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Charcoals

rphlady
rphlady Posts: 2
in EggHead Forum
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?
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Comments

  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,527
    edited December 2021
    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. 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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  • Mr1egg
    Mr1egg Posts: 431
    I like the Smokey start, makes the egg look pretty cool. 
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  • GrateEggspectations
    GrateEggspectations Posts: 11,589
    Friday night lump post alert!
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  • Mr1egg
    Mr1egg Posts: 431
    Big green egg is my fav lump… but I’m using Royal oak because I’m cheap 
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,777
    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  B)
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 7,335
    Except Cowboy is an apostate.  Rockwood is one of the more favored on this site, a viewpoint that I agree with.
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  • kl8ton
    kl8ton Posts: 6,418
    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?
    Large, Medium, MiniMax, 36" Blackstone
    Grand Rapids MI
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,454
    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!
    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • littlerascal56
    littlerascal56 Posts: 2,110
    Rockwood is the “Premier” of lump charcoal.  Haven’t found any better thru the years. 
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  • RyanStl
    RyanStl Posts: 1,050
    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 
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  • StillH2OEgger
    StillH2OEgger Posts: 3,896
    That looks tremendous, @sumoconnell!
    Stillwater, MN
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  • JohnfromKentucky
    JohnfromKentucky Posts: 460
    I see that Royal Oak makes the BGE charcoal, so wouldn't it be just as good? 
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  • RyanStl
    RyanStl Posts: 1,050
    edited February 2022
    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.
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  • JohnfromKentucky
    JohnfromKentucky Posts: 460
    There's a local Ace Hardware that sells Rockwood. Will have to check it out
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  • RyanStl
    RyanStl Posts: 1,050
    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.
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  • Langner91
    Langner91 Posts: 2,120
    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!
    Clinton, Iowa
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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227
    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.  

    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,583
    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
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,818
    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.
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009

    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
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  • BikerBob
    BikerBob Posts: 284
    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.
    Cooking on the coast
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