Charcoal Dilemma....

HolySmokes

My bride, son and his houseguest, are expecting steaks tonight...no problem, have them. What I lack is enough lump left in my first twenty pound bag of BGE charcoal. I discovered probably two hundred bags of Blackwood Canyon Mesquite lump today, at a local closeout store. Their eight lb. bags were $1.99 each! I've opened the one bag I purchased and the lump is large and I see no concrete, stones or other horrors I've seen listed here recently. I have a friend delivering me five, twenty pound bags of lump, made in the Missouri Ozarks, in two weeks, along with apple, grape, maple and cherry chunks, and I prefer not to go buy another twenty pound bag today, unless I can avoid it. My dilemma...do I mix some of the mesquite lump with the BGE lump that remains and try to wing it until my CARE package ($8.00 per twenty pound bag) arrives, or do I just bite the bullet and go to the local dealer and buy more BGE? If I blend the two, and for steaks, would I use a 50-50ratio? What about a blend for chicken? Thanks for your suggestions.

BBQfan1

Holy Smokes, Go for it; especially for steaks. The only real 'drawback' if any, to mesquite charcoal is that it burns hotter than other source lumps. For steaks this is probably an asset. If it looks to be good size, clean and plentiful, giddy-up and go barbecue plenty!
Qfan

elFloyd

Holy Smokes,[p]Shouldn't be a problem.... mix it in any ratio you want. The only drawback I've seen is if you are doing a lo-n-slo with mesquite.... it tends to add a bitter taste to the exterior of the meat. But for steaks, chicken, or anything cooked within an hour or so, it should be good. And I think you'll have great results with the steaks!!!![p]elFloyd

Kelly Keefe

Holy Smokes,[p]Yeah, go for it! It'll be great. Sounds like someone's been to Chigger Creek. Smart move getting the smaller bags. I got 2 40lb bags. Not only can I not see how much lump I'm dumping (a 40lb bag is looooong), but the bag then ripped and I had lump everywhere! Too soon old, too late smart as my Dad used to say.[p]Kelly Keefe
Jefferson City, MO

HolySmokes

Kelly Keefe,
Chigger Creek it is...! Although my friend lives in Topeka and I live in Arkansas, we were childhood friends in a small SE Missouri burg. He loves to bbq and I thought he was so captured by my enthusiasm he was going to get an Egg to replace a metal grill that had seen it's better days, but alas, he couldn't wait and bought something made in Kansas, called a Good One. Anyway, he found Chigger Creek last year in his business travels and since where we were raised, the bbq is like the recipes of the famed Elder Ward's and bbq sauce is vinegar based and cooked preferably over lump, this was his find of the season. When I received my toy for Christmas, he told me about Chigger Creek and forwarded their site. He's coming down in a couple of weeks to check on his family farm, now leased, and is bringing me the five, twenty pound bags and the cherry, apple, maple and grape chunks and the grand total is (drum roll please) $56.00 for it all, and only because the lump had increased either a dollar or a dollar and a half a twenty pound bag since his visit last year! You are also correct I elected the smaller twenty pound bag, rather than the forty, as storing it, easily, would be a problem, from where I presently keep my lump and the deck where the Egg rests. I am delighted to know you use them as well, and have no problems. Have a great BBQ'ing weekend.

RRP

Holy Smokes, what small SE burg in MO? Ever hear of Oran?

Kelly Keefe

RRP,[p]I'm kinda curious myself. Sure sounds like he's talkin' Bo's here or the Dexter BBQ. The wife is a Sikeston lass, and I lived there and in PB for awhile before drifting still further south. Oran? Come on, let's get smaller than that! How 'bout Alfalfa Center - grin![p]Kelly