First buy of lump charcoal

[Sauce]

For the last eight years, I've only cooked with Kingsford blue. I was at BJ's and bought a bag of this:

It was $19.99 for 34 lbs, so quite a bit more than Kingsford on sale.
Anybody cooked with this lump before? How does it compare to other lump brands? Just figured I'd try something different.

Sauce

[1buckie]

Frontier is pretty reasonable....Made right down by Cuda Dan, Argentflame, Gummi Bear & the Bay Area folks ( unless they've added another mfg. place) & it's in a lot of the stores here......

I've used it & had pretty dang good results, but not real lately.....seems to burn just a little faster than the really extra high priced stuff like Wicked Good, but I think you'll do fine.......

Lump is different in that it USUALLY needs just a little more air, needs to kinda stay in contact among the pieces to burn better, doesn't like to be stirred or jostled around (that breaks up the pieces after it's burning) & will go a bit hotter for a bit shorter time.....
All general ideas, other's may have some good input too......

[Bbqmiller]

I have been getting the frontier lump from bj's the past few years. As Buckie says, it is pretty good stuff. I have used it for grilling and in the WSM for low and slow.

[WNC]

I think frontier is one of the brands they have at lowes, maybe with slightly different packaging. But if it is the same I've used and like. I prefer lump, but it does take a little getting used to.

I've found that it tends to burn quicker, so  sometimes I need to spread a few chucks over my pile of lit coals after I dump my chimney. It all depends on how long you need to cook for, how dense that particular batch of lump is, and how much of it burned up in the light phase.

Hope that make sense, but play a round with it a few times the learning curve is not too steep. Post up your experiments too!

[addicted-to-smoke]

Sauce, prepare to be amazed at how efficient lump charcoal is. Almost no ash compared to Kingsford blue, and still less than other briquets.

Get yourself a second charcoal grate of whatever size and install it on top of the existing, turned 90 degrees. Helps keep a tiny pieces in there.

I'd expect the food to taste better as well, since there wouldn't be fillers like Kingsford has.

[Sauce]

You guys pretty much nailed it with the input.

Buckie, it definitely needed more air. I lit a FULL chimney of it, and it was a fireworks show. Full chimney was blazing at 14 minutes. Dumped it in single layer for a direct cook of some boneless thighs, added the lid, waited a few minutes, then added chicken and covered. After 10 minutes, the coal needed more air. I left the cover off for a few, then covered with the lid ajar slightly, which gave me the air I needed for full ignition.

WNC, I would have benefited to add some fuel after the dump, as I needed more a bit into the cook.

Addicted to smoke, Yep, spot on. I ran the ash sweeper a few minutes into the cook, and there were lump pieces that had gone through.

This stuff does burn hot with enough air flow. I have seen all the fuss about Kingsford with the white chemical smoke on ignition, this stuff had white smoke too, though it was significantly less and didn't smell as bad. It was a good cookup with the lump. There are some huge pieces in that bag, small logs even.

I do like the consistency of Kingsford, it is apparent in only one cook of lump. So off to HD to stock up on the 36 lbs. for $10, can't beat it.

Sauce

[1buckie]

If ya get a spitter going.....




do this:

[swamprb]

Does it say what hardwoods its made from? I tend to stay away from lump from HD or Lowes - they are always moving the stuff around the lump tends to have a chit-ton of duff in the bag.

I haven't tried the Frontier lump so I'll keep an eye on it if it goes on closeout.

bLowes had a fire sale on Best Of The West Mesquite lump in small bags and it was pretty much full of dust.





I will occasionally buy a few bags of Lazarri Mesquite and if I'm lucky their Oak lump from Cash & Carry 40lb bags for @ $14, but it requires breaking down and sorting. I might get 10lbs of dust from a 40 lb bag and chunks as big as a football!



How does the Frontier rate?

[1buckie]

Swamp....you just reminded me....it's Lazzari that's from the Bay Area, not Frontier !!!!

Here's how my last bag of Best of the West went.....



Whole burl, extra premium !!!

[Jammato]

You guys pretty much nailed it with the input.

I do like the consistency of Kingsford, it is apparent in only one cook of lump. So off to HD to stock up on the 36 lbs. for $10, can't beat it.

Sauce

do not give up on the lump.
I use the KBB for the start of the cook, and use lump for additions and such, but you have to get used to using lump if all you have had used is KBB, sheesh some briquette brands you need to get used to,
You see, KBB is a very engineered product to do exactly what it does as consistently as it does, and by being that engineered it has additives so many object to.
But lump, being just charcoal, has a learning curve, and is always on the wild side, so one cook can be discouraging, try some experiments till you get the feel of the stuff. and oh, by the way, lump can be different one brand to the next.

Guess I am not as much of a purist as some of the guys around here, I do not object to using KBB, But I do love using wood also

[Dan NY]

Has anyone here tried making their own lump?  I have been reading and watching youtube videos about it and I think I'm going to give it a try this summer. I have some really dry Maple and Cherry wood to use.

[Jammato]

Bio char is basically home made lump

[mike.stavlund]

Frontier is my favorite lump, and I usually buy it from BJ's  (keep an eye out, because they usually have a sale on it in the spring and then again at the BBQ holidays-- Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day).  Do check the labels, because in my store at least they will stock both the lump made in Mexico as well as the stuff made in the USA.  In my experience, the stuff from Mexico contains more rocks, nails, and fence posts, and the US stuff is cleaner. 

In general, I find that lump works about the same as briquettes, at least in terms of heat and burn time.  Lump is a little hotter and faster, but not as much as conventional wisdom would lead you to believe.  It does light quicker, and I usually dump my chimney just before the top pieces are white on the edges, which gets me a hot and long fire.  If you're doing low/slow cooks, though, you do need to worry about it going out due to inconsistent contact between the pieces.  And +1 for adding a second charcoal grate at a right angle to your regular grate when burning lump. 

[austin87]

I swung by a BBQs Galore and the guy there was really nice and super helpful. He told me to gently rock the bag of lump on its side and back up again and listen.... If the bag is full of little particles it will sound like sand moving inside the bag. You want to hear larger pieces moving. He said if all the bags sound like they are beat to crap he'll look for another place to get his lump. Said with that method he rarely gets a bag full of dust.

[1buckie]

Has anyone here tried making their own lump?  I have been reading and watching youtube videos about it and I think I'm going to give it a try this summer. I have some really dry Maple and Cherry wood to use.

@Dan NY , i'm in too tightly compacted of a neighborhood to do that, but here's the best rundown I've ever seen on DIY......

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=37313