New to lump


 
T

tmfast

TVWBB Super Fan
Hello all,
I would like to switch to lump coal. I tried it a few times, but found ole kingford easier to work with and predict. I want to cook with as natural a fuel as I can get. I sure could use some advice. I hear about packing, but how hard do you pack it? Should I use less smoke wood with lump? I hear it burns hotter, and shorter than briquets. I know some guys who swear but it. Any advice??
 
I wouldn't want to let you down so here goes;

Buy a quality lump, check the Naked Whiz for ratings, I use royal oak regularly, you can find it at most Walmarts.

I don't nesasarly "Pack" the ring but I do have an expanded metal screen mounted 90* to the grate. When I load my coal, I just shake it and then top it off. I can get an easy 14 hours this way.

That it burns hotter is a common misconception, it is "Capable" of burning hotter if given an unrestricted airflow. Just catch the temp on the way up as you normally would.

As for length of burn, yes it would burn faster if the airflow was unchecked, but it won't be.

As For smoke wood, I really don't know as I haven't touched a briquette in 15 years, just try your normal amount and see what you think.

It's not that hard to learn and as most will agree it's worth it
icon_wink.gif
 
I'm still stuck on Kingsford. I like the taste of lump and really love the minute amount of ash buildup. Predictability is they key here - lump just isn't predictable like good 'ole Kingsford. I know people that swear by lump and I'll use it from time to time, but have always found that controlling temps with lump far more tasking than with briquettes.

Give lump a few tries and see how it works for you. It'll definately take a few cooks to get comfortable with so don't give up after the first try. Then you can make an informed choice.
 
I'll have to look into this more as well. I never tried Royal Oak. I used Cowboy a few times and had very difficult cooks. Went back to Kingsford because it was so predictable.
 
Royal Oak is a decent lump, but not as long burning as some other brands.

Cowboy lump is a poor product. My very first experience with lump was using Cowboy. Needless to say, I spent the next year using only K, until they changed their product.

I have used Royal Oak, Wicked Good, B @ B, Picnic, Nature Glo, and each brand has their unique characteristics.

Find a quality lump,and don't be fearful....like I said earlier....I find it easier to control than K....and in the case of the Picnic brand, longer burning too.
 
I like K and lump both. There is not a perfect suggestion imho. Use what you like is the best answer I can give. When I used the WSM for overnight cooking, I will say I had more trust in K for consistent timing.
 
I like K for short burns (<10 hours), but I have become very frustrated with it for longer burns. If you get to the point that you need to add more charcoal you will find the ash content is all the way up to or past the grates. When you add more K to an ash laden pot you then have a hard time to control the burn. Sometimes it's just hard to get back up to 240 degrees.

I have tried lump and have had mixed results. I ran onetime for 14 hrs at 260 (grate). Course that was 30 degrees hotter than I wanted but could not get it to come down (all bottom vents closed!).

I think with practice I will like lump, but the learning curve may very well be painful. But in the end I'm sure I will like it better for long burns.
 
I'd been using strictly Kingsford in the WSM, and I really like it, but I've also been pondering using lump. If for nothing else, for the lack of ash buildup. I've used lump on the grill (Weber kettle) and I liked the results. I'm about out of K briquettes, and I'm probably gonna try out lump, since it's so popularly used in the WSM. I am kinda worried about it's burn time and consistency, but with some experimatnation I'm sure it'll work fine.

Cliff Notes: I'm in the same boat as you, and I feel experimentation is the only real test as to what's better for me/you. Worst case scenario, I/you don't like it and switch back. Best case scenario, I/you love it and never look back. It just takes experience...
 
Thanks for your replies,
Sounds like a lot of others have the same opinion. I will give it a try Sunday for a few racks of baby backs. All I can find around here was "gourmet" lump. Wally mart did not have royal oak last trip. I could make a 25 mile trip to get some BGE if I get up early. I am going to practice. I never had any bad Q using lump yet.
Thanks again.
 
I began on K bricks and recently bought enough lump to keep me going for a while. I have only done one cook which was a butt overnighter. I had reservations about this from what I had read, but it went really smooth, and lit really fast. I packed the ring snuggly and it held temp for close to 12 hours when I added lit and unlit to it and then kept the temp for about 6 more hours.

The ash was far less. I used both Kingsford Lump - sparky when lit (don't wear flip flops) and fire king which my Q store recommended.

I don't know if I was imagining things but it tasted cleaner, if that makes any sense.

I would give it a go.
 
I was in Costco today and noticed that they are offering a Kirkland brand lump. 20lb bag for $9.50. The store was in Orlando.
 
TMFAST, my local Wally World does not carry any kind of lump. I have since found out that the Super Wally by my work place does carry Royal Oak lump for around 5.86 for a 10 lbs bag. Just this last weekend I tried lump for baby backs for the first time. I use the Piedmont Pan mod along with the foiled terra cotta saucer in the top pan. Packed my ring fairly tight along with 3 or 4 chunks of smoke wood and fired it off with about 9 pieces of Kingsford in the Minion fashion. Adjusted my vents on the way up, and things went fairly smoothly. At just under 3 hrs I decided to foil. Not a great problem, but my temps did shoot up to around 280* after I replaced the lid from foiling due to the ruch of fresh air into the chamber. I closed off my bottom vents and got it back down to around 260* to complete my cooking and glazing. I'm still out on whether I will use lump all the time because of this 35* swing from 245* to 280* in just the short time to foil my ribs. I was using a rib rack and picked it up and sat it on a baking sheet fully loaded with all my ribs. The lid was placed promptly back on the cooker while I wrapped in order to try and keep temps down. Ribs turned out just fine.
Just wondering if others have this type of spike with lump, K-ford doesn't seem to jump up as fast as lump.
 
Lump reacts fast to change of air flow. To me, that is one of it's advantages.

When attending to meat, you really need to get done as soon as possible while the lid is off or the lump can get very, very hot.

I never leave the lid off more than a few minutes at a time and never have had a problem.

Once however, I decided to scrape my grates while doing a butt cook, left the lid off for 5-10 minutes, and had one heckuva fire start up.

Learned the hard way on that.

Lid on, lid off, and lid back on within a few minutes at most.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tmfast:
Wally mart did not have royal oak last trip. I could make a 25 mile trip to get some BGE if I get up early. I am going to practice. I never had any bad Q using lump yet.
Thanks again. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

BGE is re-packaged Royal Oak from what I have read, so you will be using the same thing.

As for finding Royal Oak lump - the WalMarts around here all hide it back in the garden section. Have a look there if you haven't yet.
 
I did some BB last Sunday. Worked out very well. I will keep using lump so I can master it like so many others here. I think it tasted cleaner, the temp stayed pretty stable for the whole cook, and was supprised how small the ash was. My wally mart used to carry royal oak, but don't now.
thanks for your support.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top