Meeeshigan22 said:

Mattman3969 said:

Focker said:

I'm sorry folks, Heavy's right.
No lump, is worth double the price of RO.
It would be different if it improved your end product.

If it needs to burn a bit.  Light, then prep.
Y'all are actin' like it's your first time on a grill. 

@Focker - I'm gonna agree and disagree with you. The end product is taste, I agree.  The time waiting for royal choke to burn clean is not the same as RW.  I can cook on either if I have the time to wait.  Most times I nor my family do not want to wait for the long time for royal smoke to clear especially on week night cooks.  


The disagree is I don't think heavy G cooks much less knows how the lump reacts .  He plays this same game here and on the guru site. Between both sites I don't think I've ever seen one of his cooks.    

No no disrespect to u @focket. 

Maybe not all RO is created the same, but I notice zero difference in the amount of time it takes to get it burning clean relative to RW. Both are clean in no time at all for me.

I prefer RW and go through about a bag a week, but the difference is so negligible that I never have an issue using RO. It’s more of a convenience thing having RW delivered in bulk, and not having to dig through bags at HD. And I think RW might burn longer but it’s only a gut feeling.

I've always been puzzled by the Royal Oak=Nasty Smoke comments. I've never experienced that and don't know if that is due more to regional variations in the RO product (since it doesn't all derive from the same manufacturing plant) or if it has more to do with starting technique. 

The only time I have a nasty smoke experience is when lighting a chimney full of Kingsford with newspapers lit underneath.

When lighting lump I always use a gas torch and then a minute or two with a bellows and there is almost zero smoke regardless of charcoal brand.

I hate weighing in on these threads but here it goes:

I have never used RO but I've used plenty of BGE back in the day. Got a free bag with my 2nd egg a few years ago and ended up with ( pretty much stole) 2-3 unopened bags from the after party at Salado. It was scattered around like Nola's clothes and red solo cups on the lawn of the Inn the next morning. Used it once and gave it all away. That is the smokiest, nastiest tasting lump I have ever used. I don't understand why someone would pay twice as much for Rockwood if its just the same as RO. I sure wouldn't. I'm not a lump snob- I've used truckloads of crappy mesquite lump from Sam's and RD at .15 cents a lb. If it weren't garbage, I would have a garage full. Last bag I got took an hour to burn clean. That's not a good deal in my mind. I would buy the cheapest lump that tasted good. I think I am buying that (Rockwood) but I'm open to the fact that I could be wrong. 

Also, I don't think it's coincidence that almost every single "I'm new here and my wife hates how smoky the food is" post is using their bag of BGE lump that came with it. 

I'm going to get a bag of RO at HD this afternoon. I have to try it. If it is what you guys say, then I would love to have it available right around the corner. Hope you are right but I'm skeptical. 

Legume said:

I used RO for a few years, have tried a few others and haven't gone back to RO.  To me it does have a sootier tendency/smell.  I've never tried RW.  I bought a bunch of the charbroil center cut, KJ, John Henry and others.  Not sure what I'm going to buy next, probably more John Henry.  If there was an Ace near me, I would order some RW eventually, but for some reason they've been pushed out of Austin.

Never heard of John Henry - is that a regional or store brand?

Legume said:

I used RO for a few years, have tried a few others and haven't gone back to RO.  To me it does have a sootier tendency/smell.  I've never tried RW.  I bought a bunch of the charbroil center cut, KJ, John Henry and others.  Not sure what I'm going to buy next, probably more John Henry.  If there was an Ace near me, I would order some RW eventually, but for some reason they've been pushed out of Austin.

I have a bag you can try. Just got a load in. 

He's a steel driving man 

stlcharcoal said:

pgprescott said:

HeavyG said:

Legume said:

I used RO for a few years, have tried a few others and haven't gone back to RO.  To me it does have a sootier tendency/smell.  I've never tried RW.  I bought a bunch of the charbroil center cut, KJ, John Henry and others.  Not sure what I'm going to buy next, probably more John Henry.  If there was an Ace near me, I would order some RW eventually, but for some reason they've been pushed out of Austin.

