Plan to use kingsford for the first time for an overnight.


 
J

john barnes jr

New member
I volunteered to cook a 17lb brisket for a going away party at my job and I always used lump or natural charcoal briquets for all my cooks. I am trying kingsford blue bag for the first time and I really need some good information on using this for overnight cooks. I hear theres a strange smell when lighting kingsford and some say theres a bad taste left in their food when they use this stuff. Im really tired of hearing the negatives of kingsford blue bag over lump charcoal and Im hoping this stuff lasts as long as 12+ hours. I will be using my atc to maintain 210 throughout the cook, and if this stuff is really that good I will use it in all my overnight cooks with lump for my shorter cooks. wsm 18.5 owner
 
I have owned my 22.5 for less than a year all i have used is the good ol classic blue bag kingsford, i don't think you can beat it for its performance. I did one overnight brisket last summer for the 4th did greatran 225-250* all night added to is the next morning but really didn't need to charcoal ring was packed tight when it started brisket cooked 16 hours added 2 beer can chickens the mid morning. Did another a couple weeks ago smaller brisket ran hotter that time, started at 10, 290* when i went to bed at 1 my son thought 5:30 was a good time to get up cooker was 280* lower vents closed. temp was down to 240* at 9 added some lit to raise temp brisket was done, needed to cook the chicken.
 
John,Kingsford rules for overnighters! Dump some in,shake the ring and top it off. You'll easily get 16+ hours.
Some people claim they can taste an off taste or odor from K. I've never smelled it,and the missus has never complained about a smell. OR a taste for that matter.
I'd say go ahead and use it. Put any misgivings or prejudices aside and let your taste buds make the decision. If you don't like it,it's only one cook out of many. Trust me,everyone messes up a cook sooner or later!
 
I prefer Royal Oak, lump and briquette, but nothing I've used beats Kingsford blue bag for sticking a certain temperature for a looooong time. To my mind, the burn characteristics of the blue bag are unequaled.

And that early smell? That's nostalgia for me, since my dad used it when I was little.
 
Don't worry about using Kingsford - it's great! There are championship cookers on the bbq circuit that use Kingsford with no problem. It gives a good even burn for long periods of time and does NOT foul the taste of the meat. I just did a boston butt for 10-11 hours holding a steady 225 using Minion Method and regular Kingsford without having to add charcoal. The original Kingsford would hold temp for 14 hours without adding more charcoal. The only complaint with Kingsford is ash production.

Use Kingsford and enjoy a night of sleep.

Good Luck!
 
Wow! Thanks for the positive replies on the kingsford charcoal I cant wait to start up my first batch for the cook,and get a good nights sleep. Thank you all for your help and I did get the new 2010 bag of kingsford charcoal from sams club 46 lbs.
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18.5 soon to own 22.5
 
When Kingsford first ignites in a low temperature environment, you'll notice an odor coming from the coals (I love it, but wouldn't want to cook my food on it). However, when it is already burning, and new coals are ignited -- as in the Minion method -- for whatever reason the ignition is odorless. IANAS (I am not a scientist), and more importantly I've never bothered to look into the chemistry of that scenario, so I have no idea why it happens. Only what I've observed.

I think there's a lot of placebo effect going on there. People know what K smells like while it's first igniting, and start to think they taste it in their food. If there is an "off" taste, I'd be more inclined to attribute it to the smoke wood being used.

Like another poster said, the only downside to Kingsford is on a long cook, since it produces so much ash. You do run the real risk of starving your fire of oxygen. However, tapping the legs does loosen the ash and cause it to fall to the bottom of the cooker.
 
Sean has it right. Avoid putting your meat on while the Kingsford is getting started (way till the heavy smoke settles to a thinner volume).

Be aware that sitting in or near your smoker for a long time will affect your smell and taste buds and won't help the flavor of your cook -- you need to stay away or wait a day for best tasting.

Rich
 
Hay rich that last part of your comment is real news to me. I am planing my first smoke with my used wsm Wednesday nite. I have only been smoking for a year and only used my ots and I think what I have turned out is real good. I just recently learned about the mm and plan to use it. With my ots I could never get farther than the 100ft range of my probe thermoter or for more than 60 min. I will defently pay close attention to the sensory affects of the new ways. Also John have no fear using kingsford it is the best! All great things are kings! Budweiser
 
Sean I find it interesting what you say about K having an odor when you light it but not the new coals in the minion method. I'm no scientist either however, they are the same coals so that's not possible. In just trying to come up with a theory of why the odor isn't noticed as much is while using the chimney starter, the coals are being directly lit with fire at a high speed, rate and temp which is exposing the odor more so. The minion method though is a slow burn, not a direct fire. The coals that are already lit are slowly igniting the rest of the unlit. Also, the coals are more spread out and in a less compact area. The odor is still there but not as in your face because of the slow igniting/burning process. Hence why your food will not absorb it.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeremy Erwin:
Hay rich that last part of your comment is real news to me. I am planing my first smoke with my used wsm Wednesday nite. I have only been smoking for a year and only used my ots and I think what I have turned out is real good. I just recently learned about the mm and plan to use it. With my ots I could never get farther than the 100ft range of my probe thermoter or for more than 60 min. I will defently pay close attention to the sensory affects of the new ways. Also John have no fear using kingsford it is the best! All great things are kings! Budweiser </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jeremy, it's just a case of sensory overload. Your nose, your lungs, your hair, your clothes, and even your skin gets coated with smoke. It's not so bad if you don't mind telling the world what you've been doing all day.
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I've seen threads here saying that even a shower can't remove all the smoke "aroma".

As Chuck_B puts it, "If I was rich I'd just smoke all day" (Sorry, for stealing your catch phase, Chuck. But after all, you did forget to capitalize my name...
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Rich
 
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