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Lump coal inconsistencies

Charlie tunaCharlie tuna Posts: 1,571
in EggHead Forum
NEWBEE here,
Been egging about two months now and am now seeing the difference in lump coal brands or maybe it just inconsistent? I have used five different brands and find them all different. My latest brand messed me up with a low and slow for a party! I have cooked two 7 to 8 pound pork butts 22 hours. Low(215)and slow to perfection using the Green Egg lump and had 1/3 of the coal not used during the cook. Now i want to duplicate the product, but cook four butts instead of two. I empty and clean out my fire and ash box and fill my fire box with Royal Oak lump thinking it is the same as Green Egg ?? And i begin my "low(215) and slow" and as i reach my 20th hour i find my temp. dropping and my fan constantly running---I'm out of fuel ?!!!? Now i need another hour to reach my internal of 195, but now i have to stop the cook, remove the food and refuel and restart my egg! Of course the internal temp. of the butts drop back 8 degrees and it actually takes two hours to finish the cook. My question is -- is it the manufacturer or is lump coal this inconsistent? But then cooking four butts instead of two must enter somewhere into the problem -- it requires some energy source to cook each pound of product... From what i have found the Green Egg lump and the Publix brand seem most consistent - but i haven't the experience you all have ?? I am considering bringing the Royal Oak back???
Thanks for your comments, Tuna
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Comments

  • BuxwheatBuxwheat Posts: 727
    Most of the inconsistencies I see between different bags of the same brand are the sizes of the chunks, amount of dust, and the occasional odd contents (rocks, cement, fiberglass, etc.) The burn rate, heat output, ease of lighting is generally the same. Moving from brand to brand you will definitely see more inconsistencies. I haven't noticed much difference between Royal Oak and BGE brand except maybe more bigger chunks per bag of BGE. This might have something to do w/ the transport and settling and that the BGE comes in bigger bags. Currently I am using some Primo brand lump. Got it simply because my Ace Hardware is closer and I thought they still sold BGE. They dropped the line and now sell Primo. The lump seems as good as BGE, but I haven't done any real testing. It just seems to light just as easily and burns just as long. I have tried other brands when I run out of lump and in a hurry so I pick up whatever I can at the closest location. Most of these are not anywhere near the quality of the brands I just mentioned (among these off brands are Cowboy). The best stuff I have used is Wicked Good Weekend Warrior, harder to light, but burns forever w/ little ash. It is pretty hard, too, so if chunks are too big, they don't break up easily.
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  • cookingdude555cookingdude555 Posts: 591
    22 hrs? I would aim for 250 dome temp.
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  • SundownSundown Posts: 2,819
    I experimented with different lumps in the beginning (1998) and then 'discovered' Wicked Good. For me, it was the answer. It was consistent in its burn time and the heat was just what the doctor ordered . . . from 1,000º+ down to 250º and I could count on its consistency like the sunrise.

    My suggestion would be to find a lump you can get with some regularity and stick with it for all of your cooks. A lot easier than running around saving a $$ or two and never knowing what your cook will turn into.

    As a full time Wicked Good user I would recommend you try the product then get together with some local Eggers and buy a load of the WG Weekend Warrior.

    Good luck
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  • Charlie tunaCharlie tuna Posts: 1,571
    What i would like to do and/or know is what is my limitation in cooking times. I have invested in the Guru and it works great, but not without fuel. And at a 250 dome(?) what is the time limitation. Now as i said, the two butts i did at 215 for 22 hours were unreal -- i'm trying to duplicate that taste or as close as possible with consistency. Thanks for the comments, TUNA
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  • The Naked WhizThe Naked Whiz Posts: 7,359
    Working on the Primo review as we speak, lol!
    The Naked Whiz
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  • The Naked WhizThe Naked Whiz Posts: 7,359
    :laugh:
    The Naked Whiz
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  • Big Green AndyBig Green Andy Posts: 7
    Had the same happen to me twice with Royal Oak. I can't seem to make it through a long cook with it. BGE is fine. I find the BGE usually has larger more consistent sized pieces...could that be why?
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  • chrisnjennchrisnjenn Posts: 534
    I use the Royal Oak for short/medium cooks and Wicked Good for the long ones. Works well for me.
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