Weber Kettle Club Forums
Grill Talk => Weber Grill Forum (Grills, Accessories) => Topic started by: Jeff on May 07, 2015, 04:34:29 PM
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I've always wondered why some people prefer different brands than others.
Example, @Troy won't use Kingsford Blue in his kettles...why?
I know lump burns faster and hotter, Coshell burns hotter and longer, Kingsford is the staple for most.
Let's find out what and why!
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Kingsford and royal oak.. Cuz I can't get coShell.
Royal oak for steaks and hot and fast.
Kingsford for everything else
I'm cheap and buy when on special. I haven't ventured out to try other brands. Stubbs will be next I believe. It's Texan.
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Mostly Kingsford, it reminds me of my grandfather in the yard grilling every time I use it. Also cause it's always available and figured perfect one brand and stick with it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Let me preface by saying I'm not hugely experienced with any of it.
I wasn't a big fan of Coshell. Seems to take a "long" time to light, produces more ash than I expected. Good heat. NOT crazy "lump" heat in my experience. Glad it's good environmentally. I still have a bag or two from when Lowe's cleared it out but I haven't reached for it recently. Am I saving it or avoiding it ... ?
Kingsford Blue seems overpriced 99% of the year. There's just too much waste for what they normally charge for it, $10 per bag or whatever. But when it's truly on sale ... I can see why guys load up the truck (and garage) with it. It's consistent and does the job. When lighting it up, I don't want to die and so I go inside to avoid the SuperFund Site stench. Bottom line, I've made my peace with it and could use it year 'round I suppose. But not with joy. Still have 5 bags left but am hoping it or something better goes on sale SOON.
Kingsford Competition doesn't give off as much horrible crap as it lights compared to K Blue. And you can randomly find it on sale sometimes. Nice, consistent, somewhat less ash ... their Hickory version of it is great stuff, provided you want hickory smoke. I won't do their Mesquite, nor anyone else's.
Lump.
Inconsistent, even within some brands ... best heat, quickest to light, sparks might be a concern [insert @1buckie image here] and OH YEAH waaaaay less ash. I've used Whole Foods "365" house brand, Frontier and Royal Oak. All good. I have professional chef friends with Webers and they will NOT put anything besides lump into the machine.
My favorite "compromise" is a thing known as "hardwood briquets," a bit of a misnomer since you can't make a briquet without at least SOME kind of starch binder. BBQ Wood Flavors in Texas is one company that makes this and is the supplier to Weber's restaurants. http://www.bbqwf.com/briquets-2/
They offer an 8.3lb bag --- yes it's small --- and Publix down here sells them for $5 all year long, not too bad actually for what you get, which includes a handy resealable bag, great for traveling/camping. What I like is that they are easy to light, can get quite freakin' hot and don't clog up the machine with lots of ash. And yes it makes less ash than Coshell. I'd be happy running BBQ Wood Flavors Hardwood Briquets all the time. Public also sells a large bag of their lump at like $15 or $20, too rich for me.
BBQ Wood Flavors re-sells hardwood briqs to other companies under different brand names, so it can sometime be difficult to know when you're getting BBQ Wood Flavors stuff (although you probably are.)
(http://i1056.photobucket.com/albums/t378/dgdeckert/BWF%20hardwood%20charcoal_zpstkfkc2ow.jpg)
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for briquettes, I prefer royal oak or it's various store brand incarnations. for me, it seems to burn hotter and longer than kbb. second to that is the aforementioned kbb. it's pretty much the bench mark everything else is compared to because it is so pervasive. it works and works consistently bag to bag to bag.
I've only just begun to experiment with lump, so I can't really say there(except that a mix of royal oak lump and kbb in my vortex burned hot, fast and long).
for the record, I've never used coshell(didn't go for cheap enough here), but I hear good things.
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Kingsford Blue
I've been using KB in my WSM's for a long time and like performance. I've tried out Royal Oak in my Jumbo Joe but I think I'll stick with KB so I can have standard fuel source that I can change with different wood.
