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Can quality lump be THAT different?

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malligator
malligator Posts: 102
edited April 2016 in EggHead Forum

I've had my LGBE since Xmas. I've gone through the bag of BGE I got with the egg, a few bags of RO and a bag of El Diablo mesquite from Costco. I figured they were pretty good. I mean, I got heat and smoke so that's about all I could ask and they all seemed about the same. The El Diablo had some HUGE pieces in it, but it worked.

Last night I cooked on some lump I ordered by mail. I don't want to be a shill so I'll just say the name starts with an 'R', ends with a 'D', and rhymes with 'rockwood'. I expected nothing different than what I was used to. I guess I figured the base woods used would be better and there'd be less junk and fines, but I didn't expect anything amazing. Heat and smoke is all I asked for.

What happened was that the lump started quickly with no smoke. I thought it had gone out, because I'm used to all sorts of smoke billowing out of my egg after the firestarter square burns out. I walked out to see a nice little fire going. I put in my grid and shut the lid. It came up to temp almost immediately with no smoke. I'm used to the LBGE belching smoke for quite a while. I grilled a spatchcocked chicken and it turned out perfectly and MUCH less smoky than usual.

So...is it the lump or am I doing something different with the cook? I can't believe how well-behaved the egg was last night. I'm also blown away by how neutral the flavor of the chicken was. It was obviously grilled, but it didn't taste smoked like I'm used to. I assume that means I can control the smokiness by adding smoking wood if I want. I like that much better than everything tasting like it is smoked.

Anyway, I had no intention of adding a "Yay Rockwood!" post to the forum when I ordered it. I just figured I'd try it. It was absolutely impossible to not notice the difference last night, though, so I had to ask.

LBGE in PHX

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Comments

  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,378
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    All branded lumps have their own parameters unless sourced from the same supplier (Royal Oak makes many private branded lumps including BGE).
    You definitely noticed a major difference with Rockwood and that being the smoke profile.  It is very smoke neutral enabling you to have much more control of the smokiness.  Another quite neutral lump is Wicked Good weekend warrior.
    You have a great approach, give the various types a go (unless totally panned here) and then decide how to proceed.  
    Lump threads here can accelerate to a higher agitation level than religion or politics.  FWIW-
    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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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
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    It's magical
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • malligator
    malligator Posts: 102
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    NPHuskerFL said:
    It's magical

    It's a witch! Burn it!!! Oh...wait...

    LBGE in PHX

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  • DMW
    DMW Posts: 13,832
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    malligator said:
    NPHuskerFL said:
    It's magical

    It's a witch! Burn it!!! Oh...wait...
    Does it float?
    They/Them
    Morgantown, PA

    XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer -  PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE  - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker
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  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,458
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    It's magically delicious
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Does it weigh more or less than a duck?
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • XC242
    XC242 Posts: 1,208
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    Simple answer to your question - Yes. 
    LBGE (still waitin' for my free T-Shirt), DIgiQ DX2 (In Blue, cause it's the fastest), Heavy Duty Kick Ash Basket, Mc Farland, WI. :glasses:  B)
    If it wasn't for my BGE I'd have no use for my backyard...
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  • johnmitchell
    johnmitchell Posts: 6,581
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    Bump.. To let the lads get home from work and get the drinks poured !!!!
    Greensboro North Carolina
    When in doubt Accelerate....
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  • Acn
    Acn Posts: 4,424
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    What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

    LBGE

    Pikesville, MD

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  • captjo
    captjo Posts: 93
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    It is the lump, you picked up a very high quality charcoal! Enjoy it!
    Bristow, VA
    1 Lrg & 1 XL
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Acn said:
    What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
    African or European?
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • Acn
    Acn Posts: 4,424
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    bgebrent said:
    Acn said:
    What's the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
    African or European?
    Well, I don't know that.  Aaaaahhhhh

    LBGE

    Pikesville, MD

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  • SmyrnaGA
    SmyrnaGA Posts: 438
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    I'm a cowboy.  On a Green Egg I ride...

    Large BGE, Small BGE, KJ Jr, and a Cracked Vision Kub.

    in Smyrna GA.


