Best BGE lump hardwood charcoal

coooltroy

I have purchased BGE, Royal Oak, Lazari, Webber, local made... I found BGE to have by far the most small waste and Lazari the least.  I have only been a BGE guy for a few months, anyone find a consistent best lump with least small waste?

clifkincaid

Try google...type in your context followed with big green egg. You will find more than you need. 

SoCalTim

Hit up The Naked Whiz, they'd one all the research for you. It's actually pretty informative.

DaveRichardson

Yes, Doug has some great info on his site! 

@cooltroy - Where abouts are you located?  From that, we all can chime in with local lumps that are only available in certain regions.

Rockwood has been my favorite for a long time and its maker, @stlcharcoal is on here a fair amount.  Very neutral on smoke, so your smoking chunks will really shine thru.

I did find one recently that intrigued me....  Forrest Lumps.  Its a European hardwood charcoal that is sold in boxes.  2 10# bags in each box.  Its been very good to me on a trial run of a couple of boxes over the past 2 months.

lousubcap

As mentioned here's a link to TNW's site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm  A great ceramic cooking resource.  Chances are the answer to your question is within the site somewhere.  And,  lump charcoal discussions here are like religion and politics elsewhere. 
So with that as background,  welcome and enjoy the journey.

Haley

My favorite reviews on lump is. www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

coooltroy

@DaveRichardson Im in Northern CA, good you brought that up, your right each region seems to have many of its own unique products.

DaveRichardson

Hopefully you are far enough NoCal where you can get out of the state easily to buy some other lumps that don't want to put up with the Cali regulations!!!!

coooltroy

@DaveRichardson I am hearing that!  I guess a 2 hour trip to Nevada will be worth it.

Lmidkiff

I ordered a bag of Basques Sugar Maple from Firecraft and was very please. Glad they carry it. Now I will switch between Rockwood and Sugar Maple.

coooltroy

Rockwood has incredible reviews... but CA won't allow it 

Mikee

Lump will vary. The last bag of Royal Oak  I used had less than 1/2 cup of dust and chips. That's not the norm. My point is that you have to buy bags over a period of time to get an idea of the lump. Going to a web site that tested one bag of lump 7 years ago is not the best way to determine the quality of the lump. The manufacture's process may have changed since then. They may have received an above average bag or below average bag. Keep buying several brands over the course of a year or two an you'll eventually find one or two that meets your requirements. The bag of Rockwood I bought was good except it was twice the cost of Royal Oak and burned almost twice as quick.

Begger

The bag of BGE that came with my XL was PERFECT.    

stemc33

California regulators are idiots. Rockwood is the cleanest stuff available...I think..at least from what lump I've used. I can almost eat out of my firebox, and I often eat off my PS. 

Mosca

My experience says find a brand that is easily available and get used to how it performs in your oven. Predictability trumps all differences among brands. Personally I use Wegman's store brand (NE PA/ SE NY). I know how it works and it's the same every time.

Darby_Crenshaw

i'm with mosca.  what's more, unless it is crappy stuff that sparks continuously, it's possible to cook with any lump, any size, any time.

sure, i have favorites, but i prefer whatever is available and local and cheap. 

stemc33

Darby_Crenshaw said:

i'm with mosca.  what's more, unless it is crappy stuff that sparks continuously, it's possible to cook with any lump, any size, any time.

sure, i have favorites, but i prefer whatever is available and local and cheap. 

Have you tried Cowboy Lump? 

Darby_Crenshaw

yeah.  cowboy is fine.  can be real good in fact.

despite much talk of it being discarded lumber, it's actually all clean maple and oak. 

i have had good an bad bags of every type of lump i have ever tried.  it's a natural product.  nobody's sorting any of this stuff.  whatever comes out of the retort is what goes in the bag that day.

Little Steven

Darby_Crenshaw said:

yeah.  cowboy is fine.  can be real good in fact.

despite much talk of it being discarded lumber, it's actually all clean maple and oak. 

i have had good an bad bags of every type of lump i have ever tried.  it's a natural product.  nobody's sorting any of this stuff.  whatever comes out of the retort is what goes in the bag that day.

