.
Thanks Dave...
What is a good price for lump that I should be targeting? A range that I should use as a baseline?
On another note, I've seen those same mesquite lump bags at a store near me, but I have always heard that mesquite (wood at least) does not work well with pork so I didn't pick it up. Has this been your experience as well? Or does it not matter with the lump? Or perhaps you don't subscribe to that thought in the first place?
Thanks again for your help!
What is a good price for lump that I should be targeting? A range that I should use as a baseline?
On another note, I've seen those same mesquite lump bags at a store near me, but I have always heard that mesquite (wood at least) does not work well with pork so I didn't pick it up. Has this been your experience as well? Or does it not matter with the lump? Or perhaps you don't subscribe to that thought in the first place?
Thanks again for your help!
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
While mesquite lump is supposed to give your food some flavor, is't NOTHING like smoking with mesquite wood. Charcoal briquettes and lump just don't give you that much flavor on their own, no matter what kind they are.
As Dave/G just mentioned, the RO lump at Walmart is a good price that I'd compare any deal to, since it's usually available there. Hopefully, it's the AMERICAN made RO. It was down here last I checked.
Back to the big bag of BOTW mesquite from Sam's, though; it's just a better deal...but for bbq-ing in the wsm, I'd go with the RO if you didn't want to use briquettes. Mesquite lump burns really FAST and HOT.
Marty Wisz
New member
Here's what I noticed this week at WalMart. Two 13# bags for $10 something. One 16# bag for $7.48. In the back of the store two 16# bags for $7.49. Penny more for the twin pack. I bought four..
JSMcdowell
TVWBB All-Star
Shaun,
I stock up on Kingsford whenever it gets below $0.25 per pound. I can usually find it for ~$0.35 / lb at Sams in between sales (memorial, july 4th, labor day at Home Depot). I don't really care what size the bag is since I usually buy a few hundred pounds at a time, I go by per pound. As long as you keep it dry, it'll never go bad!
My favorite is Stubbs and will grab a bag every once in awhile, but I'm waiting for Lowe's to do another buy one get one free on that.
I like lump, but haven't found a favorite yet that is at a price I am happy with. Grilling/smoking 4+ / week, I go through a lot of charcoal.
I stock up on Kingsford whenever it gets below $0.25 per pound. I can usually find it for ~$0.35 / lb at Sams in between sales (memorial, july 4th, labor day at Home Depot). I don't really care what size the bag is since I usually buy a few hundred pounds at a time, I go by per pound. As long as you keep it dry, it'll never go bad!
My favorite is Stubbs and will grab a bag every once in awhile, but I'm waiting for Lowe's to do another buy one get one free on that.
I like lump, but haven't found a favorite yet that is at a price I am happy with. Grilling/smoking 4+ / week, I go through a lot of charcoal.
Jim H.
TVWBB All-Star
Most good lump & briquettes can be had for around $8-10/bag. Trader Joe's has Rancher packaged as their store brand for a pretty good price, usually around $8/bag.
Try your local grocery store that is not a chain store. Hopefully they are serviced by AWG, Associated Wholesale Grocers, who provide Best Choice brand products to those stores. They sell a Best Choice Lump charcoal for around $7/bag for 10 lbs. that is great. It is made by Royal Oak and is great for grilling.
Stick with the Kingsford Blue @ sale times from Wal-Mart, Home Depot & other stores, and stock up if you have room to store it.
Try your local grocery store that is not a chain store. Hopefully they are serviced by AWG, Associated Wholesale Grocers, who provide Best Choice brand products to those stores. They sell a Best Choice Lump charcoal for around $7/bag for 10 lbs. that is great. It is made by Royal Oak and is great for grilling.
Stick with the Kingsford Blue @ sale times from Wal-Mart, Home Depot & other stores, and stock up if you have room to store it.
Chris S Lewis
TVWBB Fan
Shaun,
Where are you located? In the Northeast Wegman's sells their our brand of lump made, I believe, by royal oak for around $6 for a 10lb bag if I remember correctly. It's pretty good stuff too.
Where are you located? In the Northeast Wegman's sells their our brand of lump made, I believe, by royal oak for around $6 for a 10lb bag if I remember correctly. It's pretty good stuff too.
Tom (Gunner)
TVWBB Super Fan
Made it out to Lowes yesterday...Stubbs was over 8 bucks a bag unfortunately, but I bought 4 bags anyways..can't wait to give it a try!
Clark "Harbormaster" Hodgson
TVWBB All-Star
Checked today and it's $19.00 for a 40 lb bag.
FYI I cooked all 4 meats at a comp 2 weeks ago and only went through about 50 lbs of ROCS.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Tom, I've only heard of one briq that was really comparable to Stubbs, and that's Wicked Good. However, I believe it'll set you back even more, especially if you don't have a store that carries it anywhere close by.
After using Stubbs briqs, I think a natural reaction is to wonder why Kingsford thinks they need so much in the way of fillers...uhhh, I mean "binders".
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Checked today and it's $19.00 for a 40 lb bag.
FYI I cooked all 4 meats at a comp 2 weeks ago and only went through about 50 lbs of ROCS. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hope everything turned out to your liking at the contest, Clark.
I had mixed feelings with the ROCS, as you called them. They burn slower than STUBBS, which is fine for low-n-slow, but my cooker is a slow one, and I had some issues with my temp with a full smoker and water in the pan. I'm kind of on the fence with the water pan though, after using the clay pot base once... so maybe the ROCS might be just what the doctor ordered for overnight if I skip the water.
I end up with substantially more ash with the ROCS than with STUBBS, but not so much that I had to stir the coals like with the Kbb. They are a better price than the Stubbs, and they probably last about as long, so maybe I'll give them a try again for low-n-slow butt/brisket/spares cooks. If you ever have a chance to try the Stubbs though, they're a more versatile fuel, IMHO.
Bill Meredith
TVWBB Fan
8 bucks is average and Stubbs is great! LOL, I paid $23.00 for a 17 lb bagof Basque Nature's Own Sugar Maple Lump. To me it was worth it! LOL