charcoal

henapple · October 2012

I started with BGE, tried wgww but didn't like it. It had a weird taste. Tried cowboy but after reading naked whiz's review I guess I won't use it anymore. Bought some royal oak today so I'll see tomorrow. It's hard to find different types locally. I see guys buying truckloads....

EggerinLA · October 2012

Nothing wrong with looking at Naked Whiz and his views, but I disagreed with him on a few of his points. I look at what people who use something every week say before him. Use your own judgment and don't be a sheep. Oh. Cowboy has changed recently for the better. It is a really good lump now.

smasch · October 2012

I have been using B and B recently, then Academy Sports ran out and it is hit and miss at best. My local Ace is stocking Wicked Good WW and this is my go to for low and slows. 40 lbs in the rack now! Last week I popped into Walmart and there was a pallet of Royal Oak. 8 bags later I was headed home with cheaper charcoal for the higher heat cooks.

It is all a matter of preference I suppose.

EggerinLA · October 2012

Oh. I dislike Wicked Good also. Very overrated on this forum IMO.

nolaegghead · October 2012

I have cowboy in my egg right now and it's fine.

More important than the type of lump is to make sure your fire is established (doesn't have to be roaring, it can be just the top of the pyramid if you're doing a low n slow). If it isn't, you can get a terrible taste on your food.

Smell the smoke right after you start it. Take a whiff now and then. You'll notice when it clears up visibly, it'll smell different. When the smoke smells good, the food will taste good. If the smoke smells bad, the food will taste bad.

scottc454 · October 2012

Cowboy rules. I've never found anything bad in it - not that I even care. I have mixed feelings on the whole concept of charcoal reviews. I respect the effort, but this is charcoal we're talking about. It's not like buying a car. Buy a bag and burn it.

I see only 2 real differences between lumps - density and chunk size. Other than that it's carbon plus a little residual smoke flavor.

scottc454 · October 2012

henapple said:

I started with BGE, tried wgww but didn't like it. It had a weird taste. Tried cowboy but after reading naked whiz's review I guess I won't use it anymore. Bought some royal oak today so I'll see tomorrow. It's hard to find different types locally. I see guys buying truckloads....

WGWW had a weird taste? Try burning it instead of eating it.

henapple · October 2012

Understood. I'm just trying to find a "go to". Clean, available and good price. I had no problem with the cowboy but the review of its contents was discouraging.

nolaegghead · October 2012

Stike uses the cowboy....I think it's mostly an issue of availability and price for most people. If you're in a big metropolitan area, probably have many more options. Nothing wrong with finding something you're comfortable with. Sometimes quality control is bad in some brands - I've had bags of 25% dust.

EggerinLA · October 2012

Henapple since you read the guys review of Cowboy and take it as gospel, I'm sure you noticed the date of the review also. I mean that is kind of important. I found Wicked Good to be average at best after 4 bags. Publix brand is much better. I do my own reviews by testing them myself. Trust, but verify. Oh, naked whiz gave Cowboy an above average rating 5 years ago. Cowboy is much better today. Many of the guys ratings are old and dated.

henapple · October 2012

Yeah, I liked cowboy way better than wicked...I'll give royal a try....we'll see

Hashmaker · October 2012

I have been using B&B and the Publix lump. I've been satisfied with both but was surprised by how many large pieces there were in the Publix lump. I think it's just a personal preference so, experiment til you find one you like.

EggerinLA · October 2012

B&B is another really good lump that I disagree with Naked about.

bertscampers · October 2012

I've use wgww, dragon's breath and bge. I think I am way too new because I can not taste a difference in the taste. Yes, I know I should try eating the charcoal!!!!

They are all about the same to me. Some big pieces and some small. I am worried more about the price at the moment and taste can be added with chunks or chips.

Just my two cents.

Cheers

ShedFarm · October 2012

henapple,

The Big Green Egg lump you started with, is actually made by Royal Oak, so you should find it burns and its smoke flavor is the same as BGE. Royal Oak also produces the Kroger-brand lump charcoal, as well as other store brands.

Fred19Flintstone · October 2012

ShedFarm said:

henapple,

The Big Green Egg lump you started with, is actually made by Royal Oak, so you should find it burns and its smoke flavor is the same as BGE. Royal Oak also produces the Kroger-brand lump charcoal, as well as other store brands.

+1. They also make GFS (Gordon Food Service) brand.

4Runner · October 2012

WG is great. Large chunks and very little dust. Burns long and hot. A bit hard to start but after trying BGE, Publix, Cowboy, and one other brand at Publix was easily the highest quality. Also, since i purchase WG by the pallet, hard to beat $16 per bag.

EggerinLA · October 2012

OP: Like you and a few others said, WG isn't all that good. Overrated. Experiment with others and form you own opinion.

jeroldharter · October 2012

Not sure of the point of this thread. So far, I have tried Wicked Good and BGE lump and prefer the former. Both burn and work fine. Wicked has larger pieces and less dust, costs me about $8 less per bag delivered to my house. The charcoal imparts no taste on the food. I baked some apple dumplings for 40 minutes on Wicked and it tasted as if it came from the oven.

Skiddymarker · October 2012

RO user mostly because it is the most available for me, sold at Canadian Tire, Lowe's and Wally World.

I have noticed a difference in the small bags (4KG) vs the larger bags (8KG) The larger bags seem to have more fist size and less dust.

Has anyone else noticed this?

ccpoulin1 · October 2012

Skiddymarker said:

RO user mostly because it is the most available for me, sold at Canadian Tire, Lowe's and Wally World.
I have noticed a difference in the small bags (4KG) vs the larger bags (8KG) The larger bags seem to have more fist size and less dust.
Has anyone else noticed this?

+1 absolutely. The bigger bags i buy at restaurant depot have all had significantly bigger pieces than what i purchased at WM. The other upside (at least for me) is that the bigger bags are about 30% cheaper by weight. win/win for me!

Firemanyz · October 2012

I have only tried BGE and WGWW I did notice the size difference in the WGWW. I am on vacation right now and found lump at the local Harris Teeter. Was wondering if anyone has used it. It is a good deal in my eyes, it is 5.99 for a 9 lbs bag. I read the reviews in the database but want some real world input. Thanks

SWVABeanCounter · October 2012

I've only tried BGE and Cowboy (my egg was one month old yesterday). Couldn't notice a taste difference, but did notice the Cowboy took longer to get to the temps I was looking for. Piece size was about the same. Is it a density thing? I would think that would make it better for the low and slow. I'll be trying Royal Oak next.

fairchase · October 2012

henapple said:

Understood. I'm just trying to find a "go to". Clean, available and good price. I had no problem with the cowboy but the review of its contents was discouraging.

If it works for you and you like the results who cares what someone else thinks.....

This is not just true of charcoal.

henapple · October 2012

I have only been egging a short time and on this forum even shorter. I didn't realize charcoal was such a "hot" topic. I travel for business and always look for micro brews that I haven't tried. I guess I'll start doing the same for charcoal. Scottc454.. The wicked good taste better wrapped in bacon...

GLW · October 2012

+1 micro breweries.

henapple · October 2012

We have one here in mid TN called Calfkiller....only on draft now but really good. Love to taste brews from small batches.

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