Which Fuel Are You Using?

[MrHoss]

http://www.kwtx.com/content/news/-Bags-of-charcoal-shipped-to-area-grocery-stores-were-filled-with-potot-437955403.html

[Jon]

Romancing the Stone: "I think I'm going to throw another key on the fire."

[cbpeck]

I like lump for meats that I finish with a sear, like steaks and tri-tip, standing rib roasts, etc. For low & slow I tend to prefer briquettes because they burn more consistently.
IMO, Royal Oak and Cowboy are both decent quality lump products. I try to select bags that don't appear to have been too badly handled by the shippers and stock boys because lump is fragile and a lot of those guys just don't think about it.
If you ever see Wicked Good Charcoal (out of Maine) do yourself a favor and buy it at just about any price. IMO, the best lump charcoal you can buy. I've burned through several bags of their Weekend Warrior blend and love it, but haven't ever been fortunate enough to use their competition blends. I do not care for Lazzari Mesquite lump at all. It's too bad because I can get 40# for $13 all year round at a local restaurant supply chain, but it just isn't a good product, IMO.
All that having been said, I bought about 120# of RO briquettes at Lowe's in July because they were dirt cheap along with 50# of Stubb's and I just bought 400# of Weber briquettes from Target, so I think I'm going to be doing a lot more cooking with briquettes for the foreseeable future.

[Hell Fire Grill]

@cbpeck

In your opinion what makes Lazzari a bad product?

[cbpeck]

@cbpeck

In your opinion what makes Lazzari a bad product?

Mesquite, in wood form, has a distinct scent and flavor that many find to be overwhelming and generally inferior to the other popular bbq woods. It's ridiculously easy to come by in Mexico, where I believe Lazzari sources the wood for their charcoal, and it's probably dirt cheap.
I've purchased and used several 40# bags in the past, and my experience was always pretty much the same. The lump size distribution was all over the board with a lot of dust and chips all the way up to knotty branches 5" around and nearly a foot long. The biggest problem is that the large pieces were never fully carbonized, so when cooking they put off a ton of billowy white mesquite smoke that, like I said before, is overwhelming and quite unpleasant. Because these big pieces are basically solid, knotty wood on the inside they are also pretty difficult to break up without resorting to using a hammer or hatchet and making a big mess.
I have had some good results with Lazzari, but that was generally on my second cook with leftover lump that had already burned thoroughly for an hour or more during the previous cook.
Using Lazzari reminds me of the guys who cook with offset smokers and burn seasoned wood for a while until they have a base of coals before putting any meat on the smoker. If you do that with Lazzari you'll be better off, but it wastes all the small pieces in the meantime and is generally a hassle.
Lazzari sells smaller bags too, and I don't know if the size distribution is more consistent in them or not. If so, that alone may result in a better experience.

I hope that helps.