Other brands of briquettes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guest

Guest
Can anybody recommend other brands of charcoal briquettes other than Kingsford? I have only used Kingsford so far and I was wondering if there were other brands that produce less ash. Disposing of the ash is a real pain in the ash, if you know what I mean.

Thanks in advance.
 
Smokin' G

Kingsford is pretty much the best there is and it's what nearly everyone here uses...myself included. I've seen some 'Store Brand' briqs before (like Kroger brand or Wal-Mart brand) but every post I've seen has stated it's not as good as Kingsford.

Ash is a pain in the arse to be sure but the performance of Kingsford brand makes it worth it.
-----------------------
Mark WAR EAGLE!!
 
Kingsford is good product because of it's predicable. Most of the other brands will burn cooler and some cases have more or less ash.
Maple Leaf is good quality but does burn cooler.
Jim
 
Smokin G,

Up here in Canada the local Canadian Tire (Hardware) Stores are carrying 20# bags of Royal Oak Briquettes this year instead of Kingsford.
It is an orange bag similar to the lump bags I see in the states.
Not a bad price either at CAN$7.59 / 20lb bag.
I can still get the Kingsford at Home Depot but the price is up to CAN$8.79/ 20 lb bag this year.
Any way I've been using the Royal Oak briquettes with good results so far this season. (long burns and steady temps).

I used my first bag of Kingsford last weekend mixed in with the Royal Oak. Visually the Kingsford looks better as it appears more compacted, uniform and smooth but I havn't noticed any differences other than that.

As far as the ash goes I don't think there is much you can do just by the nature of how briquettes are produced.

I keep meaning to try lump in the WSM but from what I've read it does not burn as long or as steady as good quality briquettes.
I use lump in the Kettle for chicken, chops and steaks.

A question I have about lump. Will a briquette burn longer than a similar sized piece of lump?

This might be a dumb question because I know that for the same surface area a briquette weighs more than a piece of lump (more dense).

But it seems when ever I mix some lump and briquettes in the kettle and I close the vents when I'm finished to save the charcoal what is left is usually solid pieces of lump and most of the briquettes are turned to ash.
 
A couple years ago I bought a bag of Sam's Choice (or something like that) from Wal-Mart. The briquettes were said to be 30% larger, and they were bigger than Kingsford. Unfortunately, they used some kind of binder that gave off a rather powerful ammonia smell. They were okay for use in the grill because the ammonia smell had dissipated by the time they had ashed over. They would have been a disaster in the WSM using the Minion method. Stick with Kingsford unless you have no choice.
 
All briquett charcole produces alot af ash.
Its the fillers that contribute to all that ash.
The only thing that I know of that doesnt is lump charcole. Lump has its own problems. It burns very hot at first ,inconsistantly burns when doing Minion methode and its expensive. Kingsford
(As already stated by others) is consistant in its performance over other briquet brands,its cheep and you can find it just about any place in the western hemisphere.
Jim
 
If the problem is getting rid of the ashes? Here's a solution you might find helpful. I do this. I get 5 gallon plastic buckets and lids from deli's, bakeries, grocery stores, restaurants, etc. I use them for BBQ waste such as ashes, grease, paper towels, water, etc. They hold quite a bit of stuff. Put the lid on and toss in the trash. I get mine at Wal-Mart frequently. Since they are food grade they are great for brining quantities of food and are reusable. Sometimes you can get them in smaller sizes.
 
Good idea, Bruce!

OR....

You could throw the ashes in a trash bin and let the cleaning crew ignite it with paper products! Amazing how quickly heavy plastic can melt!

Chuck.....

A Kingsford briq will last one hour. This is the charcoal of choice for those of us that use Dutch Ovens. There happen to be some formulas for using these when cooking...how many briqs, in various configurations(top and bottom placement), does it take to maintain 350?..thing like that. Then a "formula" will tell you how many briqs to add or subtract for the various heats you want to maintain.

Please keep in mind.....I am more anal than most when talking about cooking temps!! LOL
 
Jim,

Any pointers on using the Maple Leaf Briquettes using the Minion (i.e. "your") method? I have a 18 lb. bag I want to try if it ever stops raining in the NE. I gather it'll run cooler, but hopefully it'll stay north of 200. How many briquettes did you initially light in the chimney?

Much Thanks,
Bob
 
If a charcoal runs a little cooler then having more of it burning will give you the desired results.
Try it the way you normally would and then add more burning charcoal to get to your target temp. You will be able to get a feel for it quickly.
Jim
 
I was at an upscale primequarter type steakhouse this weekend and they were cooking with a charcoal called "nature glo" does anyone have experience with this in a WSM or for grilling for that matter?
 
Back in 1999, I used Nature-Glo for a while. It was all the rage in the BBQ community, as it was a natural hardwood charcoal briquette with minimal additives and was available dirt cheap at Walmart.

Nature-Glo went out of business, the supply dried up at Walmart, and I switched back to Kingsford. I immediately noticed it ran much hotter and lasted much longer than Nature-Glo. Still, I'd say Nature-Glo was a good product.

Nature-Glo was resurrected by someone (Royal Oak, maybe?) and has been back in business for a while, but there is no supply here on the West Coast that I'm aware of.

If you look closely in some of the photos in my older articles, you'll notice Nature-Glo in the background. For example, this photo.

Regards,
Chris
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top