Here's an interesting article from AmazingRibs.com
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/zen_of_charcoal.html
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Briquettes:
1) Stubb's
2) Royal Oak Chef's Select
3) K Comp
4) KBB
I am going to try some of the new RO natural briquettes soon.
Lump:
I have not tried many brands. I started with Royal Oak, liked it, and stayed with it. The last few bags that I brought home were a bit sketchy, though. I found some rocks and other foreign objects. I think that I am going to try some Cowboy and Frontier to see if I prefer one of them.
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1) KBB - consistency - consistency -consistency. Same temps same results time in and time out .
2) Real Montana Lump Charcoal ( apple or cherry ) when available .
3) Real Montana Lump Charcoal - great size , long burn times with a variety of flavors . You won't find a bunch of dust and broken pieces or foreign objects and you know what type of wood the charcoal is made from.
" Esto Perpertua "
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The charcoal that I like the most is the one that is on sale.
Seriously, I am more into prepping the meat than the full that I use.
I know that I like the consistency of Kingsford, Ash is high but that is OK. I like lump, Coshell is nice. I like Stubbs but am too cheap to make it one of my go to's.
I really don't like Trader Joe's (which some do) and Royal Oak Briquettes, and anything with fuel added.
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I really like Kingsford Comp (I did get it on sale at Costco). Lights quick, gets hot, pretty low ash. I'll use KBB if I have it but will generally try to avoid buying it. I would like to get my hands on some Chef Select from RO.
I can't get behind the Coshell train. It takes forever to light, even with 2 Weber FireStarter cubes, I haven't found it to burn all that hot, and it produces an unbelievable amount of ash that is thick and heavy. I still have a couple bags and will definitely use it up, but I'm not sure what a lot of people see in it.
For lump I like Lazzari Mesquite lump. It burns really hot. I have some Fogo lump that is a little tough to use. It has chunks as big as my head and takes a while to light up. I haven't tried Royal Oak lump.
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For lump I like Lazzari Mesquite lump. It burns really hot. I have some Fogo lump that is a little tough to use. It has chunks as big as my head and takes a while to light up. I haven't tried Royal Oak lump.
I have really liked Fogo in the past, but don't use it often as it is so expensive. On the other hand, I use Lazzari all the time. It is really cheap in the Seattle area at Cash & Carry, $14 for a 40Lb bag. Even after tossing the bits of cement and too small dust, it is cheaper than almost all other coal.
I do tend to also use a lot of KBB or other when I see it on sale.
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As Jeff pointed out, and as I've said time and time again.
I don't use kingsford in my grills. It produces so much ash that I have to empty things out after every other cook.
The smell is produces when igniting is like burning trash. The white smoke is gross and annoying.
I DO use KBB almost exclusively in my smoker (a kettle with cajun bandit conversion).
It's super consistent and cheap. I stock up when its on sale. I currently have about 500 pounds in the garage.
However I NEVER add fresh unlit to my smoker mid-cook. I'll add coshell or lump instead.
For grilling, and even smoking in a kettle, i use coshell. It burns hotter than any lump i've tried. It burns long and clean and doesn't produce assloads of ash (relative to heat and cooktime)
A single chimney of coshell can be used multiple cooks. The stuff is so hot, efficient, and re-usable that I start with a HALF MINI chimney when cooking in my 26" with cast iron grates. Dome temp of 500 without a problem.
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I really don't like Trader Joe's (which some do) and Royal Oak Briquettes, and anything with fuel added.
Very interesting LB - What didn't you like about the Trader Joe's? I recently switched over to it after polishing off my KBB stockpile and really like it so far... WAY less ash than KBB, no teargas smoke when lighting and the regular price of $7 per 18lb bag means I don't need to stockpile it (as much 8))
For lump I like Lazzari Mesquite lump.
A friend of mine is the GM of a very upscale steakhouse here in Vancouver. It's the only one that I am aware of that uses charcoal, and all they use is the Lazzari Mesquite. He recently gifted me a bag that I have yet to test out - this may be the kick in the ass I needed :)
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I'm wondering if some of you are getting bad bags of coshell or something.
It does take a little longer to light, but you don't have to wait for it to be 100% ashed over like kingsford....
