Charcoal for my MB560

[whistlepig]

It's kind of rural here and the selection of charcoal isn't so great. I have been using Royal Oak lump charcoal but it seems that I am going through a lot of Royal Oak. I am going to have to drive a ways to find some different charcoal. I have read good reviews on B & B but haven't tried any. Kingsford is pretty easy to find. Anyone like the Kingsford in their MB560?

 

[jcam222]

I have used quite a few different lump charcoals. My favorite and only one I use is B&B.

 

[mike243]

1 of the things I have read is a lot of fuel usage compared to other cookers, like any thing else you gotta pay to play lol.

 

[uncle eddie]

My opinion is Kingsford charcoal is good quality, lights and burns well and is simply more expensive. I usually keep kingsford around for hurry-up fires and Walmart brand if I have more time to get the fire going. I usually use a little lump with either charcoal and especially if I have to add to the fire to keep it going strong.

my charcoal grill is an old Brinkmann grill/smoker that is made of 3/16” plate steel and weighs a ton. It is pretty tight and does not waste a lot of charcoal.

 

[candurin]

I’ve done a bunch of smokes so far and I have only various B&B charcoal formats (Ace Hardware is only 5 min from our house and they’ve been having great sales).

B&B lump definitely burns the quickest, but I feel it also produces the most smoke. I did my burn in (4 hours total of various temp smokes) a 6 hour rib smoke and another 2-3 hour chicken smoke and went through the 20 bag.

I have 3 smokes (10 hour butt, another 6 hour ribs and a few pizzas) and I still have 1/4 bag left of 30 lb char-logs.

I just picked up some B&B 19lb bags and will try them next.

Seemingly lump is great for quick, smoky cooks and char-logs are great for long overnight smokes.

 

[Chasdev]

Kingsford pro comp version is better than all other briquets, it burns very hot and has less ash than other briquets, you can get it at Costco for a steal.
I've had great results with KJ XL lump and Fogo lump too.

 

[chapper]

I was using Royal Oak when I first got mine, but it seemed like a lot of coals fell through the grate during the cook. I switched to Kingsford, it seems like they start quicker and not as many fall through the grate. Also, seems like there isn't as much ash compared to Royal Oak. I'm planning on modifying the grate so not as many briquettes fall through. As others have posted, weaving a wire should help.