Kingsford Competition charcoal - Costco
- Thread starter Ron A
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Scott Dace
TVWBB Super Fan
Last day to pick up two-pack of 18 lb. bags (36 lbs) of Kingsford Competition for $17.00 at Costco. No better deal anywhere.
I love Costco but their charcoal "deal" ain't such a deal. Keep your eyes open for Home Depot ads. Right now they are advertising a 2 pack (40lbs) of regular K for $12.88. I don't believe that that is the on sale price. Usually they kick off in May with the deals.
Alan F
TVWBB Pro
There is a lot of difference between kb and k comp.
Scott Borsick
TVWBB Member
Big difference between kb and kb comp. It went up a buck a bag to 9.99 at Meijer. Only place I can find it though here in northern Ohio.
Chad Bman
TVWBB All-Star
Apples and oranges. They're both fruit, but that's about it.
Mark Dawson
TVWBB Member
For those of you that say there is a difference, what is it? I haven't noticed any difference besides the price.
Mark
Mark
Alan F
TVWBB Pro
Get a hot fire going and cook burgers over kb and then kc. When I do this burgers with kb will have a more "grilled" taste which includes a strong iron like taste to it- I assume it's from the coal and fillers/binders. kc doesn't have this. But I do like kb for smoking once the igniter smoke has burned off.
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JimmyE
TVWBB All-Star
Been using the blue bag for a couple years now with no problems. Is there better? Sure but a lot more expensive. Check out Home Depot and Lowes on Memorial Day week and Labor Day week. 40 pounders for like $8.99. I load up twice a year. Went through about 350 lbs in the last year.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
I don't like spending money on charcoal any more than the next guy, but I'm afraid that you usually get what you pay for, and Alan's right. I notice a HUGE difference between Kingsford "original" and K Comp. But don't see this as a long-winded rant. It's just an honest assessment from a guy that grills and smokes a lot....both in frequency and in amounts of meat cooked.
First of all, Kingsford original produces so much ash that it will literally often choke it's own fire out, and it doesn't matter if it's a long smoke or just a layer of briquettes in the kettle. I'll put it like this. If I use lump, Kingsford Comp, Stubbs, etc. for grilling and don't shut down the vents, the coals will basically burn down to ash. If I use Kingsford from the blue bag, most will burn down to ash, and that should be of no surprise. It's simply reflective of the frequent uneven temps across the cooking grates in my kettles when using the "original". Of course, most folks aren't going to have much of an issue since they aren't filling up a kettle from one side to the other as I often do.
I actually think part of the reason why Kingsford is made the way it is can be traced to the inherent risks associated with cooking with coals... whether it's on a wooden deck or from supposedly dead coals in ash that are discarded in an interior trash can that ends up burning down a house. I know, that's just speculation on my part, but I'm very surprised at how fast my Weber ash buckets will cool down after a cook with Kbb. With lump or other fuels the coals will often fall through the grate and down they go if swept into the ash bucket. That doesn't mean they'll go out any time soon, though, at least not near as fast as Kingsford original coals. Of course, the reason so many guys use an ATC is insurance against Kingsford choking itself out on a long overnight cook....and I bet someone actually has tried running a vibrator all night attached to their wsm's leg. As to the ash choking on an overnighter, I've had it happen with just about all fuels at one time or another. However, it's much less likely to happen if using a briquette like K Comp, Stubbs, or Rancher....and would almost never happen with lump. The only time I've had it happen with lump was when I used too small pieces packed very tightly together, and issues were much likely the opposite issue, temp spikes after the meat gets hot. Of course, that's why the wsm has a water pan.
But back to Alan's contention, yes, I and a lot of other folks that I talk to can taste when food is grilled or smoked with Kingsford original. Taste is subjective though, so let's just talk about the smoke. Smoke adds a flavor to grilled or smoked foods, whether it's from vapors produced when drippings hit coals, or simply the smoke produced from the fire. That's the difference from cooking in the kitchen, and that's why we do what we do on the patio. Right? I'm just saying, if you can smell or see a certain charcoal smoke, doesn't it stand to reason that it adds some kind of flavor to what it's going to be cooking?
So what's my point? Well, take this for instance, lately I usually start a smoke in my bullets with some lit K Comp over lump. I'd read posts about waiting on charcoal smoke to turn to thin blue smoke, and it would leave me scratching my head because I wouldn't have any smoke after dumping ashed over briquettes on top of my lump. Well, last rib cook I used some of the regular Kingsford to light my lump, and low and behold, I had to wait ten or fifteen minutes before I couldn't smell or see the Kbb smoke. So in case someone thinks that's a fluke, I was back to lighting a ring of lump with 2/3 a chimney of ashed over K comp for my big butt cook the other day. Guess what? No charcoal smoke or "Kingsford" smell. Actually, the only smoke or smell I had until putting the wood on after the butts was barely noticeable and obviously from the lump, since Wicked Good has a very distinct smell. My eyes would probably still be burning if I'd poured Kbb on and had not waited for the smoke to thin before positioning all eight butts on the racks.
Spend barely anything for Kingsford original when it's a loss leader, or stretch your dollar the best you can on better fuels for your grills and smokers. Just don't say there's no difference. By the way, if ya'll didn't get any, I suspect that Costco will put the K Comp back on sale again in the months to come this year. They did last year, at least.
George Payne
TVWBB Fan
Home Depot has their 2X20 pound Kingsford Original on sale starting today, $12,79 with NO LIMIT. I've used it for years with great results and I sure don't put lighter fluid on it. They have not been in business for decades because they have bad stuf, and we could debate this forever. I'm sure there are some better charcoals out there, and I've used Stubbs and others, but if your meat is seasoned and prepared properly, I don't think many can tell the difference, except maybe Myron. I think there reaches a point of diminishing returns on buying expensive charcoal, especially if you cook/smoke a lot. They do vary, but how much, only YOUR taste buds can tell. Good luck folkks.
Scott Dace
TVWBB Super Fan
I've tried Kcomp and for the price, I'll stick with Kblue. The difference is just not worth the money and I would rather spend the money on meat. :{)
It't tough to support this for all cases, but I believe for small cookers and/or those who grill and smoke less than some of our heavy hitters, this may not hold true. For high volume/high usage users this would probably hold true, as the cost per pound versus performance tilts more towards KBB.
How often have we heard of stories of people stacking up their garages with 15-20 bags of K-comp? Not very often, and frankly it's because of the price.
Dave Russell
TVWBB Honor Circle
Yes and no. For me, and I'm sure a lot of others, it's because Costco has a purchase limit when they put it on sale...and our closest Costco isn't just down the road.
Chad Bman
TVWBB All-Star
I grabbed a dozen bags of the Comp during the Costco sale, but I might only grab 1 twin pack during this HD sale. For me, I find the regular blue bag sucks in the WSM. While I prefer Stubbs or lump for grilling, the kbb does it's job. If the Memorial Sale is more in line with previous years prices, then I'll bite and load up.
Dwain Pannell
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I picked up a double pack (2x18 lbs) of K Comp for $20 at Costco today. Not as good as some of the deals but better than others I guess.
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
on sale if you want to call it that for 16.00 a two pac right now at my costco.