Mesquite Charcoal

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Hello,

I have my WSM on the way that I purchased here. Great site! Ok.. I bought a bunch of Kingsford Mesquite Charcoal for $2.50 a bag on clearance at Wally World last year. If I am going to cook ribs with this do I need to supplement additional smoking wood? I have some pecan and hickory. Any problems mixing these woods with mesquite charcoal?

Thanks,
Shawn
 
Mesquite is most popular in Texas for use on beef. As most BBQ in the rest of the country is primarily pork, you really don't find it used that much. Mesquite does seem to enjoy some popularity in certain theme restaurants, but more for grilling. I always think of those buzz phrases like "mesquite grilled" and "hickory smoked" being thought of in marketing circles as ear-catching. Over-used, mesquite can be harsh-- even bitter-- and I'm not sure mixing other woods with it would be a solution.
 
They are using mesquite wood and I am wondering about "charcoal". I assume it would produce less smoke??

Thanks,
Shawn
 
I guess what I was trying to impart was that, where you typically see it, mesquite is used in quick, high temp grilling (its use as smokewood for TX beef BBQ notwithstanding). Now consider how using the mesquite charcoal-- probably 10lbs. of it-- in the WSM for several hours might affect your final product.
 
Shawn I wrote the following reply without enough thought!
For your first efforts use the tried and true-get some regular Kingsford, have some success and fun then experiment as I suggest below.

Shawn,you are probably in unchartered water for many folks like myself. You could always try just the charcoal/mesquite blend on something like a cheap ckicken and judge for yourself if you like it. For the first cook I would not add any other wood to see how it tastes. Why not try it and let us know.
 
Shawn

You'll be using lots of charcaol over the summer so you might want to give this a try. Buy some regular Kingsford and then mix the other with it, say half and half and don't use any smoke wood. My guess is that you'll have about the right amount of smoke flavor on your meat. Let us know - it may be so good we'll all want to try it.
/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
Paul
 
Mad Momma and the Kids have been using Kingsford Mesquite charcoal for years. If their results are any indication of it's suitability, then you should have no problems. They use it on brisket, pork, ribs and chicken.
Jim
 
Thank you all for you help. I saw Mad Momma and the kids on TV the other night. I think that answered my question. Now if it tastes bad I can blame myself /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif .
 
I kinda like the flavor of Mesquite and pecan, the combination works. You may want to lay off mixing the hikory and Mesquite.....just sounds too potent.
 
That's strange, I would have guessed that the small amount of mesquite in those briquettes would not be sufficent to flavor a brisket or butt. Do you know if Mad Momma & the Kids (I also saw them on TV, but it was prior to my finding this site) use additional wood chunks/chips or JUST the Kingsford with mesquite?
 
That's what I was wondering. The mesquite in this charcoal is only little slivers mixed in.
 
I used a bag of Kingsford Mesquite when I had an ECB. The ECB would eat charcoal at a MUCH higher rate than the WSM. I was constantly adding charcoal during smokes. I never used any other wood with that bag and I got a good smoke flavor. The WSM is so much better sealed You would not use nearly as much. I might think about going easy on the wood and seeing the results.
 
As a total newbie, I wondered about Kingsford Mesquite in the WSM vs. regular Kingsford. If you examine an individual briquet of Kingsford Mesquite you can see faint brown slivers running through the black charcoal--those slivers must be unburnt mesquite.

Now, without any other smoke wood added besides whats molded into the briquets, how much smoke taste does Kingsford "Mesquite" impart all by itself (with no extra wood chunks)? Is it light enough for chicken and fish? On the other hand, does burning Kingsford Mesquite without adding wood chunks impart too light of a smoke flavor when cooking brisket?

Inquiring minds want to know, and eventually, Amazon will ship some of our smokers so I can find out for myself.

Kingsford Mesquite by itself or not Mesquite (by itself) in a WSM. That's the question.
 
I would use more would with heavier meats like brisket and pork. Chicken does not need much but that's a matter of personel choice.
Mad Momma and the Kids do use additional wood, I hope we get to see them out at the competitions this year. You best be at your best when they show up!
Jim
 
Look at it like proportional volume: in a typical charcoal WSM cook you add what, maybe a half pound of wood chunks? With a 12 lb load of charcoal that's 1/25th of the total fuel load being wood.

If you cut apart Kingsford Mesquite Charcoal (KMC) how much of it is mesquite? If it's 1/25th mesquite then it stands to reason KMC could impart the same smoke flavor as doing it the normal way. I've looked at the chunks and 1/25th is believable.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jim Minion:
[qb] Mad Momma and the Kids have been using Kingsford Mesquite charcoal for years. If their results are any indication of it's suitability, then you should have no problems. They use it on brisket, pork, ribs and chicken.
Jim [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Including 1st place Pork Shoulder at the 2002 Jack Daniel's World Championship and they were for sure using Kingsford Mesquite. I was there /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
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