Is Kingsford Charcoal different

[pc farmer]

I like to use lump in my counter flows and briquettes in my Webbers. I spent some time working in Pennsylvania and discovered Humphreys Charcoal, excellent products. They make it in Brookville PA using local hardwoods, you can find in it that area but they also ship it, not cheap though.

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I live very close to Brookville. I can only find the lump. Guess I need to look harder. I use a lot of their lump

 

[Marknmd]

... I’m going through charcoal twice as fast. I’m assuming the reason is because those “ridges” excludes about 20% of overall material, resulting in 20% less useful life. We know it’s more about the profits and less about the customer. When did they change to this trend?

If I try a bag of Royal Oak, does anyone think I can pull an overnighter butt smoke and manage, at least, a couple hours of sleep safely?

Thanks for the input.

I think the "K" embedded on the charcoal pieces increases airflow so it "lights faster" and burns hotter. I don't think it lasts longer. Re Royal Oak briquettes - I don't know about that but I do know Royal Oak lump has gone drastically downhill over the past year or so to the point where a lot of guys don't buy it anymore. It tends to have large rocks and other unwanted stuff in it. Jealous Devil is pretty popular lump. Re the butt, I don't even try to smoke large butts anymore. 5 lbs is about right if I can find one - start in the morning and eat in the evening. :-) Not that I don't love my offset, but if I had to do a 10 lb butt, I'd likely put it in my drum overnight with an alarm which allows a much more steady cook with stable temps and significantly less work than my offset. Good luck

 

[GonnaSmoke]

I do know Royal Oak lump has gone drastically downhill over the past year or so to the point where a lot of guys don't buy it anymore...Jealous Devil is pretty popular lump.

I'm in that group. I've switched to JD and am satisfied, but always open to trying something else. JD is available on Amazon at a competitive price.

I no longer use any briquettes...

 

[DookCommander]

Thanks folks. I’m planning on lighting the fire tomorrow morning at around 2 AM for a 9 LB butt. I have a Walmart and a True Value store, as well as the above-mentioned Stine. Since some of you mentioned the degradation of Royal Oak and I don’t really know what I’ll find on my quest today, I’m just going to go into experiment-mode.

 

[choochooman442]

I live very close to Brookville. I can only find the lump. Guess I need to look harder. I use a lot of their lump

I would call maybe you can but at the plant

 

[noboundaries]

I've been stretching my pre-pandemic RO briq supply. I suspected the shutdown would impact product quality for folks in the know. Apparently it has. More filler and less burn time plus higher price.

My WSM gets no use these days. For longer time meats I often start in the Kettle and finish in the oven. I'll be switching to a lump I like (Lazzari) and B&B briqs or Char Logs when my current supply runs out.

 

[DookCommander]

I combed the area today and found very little besides Kingsford briquettes. Our Walmart did have a better selection and only 2 of the RO left on the shelf. This is what I wound up with. But even if their quality is going downhill, it’s gotta be better than the Kingsford garbage I’ve been dealing with.

 

[noboundaries]

DC, looking forward to what you think of the RO. Packaging differs around the US. It has been more than 7-8 years since I saw bags like that in NorCal. Maybe you got some new "old stock."

 

[DookCommander]

DC, looking forward to what you think of the RO. Packaging differs around the US. It has been more than 7-8 years since I saw bags like that in NorCal. Maybe you got some new "old stock."

Sorry I waited so long to get back with you on the RO. I found it as bad, if not worse than the Kingsford. I’m referring to the endurance time.

anyway, I had faith I’d find something suitable in my little village and someone finally got some RO Natural Wood Chunks in, so I figured it was an excellent idea.

PROS: they start much cleaner, less ash, and burn.

CONS: a whole other mess, and snap, crackle, & pop like a wired-out version of the Rice Crispy Brothers. You almost need eye protection . In a large bag, most are incredibly pulverized down to the diameter of my thumbnail, prompting me to stop lighting them on my gas side burner because the tiny hot coals fall thru the chimney around the rubber gas hose routed directly under the burner. Then, when I move my chimney to the wood burner, I end up leaving a trail of hot coals, causing women to wig out. I’ll get the management under control eventually.

 

[DookCommander]

Here are a couple gems I discovered ad WallyWorld about an hour ago.

