Last cook with my standard Kingsford charcoal


 
Michael M.

Michael M.

TVWBB Fan
New to the smoke scene last summer and, having finally burned through my double twin packs of Kingsford from HD that I bought last July, I'm thinking of making a change. I've been happy enough with Kingsford standard briquettes, but want to explore others, lump, etc.... Anyone?

Simply jump over to Kingsford Competition?

Royal Oak?

Trader Joe's charcoal that many seem to like?

I'm interested in all opinions.
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
I think trader joe's is still selling rancher. Man I love that stuff. I wish one of the big chains would sell it again. I do have a trader joe's but it isn't worth the drive since the price is up there. I did buy a bag the last time I was there. I am thinking they wanted 9 bucks a bag. It is hard to spend that when I can go to sams and get 2 bags of K for 5 bucks more. When home depot sold it years ago for 6 bucks a bag it was a nice deal. when they started clearancing it I went all in. I had a stock of 80 bags. It was so sad when I used the last one. I wish one of the big chains would pick up rancher and sell it for 7-8 bucks a bag.

I like royal oak. I used it for a couple of years until I found a place that sells humphries. I have been buying that. It burns longer than RO for the same price. I have tried frountier Lump and liked it really well. The only other lump I have tried is Komado extruded lump. THey say the formulation has changed and isn't as good. I tried to order some a couple of years ago but couldn't get anyone to answer the phone or email. After several tries both ways I figured that my money was better off in my pocket.
 
If you are planning on staying with briquettes, I have really fallen for Stubbs all natural. To me, it burns longer, and leaves less ash build up than K blue.
I have only used lump one time, and it was RO. Seemed to do ok, just wasn't the life changer I was expecting.
Try 'em all, at the very worst, look at all the great 'Q you'll have to eat!!
icon_biggrin.gif

Good luck, Tim
 
It is getting harder every year for me to pay as much as they want for kingsford. I have been using royal oak for years and it is almost half the price! Somrtimes I buy the bigger double bags of kingsford at sams club but other brands are still cheaper!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff T Miller:
I think trader joe's is still selling rancher. Man I love that stuff. I wish one of the big chains would sell it again. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I too love Rancher. The last two seasons my Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH)has sold Rancher.
 
A little off topic but I've only had this wsm for a month or so and I've already burnt through 1-1/2 of the big 24 lb 2 packs they are selling at sams. Maybe I'm using too much. lol
 
I don't think so, B Brant. It goes much quicker than you'd expect. At least that's my observation.

If you notice, so far no one has recommended using the K Comp. I'm sure someone will, but my feeling is that the majority of people who use it don't stick with it. I didn't. It was way overpriced (bought it in the summer when K was way cheaper) and nothing special to me.

Most seem to like the Royal Oak, though I haven't tried it yet. Personally I'll recommend against the lump from BBQ's Galore. I've used Cowboy, and it was OK. But there seem to be better options for lump out there. My next purchase will be RO.

Good luck!
 
Michael,

If you like the briquettes I would suggest giving Stubbs a try for the same reasons mentioned above. You get less ash and a longer burn. At Lowe’s it is similarly priced to the single bags of K. You can definitely buy K cheaper in the double packs at HD or Sam’s. For comparison, I think it’s just a bit over $0.30 / lb at Sam’s right now. The double packs at HD come in around $0.40 / lb. Stubbs at Lowe’s is around $0.55 / lb.

Maybe someone on here can chime in for the benefits of Kingsford Competition over the normal blue bag K.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by B Brant:
A little off topic but I've only had this wsm for a month or so and I've already burnt through 1-1/2 of the big 24 lb 2 packs they are selling at sams. Maybe I'm using too much. lol </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

No such thing as using a WSM too much. I have easily gone through 300+ lbs of Charcoal this winter, although a good bit goes in the performer.
 
Comp K will burn a bit hotter with a bit less ash buildup than regular K. (The differences aren't dramatic.) For briquettes my pref is Wicked Good, though I have just recently tried Stubb's and liked it a lot. Did a HH brisket packer on a kettle last night with Stubb's. 3/4 chimney a bit more than half lit when I dumped them onto one side of the cooker. Loaded in the brisket. All vents wide open. Not long for the temps to run over 425 (I only checked temp at vent occasionally during the cook - didn't leave a therm). At whatever point the temps trended lower but were still over 350 at the 1.5-hour mark and somewhere around there when I foiled at 2.5 hours. Still plenty of heat left but as I only had a handful of coals left in the bag when I returned the foiled brisket to the kettle I decided to add them so I could pitch the bag. Still plenty of heat and burn time left when the brisket was done a bit over 1.5 hours later.
 
Thanks for all the great input! Wicked Good has been on my list too and Trader Joe's, HD, OSH and Lowe's are all close to my house. Also had some interest in ONO from Hawaii which a place near me sells but don't know much about it.
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Also had some interest in ONO from Hawaii which a place near me sells but don't know much about it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I picked up a bag at a comp last year. I compare it Lazzari Mesquite lump. Good for grilling but I don't care for it when doing a L&S cook. I use RO natural Briquettes. I grabbed 150 lbs. of it when OSH had it on sale last week.
 
Thank you Kevin regarding the Comp K.

I always see people talking about using it, but never it's benefits over regular K. For the price, I will stick with blue bag K.
 
I like RO lump. But Blue Bag K can be insanely cheap at certain times of the year (Memorial Day, Labor Day). I also like Stubbs, but it ain't cheap. I tend to use Blue K for my low and slow cooks and whatever I have on hand for grilling, etc. Lazzari makes good lump too, and I also enjoy the TJ briqs. Like some others have stated, I find Comp K to be not quite worth the price of admission. Just experiement a bit. You'll find what works for you, your taste, and your cooking preferences (high, low, very low heat). You can't go wrong with the recommendations that have been made so far.
 
I just changed from the big K briqs to Real Montana Maple Lump. From the nakedwhiz.com lump review site that Tom Bowen posted, it's #6. Better yet, there is a local distributor in Millbrae.
 
Thanks, Tom. I did run across that website last week as well by chance. Lots of good info and plenty of brands to compare against each other. Thanks for posting the links for anyone else who hasn't seen it.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Bowen:
I use a combination of K Blue (buy at Lowe's during the summer sale) and Wicked Good lump (buy athttp://www.hawgeyesbbq.com/) and get some great burn times. Have you checked this website: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm for reviews of all sorts of fuel? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by george curtis:
saw the other day that my k mart is again carrying ro. still 5.99 per 18 lb bag. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, George. Looks like I'm going to have to go way out of the way to K Mart.

Rich
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top