Cowboy Lump

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.

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, Al

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 dismounted

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.

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

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.