Lump vs. Charcoal

Love the discussion here. Being as new as I am I have ONLY tried regular K. I can get it for $15 per 40 lbs (Costco, two 20's bundled) so I have always felt like that was a good deal. On select holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day) the local HD will carry it for $10 for 40 lbs (buy one get one). I have not tried lump but have been considering a lump/cherry wood mixture on my new stickburner. I want to burn primarily wood but think I'll have an easier time with temps if I use lump. Thanks for all the info and opinions guys. Love the Brethren...
 
I use BGE lump quite a bit and find it to be a very good product. However, as noted it is a bit pricey and I have a local grocer who stocks Nature-Glo which I get for about 30% discount over BGE brand.

For the Weber kettle, I use Kingsford blue exclusively. Lump burns too quickly and too hot for most direct or indirect grilling applications in the Kettle. I tried the Kingsford competition a couple of times but found it created more ash than than the blue. The ash left by comp and blue are different, likely due to the binding agent differences. I just felt that the comp had more ash that blew up when lifting the lid, was more expensive per pound, and darn it don't fix something that ain't broke.
 
I buy what ever I can get for the cheapest (within reason). I just loaded up with 12 bags of the K Comp briq's because I got it for $2.23/bag. Before that, I bought 4 bags of RO Steakhouse Lump to use through the holidays and before that, I've pretty much been a Blue K guy for the reason that many have stated.....I get the dbl 20 lb deal for $15 every day and $10 when it's marked down, so it's very affordable.

I'm a back yard 'Q'er, so I don't get too caught up in the ins and outs of different fuels. I understand that for competition, you need as few variables as possible, but that's just not what I'm into.

I have to say that I was NOT that impressed with the lump that I used over the holidays. I had a lot more trouble with temp control (more than likely simply because I was USED to cooking with Blue K). It certainly did start quicker in the chimney starter, but I don't at all feel that it burned any longer, although I didn't do any really long cooks and my charcoal basket is HUGE, so I just loaded it up.

I'm gonna stick with what I've been doing. I'll just use the "learning curve" and note my observations. For now.....I need to learn how the K Comp briq's work as I've got a LOT of it.:becky:
 
Just a FYI,

Stubbs all natural briqs are made by Cowboy, BGE and Primo lump is made by Royal Oak. I like RO Lump, Wicked Good (lump and briqs) and B&B Oak Lump. Heard that Humphreys and Ozark Oak (Hasty Bake) are really good.
 
FYI about BGE lump. Its from the exact same producer as Royal Oak, the only diff is they grab the bigger pieces out of the royal oak and sell it in the BGE bags. thats why it is expensive. its all the BIG pieces repacked.
 
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Glenn W said:
Just a FYI,

Stubbs all natural briqs are made by Cowboy, BGE and Primo lump is made by Royal Oak. I like RO Lump, Wicked Good (lump and briqs) and B&B Oak Lump. Heard that Humphreys and Ozark Oak (Hasty Bake) are really good.
Click to expand...

i REALLY need to learn to read. sorry for the double post guys

Yeah i noticed that about 6 months ago, that stubbs was made by cowboy. I saw it on there website. I still dont like the lump though and i do know that stubbs briqs do burn very hot and smell very good.

thnaks glen for the info.
 
Wampus said:
I buy what ever I can get for the cheapest (within reason). I just loaded up with 12 bags of the K Comp briq's because I got it for $2.23/bag. Before that, I bought 4 bags of RO Steakhouse Lump to use through the holidays and before that, I've pretty much been a Blue K guy for the reason that many have stated.....I get the dbl 20 lb deal for $15 every day and $10 when it's marked down, so it's very affordable.

I'm a back yard 'Q'er, so I don't get too caught up in the ins and outs of different fuels. I understand that for competition, you need as few variables as possible, but that's just not what I'm into.

I have to say that I was NOT that impressed with the lump that I used over the holidays. I had a lot more trouble with temp control (more than likely simply because I was USED to cooking with Blue K). It certainly did start quicker in the chimney starter, but I don't at all feel that it burned any longer, although I didn't do any really long cooks and my charcoal basket is HUGE, so I just loaded it up.

I'm gonna stick with what I've been doing. I'll just use the "learning curve" and note my observations. For now.....I need to learn how the K Comp briq's work as I've got a LOT of it.:becky:
Click to expand...

how did you get it so cheap? the K comp that is? please let me know so i can get a good deal man.

thanks
 
LT72884 said:
FYI about BGE lump. Its from the exact same producer as Royal Oak, the only diff is they grab the bigger pieces out of the royal oak and sell it in the BGE bags. thats why it is expensive. its all the BIG pieces repacked.
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Are you sure about the big pieces? A friend with an egg who knew I was a Q'er asked if I had any lump. He always used BGE lump and I use RO. I told him the same company made both so he borrowed a couple of bags. Now he only uses RO because it's cheaper. I've never used BGE but he says he can't tell the difference.
 
btcg said:
No deal on any of the Kingsford around here. :confused:
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As you probably already know, Memorial Day (Independence Day & Labor Day, too) they run specials on Kingsford at the big box hardware stores.

