Kingsford R&D lab trip report now available


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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Staff member
Kingsford R&D Lab Trip Report

I think everyone is just about Kingforded out by now. Fair enough...
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This report may have been more compelling in early April, but it took me a month to write it up and then edit it multiple times so that it hopefully makes sense.

I want to thank my hosts Kelly and Bob at Kingsford for giving me (and you) this exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at their R&D facility.

If you have any questions about my report, please reply here and I will try to answer them.

Regards,
Chris
 
Chris, thanks for your many hours of research, writing and, editing. Your review of the visit, including the testing procedures lead me to one conclusion:

Kingsford is different and better.

More wood char is a good thing. As I thought about how to make K better, my main thought was to make it more woodlike. More like lump. The benefit of charcoal is consistancy. Plain lump is by definition inconsistant. Various iterations make different products attempting to add consistant burn. Kingsford charcoal is very good at what it attempts to do and it represent good value.
 
Let me add my thanks, also.

First to Chris for all his efforts in presenting his usual well planned, researched and written aritle. Chris' efforts in providing this site have added to the enjoyment of many, many people, myself included.

Second, to Kingsford. They did not have to offer Chris the access he was given and I honestly doubt it added to their bottom line. There are not many of their customers, imo, who take joy in cooking something for 18 straight hours - it's just not the way things are done by the vast majority in this fast paced society we live in.

Make your own decisions about the new K. For me, I'm using it for low/slow because its available, still reasonably priced and works about as well as the old - which btw, wasn't perfect.

Paul
 
Chris,
That's a really great article! I wish I could have seen the Minion Method test, it would have been so interesting.

I'm going to do my first smoke this weekend with the New Kingsford, (2 butts, ~7.5# each) so I have questions about Kingsford's recommendations for low and slow:

* Start with fewer hot coals to begin with. For example, if you normally start 20 briquettes of the old Kingsford, try using only 10 or 15 of the new product.
* These 10-15 briquettes will light faster than the old ones, so watch them carefully and place them on the unlit charcoal sooner than with the old product.

Q. What guidelines would you give so that I would know it's the right time to place the lit coals on the unlit?

* Close the bottom dampers more than you would have with the old Kingsford, and do so earlier in the process to keep the temperature under control.

Q. I normally close the bottom dampers to 25% open when the temp reaches 200°. Could you give a specific example for the New Kingsford?

I'll try and keep a detailed cooklog and report back, but it's going to be an all-day rather than overnight, and I'll have chores to be doing .
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Thanks! awesome job.. very good detailed information!

it was great that the company welcomed your insight, expertise, and opinions.
 
I found this article interesting. I will use all my old kingford up (460 pounds bought on sale for 7.99 for 40 pound at HD) before I will ever use the new stuff, but I did find one reason that I can not trust Kingsford in the future.....they use MACS! Other than that I love the product.
 
Originally posted by Josh Z.:
...but I did find one reason that I can not trust Kingsford in the future.....they use MACS!
Click to expand...
That's funny! I thought the use of Macs would actually be a selling point for some people!
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Regards,
Chris
 
Originally posted by Charles Howse:
Chris,
...so I have questions about Kingsford's recommendations for low and slow:

Q. What guidelines would you give so that I would know it's the right time to place the lit coals on the unlit?

Q. I normally close the bottom dampers to 25% open when the temp reaches 200°. Could you give a specific example for the New Kingsford?
Click to expand...
So I just did a similar cook last Friday night. See my description at the beginning of this thread (I've added info on lighting the chimney):

First pork butt cook with New Kingsford

Like you, I set each of the three bottom vents to 25% open when the cooker hit 200*F. This worked fine for my cooker. I would try this if you believe you have a fairly airtight cooker; if not, you'll need to close them further...hard to say how much, as it depends how leaky we're talking about.

Good luck!
Chris
 
Originally posted by Chris Allingham:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Josh Z.:
...but I did find one reason that I can not trust Kingsford in the future.....they use MACS!
Click to expand...
That's funny! I thought the use of Macs would actually be a selling point for some people!
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Regards,
Chris </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah-Buddy! That was the first thing that made me sit up and pay attention.
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[OT] BTW, has anyone seen the new Mac commercials on TV? I like the one about the PC having to restart.
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I only restart my PowerMac when a software update requires it.
 
Originally posted by Chris Allingham:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Josh Z.:
...but I did find one reason that I can not trust Kingsford in the future.....they use MACS!
Click to expand...
That's funny! I thought the use of Macs would actually be a selling point for some people!
icon_smile.gif


Regards,
Chris </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Don't worry Chris, it is. Anyone who's ever used one knows Macs are superior!
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Many thanks, Chris. Your information will get me started with much more confidence when I begin using the new Kingsford. Thanks for taking much of the guesswork out of it for all of us.

Rita
 
Man, took me forever to figure out what y'all were talking about "Mac's". The fact that you were talking about Apple computers just never entered my mind. I mean come on, I figured anyone smart enough to use a WSM, wouldn't be caught dead using a MAC.

LOL, JK.

Great Article Chris, thanks for all the hard work.

Bob
 
Originally posted by Bob Hunter:
Man, took me forever to figure out what y'all were talking about "Mac's". The fact that you were talking about Apple computers just never entered my mind. I mean come on, I figured anyone smart enough to use a WSM, wouldn't be caught dead using a MAC.

LOL, JK.

Great Article Chris, thanks for all the hard work.

Bob
Click to expand...

Hey, all Hunter's are required to like MACs!
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Chris...fantastic job...I don't know what else there is to say. I have tried in the past to stack charcoal in the starter, but gave up. I will now try again..thanks again....tom
 
Chris,

Excellent article...thank you for all your hard work. Your dedication really makes this an outstanding resource for all of us.

Vic
 
Thanks to Chris for all the extra effort and thanks to Kingsford for allowing his access. The data Chris reported pretty much confirms my anecdotal evidence from a two pork butt cook last weekend.

Griff
 
I was going to emial your privately, but since you set up a topic, i figured hey....

Many thanks once again for a thorough and comprehensive report. On every topic/recipe you have reported on, even when I was a real newbie, I was able to understand every word/concept of your work. OK I did use a dictionary occasionally. But seriously, a well written report. I cant even start to imagine how much time went into writing it. Oy!

Another thing that comes to mind, is how cool it is that Kingsford asked you to come to their plant because of all the chat on your forum. First and foremost, not only is your site respected by the folks that use it for cooking ect. This site is also respected by a huge manufacture that feels it needed to defend itself because of what was posted on the forum. These members weren’t just bashing a product, they had valid concerns and this company took you and the members very seriously.

It says a lot about Kingsford the company and it says a lot about your site.

Thanks once again

Mords
 
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