I dump my chimney when the top coals are just starting to ignite and the flames coming from the top are white hot.
I haven't tried igniting with the starter cubes though, maybe they don't burn long enough?
I use homemade starters :\
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Based on my research when i was getting started i always stayed away from KBB and went with Royal Oak Lump and Trader Joe's Natural Briq's. I was recently given 6 bags of free KBB so ive been using that and feel like i have a good comparison of all of them:
If im doing grilling on the performer: steak burgers chicken, the KBB is Fine. Let it burn off the junk before putting the food on and cook away.
Im my WSM the KBB produced so much ash that the fire was being choked out at the 8 hour mark.
I still have 3-4 bags of KBB and a full bag of TJ so i'm set for a while but once i go through that i want to try Stubbs as i hear great things about that.
I like the royal Oak lump too, the only issue is inconsistancy.
i think im moving towards lump for direct and all natural briq for long cooks.
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I've seen some people comment that TJ falls apart when dumped out of a chimney and it doesnt get hot enough:
I will agree that if you wait until the top of a chimney is glowing the bottom coal will start to disintegrate somewhat since the all natural binder breaks down but i haven't seen it affect my temperatures. The disintegrated TJ briqs will still put off heat cook more thoroughly and produce way less ash.
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I tried TJ early on and didn't like the experience, it didn't seem to hold together will and cook as evenly or hot as KBB.
If I go there an may try another bag just for the heckuv it.
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Like w/ my kettles, I tend to use almost all of the above mentioned, and rotate them out.
When KBB goes on sale, I can't deny it, and find myself using it for the summer into early fall. Then I just feel like a change and pick up a bag of lump or RO Briquettes and usually stick w/ that for awhile. Usually around the same time I rotate the performer back to the side of the house so I can use my Copper OTS.
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I'm wondering if some of you are getting bad bags of coshell or something.
It does take a little longer to light, but you don't have to wait for it to be 100% ashed over like kingsford....
I dump my chimney when the top coals are just starting to ignite and the flames coming from the top are white hot.
I haven't tried igniting with the starter cubes though, maybe they don't burn long enough?
I use homemade starters :\
@Troy do you have a recipe for homemade starters? I would love to get in on that. I do agree that Coshell is really reusable and I do like that aspect of it.
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I'm wondering if some of you are getting bad bags of coshell or something.
It does take a little longer to light, but you don't have to wait for it to be 100% ashed over like kingsford....
I dump my chimney when the top coals are just starting to ignite and the flames coming from the top are white hot.
I haven't tried igniting with the starter cubes though, maybe they don't burn long enough?
I use homemade starters :\
@Troy do you have a recipe for homemade starters? I would love to get in on that. I do agree that Coshell is really reusable and I do like that aspect of it.
It's SUPER simple. I'll write it up for a full guide for it.
essentially you save your dryer lint (clothes dryer) and you save your cardboard egg cartons.
fill each egg 'hole' with lint. melt a bunch of paraffin wax and pour a couple tablespoons into each little compartment.
each compartment will burn from 6-10 minutes depending on lint and wax.
i started making them with old candles from my wife's candle habit, but now I buy the block of wax from hobby lobby when its on sale
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Ummmm.....polyester & cat fur starter cubes.....
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Ummmm.....polyester & cat fur starter cubes.....
yeah, since we got our 2nd dog, our lint has become a bit more furry
Still burns great, just smells funny at first :P
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i've switched to Stubbs pretty much exclusively.
no funky smells, seems to give less ash than KBB, has a great smell while getting going, is ready faster than the others i've tried.
i've used royal oak in the past, but wasn't as happy with it as i am Stubbs.
