HeavyG said:

VB_egger said:

Never have had a bad experience with KJ lump. It's second only to rockwood IMO and not by much. I frequently mix the two brands together. 

I've never had any problems or concerns with KJ, Rockwood, or Royal Oak.

The only one I have bought on multiple occasions and not been happy with a single bag, for different reasons each time is BGE by Royal Oak. I have had 12 bags, and each time they were 50 percent unusable, nasty taste of the cook, took forever to get to good smoke, etc,. I just quit buying and started looking elsewhere for lump.

lousubcap said:

@YukonRon -  I presume by Rockwood consistency you mean the burn performance as I have run the spectrum with regard to bag piece size.  It all burns just fine but I prefer a few pieces larger than a silver dollar diameter in each bag and with some they are not there.

You know, that is a very good point. Lately I have been getting mostly medium, very few large pieces, at all, certainly nothing on the scale of what I have seen in this Red Bag from KJ. However, the burn rate, as you had mentioned previously with Rockwood, is extremely consistent, from cook to cook, and there is no acrid smoke taste, as Rockwood has not had with any bag I have ever used, it has been as close to neutral in smoke profile, better than anything I have tried thus far, excluding KJ. KJ seems to be very close, but one thing I did notice, KJ popped and cracked frequently as well as loudly, at temps above 375F. I do not recall the same issue with Rockwood. Don't know if I would like grilling direct with that going on, may cause me to spill a Southern Rhone, Red Blend, and that would certainly be followed with a very tersly worded email to KJ.
Overall, thus far, for non center cut lump, at less than $15.00 per 20 pound bag, not a bad deal.
The Salmon tonight was very good, I used it because it is a smoke sponge, and I wanted to see how KJ would do. I was impressed.

Eggcelsior said:

I snagged 4 bags at Costco. I'm currently on bag 3 and my only complaint is the amount of time it takes to stabilize. It's really stinky too while coming to temp and clearing for cooking. Otherwise, good size chunks.

I am in just my first bag of KJ, and I had no issues with a bad smell, or trouble stabilizing temp. I ran 370F without the cap vent and the lower vent about an 1/4" on the XL. I will be doing a lot of different cooks tomorrow, and will give it further evaluation. Still a lot to define for me. As mentioned previously, still solid with Rockwood. 
Thank you for your insight. Appreciate it very much.

caliking said:

lousubcap said:

@YukonRon -  thanks for the offer but I'm a brisket whoremaster.  3 SRF's (black grade) and one Costco prime in the freezer with a SRF thawing for next weekend.  The Costco primes are my "go-to" so hoping to snag a couple this coming week.  

My apologies for the momentary hijack, but how are the points on the prime packers at your Costco? The few that I have bought in the past had very small points. Consistently. So i stopped buying them at Costco. My local HEB (TX grocery chain) sells prime packers and the points have always been bigger compared to Costco. 

Well, first, we do not have a HEB, so I can't compare. All I have is a Restaurant Supply, which in my opinion, is not as good as Costco for Prime Brisket.
I half jokingly stated earlier, that I had more in my freezer than they had on display at Costco, and it is true. The reason for that, is each time I visit, I look for that packer that has a pretty healthy sized point, like I learned from @lousubcap. 
When I find them, I buy them. It is not to say Costco only has them occasionally, it is just my selection process has yielded quality purchases.
I would be better at a comparison for you if we had a HEB, but perhaps 'Cap can give his opinion too.

bgebrent said:

The red bag KJ lump is excellent.  Matt has a hypersensitive nose.

I have to agree with your statement, Brent, KJ lump, in the red bag, has been excellent, thus far. It is as smoke neutral as it gets in my experience with various brands. 

FearlessTheEggNoob said:

YukonRon said:

Costco has the KJ road show in town. Bad news for the XL BGE owners; their XL rotisserie will not fit the XL BGE. 
On a side note, their lump is selling at about $15.00/bag, with two bags wrapped together.
I opened a bag and was impressed.

Did they have a big jotisserie available for sale?

Not at the roadshow.