Never heard of John Henry - is that a regional or store brand?

WHAT!
 Makes bout a 100 rubs, sauces and such. Not sure where he sources his lump, but unlikely he manufactures his own. East Texas. 

You ever stop and chat with him at HPBExpo??  Real cool guy......love his sauces.

Cannot agree more! Have chatted with him over the years. Real genuine individual. We have done business with John for years. Great stuff. There are just a ton of solid folks in the bbq industry imo. 

pgprescott said:

HeavyG said:

Legume said:

I used RO for a few years, have tried a few others and haven't gone back to RO.  To me it does have a sootier tendency/smell.  I've never tried RW.  I bought a bunch of the charbroil center cut, KJ, John Henry and others.  Not sure what I'm going to buy next, probably more John Henry.  If there was an Ace near me, I would order some RW eventually, but for some reason they've been pushed out of Austin.

Never heard of John Henry - is that a regional or store brand?

WHAT!
 Makes bout a 100 rubs, sauces and such. Not sure where he sources his lump, but unlikely he manufactures his own. East Texas. 

Sorry... of the 1,384,835 rubs/sauces on the market those just haven't popped up on my radar.

Any standouts one should try?

Keep in mind that I don't actually cook so something that I could sprinkle on a bowl of Cheerios would be most suitable.

Strange, but I usually get the oak...when I do buy it.  I need to make a run to outfitters again, that's where I got the John Henry.

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Legume said:

Strange, but I usually get the oak...when I do buy it.  I need to make a run to outfitters again, that's where I got the John Henry.

It was strange. I didn't know they made Oak. I've only noticed the mesquite. I would assume, or at least at guess, that the oak would be rebadged B&B since they are local and do a lot of Oak lump. They do mesquite too so I would think they may be involved. 

I have thought B&B, they both have those strange, small bags.  B&B has some out of Mexico as well, lots of different labels out there, like at Academy for instance, and you have to read the label.  HEB only had the small oak bags, CM has the bigger ones.  It's my backup plan, not my go to.

Is it just me?

DynaGlide said:

So i read most of the replies and it seems to boil down to people buy RW because they have busy schedules. I don't agree about RO putting bad flavor on my food. I guess you are putting a price on your time by buying RW. Me personally i work from home so time isn't an issue. I don't drive far to get my charcoal and i have access to either brand. Dizzy Pig is also 15min from me. 

Lots of attacks on @HeavyG here. I know personally I've cooked 2-3x a week since buying my egg last year in September. Never a complaint about the flavor or any bad smoke. I don't even typically wait for perfectly clear to put the food on. But it does on average take 30min to die down to where I'm ready. Not a problem for me. If buying RO enables you to cook on nights you otherwise wouldn't then i get the benefit. But the arguments stating it's dumb to buy a $1000 cooker to use a lump that's "inferior" seem rather foolish.

 the naked wiz States RW is more difficult to light so this doesn't make sense

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag102.htm

Touché  @DoubleEgger

DynaGlide said:

So i read most of the replies and it seems to boil down to people buy RW because they have busy schedules. I don't agree about RO putting bad flavor on my food. I guess you are putting a price on your time by buying RW. Me personally i work from home so time isn't an issue. I don't drive far to get my charcoal and i have access to either brand. Dizzy Pig is also 15min from me. 

Lots of attacks on @HeavyG here. I know personally I've cooked 2-3x a week since buying my egg last year in September. Never a complaint about the flavor or any bad smoke. I don't even typically wait for perfectly clear to put the food on. But it does on average take 30min to die down to where I'm ready. Not a problem for me. If buying RO enables you to cook on nights you otherwise wouldn't then i get the benefit. But the arguments stating it's dumb to buy a $1000 cooker to use a lump that's "inferior" seem rather foolish.

@DynaGlide - you ride a Harley, I ride a Yamaha. You burn RO and I burn RW.   We can still be internet friends.   

BTW - you have already posted more cooking  post than @HeavyG and your only 45 post in.  Lol.   

@pgprescott I had to look up the word shill :-)