What type of fuel do you prefer?

[ChadRex]

I use Kingsford blue exclusively. I have been using it since I started grilling so I am used to the way it burns...I know how much for how hot and how long. It is very consistent. I use a Weber chimney to light....just newspaper to light the chimney. Almost never use any wood for smoke, my Wife is not a big fan of too much smoke flavor, but I do have some cherry and some pimento for the rare occasion I need it for the flavor.

I am with you on the this.. no smoke woods unless I am smoking a turkey and then i add my own Apple or cherry.  Nothing beats the Weber Chimney to get the coals going, I use small votive/tea light candles when I run out of the Weber paraffin  wax cubes. I read somewhere someone used Wax paper dipped in cooking oil rolled into tight ball for use to light the chimney..I used to use Newspaper but got tired of all the floating paper ash..

[anderson143]

i recently discovered using the side burner on my gaser to lite the coals in my weber chimney... i was looking to sell my gas grill because it never gets used but i might just keep it around for liting my coals

i perfer kingsford but i am wanting to buy some lump to mix in with kingsford when smoking

[mike.stavlund]

I hereby renounce every even-handed thing I ever said about Trader Joe's briquettes.  I tried to use some of the rest of my bag today, setting up a basic roast for brussels sprouts and green beans.  Put them in a chimney on top of some Frontier Lump and fired it on the Performer.  Waited in vain for like 30 minutes before I gave up and dumped out the TJ coals to get to the Frontier underneath.  Then added the Frontier to-- get this-- the basket of Frontier that was still hot after an hour of roasting potatoes on the 18. 

In the meantime, the TJ's coals were spewing forth the most acrid, awful smoke.  Srlsy, my wife had to ask me to step outside because I smelled so bad from waiting for the coals to light.  Had to take a shower before I could eat my (poorly cooked) dinner.

It's funny that people feel so good about the whole "our charcoal is all natural-- nothing but hardwood and cornstarch binder" claim on the side of the bag.  But whoever said we should be burning cornstarch-- is that a good idea?  It's 'natural', but that doesn't make it good.  ...Or effective:  what I've seen with the TJs coals is that the binder just 'lets go' when they start to get hot, so you get a chimney full of crumbs that just chokes off the fire.  Not worth the trouble.  I think I'll just throw away the remainder of my TJ's bag.  Back to Frontier lump and Kingsford blue for me.

[1buckie]

Right beneath that "All natural".....well, what I call a disclaimer, it says "Made in Mexico".....

Nothing wrong with that inherently, just that I'm pretty sure they use whatever wood comes down the pike to get to the actual briquette portion of the show......could be ANYTHING.......

I haven't had any problems like what you're having, but have noticed plastic & nylon .....the stuff they're using for the packaging material, embedded in the briq's..............

[Johnpv]

I've never used Trader Joes all natural briquettes so I can't comment on them specifically.  It could just be lower quality, or like buckie suggests and really poor quality of materials used.  I've used many a bag of Stubb's all natural briquettes, and I'm almost through a bag of Royal Oak's All Natural Briquettes and I haven't experienced anything like you've described with the Trader Joe ones.  Really my only complaint with the Stubb's was ash production, which the Royal Oak is much better about, though the Royal Oak isn't as nicely and uniformly shaped as the Stubb's.

Before giving up completely on natural briquettes I'd say try another brand. 

[Peaspurple]

I like KBB. I use my weed burner to start the fuel unless I'm using my performer. As for smoke, I'm a big fan of peach wood and I use the minion method. All though I'd like to give a go at the snake method. 

[bthorn9435]

Kingsford Blue Bag for everyday grilling.
Stubbs for the WSM on long cooks, pork butts or brisket. For
Chickens I use KBB. I love the Stubbs it is the best charcoal
I have used so far and it leaves very little ash. I tried to use
KBB on a long cook and the ash piled up to the bottom of the
grate.

[mtonto20]

When I slow smoke I always use a combo of Kingsford Blue, lump or chunk charcoal and hardwood that i leave continuously soaking in a bucket of water next to my grill.  I use Kingsford to get going then tend to run on chunk and wood after that.  for quick grilling sessions I use a combo of chunk and kingsford, nice even heat with a nice smoke flavor in the hamburgers or hot dogs.  Occasionally I will dump a pack of ballparks on the grill while smoking and leave them on there for an hour to get nice and smoky, they make the best chili dogs you will ever eat.

[HankB]

... All the big Box stores Carry the Cowboy brands  .... Serious Quality control from what i have read.

