Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Anyone use Cowboy Lump?

Options
Mazzdog
Mazzdog Posts: 44
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Used my egg (just got my first one Thursday) for a pork butt... had a REAL hard time controlling the temperature... I thought at first it was user error as I've only had the Egg for 3 days when i attempted this... I got it up to temp it held for about 30 min then started dropping.. opened vents, got it close to where i needed and closed down to something where i had it before but leaving the bottom slightly more open than before... started dropping again. repeated this process from 9 pm to 2am. finally got so tired i left it and went to bed praying it would last... well it held for 6 hours.. then at 8am it started and i proceeded to fickle with it for the next 8 hours on and off... the pork did turn out awesome though! after doing some reading, i'm thinking it might be the Cowboy charcoal... I did load it up before i started pretty high hoping it would be enough... has anyone had any dealings with this brand? I'm just using up a bag that i had from my previous smoker... i'll be using BGE brand going forward or Royal Oak's Walmart bag... Just wondering if the Cowboy lump wouldn't last for someone else and if that could be the cause that i had to deal with fixing the heat constantly all day.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • 520dvx
    520dvx Posts: 78
    Options
    I use Cowboy quite often. I just finished a brisket with it.It does seem to burn quicker than some others I have tried, but I haven't had trouble holding temp.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • thebtls
    thebtls Posts: 2,300
    Options
    I picked some up at Menards or WalMart awhile back, first I posted that I liked it...then I reposted that it sparked too much and burned too fast...went back to my old standard, royal oak, green bag from Mendards with a bag or two of of BGE lump thrown in once in awhile. TNW site has a number of tests on cowboy and several dozen others if you go to his site.
    Visit my blog, dedicated to my Big Green Egg Recipies at http://www.bigtsbge.blogspot.com You can also follow my posts on FaceBook under the name Keep On Eggin' or the link http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Keep-On-Eggin/198049930216241
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cpt'n Cook
    Cpt'n Cook Posts: 1,917
    Options
    I use cowboy and like it. Might not be the best choice for a low and slow but good stuff. Burns clean, easy to light and low ash.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rolling Egg
    Rolling Egg Posts: 1,995
    Options
    I've burnt through probably 300 pounds of Cowboy over the course of the last year with no problems. Does it spark more when I light it? Hell I dont know. I'm currently using Wicked Good and it sparks when I light it. I've never lit any that didn't spark. All I can tell you is out of the hundreds of pounds of pork I've cooked and all the ribs,chickens, and other things, I can honestly say I have never had a problem with Cowboy. Did I have more ash at the end? Did it burn faster? Smoke more? I have no clue. It did however finish every cook I used it on. I know for a fact I went 20 hours on a butt cook without a problem. I've said it once and I'll say it again. Side by side with RO at the same price, I pick the RO. If I can get Cowboy a few bucks cheaper (as I did last summer) I will burn Cowboy till the cows come home. Just my opinion my friend. Hope everyone has a great evening!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Eggscriber
    Eggscriber Posts: 276
    Options
    It could be the way in which you load the charcoal. If your grate gets blocked with small nuggets of lump and ash, it will cool down fast. You can avoid this I think by loading the egg with large irregular pieces on the bottom so as to not obstruct the grate holes. In addition, if you notice that your egg is having trouble keeping temp, look at the holes in the grate from below through the ash clean out door to assure that they are open. Use a bent coat hanger or other tool to unobstruct them until you see the normal red glow. I agree that although I am not a fan of cowboy brand, it still burns...
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Slingblade
    Slingblade Posts: 28
    Options
    Cowboy Lump Charcoal works fine for me.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • walrusegger
    walrusegger Posts: 314
    Options
    I've used several brands including Cowboy and all work well with some performing better IMO (RO and BGE). But reading your post a second time got me to wondering a few things:

    What temp are you trying to hold? I think it's pretty agreed upon that the closer to 200 or slightly below is really tough, but 225-275 is actually quite easy to hold for super long periods of time.

    Also, I'm not sure about everyone else (although I suspect this is the case with most), but I get the fire going, get it good and hot letting all of the lump light and get hot and then bring it down (can take some time and patience to get it perfect, for me 225-240), but if you're doing a low and slow, you better have lots of both. Once the temp levels, put the food in and don't open anymore unless you've got sporadic temp issues.

    My two cents, good luck!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Smokin' T
    Smokin' T Posts: 259
    Options
    I have used cowboy on short and long cooks w/no problems.
    Could it be that you are over compensating when adjusting the top and bottom vents. Just a thought.

    Tom,
    Dunedin, Fl
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BUILDER
    BUILDER Posts: 45
    Options
    I get it at Lowe's here in ATL and I will say it is much better at hotter cooks. That being said, I did a butt last month for 16 hours and had absolutely no problems at all. I think like the other poster mentioned that if your doing low and slow, you need to load the bottom up with the biggest pieces first and build it up from there. I learned that little gem from Ed Walder I believe his name was and I've only had problems when I get into a rush and don't take the time to load her up properly.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jai-Bo
    Jai-Bo Posts: 584
    Options
    I just saw 20 lb bags at Ace Hardware fer $11 and some change...which is way better then me paying $20 fer 20 lbs of Dragons Breath. When I get my table built, I'm going to buy a small metal trash can to keep the coal in, maybe I'll just mix em up!!! :P
    Hunting-Fishing-Cookin' on my EGG! Nothing else compares!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories