Last night I bought some charcoal at Wal Mart labelled Sam's Choice, but the label on the shelf said "Royal Oak". I don't think it was misplaced, as the price corresponded to the Sam's Choice product. So, does anyone know if this is charcoal made for Wal Mart/Sam's Club by Royal Oak? And has anyone used it, and if so what did you think of it?
Sam's Choice charcoal
- Thread starter Kit_R
- Start date
I bought three or four large bags last fall when it went on mark down. I used it through the winter and into the spring for both grilling on the Performer and smoking on the WSM.
No issues on the Performer for hot and fast grilling, but on the WSM, the ash production was pretty prodigious on long smokes. OK for ribs and chicken, but had a hard time maintaining temps on long butt cooks because of the ash.
I'd buy it again if it were cheap enough, but I probably wouldn't use it for overnighters.
Pat
No issues on the Performer for hot and fast grilling, but on the WSM, the ash production was pretty prodigious on long smokes. OK for ribs and chicken, but had a hard time maintaining temps on long butt cooks because of the ash.
I'd buy it again if it were cheap enough, but I probably wouldn't use it for overnighters.
Pat
Thanks. I've been trying lots of different charcoal products with my Stoker in an attempt to find a brand that has as many of the following properties s possible: a) holds a steady temp b) doesn't impart an odd flavor c) is relatively available and d) is relatively affordable. Thus far I've used Kingsford Competition briquettes, Wegman lump, Wicked Good lump, Stubbs briquettes, and now the Sam's Choice. I had a a few temp excursions with the Sam's Choice this evening, but that may've been my fault due to uneven loading of the ring.
So far, my very unscientific and admittedly limited data has put the Kingsford Competition slightly in the lead. Rock solid on temp with the Stoker, no weird flavor that I can tell, super cheap at Costco and available everywhere (and prety reasonable even when not buying two bags at a time at Costco.
The Wegmans lump was cheap, but it seemed light and burned through pretty fast. The Wicked Good was super dense, but it was pretty hard to light. Once it did get going though it burned pretty steady. It was the most expensive of the charcoal I've used so far. The Stubbs briquettes were cheaper at Lowes than Whole Foods and seemed to burn similar to the Kingsford. Still more expensive than the Kingsford though.
The Sam's Choice was the cheapest ($3.27 for a 9 lb. bag). We'll see how it goes with this product.
One more related question. When using the Minion Method, if the ring is loaded really full does that affect temp stability over time, as opposed to loading less charcoal and refilling as needed? I prefer overnight cooks so it makes sense to me to load the ring full so I don't run out of fuel in the night. But maybe I am loading too much and causing unnecessary temp swings?
So far, my very unscientific and admittedly limited data has put the Kingsford Competition slightly in the lead. Rock solid on temp with the Stoker, no weird flavor that I can tell, super cheap at Costco and available everywhere (and prety reasonable even when not buying two bags at a time at Costco.
The Wegmans lump was cheap, but it seemed light and burned through pretty fast. The Wicked Good was super dense, but it was pretty hard to light. Once it did get going though it burned pretty steady. It was the most expensive of the charcoal I've used so far. The Stubbs briquettes were cheaper at Lowes than Whole Foods and seemed to burn similar to the Kingsford. Still more expensive than the Kingsford though.
The Sam's Choice was the cheapest ($3.27 for a 9 lb. bag). We'll see how it goes with this product.
One more related question. When using the Minion Method, if the ring is loaded really full does that affect temp stability over time, as opposed to loading less charcoal and refilling as needed? I prefer overnight cooks so it makes sense to me to load the ring full so I don't run out of fuel in the night. But maybe I am loading too much and causing unnecessary temp swings?
George Curtis
TVWBB Olympian
i think the stuff was mislabled. maybe not as they don't use ro in labeling the sams choice. i use sams choice when i can't find anything else. its actually not bad at all. yes, its made by royal oak.
When doing MM, my goal is to NOT have to refill the ring during the cook.
If I catch the temps properly on the way up, I get stable temps using a very full ring of charcoal with the MM. I try to shake the ring a bit when I put in the unlit to settle the charcoal into the ring better, particularly if I'm using lump.
On you charcoal test, I've used the Sams and the Wicked Good Lump; I've used regular blue bag Kingsford (a lot), Royal Oak Briquettes, Royal Oak Lump, and a small host of other lumps.
I like lumps a lot for grilling high temp and if I am planning an overnight butt cook. However, for the best overall satisfaction of your criteria, I think you might be looking at good old fashioned Kingsford Blue Bag Briquettes. At the Sam's near my house, two 21.8 lb bags are $14.72. That's just about as cheap as the WalMart stuff you're burning!