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  • DieselkW
    DieselkW Posts: 894
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    now that you've found what you like, you'll only buy something else if it becomes a matter of money or supply.

    I will buy Royal Smoke if I'm out of lump - it's everywhere, it's less than $1/lb, and after a couple hundred degrees it stops smoking and cooking on it is fine.

    More important, do not waste your time and money on Cowboy lump, that one is consistently a poor choice. I have found mill ends, lumber ends, rocks, and lots of tiny (useless) particles.

    I don't buy any of the store brands, you just don't know who packaged those, and it might be Cowboy and I don't buy Cowboy lump. (any more)

    Rockwood is consistently good, but I keep expecting to find gold dust in the bag it costs so much. At Home Depot today, I passed by 16lb bags of Royal Smoke for $12 because I have 40 lbs. of Rockwood in the garage, so I'm a lump snob until it's gone.

    Amazon has a few decent Central American products, delivered to your door for $1.50/lb +/-

    Check the Rockwood website, it will tell you where your nearest retailer is, Firecraft is a good company to work with, but the heavier boxes at UPS tend to get treated rough and I've had some deliveries less than ideal from shipping damage.

    If you're a prime Amazon buyer, Kebroak is $44 for a 40lb bag delivered. It's not Rockwood, but it's good.

    Indianapolis, IN

    BBQ is a celebration of culture in America. It is the closest thing we have to the wines and cheeses of Europe. 

    Drive a few hundred miles in any direction, and the experience changes dramatically. 



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  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,164
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    Ha that smoke will make you go crazy.
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
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  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,731
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    Some brands of lump are smokier than others because the wood has not fully carbonized and become lump. So the billowing smoke comes from wood burning,  not lump. If you sift through the bags of some brands, you'll find a lot of pieces that have not been carbonized completely. 


    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
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  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
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    What is your favorite color?
    Blue! No Red! Aighjhhhj
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,029
    edited April 2016
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    Perfectly explained. You don't really know what your missing until you try good lump. I wish I would have ordered more than 64 bags of Ozark Oak when I had the chance. I'm on my last bag of Ozark Oak and have some Rockwood waiting. It will be interesting to see if there is much difference other than price. I find the most satisfaction of good lump is when you hit the temperature you want and you can put your food on right than and there. No waiting around for clean smoke. Clean from the start. That's what had me hooked with Ozark Oak. Nice clean neutral lump 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • malligator
    malligator Posts: 102
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    RO never really bothered me except that I kept hearing I should wait on thin blue smoke before I started cooking and I never had anything but thick white smoke from RO no matter how long I waited. I thought I was doing something wrong or my egg had an air leak or something.

    That said, I do like Rockwood better after having used it and it's not that much more expensive than RO. RO is $0.93/lb after tax at HD and RW is $1.10/lb as long as I buy enough to get free shipping.

    LBGE in PHX

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  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,654
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    I'm pleasantly surprised that this thread hasn't become the exchange of rants that discussions of different brands of lump here sometimes become.  :)

    It may be true that if I ever get a chance to try Rockwood (I've never seen it in my area) I'll love it, but all of the years I've been cooking on my BGEs I've used BGE lump.  When I first got it, I assumed (apparently incorrectly) that BGE wouldn't put its name on anything but the best lump, so I bought it.  But I've loved it ever since, and part of what I love about it is what some people complain about:  

    I LIKE the smoky flavor it gives everything.  Part of the reason I got into cooking with the Big Green Egg is that I got tired of food that looked grilled or smoked but didn't taste grilled or very smoked.  I wanted food that I cooked on a grill to taste like a wood fire.  When I cook chicken with NO added wood, there is a smoky fragrance and flavor to the chicken that I find very mild and that I really love.  I wouldn't normally want chicken to be very smoky, but a mild smokiness I really love.  It tastes like it was cooked over a wood fire to me.  I love that!  If there weren't any of that flavor and fragrance, I'd probably feel like I was wasting my time cooking outdoors and might as well just cook inside.