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It's SUPER simple. I'll write it up for a full guide for it.
essentially you save your dryer lint (clothes dryer) and you save your cardboard egg cartons.
fill each egg 'hole' with lint. melt a bunch of paraffin wax and pour a couple tablespoons into each little compartment.
each compartment will burn from 6-10 minutes depending on lint and wax.
i started making them with old candles from my wife's candle habit, but now I buy the block of wax from hobby lobby when its on sale
while that may work, it sounds gross. :-\
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I’ve been using Kingsford blue since I can remember. Honestly, I never even consider another brand until I joined this site. These discussions are what make this site so interesting. Since then I have been experimenting with other brands but always go back to KBB due to consistency. I’m sure a lot of it has to do with me simply being more comfortable knowing how it burns. I recently started mixing lump with KBB and getting good results.
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It's SUPER simple. I'll write it up for a full guide for it.
essentially you save your dryer lint (clothes dryer) and you save your cardboard egg cartons.
fill each egg 'hole' with lint. melt a bunch of paraffin wax and pour a couple tablespoons into each little compartment.
each compartment will burn from 6-10 minutes depending on lint and wax.
i started making them with old candles from my wife's candle habit, but now I buy the block of wax from hobby lobby when its on sale
while that may work, it sounds gross. :-\
What is gross about wax and dryer lint?
Weber cubes are wax and fillers.
If dryer lint flips your freak, use charcoal dust or saw dust. Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
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Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
Get a Vitamix already. It can handle charcoal without blinking. No need for a disposable blender here.
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Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
Get a Vitamix already. It can handle charcoal without blinking. No need for a disposable blender here.
I prefer blendtec :P
but the reason for getting a junker is because I don't want to put non food items in my good blender.
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What is gross about wax and dryer lint?
Weber cubes are wax and fillers.
If dryer lint flips your freak, use charcoal dust or saw dust. Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
why would i bother making them when they cost $4 for like, 24 of the little white cubes?
hey i consider myself cheap, but not pull out the dryer lint and bake a cake cheap. :P
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What is gross about wax and dryer lint?
Weber cubes are wax and fillers.
If dryer lint flips your freak, use charcoal dust or saw dust. Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
why would i bother making them when they cost $4 for like, 24 of the little white cubes?
hey i consider myself cheap, but not pull out the dryer lint and bake a cake cheap. :P
I think they work better. they're fun to make. they're cheap. and its kind of like recycling. more earth friendly than weber cubes (no packaging material for landfill)
you have to pull the lint out of the dryer anyways :P
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Ummmm.....polyester & starter cubes.....
@1buckie Ken...you aren't burning your suits are you? They are way too cool looking!
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Naw......I still got my piano tails tuxedo, you know, the one with the tie-dyed cumberbun & bow tie...... 8)
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I use Kingsford Blue Bag mostly, when I catch it on sale, I stock up on it. When I am out of that my go to is Stubbs.
I have noticed the new Kingsford sparks more than the old stuff. Not as bad as lump is but it does spark a little when moving and dumping the chimney.
Forgot the why part, it burns the same every time, easy to find in stores
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I use Stubbs exclusively. Never used kingsford, no matter how cheap it is. I don't need the chemical fillers and nasty smells from it. I'll spend a little extra for my peace of mind.
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I prefer blendtec :P
but the reason for getting a junker is because I don't want to put non food items in my good blender.
Think of it as preseasoning inc your next smoothie with tatonka dust.
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Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
Get a Vitamix already. It can handle charcoal without blinking. No need for a disposable blender here.
Pick up a shitty blender at the goodwill store and grind up charcoal to use with the wax.
Get a Vitamix already. It can handle charcoal without blinking. No need for a disposable blender here.
I prefer blendtec :P
but the reason for getting a junker is because I don't want to put non food items in my good blender.
For a minute here I thought this thread was going to veer off into the finer points of pulled pork smoothies.......I'm ready if it does...... 8)
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Since I really got into grilling an BBQ, I have not purchased or used a single Kingsford briquette in any of my cookers.
Most any kind of lump is good, but to save a little coin I cook mostly on All Natural briqs: Coshell, Stubbs, Royal Oak Chef's Select. Royal Oak, Embers briqs fit the bill when in a pinch.
I find the petroleum/coal/chlorine stench (yes, that's what I smell) produced by Kingsford briqs nauseating and will never cook with their product..
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I'm gonna have to try that Bbq Wood Flavors brand. Their manufacturing facility is about an hour south of me. And they have a BBQ restaurant.