I had heard that Cowboy Lump has improved in quality recently so I picked up a bag and confirm that I have (so far) found no lumber scraps. The pieces at the top of the bag are decent size but I have not gotten to the bottom of the bag to see how much dust there is.

[Aawa]

... All the big Box stores Carry the Cowboy brands  .... Serious Quality control from what i have read.

I had heard that Cowboy Lump has improved in quality recently so I picked up a bag and confirm that I have (so far) found no lumber scraps. The pieces at the top of the bag are decent size but I have not gotten to the bottom of the bag to see how much dust there is.

Cowboy lump is better quality than Royal Oak Lump in the red bag by leaps and bounds.  I bought 4 bags of it during the Memorial Day True Value sale and have went through all 4 bags.  They lump isn't any type sawed scrap wood like 1x1 or 2x2 pieces.  It is all branches or chunks that have been carbonized really well.  I haven't gotten any foreign debris such as rocks or insulation that I have gotten in the last 4 Royal Oak Redbags I used.

If it goes onsale I will buy more of it, but right now I'm working through my Wicked Good Weekend Warrior and Kingsford Blue Bag charcoal stashes I have.

[mike.stavlund]

Just revisiting this thread to add to my rant against Trader Joe's charcoal.  It wasn't stinky this time, but it was worthless. 

I was cooking with a friend, and we tried to use his stock of TJ's.  And it lit okay, and it burned hot and without any bad smells or flavors.  But the problem was that it 'unbinds' once it gets hot (which is a problem, as you can imagine).  It gets a bit crumbly in the chimney, and continues to degrade.  I put about one chimney's worth in two baskets to roast some broccoli.  About 30 minutes later the veg was done and I was planning to put a chicken on next.  I tried to stir the coals to get the ash off of them before adding a few more to lengthen the cook time, and *they all crumbled*.  Right down to dust.  So I had to fire up *another* chimney, which I used to roast the chicken, after which I choked down the grill for the night.  And when I was cleaning up the cold grill today, once again the remaining coals just crumbled down to nothing.  And get this:  the entire ash can was full, after just two chimneys of charcoal.  What a waste.

[Duke]

Yeah, I had issues with TJ's and had to quit using it. Too bad because the price was right.

[cbpeck]

I suppose I may as well put in my two cents. I keep quite a few types of charcoal on hand:

Kingsford Competition Briq.
Stubbs Briq.
Lazarri Mesquite Lump
Wicked Good Weekend Warrior Lump
Cowboy Lump

I rarely have all of them, but I don't hesitate to buy any of them if the price is right. Briquettes most often get used in the WSM. Lump for just about everything else. At $11 per 40 lb bag, Lazarri is my cheap stuff for burgers, dogs, etc.

[Eapples]

I'm a newbie.  I read all the posts in this thread with keen interest.  I grew up with Kingsford, as it's the only charcoal I remember from growing up and the family picnics and such.  I'm getting back into charcoal cooking, and I naturally went for Kingsford Blue.  Still, I'm intrigued by all you experienced chefs and your comments on the different types of fuel.  I know that I have to learn how to walk before I start running, but I want to be ready to run not so much fast as steadily.

Anyway, I'm thinking of how I got involved in shotshell reloading.  I got my press, my components, my reloading table, and I was on my way.  Then I started experimenting with different powders, different shot weights, and so on.  I bought several dies, shot bars, different wads.  Guess what?  I reverted back to what I started with, and all that other stuff that I bought is collecting dust.  A fellow weekend warrior told me "Stick with what works."

I'm thinking the same thing with charcoal.  Each type of fuel has its pluses and minuses.  Each of you has a fondness for a particular fuel type.  Is one better than the other?  I don't know.  Still, I'd like to experiment with different charcoals just to see if I find any difference.  I'm just afraid that I'll wind up with a shed full of unused bags of charcoal and the novelty will wear off.

As a beginner I'm using KB.  I don't want to fall into the trap of doing something wrong, and then adjusting my method to the wrong way, instead of learning the right way, and adjusting my method to the right way.  So, getting back to the charcoal/fuel discussion, is one fuel really better, or is it just a preference?  I'm thinking that there are way too many different opinions, and that tells me that I have to make my own choice.  I can't follow the herd because the herd is all over the place.

My last comment was meant as a compliment.  Imitation is the highest form of praise.  I want to learn what I can.  You guys/gals are part of the teaching staff.

[jcnaz]

Charcoal choice is mostly a matter of personal preference with some economics mixed in. The Naked Whizz  site is a great reference to learn about the various characteristics of different lump charcoals. They also cover the major brands of briquettes.
we discussed this some here:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php?topic=4095.msg38804.msg#38804

Always a good topic to bring up!