HUGE HUGE Cowboy Lump Pieces


 
RCBaughn

RCBaughn

TVWBB Super Fan
Has anyone else had this problem with Cowboy? I have read about a good bit of size variation and a good bit of dust, but I have never heard of anyone getting pieces as big as what I got out of my first bag. It is so large I can't use it, and the top half of the bag was nothing but huge pieces. And by huge, I mean pieces that were greater and 6" or 7" around. Not long and skinny, but that big all around. One piece wouldn't even fit between the Performers charcoal grate and the cooking grate. It held the cooking grate a bit in the air off it's rests in the grille.

Would you return this bag to Wal=Mart or is this something that I just need to deal with? I tried to break up the bigger pieces and that proved to be a very messy and blackening job on my hands. I don't have a good hatchet or I guess I could do that, but that seems insane when you're buying a product that is suppose to be ready to go.

I have never had that problem with Royal Oak since I got my charcoal grille, it is all pieces about 2" across and some smaller with some dust, but that is perfectly workable with. I really just wanna know if anyone else has had this, and if not whether I should go demand a replacement. Although I guess getting a replacement would run the same risk as the first bag.... :mad:
 
Seems crazy that they don't inspect this stuff though. Literally, I never would've thought that I would've been sold logs. LOL.
 
I used to use Cowboy, but has a chemical taste and smell to it. Then I went to Royal oak and loved it. Then just out of curiosity I tried Kingsford Competition, and never looked back!
 
Yeah that is a good size comparison the football one. I don't want to have to buy a bag of charcoal then get filthy trying to break it up. Usually your grilling for a group of people and want to spend time visiting, not showering all the black soot off yourself. Royal Oak will be my new go-to as well. The bag I have of it is nice and uniform, no pieces even close to fist size.

The Competition Kingsford burns hotter than the regular stuff right? That seems to be a good thing for sure when your grilling if it does. I can't seem to get a fast sear on my performer at all.
 
I bought Cowboy twice and both times had pieces of concrete and plywood in the bag. Not going that route again. So it's not shocking to me what you've found.

I stick with Royal Oak or Wegmans lump.
 
Folks, Cowboy lump isn't the same stuff we grew to hate anymore. As to a comparison with RO, my last bag of the the stuff from Walmart was nothing but little bitty chitty pieces, and I don't know if it was rough handling or because of how light the stuff is. I saw a bag of Cowboy broken open at Lowes the other day and was pretty impressed. Anyway, sure, RO is cheap, but if the new Cowboy lump is more dense, I don't care how big the pieces are. Not tried it yet, but if it's good stuff, you can pretend it's Wicked Good and break it up with a hatchet.
 
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I opened up my first bag of cowboy lump and got huge pieces too. I broke some up but left some intact, thinking it would burn longer. Am i going to have a good fire for 8 hours with this stuff?
 
I used one of the bigger pieces on my grill and all it did was keep the heat from getting to the grate from the lower red hot charcoal. Once I moved it I could actually get somewhat of a sear on the Performer. I've had real trouble getting my Performer above 450 on the thermometer though.

I also kept the grill vents open and charcoal lit after I was done to see how the big ole piece would finish burning. Needless to say it really never lit up and stayed unburnt. Aggravating and I don't want to get dirty as I've said earlier. Can't really hug guests and sit on the couch when your covered in black powder from getting the grill loaded and lit.

They say that it is inspected for size before it is bagged from the info on Nakedwhiz.com, but I just can't see how a company could let these size pieces get by. Maybe their work line just doesn't give a hoot about consistency. When I pay for something like charcoal I know that I can expect some dust from the handling of the bags, but to get pieces half as big as my head is ridiculous. I paid to be able to pour this stuff out of the bag and light it, not hatchet stuff.

I also read that Cowboy is LESS dense that most charcoals and that is why it burns a lot faster and hotter, but maybe you're right Dave and the bag I bought was old stock at Walmart. But judging from what I have used that wasn't huge pieces it burns a heck of a lot shorter than the Royal Oak bag I have.
 
So I've seen this and another thread or two on the Brethren site. Basically, Cowboy isn't the same old crap anymore, but like RO, still gets mixed reviews. Maybe a few more folks said it might be more dense and last longer....some citing similarities to WGL, but who knows. What aggravates me most is to find a bunch of pebble and smaller sized lump and dust in the bag, and it sounds like both have that issue.

To the OP though, I bet you'd LOVE Ozark Oak lump. It's smells great, lasts a long time, and is very consistent in size and not too big for grilling with.
 
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I wonder where I could find it around Birmingham? Since you're not too far away from Alabama in Tennessee maybe it is sold around my area somewhere.
 
Nah, I doubt it. Only reason I've been able to try either Ozark Oak Lump OR Wicked Good lump is because a buddy of mine gave me a bag of each to try. He and another guy had shared a couple of orders and bought whole pallets from each company. If I didn't live seven hours away from him I would've gotten in on at least one of those buys. :(
 
Dangit that sucks then. Walmart just doesn't carry much good stuff and I haven't really looked around at the different Home Depots. I suspect that they too are just gonna carry the same ole Cowboy and Royal Oak lump and Kingsford briquettes. I'd love to try an extruded charcoal but that is farther out of reach than Ozark or similar products.

I can't imagine ordering charcoal though really. Maybe if you do it like they did in pallets, but it would take me years and years to go through something like that I bet. And the high cost of buying so much too, just can't do it on the ole budget. LOL.
 
RC, I hear ya.

I might try the Cowboy, but lately I've been just lighting a ring of RO lump with Kingsford or K comp. Recently, the Missus bought me a couple bags of coconut briquettes with a Groupon, but there is a LOT of dust in the bottom of the bags. Anyway, I'm thinking that I'll save them for the very bottom of my ring in tough weather conditions on long smokes this winter.
 
Thanks guys, that's interesting adding Kingsford Competition to you lump. Does it burn as hot and light faster than lump? May I've been having to use a ton of newspaper in my chimney and reload it once or twice. Last time after 25 minutes with a full chimney I just took some lighter fluid I found and gave it a squirt. I was that sick of waiting for the chimney to get going because I never have used that stuff since I got my grill and built my mini WSM. Maybe the competition stuff would be better for me if I'm grilling, but when I smoke I have no problem getting 10 or 12 coals going in the chimney. Think I am packing the charcoal too tight in the chimney or is it just the nature of Kingsford Original and Cowboy lump?
 
Just found a place that is 10 minutes away that carries Wicked Good Charcoal the site says. How awesome is that? This stuff is a lot better than Royal Oak and Cowboy though? Worth the extra bit?
 
I only used it on the WSM and yes it it worth it. For grilling RO suits me just fine and I use it on the WSM also. I hate using the paper for lighting, have you tried the starter cubes or some vegy oil laced paper towels for lighting?
I use propane torch to get a chimney going of RO on the OTG and it only takes a few mins. (I think I linked to that on another of you're posts?)

Tim
 
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