Me, I've worked out a deal with my neighbor. I fire up the smoker and he throws his stuff on it. Not uncommon for me to come home and find a bag of coal on my door step.
 
TN_BBQ said:
As you probably already know, Memorial Day (Independence Day & Labor Day, too) they run specials on Kingsford at the big box hardware stores.

Me, I've worked out a deal with my neighbor. I fire up the smoker and he throws his stuff on it. Not uncommon for me to come home and find a bag of coal on my door step.
Click to expand...

Yes sir, and I'll be ready!

Nice neighbor! Mine are all yuppies that seem amused that I love to cook Q.

No soup for them, eh?
 
I'm surprised to see all the "no Cowboy" comments here. I've been using it for over a year now in Bubba Ho-Keg with great results and no issues (other than the occasional foreign object found in the bag or the bottom of the keg at the end of the cook). RO is very hard to find in my neck of the woods, and generally about twice the price. All the monster bags of mesquite lump are all over the place in terms of consistency (size) and I don't particularly care for mesquite flavor with anything other than beef.

I'll be trying other brands this summer (assuming I can find them at a reasonable price locally) but for now I'll stick with the Cowboy.
 
My son-in-law recently cooked briskets in my uds. When I came home I noticed the Cowboys bag but didn't hink much about it and had not heard anything on how it cooked. After he finished I sampled the brisket. My first and immediate comment was to not use Cowboys again. It was that bad. His technique was good but the Cowboys lump really took away from it. IMO it is hard to beat RO.
 
Neither for me. Only seasoned oak. I start a fire pit next to the smoker then stoke as needed with hot coals. Works best and lots cheaper.
 
Just a question but on my walk on I have a stick burner so I have made up a pot that I fill with what ever hardwood I have on hand , it has a small hole to release the gasses, i put it in my burner whenever i cook and at the end of the day
I have beautiful lump, one could use an old pressure cooker for the same results:-D
why then would anyone want to buy mystery wood lump?
 
RICK Allen said:
Just a question but on my walk on I have a stick burner so I have made up a pot that I fill with what ever hardwood I have on hand , it has a small hole to release the gasses, i put it in my burner whenever i cook and at the end of the day
I have beautiful lump, one could use an old pressure cooker for the same results:-D
why then would anyone want to buy mystery wood lump?
Click to expand...


Hi Rick,

I'd say price, and availability. Here in Montgomery County MD, there ain't a lot o' choices. If it goes on sale, I might buy a few bags, just for emergency use, or to make my quality stuff go farther.
 
zydecopaws said:
I'm surprised to see all the "no Cowboy" comments here. I've been using it for over a year now in Bubba Ho-Keg with great results and no issues (other than the occasional foreign object found in the bag or the bottom of the keg at the end of the cook). RO is very hard to find in my neck of the woods, and generally about twice the price. All the monster bags of mesquite lump are all over the place in terms of consistency (size) and I don't particularly care for mesquite flavor with anything other than beef.

I'll be trying other brands this summer (assuming I can find them at a reasonable price locally) but for now I'll stick with the Cowboy.
Click to expand...

I don't think that cowboy taste different or burns poorly. But, the two bags I tried had lots of small chips and flakes in it. It seemed like mostly dust and made a mess. The few big pieces were very odd shape, one was like a pencil. The Frontier brand from Lowes had more large pieces, and the Royal Oak seemed to be very uniformly large pieces.

Maybe it is different plants producing it, or maybe it is rough shipping. Don't know. But Cowboy is junk here in Chicago.
 
Capozzoli said:
Neither for me. Only seasoned oak. I start a fire pit next to the smoker then stoke as needed with hot coals. Works best and lots cheaper.
Click to expand...
100% agree. On my bigger cooks I only shovel embers from oak, beech, or hickory. Lump is hard on the wallet for those cooks on my smoker at least.
That is not going to work to well on small cooks using the UDS or even grilling. That is when the lump works best.
 
Yeah, thats true. guess most of my smokes are big too. Didnt mean to sound like a snob.

Love the Lump.

I use the lump sometimes for fast small grills like you are saying.

Really small, We do the table top Korean bbq in a make shift cast iron pan grill. Use it for greek lamb kebabs and what not too. Plus the lump gives off much less smoke and makes for more comfortable table top grilling.

Didnt mean to poo poo the lump.

Table top grilling is loads of fun BTW especially huddled around the table of coals on a cool fall evening.

Plus the lump makes for easy refueling without a coal bed.

Maybe gives better heat control at the lower temps too?
 
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