The company history is interesting. It was owned by weber for a few years.
Ty for the tip. And awesome thread. Good info here guys
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My complaint about Trader Joe's briquettes isn't that they disintegrate in the chimney, it's that they are useless after one cook-- they are just dust. And I think it has a funny taste too.
I find Royal Oak briquettes to be really smelly/smudgy and not very hot, so I was reluctant to try their lump. HOLY COW I love that stuff though. It's on sale at HD now, and I keep stopping in to, you know, just pick up a few more bags.
I've avoided KBB for a while now, but nearly ran out of charcoal this winter so stocked up on KBB when it was on sale at Walmart. It's really smoky and stinky when it's firing up, but once it gets hot enough I find it to be clean and hot and almost tasteless. I've also been impressed with the K-comp, and have been using it in my smokers (where I was using lump last year).
...I'm still waiting for the Frontier lump to go on sale at BJ's, but I think that Royal Oak lump has now eclipsed my old favorite Frontier for me...
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This thread is exactly what I was hoping for so far. I really have not got into trying too many different charcoals yet, or REALLY being observant to their differences (to this point). I admit that I use Kingsford Blue almost exclusively. Reason being mostly cost and availability. I've used lump several times and noticed right away it burns faster and hotter. That's fine for the faster cooks obviously.
The ones I'm most interested in trying now (based on responses here) are Stubbs and BBQ Wood Flavors brand.
I do like Coshell brand. Brian gave me a bag to try. It did take longer to get going, but burned hotter and did last quite a bit longer than Kingsford Blue.
Thanks for everybody's responses so far!
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Dryer lint contains ball hair, among other things....just saying. :o ;D
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Dryer lint contains ball hair, among other things....just saying. :o ;D
dude come on now!!!!
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I will not willingly burn pube hair.
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For me I'm really particular about what I use. For briquettes, I love Stubb's no filler except for some vegetable starch to bind the pieces. It burns really clean, producing just a little bit more ash than lump and doesn't give off any weird or harsh chemical odors. When it comes to lump I have 2 brands I love. Malis' and Wicked Good. Both for me tend to be amazingly consistent, with lots of properly sized chunks, burn hot, and burn really clean. The Wicked Good is REALLY dense too, which is fantastic. Its kind of like a middle ground of density between the super expensive Japanese stuff, and the typical western style lump. Only problem with these 2 is no one carries them by me any more, so if I want Wicked Good I have to pay alot to get it shipped to me. Malis' I don't know where else to get from, Shoprite by me used to carry it but now its all Kingsford and randomly some Royal Oak. Though not the good American RO, the cheap and terrible South American Royal Oak. I've been venturing out to try some other brands, Frontier isn't bad, but every bag of it I've gotten has been about 1/4 - 1/3 of the bag being dust and tiny pieces that aren't usable. I sometimes pick up Cowboy, it's consistent but it has improved a lot over the years. I've tried some small bags of other stuff but nothing I can remember or that left an impression.
I've tried some other really expensive ones like Real Montana Lump Charcoal, and my experience was not good.
I just felt I got really screwed by this guy and need to voice my opinion if I can.
I spent a fair bit of money to try this guys Maple lump, and totally got screwed. The ordering process seemed to go OK, but then nothing. Nothing shows up for a month, I try to email him no reply, try to call no answer and leave a voicemail. No response. I try this about once a month for 18 months, even tried contacting the stores he supplied to. Which all told me they were still getting new supplies, but that they didn't have any other contact info. Finally an email I send out around the 18 - 19 month mark finally gets a reply. No explanation just kind of a half sorry that he didn't have any maple wood, but would send me something else and a 5lb bag of apple as well. What I got was all really small, a lot of it just barely stayed in the weber chimney starter ( ie just big enough to not fall through). So I waited 19 months for not even what I ordered and a disappointing product. I came to understand he was in a bad car accident, and I feel terrible for the guy about that. That absolutely sucks to go through that and have to deal with the recovery. I felt bad for getting pissed off at him, at the same time though the stores he supplied where still getting new product, and I found out some people who placed really big orders still got theirs. If he's got some one who can do that, even if my order is less than 100 bucks, it should have gone through.
