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Lump Charcoal
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MangoMadness
Posts: 30
Is BGE lump charcoal the best? Any other cheaper brands recommended? Is there really a difference?
- BGE newbie
- BGE newbie
Comments
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BGE is rebranded Royal Oak (which is much cheaper). There is also much better lump, though it's more expensive (or equivalent to the BGE brand).
NOLA -
You're gonna get a lot of different answers. I'd take a look around here: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm
Large - Mini - Blackstone 17", 28", 36"
Cumming, GA -
This could get interesting on a Friday
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theyolksonyou said:This could get interesting on a FridayLarge - Mini - Blackstone 17", 28", 36"
Cumming, GA -
This question seems to pop up once a week now.Augusta, GA
#BGETEAMGREEN member
MiniMax, Large, XL BGE
Featured on Man Fire Food Season 7 -
@MangoMadness - Lump discussions are definitely a hot topic here. Try a google search "lump charcoal, egghead forum" and you will find plenty to read.
That said, welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. -
As @buzd504 said, BGE lump is really rebranded royal oak which is most likely available at your local Walmart for much less than the green bag.
A lot of people will tell you that they only use RO and are very happy with the results. I used to use it and it's a solid value.
some of us prefer different brands because of the flavor, or more specifically, lacktherof. Some lumps produce a more "smokey" flavor while others are more flavor neutral. This allows you to have more control over the final product by getting specific smoke profiles using different types of smoking woods. My favorite (and many others) is Rockwood.
You can read reviews on different charcoal brands on http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm
XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA -
Wow. Thanks for all the input. You guys are great!
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Rockwood or Fogo are the best IMHO.XL & Mini & knock off medium. Western North Carolina. Formerly Franklin, TN. Formerly in Palm Harbor, FL.
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Up until this week I've been a BGE guy simply because of the ease of buying (the store is near me). I was paying ~$30/bag.
I just bought 5 bags of Rockwood from Firecraft, delivered, for $23/bag. Since most of the people on here speak highly of Rockwood I assume I made a good decision.North Pittsburgh, PA
1 LGE -
chadpsualum said:Up until this week I've been a BGE guy simply because of the ease of buying (the store is near me). I was paying ~$30/bag.
I just bought 5 bags of Rockwood from Firecraft, delivered, for $23/bag. Since most of the people on here speak highly of Rockwood I assume I made a good decision. -
chadpsualum said:Up until this week I've been a BGE guy simply because of the ease of buying (the store is near me). I was paying ~$30/bag.
I just bought 5 bags of Rockwood from Firecraft, delivered, for $23/bag. Since most of the people on here speak highly of Rockwood I assume I made a good decision.
Washington, IL > Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max
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Wicked Good Weekend Warrior is good steady stuff you can count on the quality to be consistent, or, you can go for the Wicked Good Jake's Blend burns slow and hot very close to the old Competition Blend we used to get from WG.
I have used WG since it first came on the market. Once in a while I tried different brands out of curiosity but always had my WG in the shed!
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I managed to get my hands on 1 bag of wicked good weekend warrior and it impressed me the most. Very clean burning, great heat output, and a decent amount of lump left after each cook. Bummer its not regularly carried by my local vendors. Rockwood is my usual go to nowadays. But I have to say, I've found more "trash" in my RW bags than any other brand. Last bag had two racquetball sized rocks, at $27 a bag that hurts. But it sure burns clean and never crackles and pops.
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@Grillnugget's comment about rocks helped me realize that when I was using RO (both in my Weber and now in my XL) I always found rocks in the ashes when cleaning out. I've used nothing but Fogo for 2 or 3 months now and have never found a rock in the ash. Plus it consistently has larger chunks and less fines. And it is Amazon prime.
Kevin
Beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, CA
XL BGE, Woo2, AR -
Rocks are a non issue. The bags are overfilled to begin with, typically, and we're talking about a natural product.
It's like complaining about a speck of blood in one egg out of a couple dozen. Comes with the territory
buy whatever suits you and whatever is cheap. It all burns. And once in a while every producer has a bad bag
[social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others] -
Does Royal Oak still make lump? I looked at Menards and they only had Royal Oak briquettes.
The Ace Hardware where I used to get Royal Oak lump said they were defunct, but they now have Rockwood, (ranked number 1 on nakedwiz.com) so I've been getting that lately, $6 more per bag than the Royal Oak had been.
I can't remember who posted it, but the gist was, its a shame when the charcoal costs more per pound than the meat your cooking.“There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
Coach Finstock Teen Wolf -
Hans61 said:Does Royal Oak still make lump? I looked at Menards and they only had Royal Oak briquettes.
The Ace Hardware where I used to get Royal Oak lump said they were defunct, but they now have Rockwood, (ranked number 1 on nakedwiz.com) so I've been getting that lately, $6 more per bag than the Royal Oak had been.
I can't remember who posted it, but the gist was, its a shame when the charcoal costs more per pound than the meat your cooking. -
theyolksonyou said:Ha! embellishing statement to complain about higher charcoal cost. I suppose chicken/turkey would be the only thing I can think of.Hans61 said:Does Royal Oak still make lump? I looked at Menards and they only had Royal Oak briquettes.
