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Wicked Good is wicked good

rogersab
rogersab Posts: 17
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
So finally bought a bag of Wicked Good weekend warrior blend this weekend.

I've been missing out.

HUGE chunks of wood, like forearm sized. Lights easily, burns longer, seems to be less ash.

I'm a convert.

Comments

  • Boilermaker Ben
    Boilermaker Ben Posts: 1,956
    I just opened my first bag on Sunday. You're right, very large pieces. I don't know that they need to be that big, but I suppose it's not a big deal. But wow, is that stuff dense!

    I was doing an overnight butt cook. I lit it with a propane torch, and thought I had my three spots good and lit. I used my makeshift bent-hangar poke stick to try to make sure my grate holes were clear, but the lump was so heavy, it was hard to do much stirring with a wire hangar. I'll need to invest in a true poke stick if I'm going to use WG on a regular basis. Last night I opened the egg to make burgers, and when I pulled the plate setter, I saw that two of my three lighting spots on Sunday must have gone out. Only the lump on one side of the firebox had burnt. Not a big deal, the Sunday cook went fine. There was a LOT of ash, though, and since the lump was so heavy, and with such large chunks(and there was a LOT of it left after a 12 hour cook), it was hard to stir the ash down.

    In all, it's pretty impressive for a long cook, but way too cumbersome for everyday use. But with how expensive it was, unless I'm doing a REALLY long cook, I don't know that I'll bother with it again. It seems I'm a Royal Oak guy.
  • Frobozz
    Frobozz Posts: 98
    This was my reaction to it as well. It is very dense, burns a long time, is harder to light (takes forever to come to temp for grilling) and costs about twice as much as RO. It's good stuff but I just used up my 22-pound bag and I doubt I'll buy any more.
  • highpress
    highpress Posts: 694
    about WG. I've been through about 3 bags of the stuff and i'm not overly impressed. My biggest complaint is that it takes forever to light. To me, i don't have a lot of time waiting for egg to get to temp. With RO or others i can be rockin in 15 mins or so. Allthough it does seem to last longer, however i would have trouble getting up to higher temps if reusing lump. I'd save it for low n slow, but i think for everyday use i'll stick with RO for about half the cost. I know some people mix WG with RO but seams like a hassle.
  • rogersab
    rogersab Posts: 17
    Well, as I've mentioned in a few others posts, the BGE (by RO) I've had was more than 50% broken pieces, shards and dust.

    My WG lit quick using a BGE fire started and I didn't notice any extended time getting the grill to temp.

    Maybe I'm just lucky.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    ive done pizzas at 1200 degrees using wicked good, i dont think there is a high temp issue. for what its worth i dont see mail ordering lump as an option, i get wg because its cheap and available to me. you would have really hated the wg comp lump if you think the weekend warrior is hard to light :laugh: i usually keep some royal oak around as well but its pricey up here
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
    My issue with WG was not being hard to light. It was that when cooking high temp cooks it was uncontrollable. During a pizza cook, opening the dome resulted in huge flashbacks despite every known method of prevention. More like a nuclear fireball than a flashback. Knowing the flashbacks were coming made it bearable but still not fun.
    Perhaps WG is best used for lo/slo cooks.
  • highpress
    highpress Posts: 694
    If it were cheap, i probably wouldn't mind it so much. In my area, WG is about twice the price of RO. Guess it depends on where you live...
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    So far wicked good has been the only lump to stand up to the kind of cooking I do. Everything else I have used I have had to refill my eggs in the middle of the night or early morning. I won't use anything else except to clean burn my eggs.

    As for lighting. 10-15 second with a MAPP torch and I am up to temp in 15-20 minutes. During that time I have started prepping the meat.

    Yes it's more expensive than RO, or Cowboy, but it last longer too..
  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
    Actually the Competition Blend was only a bit more difficult to light than the Weekend Warrior when I reviewed the two products.
    The Naked Whiz
  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    I like it. Distribution center is about 20 miles away so I bought a bunch last fall. $13 per 22# bag - about the same as RO at Walmart. Still haven't run out. It does seem to take a while to get up to temp, but I'm usually in no hurry. I've never come even close to running out on a butt cook. 14-16 hours and I have half a load left. Also no problem with temp control or flashbacks (assuming I'm paying attention :)).

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • the question, as in all things, is what do YOU want?

    want a lump that will go at high temps for a very long time? dense lump is good. Wicked-Good is dense.

    want a lump that lights fast and clean for dinner after work? Cowboy is lightweight and fast...

    Wicked Good also has a great reputation for consistent lump size. Even with Royal Oak, i have found an "aw hell" bag that was small bits and mostly chips. All of the Wicked Good i have had has been consistent. nothing huge, and very little junk at the bottom.

    just as some rail against Cowboy for being to light, some complain about WG for being too dense.

    It is nothing more than the same concept as fine table salt versus kosher salt. Same thing, different density. You can't just switch one or the other without taking into consideration their differences, despite their being almost (almost) virtually the same thing.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    its not too noticeable when using a weedburner. i really never understood all the complaints with the comp blend and lighting, i light all lump the same way and with the same effort. sometimes i think its one person who had a bad day and blamed it on a particular lump, posted about it, and everyone follows. :laugh: :laugh: the comp blend was definitely cleaner tasting which i can see someone complaining about the less smokey flavor but that can be fixed with some smoking wood. theres three lumps i like, wg, ozark, and mapleleaf, each has there own benefits, ones less smokey, ones great oak flavor, and its hard to beat mapleleaf for the aroma. two of the three i cant get anymore
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • fishlessman wrote:
    sometimes i think its one person who had a bad day, posted about it, and everyone follows. :laugh:

    that never happens around here :whistle:
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    try opening the dome it at 1200 :laugh: :laugh: :whistle: there is no safe way
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    how much harder is lighting an oil soaked napkin to light wg compared to cowboy lump :whistle:
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Cecil
    Cecil Posts: 771
    My only complaint is that it it takes a little longer to get rid of the nasty blue smoke. But the price we pay, roughly $12 for 22#bag. (we pool and order a few pallets here in Nashville). Pete-BTW my smoked stuffed cabbage was a hit with my friends.

    Walt
  • shubydoobydo
    shubydoobydo Posts: 115
    I just got mine a little while ago too. I love it! It does take a little time to light and get going but once it does it will burn for dayssss! I wish I could get it closer to where I live though.
  • it takes a lot longer if i use just the two napkins like i usually use for lighter lump. i double up. it's cheap to light with paper and oil, so four pieces is fine.

    i don't like to light it too quickly. cuts into my drinking time :laugh:
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    Glad to here it.. You got me craving stuffed cabbage, only I am going to do it the traditional way.. :)

    It will still be on the egg though..
  • Salty Dog
    Salty Dog Posts: 89
    I agree with the "like it" crowd. WG weekend warrior blend has worked well for me. Then again, there aren't as many choices in New York......
  • W.G. is all I have used and all I will ever use I LOVE the stuff! I'm a WGWW guy for life! :)