Wicked Good Charcoal - Is It All That Wicked?

Stoater · September 2012

I am in Canada and pay 12.50 or so for a 20lb bagof Royal Oak at Canadian Tire, which I have to say I have been quite happy with. But I am considering buying 10 bags of wicked good or more from a local supplier, he is going to give me 20% discount so 24.99 down to 19.99 for a 22lb bag, what is the general consensus for those who have transitioned from RO to wicked Good, does it last way longer, does it taste way better.

Thanks for any input.

Cheers.

fishlessman · September 2012

i think your better deal is the RO at those prices. while the weekend warrior is a good lump, alot of the mantra about it is from their older lump, wicked good comp blend

chrisnjenn · September 2012

Not worth it. Much better lump for cheaper or the same price. I bought 2 bags 2 months ago at my distributor when they went on sale and it isn't as good as it was years ago. You can tell they cut corners.

gte1 · September 2012

Sounds like 63 cents per lb. vs 90 for WG. The WG will burn about 25% longer, just my guess. When you take that into account the price gets close. The WG produces much less ash and I prefer it. It is harder to light and has some pieces so large you need to bust them with a hammer. I would give it a try though

Fred19Flintstone · September 2012

I agree with gte1. You have to give it a try to form your own opinion. As you can see, opinions are like armpits. Everyone has a couple and they both stink. My preference is WG. I think it burns better and longer.

chrisnjenn · September 2012

I agree with the everyone has a couple and both stink part.

fishlessman · September 2012

the comp blend had the incredible long burns and very light flavor, the weekend warrior mightt burn a little longer than the average lump but not nearly as long as the old wicked good comp blend and not as light in flavor either, the comp blend was really good and it wasnt a cost cutting measure, they werent allowed to use certian woods anymore down in those rainforests so a newewr blend was necessary. i used to order straight from wicked good a few pallets at a time, if the price was closer go wg, but the deal here is ro at that price. cowboy on the other hand had a bad wrap for flooring, its all changed now there currant lump has very little flooring but is no longer quick lighting or clean tasting, all you can do is keep trying all the lumps, thay are all changing their supplies in this economy. with wicked good it wasnt the economy or being cheap, they couldnt use certian woods anylonger

chrisnjenn · September 2012

Didn't realize that. Thanks for the correction. All I know is WG today isn't nearly as good as it once was.

fishlessman · September 2012

chrisnjenn said:

Didn't realize that. Thanks for the correction. All I know is WG today isn't nearly as good as it once was.

same good people running the operation from maine though, if the price was closer by a few bucks i would get the wicked good

cblii · September 2012

I've been using Wicked Good almost exclusively of late. But that's only because there is a place near my parents' house in New Bern, NC that sells it for $15 for a 22lb bag. At that price, I find it's the best bang for the buck.

Hungry Joe · September 2012

We get WG shipped for about $16.50 a 22 lb bag, 30 bag minimum. The owner is a pleasure to deal with and makes sure everything is good to go before it ships. It burns long and hot with very little ash. It doesn't have as much smoke flavor as RO But I would take it any day over RO. I prefer to add my own smoke.

fishlessman · September 2012

Stoater said:

I am in Canada and pay 12.50 or so for a 20lb bagof Royal Oak at Canadian Tire, which I have to say I have been quite happy with. But I am considering buying 10 bags of wicked good or more from a local supplier, he is going to give me 20% discount so 24.99 down to 19.99 for a 22lb bag, what is the general consensus for those who have transitioned from RO to wicked Good, does it last way longer, does it taste way better.
Thanks for any input.
Cheers.

can you find maple leaf lump, before maple leaf stopped selling to the states, it was the cream of the crop of lumps down here. its the best smelling smoothest tasting smoke ive ever used from a lump

Mike8it · September 2012

cblii said:
I've been using Wicked Good almost exclusively of late. But that's only because there is a place near my parents' house in New Bern, NC that sells it for $15 for a 22lb bag. At that price, I find it's the best bang for the buck.

