Charcoals

rphlady

We have a bag of Cowboy Oak & Hickory Hardwood Lump charcoal from Costco. Has anybody had any experiences using this charcoal in the BGE? Does it burn hotter or do I need better temperature control techniques?

WeberWho

You can make it work but I'd suggest looking for a little higher quality lump for the next go around. Cowboy is pretty smokey, takes a good amount of time before you get clear smoke to put food on, and really sparky when lighting. .

It should burn like most other lump charcoal for temperature. 

Mr1egg

I like the Smokey start, makes the egg look pretty cool. 

GrateEggspectations

Friday night lump post alert!

Mr1egg

Big green egg is my fav lump… but I’m using Royal oak because I’m cheap 

lousubcap

First up, welcome aboard and have fun.  Above all, enjoy the journey.
Here's a good source about lump charcoal:
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm
And for the future, lump charcoal topics here are like politics and religion elsewhere.  Hot for sure 

Gulfcoastguy

Except Cowboy is an apostate.  Rockwood is one of the more favored on this site, a viewpoint that I agree with.

kl8ton

Mr1egg said:

Big green egg is my fav lump… but I’m using Royal oak because I’m cheap 

BGE lump is Royal Oak.... right?

RRP

Yup…kl8ton said:

Mr1egg said:

Big green egg is my fav lump… but I’m using Royal oak because I’m cheap 

BGE lump is Royal Oak.... right?

Yes, Sir! And If you really care to expand on that then Royal Oak produces MANY of the private label lump charcoals such as Kroger, GFS and other! Rather than pay a premium price for that “green” bag then buy Rockwood and get the value for what you paid!

littlerascal56

Rockwood is the “Premier” of lump charcoal.  Haven’t found any better thru the years. 

RyanStl

Why not try it. The only issue with cheap brands I have had are getting a lot of tiny chunks mixed with huge ones. That is until a few weeks ago I bought a bag of Sam's Club lump and found out why people **** about certain brands.  First use I didn't notice because I was smoking with hickory chunks. Then I switched to the other egg to direct grill cubed japanese sweet potatos.  The potatos came out very smoky, which is not what I was wanting.  That wouldn't have happened with better lump.

 Stlcharcoal explained that the cheaper brands will sometimes not leave the charcoal in the kiln long enough. It does three things, leaves too much moisture, they can fill the bag with less charcoal to reach target weight, and save money on kiln time 

sumoconnell

I used emergency kingsford briquettes in my thanksgiving cook on the mini max, was surprised how good it was! I needed lower temp, just 350, and it burned most of it to get a small Turkey breast done. I wouldn’t use it again if I planned ahead, but it worked in a pinch. 

StillH2OEgger

That looks tremendous, @sumoconnell!

JohnfromKentucky

I see that Royal Oak makes the BGE charcoal, so wouldn't it be just as good? 

RyanStl

JohnfromKentucky said:

I see that Royal Oak makes the BGE charcoal, so wouldn't it be just as good? 

You're right, BGE doesn't actually make their charcoal they are rebranded at a markup.  I have always been fine with Royal Oak, but Rockwood is the best.  Avoid the crap sold at Sam's Club.

Edit: You, Your, You're.  Not the same.

JohnfromKentucky

There's a local Ace Hardware that sells Rockwood. Will have to check it out

RyanStl

JohnfromKentucky said:

There's a local Ace Hardware that sells Rockwood. Will have to check it out

The owner is also a member here and gives a lot of insight on the behind the scenes of the charcoal business.  He goes by stlcharcoal.

Langner91

Depending on what and how much you cook, lump lasts a long time.  If you snuff it out after each cook, you don't go through it like you do Kingsford on a Weber Kettle.  So, don't let the price/pound or price/bag freak you out.  It is the cheapest part of your cook, believe me!

Foghorn

rphlady said:

We have a bag of Cowboy Oak & Hickory Hardwood Lump charcoal from Costco. Has anybody had any experiences using this charcoal in the BGE? Does it burn hotter or do I need better temperature control techniques?

"We have a bag of Cowboy Oak & Hickory Hardwood Lump charcoal from Costco. Has anybody had any experiences using this charcoal in the BGE?"

Yes.  Several times.  I buy it when it is available.


"Does it burn hotter or do I need better temperature control techniques?"

Not that I have noticed.  It does take a little longer than some of the better charcoals to get to a good clean smoke smell (burn off the volatile organic compounds), but it works as well as anything else once you do that.  

fishlessman

i mostly use cowboy lump, its convenient in the grocery store and burns just fine. ive used better but im not going to make a special trip. used to buy wicked good comp blend and maple leaf by the pallet delivered to me but now i have to drive a ways to pick it up, thats not happening

loco_engr

JohnfromKentucky said:

There's a local Ace Hardware that sells Rockwood. Will have to check it out

Create an account at Ace Hardware and every so often they'll email you % off sales coupon.

BikerBob

When Cowboy is all there is at the store it will work. Around here brick and mortar have Royal Oak in red, green or tan bags most of the time and sometimes something worse than Cowboy.