Why is Cowboy Charcoal Everywhere

[powerhouse2]

Originally Posted by V-wiz

When is the trader Joe's sale going up?

Should be anytime now its not a sale its just when they put it back on the shelves they cant give me a date just when it comes in but still should be a great price. haven't ckd in a couple weeks they could have it now.

[nucornhusker]

I found a nice metal rod prize in my R.O. this week! First time I've found something in R.O.

A local dealer sells The Good One brand lump, and it seems to be about the best scoring on Nakedwiz, so I will pickup a bag or two this weekend. This isn't because of my R.O. find, I've just been wanting to try it out for a while.

[Toast]

They have to get rid of scrap lumber somehow.

[geo]

I like the wal mart royal oak in the grill. I use kingsford in the smoker.

[Gore]

Originally Posted by nucornhusker

I found a nice metal rod prize in my R.O. this week! First time I've found something in R.O.

A local dealer sells The Good One brand lump, and it seems to be about the best scoring on Nakedwiz, so I will pickup a bag or two this weekend. This isn't because of my R.O. find, I've just been wanting to try it out for a while.

I also found some cement in my last bag of RO, in addition to some lump made from scrap 2x4s. I tried one back of Trader Joe's and it had the nastiest smell ever. The point is that I think there is variability in many brands, but more so in some brands.

[frohe]

Originally Posted by powerhouse2

I live in Kansas City and all i can find is Cowboy lump iv been using it in my uds but i don't like it at all, Trader Joe's will have their natural bricks for sale soon I want to give them a try, or does anyone have a better option for me? Also my uds runs at 300 with all valves closed could it be the Cowboy? I know its sealed good if i put a can over the chimney it drops down?

Royal Oak is available from the DoItBest hardware stores. There are several stores in KC.

http://www.doitbest.com/Main.aspx

[Dallas Dan]

We should start a contest to see who gets the largest and/or oddest foreign material in a bag of Cowboy. But that would mean we'd have to buy it.

[moocow]

Hyvee has a good lump charcoal, can't remember the brand but iIuse it in my ceramic with no problems.

[Utah Jake]

SAMs Club has some good lump at a good price and it is all wood trees.

[powerhouse2]

Originally Posted by Utah Jake

SAMs Club has some good lump at a good price and it is all wood trees.

i have only seen mesquite at SAMs would be to strong for a long smoke

[AustinKnight]

Originally Posted by powerhouse2

i have only seen mesquite at SAMs would be to strong for a long smoke

And it burns a lot faster then oak lump, B&B oak lump is a good charcoal source RO is also good I do find weird stuff in RO a lot but still buy it. If you want a good briquette charcoal you should go to Lowes and buy some Stubbs about 9 bucks for 15# bag good stuff.

[Churrasqueiro Bob]

Originally Posted by AustinKnight

And it burns a lot faster then oak lump, B&B oak lump is a good charcoal source RO is also good I do find weird stuff in RO a lot but still buy it. If you want a good briquette charcoal you should go to Lowes and buy some Stubbs about 9 bucks for 15# bag good stuff.

I like the Stubb's briquettes too. I like RO lump and I have found small rocks in the bag a few times and an occasional piece of scrap lumber. No big deal. I use Wicked Good Weekend Warrior Lump once in a while too, but the store that carries it near me is very expensive, 24.99 for a 20lb bag.

[BBQSmoker]

Originally Posted by dealm9

I also find Cowboy in most of my hardware stores. Try going to Walmart. They sell Royal Oak Lump which is very good. Make sure it is RO that is Made in the USA as that seems to be the best quality. Regular old Kingsford briquettes work well, unless you are dead set on lump. Naked Whiz has reviews of most lump charcoal out on the market, which can be very helpful if you see some bags of lump that you have never heard of. Again, though, you cannot go wrong with RO lump.

As far as the heat goes, my guess is you are starting with too much lump in your chimney. Assuming you are using the Minion Method, you should only be dropping a couple lit pieces of lump into the charcoal basket. If you are using briquettes you should not need more than 10-15 briquettes. For lump, depending on the size, I try and use maybe 4-5 medium size chunks. The more lit charcoal you start off with, the harder it will be to maintain a low temperature.

Hope this helps.

I glad I came across this as I have been having difficulties keeping a long burn on a full basket of lump/charcoal. I am only getting 3-4 hours on a basket and am trying to get longer times.....

[colonel00]

Originally Posted by powerhouse2

I live in Kansas City and all i can find is Cowboy lump iv been using it in my uds but i don't like it at all, Trader Joe's will have their natural bricks for sale soon I want to give them a try, or does anyone have a better option for me? Also my uds runs at 300 with all valves closed could it be the Cowboy? I know its sealed good if i put a can over the chimney it drops down?

As mentioned in another thread, lump can cause issues in a UDS. Have you tried with regular briqs? Right now, Home Depot is running a sale on Kingsford. I use KB in my UDS with no issues and I stock up when they run sales. I just found it works better with maintaining consistent temps. Your mileage may vary.

[BluegrassSmoke]

I'm not from KC but my son lives there, we went to Oklahoma Joes there (get the Zman sandwich) and next door was a BBQ store, I'm sure they have or could get anything you want....we bought some rubs, good stuff..