My mom lives in new bern by that place as well (mallards grill and patio). He has some good stuff but I can't believe he's closed on the weekend. I can never get there when he's open. If this isn't the place let me know where you are talking about. No WG here in Greenville and would love a place to pick some up in the bern when I go to my mom's.

cblii · September 2012

Mike8it said:

I've been using Wicked Good almost exclusively of late. But that's only because there is a place near my parents' house in New Bern, NC that sells it for $15 for a 22lb bag. At that price, I find it's the best bang for the buck.
My mom lives in new bern by that place as well (mallards grill and patio). He has some good stuff but I can't believe he's closed on the weekend. I can never get there when he's open. If this isn't the place let me know where you are talking about. No WG here in Greenville and would love a place to pick some up in the bern when I go to my mom's.

That's the place! I know; why would you open a grill shop then be closed on the weekend?!

I just get my parents to pick it up for me and then grab it when I go to their house.

Stoater · September 2012

Thanks for the input guys, the same chap also agreed to give me the same pricing on all his charcoal brands, he does have maple leaf as well as dragon breath, maple runs at 16.00 per 17lb bag dragons breath 18 maybe I will try the maple on fishlessmans recommendation.

fishlessman · September 2012

its almost fall, when the cool weather comes, im getting some of it now, you will really like how maple leaf makes the back yard smell, im jealous

Stoater · September 2012

fishlessman said:

its almost fall, when the cool weather comes, im getting some of it now, you will really like how maple leaf makes the back yard smell, im jealous

Well if your jealous then it must be good, definitely have to try it, are you in ontario?

4Runner · September 2012

Spoke to Lee Ann, one of the owners of WG, and she stated the comp blend is essentially the same as the weekend warrior except the comp blend is designed to light more quickly. Dunno. Just know that WG is very good and since I have gone to pallet orders, can't beat the price in my area. Good luck.

Mayberry · September 2012

Just for picture proof, this is the firebox of my large after a 16 hour cook at 250-275, burning Wicked Good Weekend Warrior. I filled up prior to the cook, didn't add any lump during the cook, and sir down just after pulling the meat off. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this lump burns long, has low ash production, and is just great stuff. My experience with RO was crackling, popping and a ton of ash. Just my 2 cents.

Mayberry · September 2012

@Mike8it : areyouin Greenville, NC, or Greenville, SC?

Mike8it · September 2012

Greenville NC

Eggcelsior · September 2012

Mayberry said:

Just for picture proof, this is the firebox of my large after a 16 hour cook at 250-275, burning Wicked Good Weekend Warrior. I filled up prior to the cook, didn't add any lump during the cook, and sir down just after pulling the meat off. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this lump burns long, has low ash production, and is just great stuff. My experience with RO was crackling, popping and a ton of ash. Just my 2 cents.

I have had exactly the opposite experience. I get RO from Wegmans for 0.50/lb. After getting my egg for father's day I went through 4 bags(10 lbs each) getting 3 cooks per fill, with the exception of high heat burns for steak and pizza. Almost zero ash, in fact. the only leftovers are the smallest chunks of lump that fall through the Hi-que grate. After finding out Wegmans was out of lump, I went to my local dealer to get BGE charcoal(since it is RO) and she recommended I try WW which was 22.99 for the 22 lb bag.

WW had the same heat levels, except it takes much longer to get to temp. No popping or crackling but the ash production is horrendous! After 1/2 the bag, I had more ash than all of the RO bags combined. I tried to do ribs and a pork butt but the fire went out both times from the ash choking off the vents. Because of this, I only use it for high heat applications now, at least until I burn through the bag. WW did have some nicely-sized chunks, including a football-sized one that I used alone to re-season some old cast iron pieces. I don't know if I had a bad batch but at more than double the price, it's not worth trying again. I can post picture when I get home from work of the burn I did last night. I Trex'd some ribeyes so I did the initial warm-up to 700(30 min) then closed it down after the sear. I grilled some zucchini and finished off the steaks so the egg was closed(for the cool down to 400 and the cooking) for about 45 minutes until I shut it off. I would be curious if anybody has insight on why I am seeing so much ash, since I can only find good things said about WW.

