Kingsford revisited

[Lightning]

This is a followup to a topic I started back in mid-April:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/is-kingsford-worth-the-price-difference-above-royal-oak/

I caught the tail end of Home Depot's Kingsford sale and stocked up on enough to try it out for myself in a number of different applications.  At regular prices here, Kingsford is consistently $3 more expensive than Royal Oak for 15 lb bags which can add up quickly and sales are rare.

So here's what I've found:

Hot and fast grilling - once fully ashed over, Kingsford works fine for this type of cooking.  It might run a touch hotter than the Royal Oak briquettes and seems to last longer; possibly attributable to the addition of anthracite coal?  I typically use lump charcoal for this type of cooking though.  Kingsford might come in handy if I were to ever have a large barbecue at my place and need longer running time to do multiple batches of food.

WSM - using my normal technique it worked but imparted unwanted flavour so I'll continue with Maple Leaf briquettes for this use.

Hot and long - given the running time Kingsford seems to have once lit, this is probably a situation it would work well for.  The only hot and long application that comes to mind for my cooking would be the Kettle Pizza but I haven't had a chance to use it yet this year so I have yet to test it.

On the whole, I think I'll stick with Royal Oak for most briquette cooking given the price disparity and the Maple Leaf briquettes in the smoker.

[mhiszem]

Interesting! Thanks for the comparison. It's intriguing to hear everyone's experiences with different charcoals.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club mobile app

[Lightning]

It is definitely interesting, especially when you factor in the different charcoals that are only available regionally too unless you go to a specialty shop.

One thing I discovered back in the spring is that Royal Oak lump charcoal produces truly excellent rotisserie chickens.  I'd been using briquettes for these previously, but don't think I'll be doing that unless I'm caught in a pinch now.

[MrHoss]

Lump burns a fair bit hotter. The best thing to do is have a few bags of 6-10 different kinds of charcoal. In the end you will probably go with mixes of one sort or another. I like Royal Oak lump too....a lot.