Already some real good idea's for future comparisons. Thanks guys!
What about lump vs briquettes? Any flavor differences cooking on the ones you tested?
Lump will more than likely be part of the next installment
As for the flavour, I haven't noticed a difference between them at all.
Is Kingsford Comp still available? I was under the assumption that this stuff had replaced it
I honestly don't know for certain - it's still available at my local BBQ shop but it could easily be older stock.
In that review, they showed the Kings Comp burning just slightly longer than the KBB - the opposite result of what happened here. The reviewer in that other test stated that is why it is called "Competition", because in a BBQ competition, it will burn longer. Also, the fact that it burned faster and hotter appears to make it more suited for cooking a steak really hot for 7-8 minutes rather than a pork butt for 13 hrs.+...
Interesting - In all 3 of my experiences with the Comp it lights faster and burns hotter. They even brand it as "High Heat" on the packaging...
https://www.kingsford.com/products/competition-charcoal/@Troy - If the briquettes are less dense doesn't that mean less fuel? I would have thought that choked down it would still have a longer burn? Might be fun to retest choked off in a mini or something.
Not to poke the fire here but two of the chimneys were sitting in ash bowls, and the air slots at the bottom were not visible. (Blocked?) The other two were on flat pans of some kind, with the air slots fully visible. Airflow makes a huge difference in stoking the flames, so I wonder if that had an impact. Of course, scientific data would require hundreds of tests and tons of charcoal eliminating all the variables one by one. All good info though - useful to know and saves me the time and trouble of doing something similar. I do like Humphrey's, and might try a competition of my own with that. I would also love to try to stuff they use at Weber Grille restaurants. Can't find it around here yet.
The ash bowls left at least a couple inches all the way around the chimney so it certainly wasn't being choked off, and the shallow pans had a 1.5" lip height about equal to the height of the slots. I agree that airflow plays a big role (That's what BBQ is all about!) but I really don't think it would have a measureable affect in this particular case... or if it does then the Kingsford Comp might
really take off if we stick it in the shallow pan
This post really wasn't meant to be a be-all-end-all of charcoal tests - just one example to take into consideration.
Keep the idea's coming!