Ragtop99 · September 2012

gte1 said:

Sounds like 63 cents per lb. vs 90 for WG. The WG will burn about 25% longer, just my guess. When you take that into account the price gets close. The WG produces much less ash and I prefer it. It is harder to light and has some pieces so large you need to bust them with a hammer. I would give it a try though

I like WG, but I don't believe there is a significant price equalizer. Buying charcoal is buying BTUs. The WG burns longer because it is denser. Since you are getting it by the pound, you get less WG by volume in a bag. In the end, I think you'll find the total BTUs you are purchasing are close, but the egg will go through more RO by volume. In terms of total heat content, I'd expect a 20 lb bag of each brand to be within 5-10% of each other as 10% appears to be a big spread when looking at published tables with BTU/lb for various woods.

brentsee · September 2012

Stoater said:

I am in Canada and pay 12.50 or so for a 20lb bagof Royal Oak at Canadian Tire, which I have to say I have been quite happy with. But I am considering buying 10 bags of wicked good or more from a local supplier, he is going to give me 20% discount so 24.99 down to 19.99 for a 22lb bag, what is the general consensus for those who have transitioned from RO to wicked Good, does it last way longer, does it taste way better.
Thanks for any input.
Cheers.

I'm in Canada too and all I use is Royal Oak - same thing Canadian tire is around $12 something. I don't know if you have a Lowes where you are but there's one here now and every once in awhile they have a sale on it. Their reg price is about $14.00 but they advertise buy 1 get 1 free. I usually buy a dozen bags - only $7.00 per bag and it's 17.6 lbs. I had to make a spot in my shed to store it but it's worth the saving

brycos · September 2012

Eggcelsior said:

Mayberry said:

Just for picture proof, this is the firebox of my large after a 16 hour cook at 250-275, burning Wicked Good Weekend Warrior. I filled up prior to the cook, didn't add any lump during the cook, and sir down just after pulling the meat off. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this lump burns long, has low ash production, and is just great stuff. My experience with RO was crackling, popping and a ton of ash. Just my 2 cents.

I have had exactly the opposite experience. I get RO from Wegmans for 0.50/lb. After getting my egg for father's day I went through 4 bags(10 lbs each) getting 3 cooks per fill, with the exception of high heat burns for steak and pizza. Almost zero ash, in fact. the only leftovers are the smallest chunks of lump that fall through the Hi-que grate. After finding out Wegmans was out of lump, I went to my local dealer to get BGE charcoal(since it is RO) and she recommended I try WW which was 22.99 for the 22 lb bag.

WW had the same heat levels, except it takes much longer to get to temp. No popping or crackling but the ash production is horrendous! After 1/2 the bag, I had more ash than all of the RO bags combined. I tried to do ribs and a pork butt but the fire went out both times from the ash choking off the vents. Because of this, I only use it for high heat applications now, at least until I burn through the bag. WW did have some nicely-sized chunks, including a football-sized one that I used alone to re-season some old cast iron pieces. I don't know if I had a bad batch but at more than double the price, it's not worth trying again. I can post picture when I get home from work of the burn I did last night. I Trex'd some ribeyes so I did the initial warm-up to 700(30 min) then closed it down after the sear. I grilled some zucchini and finished off the steaks so the egg was closed(for the cool down to 400 and the cooking) for about 45 minutes until I shut it off. I would be curious if anybody has insight on why I am seeing so much ash, since I can only find good things said about WW.

your hi-que grate clogged? or did the ash pile up and close off the lower vent door?