I'm mad at myself for getting pissed at the guy during those 18+ months, its terrible that he was in a bad accident, and glad he survived. That said though if you have someone running the business, maybe make sure all the orders get filled, not just the big ones, and the ones to stores. I've thought about giving it a try again, but the actual lump that showed up was so disappointing I didn't think it was worth the money.
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There are likely many grilling product businesses out there run on shoestring budgets and limited overhead for dealing with any sort of setback. But like you say, without communication we'll never know what's going on.
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I'm with Troy. Back in Boy Scouts we used to make our own fire starters exactly how he described. They work really well and are super cheap.
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Dryer lint contains ball hair, among other things....just saying. :o ;D
The same type of Firestarters can be made using brand new, clean, cotton balls. No short-n-curlies or polyester to worry about.
[emoji6]
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deleted. Trying to get train back on track
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Lump charcoal database
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm (http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm)
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Dryer lint contains ball hair, among other things....just saying. :o ;D
The same type of Firestarters can be made using brand new, clean, cotton balls. No short-n-curlies or polyester to worry about.
[emoji6]
Now what am I going to do with all this Naval Lint I'm collecting!?
I am guilty of Stocking up RIDICULOUSLY on the "grilling holiday" sales
& tend to keep a pallet @ least 3/4 full in the corner of my basement
(Brands vary & inventory rotates)
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Dryer lint contains ball hair, among other things....just saying. :o ;D
Not if you shave 'em...
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Dryer lint contains ball hair, among other things....just saying. :o ;D
The same type of Firestarters can be made using brand new, clean, cotton balls. No short-n-curlies or polyester to worry about.
[emoji6]
Now what am I going to do with all this Naval Lint I'm collecting!?
Navel lint is an entirely different thing. If properly aged before extraction, it will be oily enough to use as a fire starter without adding any other substances.
[emoji51]
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Like a few others have said, I prefer lump for shorter direct & indirect cooks on the kettles. These include burgers, steaks, whole tri-tip roasts, chicken pieces, and even whole chickens. My favorite lump to date is Wicked Good Weekend Warrior, but a $24 for a 20# bag it's just too expensive. I've also been happy with Royal Oak and the newer Cowboy Lump. Lazzari Mesquite is dirt cheap at $14 for a 40# bag, but I just don't care for the smell or flavor. In the Fall of 2013 Home Depot marked down their 8# bags of Cowboy Lump to $2.38, IIRC. I bought nearly 40 bags, and have been using it for most of my cooks ever since. The stockpile is dwindling, but it'll get me through this year. When Cowboy first showed up on the market their bags had lumber cut offs in them, but those days are long gone. I'm pretty happy with the product they've been putting out for the last few years, and plan to keep using it.
For low & slow cooks on the 18.5 WSM I really prefer natural briquettes. Stubbs briquettes are great, but priced a little steep unless they're on sale. Kingsford Competition Briquettes are a great option as well. I pick up one or two of the 40# Kingsford Comp bundles at Costco each summer. I bought some Afire Coconut Charcoal through Williams-Sonoma a while back, and, while fun to play with, I'm underwhelmed with the product. The briquettes do last through several cooks and produce very little ash, but they are hard to light and don't seem to offer anything beyond what I can get with normal briquettes that are far cheaper and more easily sourced.
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I prefer lump, but it isn't that available here.
So, I stick with the tried and true blue, Kingsford. Just hit Walmart and stocked up.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-srTaGDkMuws/VVtSesDyjmI/AAAAAAAAFko/1T7a9mIPjrs/s800/20150519_100432.jpg)
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Jeff, I'm soooo glad you asked this question. As you can see by the comments so far, even the august body of Kettle-cabezas has NO consistent candidate.
Here are my top 10 choices:
1) KBB - Have been using it since grass started growing in my back yard. Don't remember the 'old' version producing acrid smoke/smells during
startup, but then I'm always inside prepping food to put on that kettle w/ the KBB when it's ready.