    If I want a lot of smoke flavor (ribs, pork butt, etc.), I add wood.  But I really like a mild wood smoke flavor in everything I cook on my Eggs.
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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
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    Rockwood is a great lump brother.  Super neutral.  You can order it from Firecraft (no relationship) if you ever want to venture out.  I agree, this thread, thus far, has been tame.  It's early on Friday however.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
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    SmyrnaGA said:
    I'm a cowboy.  On a Green Egg I ride...

    Smokiest lump I have ever used.  Can't do cowboy. Not even in a pinch anymore. And I am not a lump snob. Never even tried Rockwood. I roll with Fogo. I can get 18lbs for $12 and it is good stuff. Hope to get some Rockwood from @4Runner at some point 
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,458
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    @chubbs I'd have known, I'd left a bag with Robin last week. You coming to the blast next week?  I'll bring a bag for you. 
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
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    WeberWho said:
    Perfectly explained. You don't really know what your missing until you try good lump. I wish I would have ordered more than 64 bags of Ozark Oak when I had the chance. I'm on my last bag of Ozark Oak and have some Rockwood waiting. It will be interesting to see if there is much difference other than price. I find the most satisfaction of good lump is when you hit the temperature you want and you can put your food on right than and there. No waiting around for clean smoke. Clean from the start. That's what had me hooked with Ozark Oak. Nice clean neutral lump 
    I personly liked OO better than RW. Not that there is anything wrong with RW, thats what I use now. I just felt like I got less ash with OO compared to RW. As far as the rest of the variables, they are the same. 
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
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    theyolksonyou said:
    @chubbs I'd have known, I'd left a bag with Robin last week. You coming to the blast next week?  I'll bring a bag for you. 
    Thanks bud. Nice of you. Unfortunately I'll be at a wedding in the Lowcountry next weekend
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,186
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    Rockwood is the real deal especially when you're cooking on weeknights and don't have the extra time to get to the good smoke. Considering what meat goes for these days, I don't understand all of the butt hurt over a few extra bucks a bag for quality lump. 
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  • DaveRichardson
    DaveRichardson Posts: 2,324
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    +whatever one Rockwood.  I've been using 3 brands recently, one being Rockwood, one a European lump called Forrest Lumps that comes in 10#bags 2 to-a-box, and most recently Fogo that I got for my birthday after it was suggested by a somewhat "neighbor" egghead.

    I like all 3 of those.  Jonathan and St Louis Charcoal is a great guy and will answer any question that you ask of him.  He's a forum user as well.  Rockwood is my goto, especially if I am cooking for other people, since I know that its a very neutral lump that burns clean and imparts very little smoke.  I can control the smoke flavor profile with add-in pecan or oak, or whatever.  Rockwood has always had great sized lump pieces and very little micro-pieces in the dozen or so bags I used last year.

    I've got to say that I was impressed with the size of lump from Fogo.  I got the 35# bag direct from Fogo since they had free shipping.  Some massive chunks of lump that seemed to burn forever.  Also very neutral.

    All in all, it depends on you as to what you like.  Opinions are everywhere.

    @DieselKW - I love the name Royal Smoke!!!!  Agree whole-heartedly!!!!!

    LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014

    Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies!  #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!

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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    edited April 2016
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    DoubleEgger said:
    Rockwood is the real deal especially when you're cooking on weeknights and don't have the extra time to get to the good smoke. Considering what meat goes for these days, I don't understand all of the butt hurt over a few extra bucks a bag for quality lump. 
    ^^^^ this is it in a nutshell.  We pay big $$$$ for our cooking vessels even higher per lb for our meat but **** about $1.00 lb lump.  My time is worth more than $0.20 a lb I might save buying cheaper lump.  Rockwood only in my eggs.  

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • stlcharcoal
    stlcharcoal Posts: 4,684
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    My only beef with the smokey "charcoal" is that it's not charcoal......it's charred wood right in the stage before it becomes charcoal.  The bulk density is higher, the ash content is higher, the moisture content is higher, thus the carbon & BTU's per # are lower.  You're paying for water and wood which is a lot cheaper than carbon.

    So, just throwing out numbers, if 20#'s is $16/bag rather than $20/bag, but there's only really only 80% charcoal in the bag vs. 100% charcoal......then they're the same price per # of charcoal.  It's really hard to market that, but it's true.
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