Charcoal Comparisons and Review - Now Live on the Blog

[SixZeroFour]

I'm no scientist (or actor! - see video Cameo) But this should provide some data and my personal opinion on the following briquettes: Kingsford Comp, Kingsford Blue, Trader Joes and Stubbs. Would love to hear other peoples experiences as well as we may test a few more brands down the road. Enjoy!

http://weberkettleclub.com/blog/2015/08/09/charcoal-showdown/

[joness105639]

What about lump vs briquettes?  Any flavor differences cooking on the ones you tested?

[MacEggs]

Is Kingsford Comp still available?  I was under the assumption that this stuff had replaced it ...

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/anyone-try-kingsford-lump-briquets/

[ramsfan]

That was a very good write up and comparison. Very informative and useful, thank you. One thing that left me a bit confused was I remember reading a write up and review of KBB vs. Kings Comp over on the "other site". 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.+...   

[indy82z]

Great write up Matt. Question though..any thought to running the test on the new "improved" version of the KBB? I noticed your bag was one of the 20lb ones not the 18.6 ones. Curious what, if anything, you find different.

[Troy]

That was a very good write up and comparison. Very informative and useful, thank you. One thing that left me a bit confused was I remember reading a write up and review of KBB vs. Kings Comp over on the "other site". 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.+...

Probably has to do with open air.  Burning in a chimney let's the fuel have as much oxygen as it can grab.  If kcomp is lighter than kbb, it could indeed burn longer when choked down and holding the same pit temp.

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[MartyG]

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.

[SixZeroFour]

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!

[lemisfits]

Matty,

Did you at least make some smores or chicken satay while you were doing the test?

[BBQ Jack]

The problem with Kingsford Blue is the awful smell when you ignite it.  When I light the chimney I have to go inside the house to get away from it and come back in 20 minutes after the coals are lit.  Because of this I do not use it in slow cooks as I do not want to place unlit Kingsford Blue charcoal in the grill with my food. I do not want my food basking in that awful smelling charcoal as it ignites.  In this regard Stubbs is better, I believe it is a cleaner igniting charcoal than Kingsford Blue and you can tolerate the ignition smell.  Kingsford Blue costs much less than Stubbs, and to be fair, once Kingsford Blue is lit and the black color is gone it burns as good as Stubbs, but Kingsford Blue does leave behind much more ash.  Because of its much lower price, Kingsford Blue is good for direct grilling when you want lay down a large bed of charcoal, you just have to clean up a ton of ash later.

[WNC]

Great write up Matt!
My favorite has been stubs for a while, I've just recently noticed with the last bag I got how much better it shuts down compared to other briquettes I've used. Maybe another thing to test...

[Harleysmoker]

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.

That was my first observation, blocked air flow makes more smoke? And I always thought Stubbs briquettes were bigger than Kingsford, at least fatter and not thin like Kingsford.

[Harleysmoker]

The air was blowing, the Kingsford bag fell over, but the two Kingsford chimneys were set in a deep bowl so that moving air was not getting to the burn like the other chimneys set in a shallow pan.

[SixZeroFour]

Did you at least make some smores or chicken satay while you were doing the test?

No, in the name of science I let it burn clean. <-- (Translation: No, but I sure wish I had thought of that!)

The problem with Kingsford Blue is the awful smell when you ignite it.

Could not agree with you more. The tear gas burn to the eyes and/or lungs is brutal... BUT it is reliable, readily available, and if you ash it over in a chimney first you'll be fine.

I've just recently noticed with the last bag I got how much better it shuts down compared to other briquettes I've used. Maybe another thing to test...

Funny you mentioned this - I noticed the same thing with the Stubbs. They seem to really hold their shape so reusing it is a little less messy as well.

[MacEggs]

I must be the only one that likes Kingsford Blue when it's igniting ... Seriously, I do.