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Cowboy Lump
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Bahmanicious
Posts: 105
I was in Home Depot a couple of weeks back and noticed they had Cowboy. I knew I was running low on lump, so picked up a few bags.
The first bag I opened was different from what I had experienced previously with this brand, i.e., millwork scraps. This was more like Royal Oak. Large pieces and was very sparky on lighting with a lot of smoke and acrid smell (VOCs) before settling down.
I'm at bag four now and it is still the same. I know they had a fire at the plant awhile back, but is there a new business model?
Best,
WA
The first bag I opened was different from what I had experienced previously with this brand, i.e., millwork scraps. This was more like Royal Oak. Large pieces and was very sparky on lighting with a lot of smoke and acrid smell (VOCs) before settling down.
I'm at bag four now and it is still the same. I know they had a fire at the plant awhile back, but is there a new business model?
Best,
WA
Comments
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Check Where it was made. Made in USA should be better quality than made somewhere else. I had a bag of Cowboy a few months back made in South America and had those issues. I use made in USA Royal Oak from WalMart and have no trouble.
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You may have what's left of the old plant. Is it made in USA or somewhere else? I've gotten a lot of milled scrap in cowboy too. MIne cooked fine though. It may just be a bad batch that you were unlucky enough to end up with.
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Best charcoal is still the BGE. a bit pricey though. It's going up this year to almost 30 dollars a bag. When you use those other lump charcoals...do they produce more ash than the BGE in your opinion? I heard you can also get good lump at Trader Joes. I've always used the BGE brand because its always been a consistent cooking experience with it.
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Steveo29....I read on this forum a while back that Royal Oak makes the BGE brand of charcoal for them. Comes in 10# bags, less that $6 a bag and so far I have had good luck with it. Made in the USA and is pkgd in a red bag. Only problem is the only place I have found it is wallyworld and they have been out of it since the end of summer at the 4 or 5 stores within reach of where I live.
Bob
Alex City, AlOpelika, Alabama -
steveo29 wrote:Best charcoal is still the BGE. a bit pricey though. It's going up this year to almost 30 dollars a bag. When you use those other lump charcoals...do they produce more ash than the BGE in your opinion? I heard you can also get good lump at Trader Joes. I've always used the BGE brand because its always been a consistent cooking experience with it.
My favorite is Humphrey's. Lots of large pieces, minimal amount of dust, burns forever, and I can get it pretty cheap. I also use Cowboy, as my backup, since it is readily available at Lowes. Not the best, lots of small pieces and dust, and also non-charcoal debris, but still burns, burns hot, and cooks food if nothing else is available. -
not quite sure why people are so down on cowboy.
i use R/O and Cowboy almost interchangeably. If i needed the hottest fire fastest, i think i'd go with cowboy, which has a slight edge on lightness and speed. R/O is my most consistent brand, size wise (or BGE, which is R/O anyway). i prefer it for low and slow cooks, but cowboy doesn't produce so much ash, or burn unpredictably that it is not suitable for overnight cooks. i have done far more overnights with cowboy than with RO or BGE
another point that i think needs making: it seems that because the cowboy is made from mill scrap, it is somehow less than other lump. as far as i can understand, wood is wood is wood is wood. it's all hardwood, and by that point, it's carbon anyway. in fact, cowbpy is perfect for starting, because those thin long pieces can span over the flame and support a kindling fire alomst. anyway... it's not made from torn up hardwood floors (with attendant nails and urethane finish) as some have implied (no in this thread), it's made of hardwood mill scrap, which otherwise would go into the landfill, or be made into some other product (particle board, etc.)
there is no recycled reclaimed prefinished lumber in cowboy. in fact, i think it's a smart use of other-wise finish grade wood, which has been culled simply because it had a knot or blemish in it, for example.
>soap box dismounteded egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante -
For me, WGC Weekend Warrior Blend is the best I have tried. I have tried BGE, WGC Weekend Warrior Blend, Wegmans Lump Charcoal, and Cowboy. My ranking of the 4
1. WGC Weekend Warrior Blend Lump Charcoal
2. Wegmans Lump Charcoal
3. BGE Lump Charcoal
4. Cowboy Lump Charcoal
Factors are price and quality of product -
stike wrote:not quite sure why people are so down on cowboy.
I agree. I use it most of the time, because it is accessable and cheap. I have had no problems. -
it's all i can get year round consistently.ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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I think the dig on Cowboy (which I do use) is that it is that some pieces are easily recongizeable as hardwood flooring cutoffs, from the mill, not the finisher! It also has a lot of smaller pieces and dust in it, compared to the Humphreys that I also use. Also, some of the debris you find in Cowboy can have an effect on some people. I transfer my lump from the bag to a container and have found some unusual items in my Cowboy. Stones can happen, but what looked like melted fiberglass insulations was a little alarming, not to me, because I found it before I burned it. But, it burns hot, I've never had a problem with a low & slow or overnite, and I can get it year round at Lowes for a decent price. I don't want to make it any more or less of a product than it really is, at least IMHO
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i used to see claims here that they didn't want to use it because it had floor scraps in it and the finsih would be toxic. sheesh. use your head, people. hahaha
i agree, i don't expect much of any charcoal. it's chunks of carbon to me...ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante -
I never liked Cowboy in my offset smoker, seemed like it burned out too fast compared to others.
I tried it again last month for the first time in forever and I was actually impressed. I had no problem using it in my BGE and would get again, especially if Egg coal is going up in price.Knoxville, TN
Nibble Me This -
wal-mart is made-in-the-US Royal Oak. BGE is also Royal Oak (us made). There are cheaper versions of Royal Oak out there in the red bags, however, that are made from South Americn sources. A few of us have had sparking issues with the RO from Argentina. The Whiz had some sparking forom a different South American-sourced RO (not Argentinia), but I don't recall which country it was from.
I've been told from the horse's mouth that Wal-Mart RO is 100% US.ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
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