2) KBB - If I'm needing heat, heat, heat, then I'm NOT doing L&S cooking. I'm probably building a fire pit for shaping horseshoes or pitchforks.
350-400 is not really a problem with KBB on my kettle.
3) KBB - Have a couple of bags of Kick-Ass lump, or some such, and Lazzari Mesquite lump that I got with a WSM purchase recently. They are
waiting to be traded to my son-in-law for something else.
4) KBB - When I run a repeating pattern of (2x1 x 2x2) around the circumference of my 22" OTG (separated by a fire brick at start/end) I can count
on 220-250 for more hours than I have cigars and Scotch to support. Never, since grass started growing in my back yard, have I had a kettle
clog up ... even with a Smokenator installed.
5) KBB - At $0.27 lb, I can afford to feed my new/old WSM :)
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I keep KBB on hand and use it whenever I fire up my grills. There is always other choices out there... but I know how it is going to cook.
-Jeep
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I use K Comp or Stubbs for low and slow, snake methods or anything where there is the possibility I will be adding coals mid-cook.
KBB for everything else, burgers, steaks, pizzas, fast cooks, etc. I just wait until everything ashes over to start.
I don't use Lump because it's too inconsistent. Just me..
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I use lump for everything now. The amount of ash in KBB and other briqs is a PITA and a waste of $$$.
I found a new (to me) lump recently called Pitmaster and I like it, although I haven't done a long smoke w/ it yet. I can't find any info on it- the website listed on the bag doesn't exist. :-\
(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l255/vigbert/IMG_2329_zpsx25xxf4z.jpg) (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/vigbert/media/IMG_2329_zpsx25xxf4z.jpg.html)
(http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l255/vigbert/IMG_2330_zpsga4zwjq1.jpg) (http://s98.photobucket.com/user/vigbert/media/IMG_2330_zpsga4zwjq1.jpg.html)
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Kingsford blue simply because I'm cheap.
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I use lump for everything now. The amount of ash in KBB and other briqs is a PITA and a waste of $$$.
I found a new (to me) lump recently called Pitmaster and I like it, although I haven't done a long smoke w/ it yet. I can't find any info on it- the website listed on the bag doesn't exist.
"Pitmaster," while being commonly used to describe a BBQ chef, is also plastered all over anything from Brinkmanns to Myron Mixon-branded gas grills and may have even have been trademarked by Royal Oak, according to one online reference.
It could very well be some other company squashed them, which is why there are intellectual property lawyers paid to research trade names prior to distribution. :)
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I use lump for everything now. The amount of ash in KBB and other briqs is a PITA and a waste of $$$.
I found a new (to me) lump recently called Pitmaster and I like it, although I haven't done a long smoke w/ it yet. I can't find any info on it- the website listed on the bag doesn't exist.
"Pitmaster," while being commonly used to describe a BBQ chef, is also plastered all over anything from Brinkmanns to Myron Mixon-branded gas grills and may have even have been trademarked by Royal Oak, according to one online reference.
It could very well be some other company squashed them, which is why there are intellectual property lawyers paid to research trade names prior to distribution. :)
Yeah, that occurred to me after googling it and getting a million hits for the grills. :)
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(http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x164/gregs1020/20150523_173142_zpsqnjstcyo.jpg)
been trying that this weekend. i like it.
it does burn hot, has a fair bit of smoke, and smells great compared to some others.
i'd buy more if i could find it in a store. :D
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That's always the hard thing (least to me) when you find a lump you like. What's available in stores seems to change with the seasons. I really wish the Shoprite by me would start carrying Malis' lump again.
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I would have to say Stubbs is my choice soo far. It does give off a little more smoke than KBB like others have suggested but is low on ash and easy to reignite for a 2nd use once snuffed out and the smoke flavor is similar to lump. I am working thru a double pack of Kingsford Comp right now and while it burns clean, it leaves soo much light ash behind that blows everywhere when you open the lid on your kettle. I have been using it for low and slow fuse method cooks and have been able to control temps well but get ash clogging my vents after about 4 to 5 hours.
