need some info


 
W

william benoit

New member
Hello,
just wanting to know if there is anyone having the same issues with the kingsford charcoal. It does not seam to last is long , I just about used a whole bag for two chickens. After cooking there is not much left in the charcoal pan. Is there anything out there that is just as good and last longer. Went to the kingsford site and other people are saying the samething.:mad:
 
That does seem excessive.

1. What grill are you cooking on?
2. How much charcoal are you starting with?
3. How are you lighting it?

When I cook on my Performer I fill up both of the charcoal pans that came with it and light it with the propane burner. I leave my vent set (this is the key in my opinion) to what I've had success with in the past as far as keeping the temp I'm looking for and rarely raise the lid. The more oxygen that gets to the charcoal the faster it's going to burn. If you leave your lid off you're going to burn right through a bag in no time.
 
Hi,
Well I used 10 inch metal tube put it in the center and put the charcoal around then used the chimney starter with a single propane burner. Started with the vents 100% open till it hit 350 on the grill (not lid) then closed them half way left the top one open all the way till it droped to 265 did not take long was -1 outside, then put the two 2.2kg chickens on. I had to play with it a bit to stay around 250 to 265, and thats about it
 
It sounds like you used the Minion Method which is good.

What grill / smoker were you using?

I usually try to let the temp come up to the target temp instead of choking it down. I'm not sure that would make a difference but I'm just not seeing that sort of issue. My WSMs use a lot of charcoal just by the nature of what I smoke but my Performer I can make a bag last several weeks. I use Kingsford Blue exclusively. My one consolation (at least to myself) is that the cost per pound for a bag of Kingsford compared to lump is significantly less.

My suggestion to you is to try a different brand or type (lump) to see if you get the same results.
 
I am using the 22" WSM and the charcoal was Kingsford original with the ready faster and burns longer logo ( no lighter fluid in it). There are a lot of people on the Kingsford.com site saying the samething. I always use kingsford but I used it for my kettle BBQ and all I do in that is fast cook.
 
How long was the cook? Was it windy and cold. I can understand using more charcoal because the ambient temp was -1 but unless it was a real long cook something else must have been going on. Make sure you are out of the wind as much as possible.
 
The last few bags of Kingsford I have used smokes a lot. I don't know if the bags got wet or what but man does it smoke. A couple of times I was worried a neighbor might call the fire dept and that isn't a joke! A guy at work also says his Kingsford smokes a lot also. Anybody else?
 
william, i dont have a WSM, but i have an ECB gourmet that i modified to duplicate a WSM. did you put water in your water pan on the WSM? if so, try next time using no water and just barely having the bottom air intakes cracked just a tad. you might go through less charcoal.

also, FWIW I only use kingsford blue for my grilling and shorter smokes(fatties, wings, abts). for my longer smokes (ribs, butts, etc) i strictly use either stubbs natural briquettes or royal oak natural lump charcoal. both burn much cleaner and have far less ash then kingsford. i believe the burn time might be a little longer as well.

just my 2cents.
 
Try catching your temp on the way up. Also if your just cooking 2 chickens I would use the kettle, it will use far less charcoal than your 22, just set it up for indirect cooking.
 
Bob Bass said:
Same here. Broke open a new twin pak for Turkey day. More smoke from the lighting process than the whole smoking process.
Click to expand...

I have had the same results with Kingsford. I switched over to lump coal, and I cannot believe the difference. I will only use lump coal now!!
 
I watched a cpl videos of how Kingsford makes charcoal on You Tube. They cook sawdust, add antricite coal, lime, and cornstarch. No thanks - I'll stick to lump without all the lime, antricite coal, and cornstarch.
 
John Solak said:
The last few bags of Kingsford I have used smokes a lot. I don't know if the bags got wet or what but man does it smoke. A couple of times I was worried a neighbor might call the fire dept and that isn't a joke! A guy at work also says his Kingsford smokes a lot also. Anybody else?
Click to expand...
I've noticed too. The last bags seem to be smoking a lot more. I felt bad for the neighbors.
 
Dave Jacobs said:
please tell your secret?
do you get special kingsford?
do you light it differently?
please help us mere mortals;)
Click to expand...

you're funny dave.
no secret, i guess the reported quirks of kingsford just don't bother me.
life is too dam short to worry about the little sh*ts of charcoal.

 
Jim,

One expects some variation. This was by far in excess of anything I have encountered before.

Bob
 
There does seem to be a lot of grumbling in the reviews on the Kingsford.com site, especially in the past few months. I wonder if there's been another formula change? I'm still working down an old supply of K, so I have not had personal experience with any change.

Regards,
Chris
 
I just have issues w excessive ash whenever I use kingsford. The same burn using Stubbs seems to produce half the ash of kingsford
 
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