Kingsford Briquettes vs. Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes: Burn Temperature, Time, and Ash Comparison

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You are very welcome, Justin, and thanks for the point! 

The first time I went to Lowes to get some RO Ridge, the floor rep told me it was new for them to carry the RO Ridge.  The Kingsford was prominently displayed, and on my subsequent two visits the RO Ridge was kind of buried in another section.  Meant I could find some for me, but it wasn't really in a place to sell a lot.  I know vendor reps give incentives for store placement, and the RO Ridge is not as well known, so that could explain the placement.  Hopefully that will change with time and recommendations from us experienced guys.   

Your welcome Ray, thank you again. I agree with all you said there. Done some burgers tonite with RO lump for the first time & man were they tasty. Lookin forward to getting the RO briquettes!
 
I just used these for a brisket in the rain.

21 hours on a full basket and the uds was still at 234 degrees when I shook it out.
 
I just used these for a brisket in the rain.

21 hours on a full basket and the uds was still at 234 degrees when I shook it out.

Sounds like the old KBB, too bad they went the direction they did with their product. Lookin very forward to stocking up with RO tomorrow.
 
Royal Oak Ridge is on sale at Lowes through 6/14/17 at the same price, $4 a bag. 

I know folks are influenced by the marketing strategy of Kingsford, putting two 18.6 lb bags (37.2 lbs) together for just under $10 on sale.  When you consider the fact the RO Ridge lasts almost 50% longer (48% actually) at a more constant temperature, two 15.4 lb bags of RO Ridge for $8 is like a twin pack of 22.8 lbs (45.6 lbs) of Kingsford.  Don't drink the Koolaid! 

And who said we'd never use math once we left school. 
 
Ray,

I have been going back through these posts about all your testing and realized I have missed out. Not only on the conversation, but to thank you and credit your much deserved points. This all makes soooo much sense!

I have always been a RO fan, but the Kingsford is what I see displayed around here anymore. The actual Kingsford plant is only a couple miles from me right now, but I hold no brand loyalty. Again- your testing confirms what my gut was telling me. Now I haven't found RO "Ridge" available at my local stores other than their "Mesquite" flavored and the "minute light". Lowes is way across town for me. That is until yesterday... I found RO "Chefs Select" in Cash and Carry! It is $9.89 for a 20# bag regular price. So that makes it .49 a lb. I sure would like to know how the "Chefs Select" fares up against the "Ridge". The Naked Whiz site doesn't rate it either.
 
Ray,




I have been going back through these posts about all your testing and realized I have missed out. Not only on the conversation, but to thank you and credit your much deserved points. This all makes soooo much sense!

I have always been a RO fan, but the Kingsford is what I see displayed around here anymore. The actual Kingsford plant is only a couple miles from me right now, but I hold no brand loyalty. Again- your testing confirms what my gut was telling me. Now I haven't found RO "Ridge" available at my local stores other than their "Mesquite" flavored and the "minute light". Lowes is way across town for me. That is until yesterday... I found RO "Chefs Select" in Cash and Carry! It is $9.89 for a 20# bag regular price. So that makes it .49 a lb. I sure would like to know how the "Chefs Select" fares up against the "Ridge". The Naked Whiz site doesn't rate it either.




I have wondered about the (chefs select restaurant type).? here too.. I see it at my HD .. I actually buy kbb and Royal O.

Johnny B.
 
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I have wondered about the (chefs select restaurant type).? here too.. I see it at my HD .. I actually buy kbb and Royal O.

Johnny B.
After doing research online, comparing pics, etc, it appears that the Chef's Select is the same as RO Ridge, just a 30% bigger briquette.  Now, that is a totally subjective guess based upon what I saw and read.  A bigger briquette would last even longer than the regular RO Ridge briquette.  Knowing how production lines work, I suspect it is the same composition, just a bigger form.   
 
I'm looking at 2 shakes of my charcoal pan with the kbb charcoal in 12 hours.. it requires me taking off the body of the ECB with contents and lid...etc.. it's just a couple seconds to get it all back up to heat and go another few hours with clean coals. But I wish it would go 7 or 8 hours no touch and low ash build up.. I gotta pay my babysitting dues on the smokes one way or another..

