What is everyone's favorite charcoal?


 
Jason Godard said:
Cowboy is an American company, but production is in Mexico.
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i emailed them directly on this exact question and their reply was USA for Country of Origin for Cowboy Natural Hardwood briqs.

their parent co is Duraflame and they have multiple locations in the USA and Mexico but these briqs are USA sourced and produced.
 

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I have narrowed my use down to B&B Briquettes and Cowboy Briquettes. My Lump down to large Quebracho, KJ Big Block, B&B XL and JD if I can get it.
 
I used one of my bags of KJ big chunks of lump last night.
I liked it very much, appears to work like Jealous Devil but I need a few more cooks on it.
Same price around here for both I think so no advantage. also have to get to the bottom of the bag to see if its better or worse than JD.
 
I guess I'm just a philistine. Lol.

I buy KBB, B&B, and even some Royal Oak here and there. I get briquettes and lump. I have a decent sized plastic tub and I just dump whatever I have, regardless of brand and/or medium, into the tub and mix together. Then when it's time to grill I scoop the chimney in there to fill it up, I light the coals until they are hot, then I cook meat over or near them. Eat the meat, then repeat as necessary. And, believe it or not there hasn't been a single comment from one single person ever eating my grilled food wondering about the charcoal brand/type/price. Just saying. Oh, and I have some mesquite pellets that I will toss a handful of on the burning coals for that little kiss of smoke flavor.

Some things don't need to be very difficult, and my opinion is that cooking meat with burning coals is one of those things.
 
I thought I liked Cowboy briquets as they burn for a long time, but I could smell an ‘off‘ smell, kind of earthy or like burnt dirt. So it was no surprise to hear that they use clay as a binder. Lots of grit in the ash. I’m leaning towards lump after trying Rockwood, Basques Sugar Maple, BnB, and Cowboy lump. Cleaner burn, less ash, and with the exception Basques, burned at least as hot as briquettes, just not as long.
 
I posted somewhere on this site over a year ago about some Prime 6 charcoal I purchased. I never got around to trying it until this week. It's a very different animal than what I'm used to. Very slow to light, but once it's going, it's nice and hot, with very steady temps. Absolutely no smoke when lighting and very little ash.

Amazon.com: Prime 6 Charcoal for Grilling & BBQ — Natural Recycled Hardwood Charcoal Logs — Reusable Lump Coal with no Binders, Additives, or Chemicals — Original 9lb Pack : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com: Prime 6 Charcoal for Grilling & BBQ — Natural Recycled Hardwood Charcoal Logs — Reusable Lump Coal with no Binders, Additives, or Chemicals — Original 9lb Pack : Sports & Outdoors
www.amazon.com
 
Jason Godard said:
I thought I liked Cowboy briquets as they burn for a long time, but I could smell an ‘off‘ smell, kind of earthy or like burnt dirt. So it was no surprise to hear that they use clay as a binder. Lots of grit in the ash. I’m leaning towards lump after trying Rockwood, Basques Sugar Maple, BnB, and Cowboy lump. Cleaner burn, less ash, and with the exception Basques, burned at least as hot as briquettes, just not as long.
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That's odd.
According to a few sites that I've read, the hardwood briquettes contain "95% hardwood & 5% vegetable binder"
I'll have to agree to disagree about the Cowboy lump.
It's crap. Lot's of small pieces, or overly large chunks and and stuff that's not wood. I've found rocks, chunks of what looked like cut lumber and even a nail in a bag.
The BnB lump is vastly superior to Cowboy lump.
 
KBB. Always available. Therefore, every cook is consistent. If I'm grilling, as opposed to BBQing, I'll flirt with other fuel options.
 
MikeLucky said:
I guess I'm just a philistine. Lol.

