Lazzari Oak Lump and Oak Hardwood Briquets...

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Hey gang,

Here is my initial look at the Lazzari Oak Lump Charcoal and their Hardwood 100% natural briquets. I have been using their mesquite for years and already posted a review on that but am completely new to any of their other products and they offer an array of woods and charcoals.

Today I drove out to their facility in Brisbane and made a small initial purchase (60# of briquettes and 40# of oak lump) at $53.65, including the tax. I'm going to burn through this and post follow up. If I like it, i will probably drive back (about 45 minutes each way) and make a larger purchase. You can get the briquets at BevMo for double the price of local pickup. The mesquite lump about $0.40 less than at my local Safeway so not worth the hassle on that unless you are there for other things.

I did a dump test on video and the lump looks decent. So far, it looks better than what i am seeing in Royal Oak lump from the big orange box. So far, no rocks or other monkey business in what I dumped out of the bag. Chunks look decent too. At $17.14 for a 40# sack, that also beats Royal Oak.

Here is what they told me about the briquettes in email. They are just small round briquettes. Nothing fancy looking. I suspect they are similar in composition to Royal Oak Chef's Select.

"Product Description:  100% Hardwood Charcoal Briquettes

  ·         Made from 100% oak hardwood

  ·         All natural, no coal, no fillers, no chemicals

  ·         Acclaimed by professional chefs

  ·         Delicious hardwood smoke flavor

  ·         High heat

  ·         Long burning

  ·         Easy to start"

Film at 11. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/QHE9pX8azh0

[pbe gummi bear]

Thanks for sharing! So their lump ($17.14 for a 40#) is cheaper than their briquettes ($36.51 for 60#)? I like your grilling setup too.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Yup. Good price on the lump. Thanks.

Looking at my receipt now....  The 40# bag of lump was$17.14 and each 20# bag of briquets was $10.73 so $32.19 for 60#

If I like this batch, I will drive back and buy a larger quantity of the briquettes and oak lump. The bags of mesquite are a good deal at Safeway too at $9.99. It is about fifty cents less in person.

What I want to do is get some more Royal Oak Chef's Select from DoItBest Hardware (Pagano's) over in Alameda and compare that to the Lazzari briquets.

A 40# of ROCS is $22.99 and two 20# bags of the Lazzari briquets is $21.46. I think it is a similar charcoal but for the extra $1.46, you get larger briquets with the ROCS as well as their patented ventilation ridges.

For reference:
https://www.doitbest.com/products/838136

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Some initial comments on the briquettes. I tried my first batch last night.

The individual briquets seem lighter in weight and not as dense as other briquets but I have not weighed them yet in comparison to others.

Also, once you get them lit and start shuffling the coals around with a charcoal rake or something, they seem mushy and get crushed more easily than other lit briquets. Might have something to do with how uncompressed the unlit briquets feel.

Two full charcoal baskets in the Performer lasted for a long time (I let them burn out) and I saw initial peak temps of ~565*F.

Ash production seems minimal but that is just an initial observation. The ash also seems to appear whiter versus grayer as with other charcoals that I have used.


On the oak lump, I forgot to mention that Lazzari said it is blue oak (from the white oak family) versus red oak or something else.

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Not that thrilled with the Lazzari Briquets. Still evaluating the lump.

So I have been through several cooks using the briquets and have burned through 2 of the 3 bags that I purchased.

While the smoke aroma from this charcoal is good and it is made from hardwood, what stands out for me and what I do not like is that these briquets are super soft. While I have not weighed the individual briquets yet, they do feel less dense just in handling them as compared to other briquets.

For me, what makes them nearly unusable is the fact that once lit and ashed over, the briquets get pulverized when moving them around with a charcoal rake and the pulverized lit embers drop through the grate into the bowl and ash catcher.

The oak lump so far seems decent. Not as many inclusions as with Royal Oak lump, though I did get one tiny rock already. Maybe it is my imagination but I think that the Lazzari Oak Lump has an aroma more similar to the Lazzari Mesquite (just a lot milder) than to Royal Oak lump. I remember reading somewhere on the interwebs that the aroma and flavor of a smoking wood may have more to do with where it came from in the world than the world (local environment) than the species of tree. All of Lazzari's charcoal comes from Sonora Mexico (that is where there factory is).

[GoAnywhereJeep]

The Lazzari briquets are total junk. Do not recommend. I burned through all three bags and as already mentioned, they fall apart very easily once lit.

If you have tried it and have a different opinion, it would be great to hear about it. Maybe you can corroborate my experience?

I will not be buying more of the briquets and just placed a re-order at DO It Right hardware for local pickup of ROCS. Between now and the time those arrive, I am using the Kingsford Competition Briquettes from the local supermarket as they are on sale this week.

The Oak lump is still working out well and better than RO, IMHO.

[pbe gummi bear]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Bummer about the briquets. I like kingsford comp. The costco 2 packs were my go-to "premium" briquette for a while.

[Mike in Roseville]

My local Nugget has Lazzari Oak Briquettes. A little pricy ($14 for 20lbs) but I may give them a whirl. After your review I may just try a single bag and see what I think.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[GoAnywhereJeep]

BevMo carries it as well but at like $19.99 / bag or something.

I was hoping for better results on the briquets. The fact that they fall apart so easily is a deal killer for me. Also a lot more broken broken briquets and powder a new bag.

[soobaerodude]

I will not be buying more of the briquets and just placed a re-order at DO It Right hardware for local pickup of ROCS. Between now and the time those arrive, I am using the Kingsford Competition Briquettes from the local supermarket as they are on sale this week.

Cash and Carry by Smart Foodservice carries ROCS 20# bags for $9.69 each.  They have a few locations in the Bay Area
https://www.smartfoodservice.com/locations/CA/