I have noticed that with Stubbs if you are using a smokenator or other baffle system you have to be careful when adding new coals making sure you add them "next" to burning coals and not on top of hot coals as you will get re-ignition CO2 if there is not enough heat present to burn it off. I try to shove all my lit coals to the middle of my smokenator right before adding fresh coals and then add just one layer to the sides so they fuse light slowly vs. just dumping them on top on the hot coals. Goes along with what others say about Stubbs taking a little longer to light than Kingsford, same applies during fuse, minion or smokenator cooks but as long as you have heat and hot coals either on top or to the side you should be fine.
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Started lump charcoal ..then went kblue after weber recommended not to use lump. Kblue works and dirt cheap..but got some free all natural lump and liked the way it burned.
So just went out and bought a dozen bags of stubbs natural briquettes and half dozen of kcomp..havenyet to use either
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Plan is to use kblue for wsms and stubbs and kcomp for kettles.
Cheapo/frugal move.
Gonna use kblue at bottom of chimney layer...figure the bottom burns the most during chimney lighting..so use cheap kblue to help start chimney...waste less expensive coal during lighting process
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I use Kingsford because it was just on sale and I now have 26 twin packs of it in my basement.
If money was no object, I would use Lump exclusively.
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Agreed..kblue is cheap...
But..if stubbs lasts longer...and is more reuseable for 2nd lighting...it may be closer to kblue pricing if comparing fuel burn life.
Theres a few youtubes videos comparing stubbs to kcomp..stubbs staying lit longer.
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Ill be lighting stubbs this weekend and may try some benchmark lighting/fuel life...i got atubbs for about $7.30 for 15lb bag this weekend.
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I generally use lump most of the time. I like to buy a lot when it's on sale.
Not really brand specific, but I have found that RO lump is pretty damn good.
I re-use as much as I can, too.
I will buy briquettes when they are on sale. We don't get the sweet sales up here in Canada as you do in the US.
I'm too far from the border to make any special trip and make it worthwhile.
This particular briquet is my go-to for a snake or fuse. I have gotten 11+ hours (http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/fuse-snake-lasted-11-plus-hours/new/) using it.
(http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n615/MacEggs/IMG_3309.jpg) (http://s1142.photobucket.com/user/MacEggs/media/IMG_3309.jpg.html)
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Plan is to use kblue for wsms and stubbs and kcomp for kettles.
Cheapo/frugal move.
Gonna use kblue at bottom of chimney layer...figure the bottom burns the most during chimney lighting..so use cheap kblue to help start chimney...waste less expensive coal during lighting process
^^^^^ This......for years......
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@1buckie
Lol when you burn multiple wsms biweekly and multiple kettles weekly..every penny coal counts...
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Footnote..given i liked the lump i got for free so itsngetting me to open my wallet for more exp charcoal..but wanting the consistency of briquettes..stubbs seemednthe way to go.
Regular lump charcoal seems to offer 20% waste with the tiny bits that fall through andnthe 2nd smallest that burn up quickly...so i factor in 25% waste to the per lb cost of lump
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@toolhead
I combine Stubb's & those tiny lump chips on top so they don't fall thru & that seems to be a good combination....
(http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd520/1buckie/1st%202013%20chicken/3-6-2013%20%20Beef/3-6-2013Beef007.jpg)
I suppose you could sprinkle thru layers of coals setting up a WSM & have the majority of it stay?
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Yup..thats a way tobise small bits....im gona test stunbs by itselfnand seenperformance and ash diff
If it offer more fuel life..fuel life pricing may equate to kblue...
Ill report back if i have the same results of the blogger below
http://grillofmydreams.blogspot.com/2012/04/stubbs-charcoal-review.html?m=1
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Stubbs "All Natural Charcoal Briquets" is what I use a lot of. Burns clean and even not a lot of waste. I also use Frontier "100% Natural Hardwood Lump" I'll mix the two together.
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I like lump when visiting my dad's place partly because his Performer is amazingly frugal compared to mine. Even with new sweeps mine won't shut down after the cook like his does; his is stone cold in 30 mins. I've seen new kettles that can't do that.