I buy KBB, B&B, and even some Royal Oak here and there. I get briquettes and lump. I have a decent sized plastic tub and I just dump whatever I have, regardless of brand and/or medium, into the tub and mix together. Then when it's time to grill I scoop the chimney in there to fill it up, I light the coals until they are hot, then I cook meat over or near them. Eat the meat, then repeat as necessary. And, believe it or not there hasn't been a single comment from one single person ever eating my grilled food wondering about the charcoal brand/type/price. Just saying. Oh, and I have some mesquite pellets that I will toss a handful of on the burning coals for that little kiss of smoke flavor.

Some things don't need to be very difficult, and my opinion is that cooking meat with burning coals is one of those things.
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I think the tub idea is wonderful, with the mixture of the coals and flavors.
 
lump has never been a proven choice for a Weber kettle or a WSM unless you want a quick sear like steak. Lump is best used in a kamado style grill that holds temps.
 
I bought a large bag (30lbs I think) of expert grill lump charcoal at Walmart few weeks ago. I must admit I wasn't expecting much. It was priced nicely so why not. I was pleasantly surprised by the large pieces. I lit 2 chimneys with a few pieces of paper. It lit easily & quickly. Absolutely no popping or sparks. No off putting smoke. I used for a quick cook and extinguished. Relit the leftovers a few days later for another quick cook. Overall- seemed like a good product & would not hesitate to buy again. May try it on a longer pork butt cook to evaluate its longevity.
 
Lewis B said:
Bought these today at Giant Eagle. 🤔
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I picked up some from TS a few weeks ago after seeing it on YouTube. It gave good flavor to some ribs I made for my oldest daughter’s birthday. Unfortunately, she hated the taste, but she doesn’t like onion or garlic much. I thought they were wonderful.
 
Usually just go for Kingsford Blue Bag (whatever Home Depot) sells. Used to be big on Royal Oak, but can't find the plain briquettes anymore.

Will have to get a bag of B&B next time I'm by an Ace. I do have a big bag of BGE lump bought last year when I wanted to make sure i had some.
 
EricV. said:
lump has never been a proven choice for a Weber kettle or a WSM unless you want a quick sear like steak. Lump is best used in a kamado style grill that holds temps.
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I've never tried it in the WSM, but it's great in the kettles, for quick, high heat cooks.

I like the clean burn, low ash and how quickly it's extinguished, when I shut them down. I've never considered lump for the WSM, as I prefer the relative consistency of cooks with briquettes.
 
Rick Poch said:
I've never tried it in the WSM, but it's great in the kettles, for quick, high heat cooks.

I like the clean burn, low ash and how quickly it's extinguished, when I shut them down. I've never considered lump for the WSM, as I prefer the relative consistency of cooks with briquettes.
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I believe the WSM manual actually states that lump isn't recommended.
 
As far as best charcoal; of course its the DEVIL. Jealous Devil to be exact. Actually I did a review on this charcoal on the Weber site a few years ago. Maybe you can look it up. Reasons that I like it the most: 1. I love the axe breaker smell at start up. It smells like BBQ victory. Also since I started using it 4-5 years ago I have saved a couple of $1oo's in clothing costs. Why? I like to use my propane hand torch to start the coals. So now my clothes no longer have holes here & there & everywhere. No more burn marks on my body from the great sparkler show from the other lesser brands. As noted JD costs more but as I stated I saved bucks in clothes & skin. We just ordered a bag from our local Tractor Supply & saved about 12$ on a 35 lb bag over what we can get it through Amazon. If this supply system holds up I'll stay with Tractor Supply. 2nd: Fogo also sells a pretty good axe breaker lump. I use quite a bit of it also. It has a little stronger smell at start up than JD. But cooks just the same. Around the same price also. By the way I do not buy any briquettes at all any more. Some people think lump is for certain type grills. Not so, I use JD lump in every grill I own. Hasty Bake, Pit Barrel, M1 you name it even the old Weber Performer. I buy the large chunk size & break it down with a axe to the size I like or need. And for the record JD Lump out performs any other charcoal that I have tried in higher elevation & cold weather. I don't quit when the weather changes. Well, just thought I would add my 2 cents. Oh by the way briquettes are the hot dogs in the charcoal world. You never know what got ground up & pressed together in them.
 
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