Royal Oak notes

[Lightning]

I’ve noticed a few changes in Royal Oak’s products over the last few years.

The lump charcoal has had an increasing quantity of rocks in it.  The picture of the rocks is what was left in the bottom of the WSM after smoking ribs back in June.  That bag of charcoal had even more rocks in it that I discovered as I worked my way through it.  When you’re buying charcoal by the pound, that weight in rocks is weight in charcoal that you’re not getting.  This want the case until 2-3 years ago and it’s gotten worse over time.

The second picture of the briquettes is interesting.  The smooth ones on the left were from a bag of Royal Oak ridge briquettes I bought this year.  When I started using charcoal, Royal Oak briquettes were made like that with the smooth surface but then for a few years including the pandemic, Royal Oak’s ridge briquettes ended up with a rough surface texture shown by the ones on the right which is from a bag I bought in 2021 or 2022.  The rough ones were also very brittle and crumbled easily.  I’m not sure what process and/or ingredient changes Royal Oak had over the years with the briquettes but they’re fine as they are now and I’ll continue using them.

I did end up buying two bags of Master Chef briquettes at Canadian Tire which are Royal Oak OEM right  now even though they’re more expensive because I ran out and they had minimal charcoal out while the store’s stuff was being rearranged around Christmas so it’ll be interesting to see which variation of Royal Oak these are, or if there’s been a manufacturer change.

As for the lump charcoal, that’s been really disappointing.  I’m going to run out the supply of that I have on hand and then use Maple Leaf exclusively for a while and then see what it’s like in 2024 once barbecue season picks up again next year.  It’s a shame because I really did like their lump charcoal too.

And lastly to the Canadians here, happy thanksgiving!

[kbraker]

I was wondering how I got rocks in my kettle.  I’ve been using the one bag of RO lump I got from I when I got my grill.


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[bamakettles]

Done with rocks and sparking foolishness…. Jealous Devil XL lump is my go to.


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[jcnaz]

I am having good luck with Cowboy Lump from Walmart. I really can't find anything wrong with it.
The Cowboy briquettes really remind me of Stubbs, which is not available anymore.

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[michaelmilitello]

Royal oak can occasionally be a good product.   The lump is wildly inconsistent.  The briquettes, especially the large ones, are good but sometimes very brittle, making it tougher to reuse coal.  It is cheap and easy to find where I live.   

I cook a lot, and having a consistent fuel is important.  I use B&b orange bag briquettes and Fogo black bag for lump.   Both are a little more expensive but Ace hardware carries it and I save with their rewards program.   Both of these are very consistent and perform well. 


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[Lightning]

Royal oak can occasionally be a good product.   The lump is wildly inconsistent.

That's the frustrating part.  Royal Oak lump charcoal used to be good.  I really enjoyed using it for cooking chicken in particular.  I stopped buying it and buy Maple Leaf lump charcoal instead.  It's a few dollars more expensive but it probably evens out at the unit price when there's more usable charcoal per bag vs. paying for dead weight in rocks.

[MacEggs]

I have not purchased RO lump or briquettes for some time, now.
I like their product, but the price kept climbing these last number of years.
My go-to charcoal is Cowboy lump as my local Costco has carried it for many years now during "the season". 
Then they reduce the price to clear it out and I stock up.
Yeah, even the Cowboy lump has some rocks in it, but usually quite small.
I am a charcoal miser, so I sift all of the used charcoal and re-use and abuse as much as possible.
That's when I discover the rocks.

And lastly to the Canadians here, happy thanksgiving!

Yes! Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of our Canuckistan members residing in Chinada.

[swamprb]

Bummer


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[RRRanger99]

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php/topic,36938.0.html

[Lightning]

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php/topic,36938.0.html

I guess, contrary to meme opinion, I'm not the only person around here that doesn't like paying for products that have been adulterated with about 10% filler garbage.  People weren't happy when they someone leaked the details and everyone found out that Steinberg's apple pies were made with turnips back in the day either but I'm sure there was the odd person defending that one, too.

[captjoe06]

I buy whatever is on super sale and buy in bulk when there are really cheap deals.  If there are a few rocks, i deal with it.  If it sparks I deal with it.  Sometimes there are huge chunks in the lump that I'll pull out and put in my secondary Charcoal Caddy which I'll use for long cooks and use the smaller stuff for quick direct grilling.  Bottom line, if I'm getting low and there's a half off sale or a ripped bag I'll ask the manager for a half off discount and load up the truck.

[swamprb]

I used to run BGE’s and got in the habit of dumping bags of lump onto a soil screen and sifting/sorting and layering the large chunks in the bottom then filling up with smaller chunks. The eggs are gone but I still use the screen and mix Western, Frontier RO or Cowboy. There’s always a few rocks - no big deal


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[SixZeroFour]

Hope you had a Good Thanksgiving as well Lightning and interesting info on the charcoal!

I just learned today that the Weber branded briquettes will be made by a new supplier this season and honestly the picture had the "Royal Oak" sort of shape to them - coincidence?!?