Just glad I learned all these great mods after you all spent 10 years plus getting them in the forums. [emoji]127866[/emoji][emoji]129299[/emoji] thanks to all prior mod people.. Lol

Johnny B
 
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After doing research online, comparing pics, etc, it appears that the Chef's Select is the same as RO Ridge, just a 30% bigger briquette.  Now, that is a totally subjective guess based upon what I saw and read.  A bigger briquette would last even longer than the regular RO Ridge briquette.  Knowing how production lines work, I suspect it is the same composition, just a bigger form.   
Well I bought some RO Chefs Select. I made some pork belly burnt ends in the WSM Mini while camping that turned out real good using it, but.... Back to the charcoal....They are a little bigger, so I couldn't load as many briquettes in the mini basket. What that did for me was make it so they burned out more completely and without suffocating in ash, but it was a short burn time because I had less fuel to begin with. They went 3 hours of smoke at 250' while being managed by the BBQ Guru, then covered in a foil pan with butter, brown sugar and honey for an hour then the temp started dropping. I took a look and I had to reload more briquettes to finish them for another hour. The good news is there was a lot less ash than KBB. Also I had a lot of wind that played a part in it, but the Guru made the cook temp rock steady!
 
Royal oak chef select is all natural. Royal oak chef best is the same as regular royal oak briquettes just bigger..Royal oak chef select is like stubbs.
 
My experience is RO I'd hard to light but lasts well, but K is good for short burns...like pork steaks.

Great post BTW...
 
 
AWESOME test...  Thank you and pts.....   Dave
Thanks Dave!  For the compliment and the points!

For those who missed the July 4th sale, get ready to stock up at Labor Day.  Labor Day is usually the last dependable sale of the year.  I have seen sales at Thanksgiving, but it isn't as dependable as the summer holidays.   
 
Noboundaries  Thanks for all your hard work on this.

I just bought a Meadow Creek PR36 for all my cooking needs...

I was using Royal Oak lump charcoal in my old Brink-mans grill, since I could adjust the grill tray it worked great.  On the PR36 I noticed that I was not getting high temps for grilling.  I bought a bag of Weber Briquettes that are all natural, but I think it does give a flavor and not a fan.

The Roayal Oak Briquettes, do they give an after taste on the meat?
 
 
Noboundaries  Thanks for all your hard work on this.

I just bought a Meadow Creek PR36 for all my cooking needs...

I was using Royal Oak lump charcoal in my old Brink-mans grill, since I could adjust the grill tray it worked great.  On the PR36 I noticed that I was not getting high temps for grilling.  I bought a bag of Weber Briquettes that are all natural, but I think it does give a flavor and not a fan.

The Roayal Oak Briquettes, do they give an after taste on the meat?
I'm probably not the best person to ask about the taste.  I've been using KBB, and now RO Ridge briquettes, for so long I've become taste blind to the flavor of the briquettes.  Long ago I learned not to load the meat too early, whether on the grill or the smoker, or you do get a flavor I don't care for.   

When I do use lump to smoke poultry, I don't notice any taste difference between the lump and the briquettes.  
 
Just used Kroger briquettes for 6 hour beef ribs. Was pleased with temps and ash content. Kroger was on sale $6.99 RO was $12.99. The RO bag may have been a few ounces bigger.
If those briquettes in the picture above are the Kroger briquettes, they are the exact same as RO Ridge briquette.  Royal Oak supplies many, if not most, store brands.  My store brand (Winco) and RO Ridge are exactly the same briquette.  I can buy a 16.6 lb bag of Winco briquettes for $5.38, regular price, or 33 cents / lb.  RO Ridge at Lowes for a 15.4 lb bag is $5.97 regular price, 39 cents a pound.  At $4 a 15.4 lb bag that's just under 26 cent a pound.  When you burn through 500 lbs a year, paying attention to the per pound price makes sense.   50 cents a pound is $250.  26 cents a pound when RO Ridge is on sale is $130. 

$12.99 for RO Ridge briquettes is WAY too high.  Sounds like a RO lump price, but stores can be sneaky sneaky on their pricing to move product. 

Many stores consider August a time to start decreasing their summer supplies.  Watch for sales on charcoal and chunks.     
 
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