Eggcelsior · September 2012

brycos said:

Eggcelsior said:

Mayberry said:

Just for picture proof, this is the firebox of my large after a 16 hour cook at 250-275, burning Wicked Good Weekend Warrior. I filled up prior to the cook, didn't add any lump during the cook, and sir down just after pulling the meat off. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this lump burns long, has low ash production, and is just great stuff. My experience with RO was crackling, popping and a ton of ash. Just my 2 cents.

I have had exactly the opposite experience. I get RO from Wegmans for 0.50/lb. After getting my egg for father's day I went through 4 bags(10 lbs each) getting 3 cooks per fill, with the exception of high heat burns for steak and pizza. Almost zero ash, in fact. the only leftovers are the smallest chunks of lump that fall through the Hi-que grate. After finding out Wegmans was out of lump, I went to my local dealer to get BGE charcoal(since it is RO) and she recommended I try WW which was 22.99 for the 22 lb bag.

WW had the same heat levels, except it takes much longer to get to temp. No popping or crackling but the ash production is horrendous! After 1/2 the bag, I had more ash than all of the RO bags combined. I tried to do ribs and a pork butt but the fire went out both times from the ash choking off the vents. Because of this, I only use it for high heat applications now, at least until I burn through the bag. WW did have some nicely-sized chunks, including a football-sized one that I used alone to re-season some old cast iron pieces. I don't know if I had a bad batch but at more than double the price, it's not worth trying again. I can post picture when I get home from work of the burn I did last night. I Trex'd some ribeyes so I did the initial warm-up to 700(30 min) then closed it down after the sear. I grilled some zucchini and finished off the steaks so the egg was closed(for the cool down to 400 and the cooking) for about 45 minutes until I shut it off. I would be curious if anybody has insight on why I am seeing so much ash, since I can only find good things said about WW.

your hi-que grate clogged? or did the ash pile up and close off the lower vent door?

Both. I couldn't see light passing through when I looked into the lower door. When I looked down into the egg I could see ash piled up through the grate. It wasn't flaky ash like I saw with RO, but more like a fine powder one would see with briquettes. It was a conical pile inside the fire box and it piled up around the outside of it. Even after the one burn I did with steaks, I saw the same amount of ash that I would get after 4 RO burns. Ash-level notwithstanding, $0.55/lb more is not worth it.

RollTideRob · September 2012

My first experience with wicked good came today. Doesn't take as much air flow as the others i've used and the pieces are huge.

Stoater · September 2012

gte1 said:

Sounds like 63 cents per lb. vs 90 for WG. The WG will burn about 25% longer, just my guess. When you take that into account the price gets close. The WG produces much less ash and I prefer it. It is harder to light and has some pieces so large you need to bust them with a hammer. I would give it a try though

Stoater said:

I am in Canada and pay 12.50 or so for a 20lb bagof Royal Oak at Canadian Tire, which I have to say I have been quite happy with. But I am considering buying 10 bags of wicked good or more from a local supplier, he is going to give me 20% discount so 24.99 down to 19.99 for a 22lb bag, what is the general consensus for those who have transitioned from RO to wicked Good, does it last way longer, does it taste way better.
Thanks for any input.
Cheers.

Is this lump the same stuff as listed here http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1143251 If so why is there such a contrast in opinions. Is it good lump or not, Cheers,

Stoater · September 2012

Shish sorry for quoting myself bloody Internet.

YEMTrey · September 2012

I used my first run of Wicked Good yesterday on a pork shoulder. Held temp and cooked slow very well. However, when I was bringing up the temp at the end, there were sparks all over the place. I've used Royal Oak and BGE Lump and have never had that experience.
There were sparks/embers coming up around the platesetter and coming out the chimney. I'll burn through the rest of the bag and the other one I have and see if they act the same.

henapple · September 2012

I'd purchase one bag and see for yourself. I did and probably won't again....but, armpits.

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