As you can see, they’re the size and shape charcoal USED to be before the manufacturers did us the favor of forming big grooves in them, resulting in less fuel and shorter burn times. I don’t know if this is a WalMart branded thing, but at $5 a bag, I just couldn’t resist. They had a pallet full of them, with the very top bag torn open and a couple leaking out. I was like a squirrel who saw a nut! I grabbed three bags and immediately headed for the meat department.

 

[Marknmd]

Here are a couple gems I discovered ad WallyWorld about an hour ago.

As you can see, they’re the size and shape charcoal USED to be before the manufacturers did us the favor of forming big grooves in them, resulting in less fuel and shorter burn times. I don’t know if this is a WalMart branded thing, but at $5 a bag, I just couldn’t resist. They had a pallet full of them, with the very top bag torn open and a couple leaking out. I was like a squirrel who saw a nut! I grabbed three bags and immediately headed for the meat department.

Interestingly, the label says the "briquets are made from quebracho" which is the same wood that the highly regarded Jealous Devil's lump charcoal comes from. I think I'll try a bag if I see it...

Edit: Found it at online Walmart, 12#, $5, but it's nowhere to be found in a Walmart anywhere near me covering three states, and they won't ship it either. FML

 

[thirdeye]

I think the "K" embedded on the charcoal pieces increases airflow so it "lights faster" and burns hotter. I don't think it lasts longer.

Here are a couple gems I discovered ad WallyWorld about an hour ago.
As you can see, they’re the size and shape charcoal USED to be before the manufacturers did us the favor of forming big grooves in them, resulting in less fuel and shorter burn times.

Well, everyone knows you have to have the "Ks" facing up when you light up your Kingford brand of briquettes.

 

[DookCommander]

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Well, everyone knows you have to have the "Ks" facing up when you light up your Kingford brand of briquettes.

I just knew I had to by missing something!

 

[DookCommander]

Here‘s what happened.
One photo is my bed of coals at 4:00 PM local.

The other pic is at 5:30. This is about 2/3-3/4 chimney. I placed a small (a little smaller that my fist) chunk of hickory on it, and about 30-ish minutes later another (even smaller) went on, maintaining a smoke chamber temp between 270 and 280.

So, (we’ll call it) 3/4 chimney full of those Paraguayan coals did well. Really well. They remind me of the Weber coals I had once. FYI, word on the street is Weber stopped producing briquettes. Word, word on the street is the CEO kind of regrets that decision as she (yes...she) liked Webers more than others. Weird world, no?

 

[thirdeye]

What kind of fire were you shooting for? A hot-n-fast grilling fire, like for burgers, or a steak.... or a mid-zone fire for sausages or a pork chop?

 

[DookCommander]

Just looking to bathe some pork steaks in smoke for about an hour. I do this a lot, where I’ll put chops or pork steaks in smoke, then transfer to a roasting pan cover with a little liquid, or better yet, kraut and just let it slow roast, getting tender. That’s why I used so few coals and it surprised me when it ran at a consistent 270. Nothing wrong with that though...

 

[DookCommander]

Upon closer inspection of the bag of Frontier, it appears to be made by Royal Oak. There isn’t much information on the interscreen about the brand, except for a few stores that sells it. The RO website doesn’t even mention it, and when you type “Frontier” into their SEARCH window, ”No Results” pops up. They appear to make hard lump also. If anyone here liked (no longer available) the Weber Briquettes and is disappointed with the newer Kingsford and Royal Oak briquettes, I’d urge you to get a bag of this Fromtier. At Walmart it cost me $5 each for a 12 pound bag. It took a bit longer to start, but lasted a lot longer than the other two mentioned. I’ve never seen the Jealous Devil, but judging by the pictures available of them, I’d guess they may be similar.

Have a good day.

 

[Fueling Around]

I gave up on briquettes from Kingsford and Royal Oak some time ago.
Yep, Royal Oak bought out Frontier. Thankfully, they have kept the product lines intact.
RO lump is made in USA crap with significant kiln dried lumber pieces. Frontier is 100% virgin wood lump and made in Mexico. I bought a bag of Frontier briquette but haven't opened to compare.

 

[SherryT]

I have about 1.5 bags left and when it's gone, I'll be switching to RO as well.

Every single TIME you see "new and improved" or "now with blahblahblah", you can just about bet they just screwed up a perfectly-good product in some way.