Can you really tell, with Kingsford?

[jswordy]

I used straight hickory wood until my last two smokes. YES, there is a distinct flavor difference that any traditionalist smoker will immediately notice when I cheated on starting the fire with Kingsford charcoal, even if the preponderance of the ensuing smoke session is done with hickory only.

However, there are two interesting things I have found out that are in charcoal's favor: 1.) Cheating on the fire means that I can get things rolling a lot quicker than waiting for wood to burn down; and 2.) among the general public and even people who smoke with coals and wood chips, the flavor of charcoal followed by hickory is preferred, I guess because it is familiar. Both of those things favor cheating with charcoal to start things off and then going all wood once I have coals, even though what results is not true hickory taste.

People around here eat a LOT of cue, and the only reason I can fathom that they prefer the charcoal and wood taste over pure hickory is because virtually every commercial BBQ place around here cheats (usually with gas) and uses wood smoke as a flavoring agent instead of a cooking source. The chief reason is how much quicker/cheaper it is to do it that way.

 

[peaspurple]

I use all lump except for the load of K i use in my starter to get it going............. No complaints here.

 

[gtsum]

when I had my stumps I used a mix of K and lump...the k definately has more of a "flavor" then Royal Oak Lump, or WGC, but I ended up likeing the mixture, and it was easy and cheap to get. Now that I am a ceramic cooker, it is alll lump for this cat

 

[Dr_KY]

I'm on the restaurant grade lump at the moment. K is not available over here. A 12 kilo bag of restaurant lump cost me about 5.00 A 5 kilo bag of lump or briqs cost 5.99 everywhere you look!

 

[Divemaster]

I guess I'm one of those that can smell K being used down the block... I'll be the first to admit that I have a couple of bags of K stashed in the back of the garage in case of an emergency (like when my neighbor runs out and wants to borrow some), but I also have close to 30 bags left of RO from when it was on sale in Feb.

I use Royal Oak Lump and like it a lot. I use a mix of Lump and logs on my Lang, Lump and chunks on my BGE.

 

[otis]

I grew up on KF charcoal cooks started with lighter fluid. I always thought the nasty taste/aftertaste was the fluid. Once I moved out on my own, I went to propane. Am just getting back into charcoal grilling and starting smoking. Remembering the nasty aftertaste of my youth, I decided to go with an electric starter this time around. My first direct cook with KF tasted just as nasty as I remembered--it WASN'T the fluid, all those years, it was the KF. I've since switched to Wallyworld briquets and/or Ozark Oak lump for direct cooks. No nasty aftertaste.

I haven't tried KF on the offset yet. Almost afraid to. Hopefully the hickory will cover it up.

And like somebody else posted, I can smell it/taste it when somebody else in the neighborhood is using it.

I think it's a personal thing. Some folks like Bud, others want Guinness...

 

[Smokey Al Gold]

I rarely used regular K up until now. (Since it was on sale! I did ribeyes Friday and smoked a brisket Monday and I did not notice any aftertaste at all. It burned really well for me. I start mine in a chimney and after the initial blue smoke at the startup there is no weird smell. But with most briquettes you get blue smoke in the beginning but that always burns away after a few minutes.

 

[RobKC]

Competition K (now that my stash of Ranchers is gone) in my WSM and kettle for everyday cooks. There is no off odor at startup or during the cook. We use Good-One lump in the Rodeo at contests.

 

[Learnin Querve]

Watched a short bit on TV the other night about how KF briquettes are made. Show was done at their Springfield, Oregon facility. Spokesperson stated that the main wood sources there are pine, cedar, and alder. Suppose that has some bearing on the taste?

Chris

 

[jazzspot]

Spokesperson stated that the main wood sources there are pine, cedar, and alder. Suppose that has some bearing on the taste?
Chris

No chit?!?!? Maybe some pine mixed in with other woods are good and not noticeable? I haven't used KF in about 7+ years, so I can't recall what it tasted like then because all I did was grilled food.

 

[SpammyQ]

I only buy Kingsford when its on sale real cheap...Last cook I did smoked like crazy, white smoke, I figure it must have been damp or something. I prefer to use the Royal Oak briquettes if I have a choice, no funky smell and it burns longer for me. Also less ash. I never really noticed a major taste difference, however.

 

[jeffjenkins1]

I like royal oak lump but will use K, do notice a difference in taste with the K.

Jeff

 

[Harbormaster]

I grew up on K, even used it when I moved out on my own.
After I tried my first bag of natural lump, that was the end of K.
None of the cookers I currently have have ever seen K, and never will. I'm still burning through the 1000 lbs of Rancher I bought last year. I'll go back to lump when it's gone.