All Lump is not created equally

[wanbli]

I did a 12 hour smoke yesterday using charcoal and wood. I tried 2 types of lump, Cowboy and Royal Oak and some hickory. I like the Cowboy more than the Royal Oak in every way. It had bigger chunks, burned longer and more evenly than the Royal Oak. The Royal Oak had nothing but small pieces. There was also a lot of dirt on the coal ( probably from the manufacturing process ). It might work fine in a water smoker but for a bigger smoker it isn't worth a plugged nickle in my book. It's too fine ( small ) and burns too quickly.

 

[tn_bbq]

There ya go.

Guess that's why they make more than one brand.

I've not ever really noticed much of a difference, but that's the beauty of all of this stuff...everybody gets to do it their way (i often tell folks that i'll gladly share my "secrets" with them...i know their ego won't let them do things exactly the way i do it).

 

[rickw]

I've used both and can't say I notice a huge difference. This of course was in the uds. I haven't used a lot of charcoal in the Horizon except to start it up and burn some splits.

 

[mikey]

Royal Oak makes 4 differnt varieties of their lump. Not sure which one you used. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

 

[rivet]

Bingo! You are one astute people-person, TN~ I never shy away from sharing my recipes for that exact reason.

 

[tn_bbq]

I've learned lots from other folks, but i can't say I cook exactly the same way as anybody else.

Besides that, it still takes experience to recognize if/when the meat is done (can't get that from a book).

 

[wanbli]

It was the Steak House style. Thanks for the link to the lump charcoal. I found that thread and link after my wife bought me the R.O.S.H. That particular style doesn't rate well on their chart . Thanks. Peace , Wanbli

 

[vince]

I like B&B over RO.

 

[bleedred]

Ozark Oak lump works great for me.

 

[trashcan]

There are only two types of lump I have found in Mchenry county, IL this season. Charbroil (a 15lb, eleven dollar box of DUST) and royal oak steakhouse. The RO steakhouse is not exactly perfect, but I pulled off an 8 hour smoke using the minion method, only adding one chimney of unlit lump. My biggest complaint is that while most bags are pretty quality, the day of my last smoke I found a rock the size of a golf ball, uncarbonized bark, and a jagged length of sooty braided steel cable.

 

[rickw]

Do you have a GFS around? Their lump is made by RO too.

 

[danbury]

I've been using the Royal Oak Steakhouse for about 3 years now and been extremely content with it. I tried Cowboy once and I'll never use it again. There's one other one that I tried that I got from a Fireplace store in Vernon Hills, Il. Can't remember the name of it off hand, but it's o.k. It tends to burn hotter than I like.
I guess it's what you get use to.

 

[macdad]

I have used RO from GFS for grilling for the last 4 years. I tried Cowboy a couple times before. It always looked like chunked up boards. I just don't have a warm fuzzy about that.

 

[silverwolf636]

Thanx for the info on the nakedwhiz. Nice info there. I use the Mali's Lump.

 

[jethro]

The lump for the BGE is great stuff a litte more expensive than the RO but sizes are very consistant and very little dust in the bags. I do use the RO the most just because it's a good product and easy to find. Don't even get me started on that cowboy dung, with the first chimney full out of the bag I found a char piece of PLYWOOD. What is wrong with those morons? The bag went in the trash

Cooking with construction waste just doesn't appeal to me.

 

[richp692]

I had the same experience with cowboy. I now either use frontier or RO. I also tried Nature's Mesquite the other day for steaks on the Weber. I really liked it. It’s just too bad I only can get it in 6 pound bags for$ 6.50 a bag.

 

[flowercitysmoker]

Any body familiar with Fire King. It worked all right for me on the last smoke, though there wasn't much consistency in terms of lump size. Some fell through the chimney, and some were taller than the chimney itself

 

[the dude abides]

If you can find Seven Oaks, I've had great luck with that. In a pinch theother day I had the wife grab some Kingsford Charwood Lump Charcoal from the grocery store. It's the only lump they carry. It wasn't bad. Smaller pieces, but I was just putting it in the Weber Kettle to make a couple of steaks. Not a long smoke.

 

[eaglewing]

That's an AWESOME site BTW, eh Mickey?

I think it's funny a guy would have that much time and put that much effort into LUMP....

 

[albeesmokin]

I tried my 1st smoke on the ECB last weekend using Cowboy brand lump.
It was very odd stuff. Most 98% of the bag was very small pieces of lump, smaller than a briquette. The other 1% was a decent size. I used all the good sized stuff in one smoke. I started to use that crap again this weekend, filled my chimney and decided to stop while I was ahead. Most of it fell through the grate in my chimney...not a good sign.
I used kingsford competition instead (the old standby).

Late in my smoke I needed to stoke the fire a bit to keep the temp up, so I took 2 handfuls of the lump pebbles and added them in. It lit in a darn hurry and gave me what I needed to finish up.

All that being said, when I buy Lump charcoal I expect to get LUMPS.