Pat
If I catch the temps properly on the way up, I get stable temps using a very full ring of charcoal with the MM. I try to shake the ring a bit when I put in the unlit to settle the charcoal into the ring better, particularly if I'm using lump.
On you charcoal test, I've used the Sams and the Wicked Good Lump; I've used regular blue bag Kingsford (a lot), Royal Oak Briquettes, Royal Oak Lump, and a small host of other lumps.
I like lumps a lot for grilling high temp and if I am planning an overnight butt cook. However, for the best overall satisfaction of your criteria, I think you might be looking at good old fashioned Kingsford Blue Bag Briquettes. At the Sam's near my house, two 21.8 lb bags are $14.72. That's just about as cheap as the WalMart stuff you're burning!
Pat
After finishing my brisket and beef ribs, I think I can say that the Sam's Choice produced a larger than typical amount of ash that required a fair amount of tapping and removal over a 15 hour cook. I'm shooting for a max temp variance of 10 degrees from target (not counting temp drops from lid removal), and it seemed that as the Sam's burnt down I got bigger and bigger swings that lesser ash producing charcoals don't produce. I'll give the Stubbs another shot on am overnight cook, as well as another lump cook and reassess. Now that I'm using Stokerlog that will be much easier to accomplish.
Kit, Maybe give Humphrey's a call and see if they have a distributor in VA near you. I love this lump, and been using it for 5 years now. Semi easy for me to get, drive 35 miles one way, once a year, and bring back my supply. Nice people to talk to. HTH
Humphrey Charcoal Corporation
P.O. Box 440
Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-2302
EDIT: Not sure if you know about this site, but maybe you can find something in your area that you like. Link to the Whiz for you
Humphrey Charcoal Corporation
P.O. Box 440
Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-2302
EDIT: Not sure if you know about this site, but maybe you can find something in your area that you like. Link to the Whiz for you
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan S:
Kit, Maybe give Humphrey's a call and see if they have a distributor in VA near you. I love this lump, and been using it for 5 years now. Semi easy for me to get, drive 35 miles one way, once a year, and bring back my supply. Nice people to talk to. HTH
Humphrey Charcoal Corporation
P.O. Box 440
Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-2302
EDIT: Not sure if you know about this site, but maybe you can find something in your area that you like. Link to the Whiz for you </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks Bryan, I'll give it a shot. Always in the quest of the Holy Grail of charcoal (or at least, MY Holy Grail).
Even with the varying temp (200-260F was the max variance, but it mostly stayed in the 215-240F range) the brisket came out absolutely incredible. I think the combination of a coffee based rub applied with a mustard/pickle juice/Tabasco slather, Coca Cola marinade used for basting(from a Paul Kirk recipe) and turning at the seven hour point all contributed to the outcome.
I used 3 Eyez Rub on two beef ribs and Diizy Pig Red Eye on the other two. Basted them all with the Coca Cola marinade, and I finished two off Stone Brewery Smoked Porter and Pasilla Pepper Sauce and one with The Crazy Rednecks BBQ Sauce. The most memorable comment at my bike shop on Sunday afternoon? "OMG, this is like candy!! But it's meat!! Sweet, smoky and spicy!! If you were a chick, I'd have to marry you!!" It feels great when people actually appreciate your work and even better when they enjoy it and ask when the next cook will be.
Kit, Maybe give Humphrey's a call and see if they have a distributor in VA near you. I love this lump, and been using it for 5 years now. Semi easy for me to get, drive 35 miles one way, once a year, and bring back my supply. Nice people to talk to. HTH
Humphrey Charcoal Corporation
P.O. Box 440
Brookville, PA 15825
(814) 849-2302
EDIT: Not sure if you know about this site, but maybe you can find something in your area that you like. Link to the Whiz for you </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks Bryan, I'll give it a shot. Always in the quest of the Holy Grail of charcoal (or at least, MY Holy Grail).
Even with the varying temp (200-260F was the max variance, but it mostly stayed in the 215-240F range) the brisket came out absolutely incredible. I think the combination of a coffee based rub applied with a mustard/pickle juice/Tabasco slather, Coca Cola marinade used for basting(from a Paul Kirk recipe) and turning at the seven hour point all contributed to the outcome.
I used 3 Eyez Rub on two beef ribs and Diizy Pig Red Eye on the other two. Basted them all with the Coca Cola marinade, and I finished two off Stone Brewery Smoked Porter and Pasilla Pepper Sauce and one with The Crazy Rednecks BBQ Sauce. The most memorable comment at my bike shop on Sunday afternoon? "OMG, this is like candy!! But it's meat!! Sweet, smoky and spicy!! If you were a chick, I'd have to marry you!!" It feels great when people actually appreciate your work and even better when they enjoy it and ask when the next cook will be.