You never had a bad bag of Maple Leaf now didja? No wait....I never gave you any

Mikee

Someone Egging once a week or a couple times a month may not feel the pinch of the price of lump. In fact they may draw an opinion that the $24 a bag has to be better than a bag that sells for $12. After all, the price  is indicative of the quality. They are so wrong. There is no need on my part to spend 2x the price to have a slightly, if that, better lump. When a lump as RW becomes 2x better I'll make it my primary choice. Until then its off my radar.

stemc33

Mikee said:

Someone Egging once a week or a couple times a month may not feel the pinch of the price of lump. In fact they may draw an opinion that the $24 a bag has to be better than a bag that sells for $12. After all, the price  is indicative of the quality. They are so wrong. There is no need on my part to spend 2x the price to have a slightly, if that, better lump. When a lump as RW becomes 2x better I'll make it my primary choice. Until then its off my radar.

Funny.  

Mikee

stemc33 said:

  Funny.  

I'm not surprised by your stupid reply. Someday you'll grow up and learn how to cook and not belittle someone who knows how.

Mattman3969

Mikee said:

stemc33 said:

  Funny.  

I'm not surprised by your stupid reply. Someday you'll grow up and learn how to cook and not belittle someone who knows how.

Can't we just get along???   I am glad that Mikee has figured out RO and loves it, just leaves more of the RW for me.  Jus messing with ya Mikee. Everybody should use whatever lump they like regardless of what everyone else prefers. These threads just prove lump is like religion and politics.   

stlcharcoal

Mikee said:

Someone Egging once a week or a couple times a month may not feel the pinch of the price of lump. In fact they may draw an opinion that the $24 a bag has to be better than a bag that sells for $12. After all, the price  is indicative of the quality. They are so wrong. There is no need on my part to spend 2x the price to have a slightly, if that, better lump. When a lump as RW becomes 2x better I'll make it my primary choice. Until then its off my radar.

Same argument could be made for why you have a Big Green Egg over a Weber, Akorn, or something else that cranks about pretty good food for a fraction of the money. 

BTW, pricing is up to the retailers, not us.  You'd be surprised for what it sells for in STL.....we're the people's charcoal here.  We do not have the vast distribution network that Home Depot has, so shipping adds on a lot.  Then the retailers get what they can get I suppose.  Royal Oak makes a good product for the money, and there's no way we can compete with them in price or quantity.  Sorry.

Mikee

Mattman3969 you are so correct. I overpaid for a bag of RW so that I could compare it. I could not offer an opinion unless I tried it. I have never stated that RO was the best. From my experience it seems to be the best value; 1/2 the price and burns longer.

Until a lump come along and beats RO in value, RO will be my go to lump. 

bgebrent

This discussion is rusty!  RW is great, RO others like.  And all the rest.  Rockwood is my favorite.  Yours might be Cowboy  . Buy what you like/can afford.

stemc33

Mikee said:

stemc33 said:

  Funny.  

I'm not surprised by your stupid reply. Someday you'll grow up and learn how to cook and not belittle someone who knows how.

Still ROFLAO   where are all of your cooks?

Mosca

Wegman's store brand is $7/10lb bag. It works great.

DMW

I dunno...  

YukonRon

I actually met a guy at a dinner party, last night, that just "discovered" lump charcoal, and, as luck would have it, the brand he used was Cowboy. He was fascinated. I chose to withhold my opinion, because he was on cloud 9. 
We extended the offer for a cook to he and his wife. I will share my experience with him then. I keep Rockwood and Carbon Del Sur on hand. RO has been used, but, too much fines, shake and powder for me. I am sure they have quality material, but I dispose of about 1/4 to 1/3 of a bag that can't be used each time I have bought it. The other two, nowhere near as much waste. Maybe I have just gotten bad bags, but I have gone through the same thing with RO and BGE EVERY BAG.
CDS is about 3/4 the cost of RW. These have been good quality in every bag.

Mikee

@stlcharcoal If you read my posts about your lump, I've never indicated it was inferior. The retailer in my area sets their price as you alluded to. That retailer priced it at $24 per bag. At that price it becomes a matter of 'bang for the buck'. With RO at just a tad above $12/bag, that is my go to lump. I can buy Cowboy for under $10 a bag with a coupon at times. RW lump is as good as any lump I've used; just not what I would consider or recommend for someone who cooks 5-6 times a week due to the price.