Lump Charcoal

MangoMadness · February 2016

Is BGE lump charcoal the best? Any other cheaper brands recommended? Is there really a difference?
- BGE newbie

buzd504 · February 2016

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).

fence0407 · February 2016

You're gonna get a lot of different answers. I'd take a look around here: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

theyolksonyou · February 2016

This could get interesting on a Friday

fence0407 · February 2016

theyolksonyou said:

This could get interesting on a Friday

Yuuup. Might need to get the popcorn out.

chrisc133 · February 2016

This question seems to pop up once a week now.

lousubcap · February 2016

@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.

johnnyp · February 2016

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

MangoMadness · February 2016

Wow. Thanks for all the input. You guys are great!

volfan1 · February 2016

Rockwood or Fogo are the best IMHO.

chadpsualum · February 2016

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.

slovelad · February 2016

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.

I will be a lifelong firecraft and rockwood member

Jeepster47 · February 2016

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.

@chadsualum ... you need to remind folks that for you it's $23/bag ($21.95 plus Pennsylvania tax) ... out of state folks don't pay tax ... or they didn't last year.

Sundown · February 2016

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!

Grillnugget · February 2016

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.

55Kevy · February 2016

@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.

Darby_Crenshaw · February 2016

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

Hans61 · February 2016

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 · February 2016

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.

What kinda meat you cookin? Not much available < $1/#

Hans61 · February 2016

theyolksonyou said:

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.

What kinda meat you cookin? Not much available < $1/#
Ha! embellishing statement to complain about higher charcoal cost. I suppose chicken/turkey would be the only thing I can think of.

theyolksonyou · February 2016

Hans61 said:

theyolksonyou said:

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.

What kinda meat you cookin? Not much available < $1/#
Ha! embellishing statement to complain about higher charcoal cost. I suppose chicken/turkey would be the only thing I can think of.

Or, you could collect road kill.

jeffwit · February 2016

theyolksonyou said:

Hans61 said:

theyolksonyou said:

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.

What kinda meat you cookin? Not much available < $1/#
Ha! embellishing statement to complain about higher charcoal cost. I suppose chicken/turkey would be the only thing I can think of.

Or, you could collect road kill.

Some of that is already spatchcocked. Good thinking....

blind99 · February 2016

@Hans61 menards near me doesn't carry it in the winter. Home Depot usually stocks it year round.

xiphoid007 · February 2016

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

danv23 · February 2016

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.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/nr/xgtrn79hbnc1.jpg

lousubcap · February 2016

@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.

danv23 · February 2016

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.

$15.50 per bag!

Grillnugget · February 2016

I just saw a bag of "kamado joe" branded lump at my local ACE. Anyone have a clue as to who the supplier is??

MangoMadness · February 2016

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

Bummer. I just bought two 17lb bags of Royal Oak at Home Depot yesterday. The price was $12.95/bag, so I was happy about that - until I read your comment. I was under the impression that BGE and RO were the same...

Jeepster47 · February 2016

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.

HeavyG · February 2016

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??

Did you notice if the bag also said "restaurant grade" on it? If it did that is the new stuff that KJ is importing and bagging themselves.

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.

Lump Charcoal

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Kevin

Cumming, GA

Eggs - XL, L, Small

Gasser - Weber Summit 6 Burner

Cumming, GA

Eggs - XL, L, Small

Gasser - Weber Summit 6 Burner

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