There is an imposter among us.

[Bradley Mack]

I was making dinner on my Summit Kamado this evening. As I dumped those beloved Weber briquettes into the chimney, one of them happened to hop out of the bag and onto the deck, When I reached down to pick it up, I found this! *Gasp!* For those who may be unfamiliar with Weber briquettes, it’s the one on the bottom of the photo. Much bigger and no ridges.

”Ridges you say? Who else might make such a small briquette with such ridges?”

Certainly not a piece of Kingsford. Heavens NO! There’s no “K” formed in the centre of the briquette. But has anyone asked them? Who would make both this ridged piece, as well as a full, hearty chunk of charcoal?

Really Obvious You Already Likely Omitted Asking Kingsford

 

[Bob Bass]

EXACTLY

 

[timothy]

That's funny!

 

[WaltS]

The charcoal with ridges looks like it might be Members Mark charcoal from Sam's Club. I picked up a bag of Members Mark to try out earlier this spring and that piece of charcoal looks like what was in the bag. I am using the Members Mark on my Performer to see how it does on the burgers, steaks, fish, pork chops, and chicken that I normally cook on that grill. So far, I am pleased with the results but I am only using it for short cooks, 30 minutes to one hour, max. I only use Weber charcoal for low and slow on my 26" Glen Blue Smoker because it seems to last much longer than the MM does. I am going to have to watch my Weber charcoal to see if any pieces with ridges show up. It would be weird if Weber charcoal and the MM charcoal are made at the same facility.

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

It's tell tale for Royal Oak, I believe which may confirm that theory. Royal Oak makes a lot of store brands like Embers, etc.

 

[timothy]

The charcoal with ridges looks like it might be Members Mark charcoal from Sam's Club.

This one?

I've never seen that at my Sam's but one review says it's similar to RO Chefs select, Weber and B&B.

 

[WaltS]

Yes, that one!

 

[John - au4stree]

This one?
View attachment 25924
I've never seen that at my Sam's but one review says it's similar to RO Chefs select, Weber and B&B.

I’m on my third batch of the MM charcoal, I get the same performance as I do with Chef Select. It’s in my normal rotation. It’s the same size and ash production as Chef Select.

 

[timothy]

Dang it! None of that at my local Sam's.......

 

[Bradley Mack]

I wouldn’t be able to confirm it’s a Members Mark charcoal, as we don’t have a Sam’s club in Canada... or at least not in the province I live in. Maybe R.O. makes theirs as well?

 

[GrantT]

It also looks like the "no name" charcoal I purchased on a whim at our "Superstore" they have here. I would not purchase again unless I was desperate. Burned at very low temp and the ash left behind weighed three times as much as the charcoal I started with... (joking, but you get the idea).

 

[MikeLucky]

Well, if that doesn't answer that age old question. Lol. That's a Royal Oak Ridge briquette and there is no doubt in my mind that Royal Oak made Weber Briquettes.

 

[Ed L]

So back in the 80s I happened to stop at that little creamery in brenham (sp?) Texas. Blue bell ice cream

They also made ice cream for other companies to that companies specs.

 

[JKalchik]

So back in the 80s I happened to stop at that little creamery in brenham (sp?) Texas. Blue bell ice cream

They also made ice cream for other companies to that companies specs.

Yup. Original Equipment Manufacturing. Sears' Kenmore brand is the poster child for that, they bought everything from somebody else's factories, it was built to their specs.

 

[Michael Richards]

When I emailed Weber asking them to consider continuing to sell there charcoal in the US, part of the response I got was to check out Royal Oak Products as they have very good products also. From that moment I have thought yeah it is Royal Oak that makes Weber, but I have yet to find a Royal Oak briquette that is like or close to what Weber Briquettes can do.