The Ace Hardware where I used to get Royal Oak lump said they were defunct, but they now have Rockwood, (ranked number 1 on nakedwiz.com) so I've been getting that lately, $6 more per bag than the Royal Oak had been.
I can't remember who posted it, but the gist was, its a shame when the charcoal costs more per pound than the meat your cooking.“There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
Coach Finstock Teen Wolf -
Hans61 said:theyolksonyou said:Ha! embellishing statement to complain about higher charcoal cost. I suppose chicken/turkey would be the only thing I can think of.Hans61 said:Does Royal Oak still make lump? I looked at Menards and they only had Royal Oak briquettes.
The Ace Hardware where I used to get Royal Oak lump said they were defunct, but they now have Rockwood, (ranked number 1 on nakedwiz.com) so I've been getting that lately, $6 more per bag than the Royal Oak had been.
I can't remember who posted it, but the gist was, its a shame when the charcoal costs more per pound than the meat your cooking. -
theyolksonyou said:Hans61 said:theyolksonyou said:Ha! embellishing statement to complain about higher charcoal cost. I suppose chicken/turkey would be the only thing I can think of.Hans61 said:Does Royal Oak still make lump? I looked at Menards and they only had Royal Oak briquettes.
The Ace Hardware where I used to get Royal Oak lump said they were defunct, but they now have Rockwood, (ranked number 1 on nakedwiz.com) so I've been getting that lately, $6 more per bag than the Royal Oak had been.
I can't remember who posted it, but the gist was, its a shame when the charcoal costs more per pound than the meat your cooking.Jefferson, GA
XL BGE, MM, Things to flip meat over and stuff
Wife, 3 kids, 5 dogs, 4 cats, 12 chickens, 2 goats, 2 pigs.
“Honey, we bought a farm.” -
@Hans61 menards near me doesn't carry it in the winter. Home Depot usually stocks it year round.Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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I loved Ozark Oak, but they don't make anymore. Rockwood is excellent and loved by many. Royal oak is passable, but I thought it gave an off flavor to my food. It took a long time for for the funny smell to burn off, and never really did. My wife noticed it a lot. Love Rockwood and I likely won't switch againPittsburgh, PA - 1 LBGE
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Went in with some buddies and split up 2 pallets of Basques Sugar Maple. What you see there is after a 16 hour butt cook. Filled up the egg to the top of the fire ring and that's what was left. Needless to say I am super impressed.
The Dude: This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head. Luckily I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind, you know, limber.Walter Sobchak: Nihilists! *uck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.Cumming, GA
Eggs - XL, L, Small
Gasser - Weber Summit 6 Burner
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@danv23 - I am on my third cook with Basques and it is great to use. I am always looking to give various brands of lump a go just to see what's out there. Great haul.Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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lousubcap said:@danv23 - I am on my third cook with Basques and it is great to use. I am always looking to give various brands of lump a go just to see what's out there. Great haul.The Dude: This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head. Luckily I'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug regimen to keep my mind, you know, limber.Walter Sobchak: Nihilists! *uck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, Dude, at least it's an ethos.
Cumming, GA
Eggs - XL, L, Small
Gasser - Weber Summit 6 Burner
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I just saw a bag of "kamado joe" branded lump at my local ACE. Anyone have a clue as to who the supplier is??
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xiphoid007 said:I loved Ozark Oak, but they don't make anymore. Rockwood is excellent and loved by many. Royal oak is passable, but I thought it gave an off flavor to my food. It took a long time for for the funny smell to burn off, and never really did. My wife noticed it a lot. Love Rockwood and I likely won't switch again
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Royal Oak, BGE, GFS, Nature Glo, and an assortment of other branded names are all manufactured by Royal Oak Enterprises. Royal Oak Enterprises has a large number of manufacturing facilities around the country. Lump manufacturing is not a high tech ISO2001 process ... there is a lot of old boy art involved in the process. Thus, the Royal Oak purchased in Maine is most likely not the same as the Royal Oak purchased in New Mexico.
Just to confuse it even more, this situation most likely exists: The distribution warehouses for Big box store X, Y and Z might be a couple of states apart. Royal Oak Enterprises can supply those distribution centers out of different manufacturing facilities. Hmmm ... same green bag of Royal Oak in each of the three stores in your area, but they can be slightly different.
How your family reacts to any of their product will depend on how much smoke flavor you prefer and the plant in which it is manufactured. In our area, for my family, Nature Glo was an okay product ... Royal Oak from Wally World was not. A friend of mine lives in Washington, grills every night, and uses nothing but Royal Oak ... usually purchased in bulk from Wally World when it goes on sale. Go figure ...
So, do try the easily available lump in your area first (well, except for Cowboy lump) and see if it meets your expectations. If not, then branch out via Amazon or Firecraft for some of the other brands.
Washington, IL > Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max
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Grillnugget said:I just saw a bag of "kamado joe" branded lump at my local ACE. Anyone have a clue as to who the supplier is??
They recently started importing boatloads (literally I guess ) from somewhere in South America and built their own sorting/bagging facility in Georgia.
If it is not the restaurant grade I believe it comes from the same source but is sorted and bagged in South America. The new stuff allows KJ to better control what is going in the bag.
At the Costco Roadshows KJ lump sells for $30 for two 20# bags.“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk
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