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View Full Version : Sam's Club 100% Mesquite Lump Charcoal (w/chicken pron)


bigabyte
03-11-2010, 12:00 PM
I have seen these at Sam's for a while now and only recently pulled the trigger on some. I got a 40 pound bag for $12, and the pieces in this thing are HUGE!:cool:

I fired up a chimney full to cook up some chicken leg quarters and wings for lunch on my kettle. This stuff popped like crazy. When I dumped it from the chimney into the kettle it was like dumping a chimney full of sparklers, I singed hairs on my arms from the sparks flying. There was also a lot of smoke coming off of it for lump charcoal.

After letting the coals settle down in the kettle for about 10 minutes, I went to put the chicken on, and there was still quite a bit of smoke coming out of the kettle for being pure charcoal.

Anyone tried this stuff yet? I will have a more firm opinion after the chickens done, but so far, despite the wonderfully large chunks (love that), it seems the downsides from the sparking and smoke are making it seem like not such a great buy. I'll keep y'all posted.:wink:

bigabyte
03-11-2010, 12:04 PM
I just went to flip the wings, and the smoke has died down now that the lump has been in the kettle for about 20 minutes. Smells fine...the final tastes of the chicken will be the key...

smoke it if ya got it
03-11-2010, 12:06 PM
I've used it for years now and I love it!

bigabyte
03-11-2010, 01:05 PM
I give two thumbs up to this lump, in fact it may very well be my new standard lump but I would like to use a couple more bags before saying that for sure.

After an hour of cooking there was still fuel left, so I shut the kettle down to save for next time. On my next cook I'll get to see how much of a chimney was left over, and how well it relights. Next time I will know to give it 15 to 20 minutes for the smoke to clear after dumping it in the kettle, although having the chicken in the smoke did not seem to hurt anything flavor wise, it tastes GREAT!:cool:

The chicken turned out delicious!:cool:

Here's the wings using butter and Franks...
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc150/bigabyte/Chicken/Wings/20100311/Wings.jpg

Here's 2 of the leg quarters, rubbed with Pot's BBQ Chicken Turkey Rub, and glazed with Williamson BBQ Sauce. Thanks MattG for the rub and sauce, they were delicious!:cool:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc150/bigabyte/Chicken/Leg_Quarters/20100311/Legs_Williamson.jpg

Here's the other 2 leg quarters, rubbed with the same rub, but glazed with Danny Gaulden's Mustard Glaze. It is delicious!
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc150/bigabyte/Chicken/Leg_Quarters/20100311/Legs_Gaulden.jpg

barbefunkoramaque
03-11-2010, 01:11 PM
I can't believe you are doing this. I wrote down this exact thign and was going to ask if anyone had done it but ours here is hickory... 40 pounds from mexico. big bag.

I have seen these at Sam's for a while now and only recently pulled the trigger on some. I got a 40 pound bag for $12, and the pieces in this thing are HUGE!:cool:

I fired up a chimney full to cook up some chicken leg quarters and wings for lunch on my kettle. This stuff popped like crazy. When I dumped it from the chimney into the kettle it was like dumping a chimney full of sparklers, I singed hairs on my arms from the sparks flying. There was also a lot of smoke coming off of it for lump charcoal.

After letting the coals settle down in the kettle for about 10 minutes, I went to put the chicken on, and there was still quite a bit of smoke coming out of the kettle for being pure charcoal.

Anyone tried this stuff yet? I will have a more firm opinion after the chickens done, but so far, despite the wonderfully large chunks (love that), it seems the downsides from the sparking and smoke are making it seem like not such a great buy. I'll keep y'all posted.:wink:

barbefunkoramaque
03-11-2010, 01:11 PM
the sparks are from the pressure treated remnants they use

HeSmellsLikeSmoke
03-11-2010, 01:11 PM
Man, that chicken is a great sales job for the mesquite lump. Too bad there isn't a single Sam's Club in Vermont.

HeSmellsLikeSmoke
03-11-2010, 01:14 PM
the sparks are from the pressure treated remnants they use

:biggrin:

Although, I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the mesquite source is from all those piles of poisoned mesquite from clearing land down there in Texas.

cardiac_cadet002
03-11-2010, 01:15 PM
I checked naked whiz and no mention of it. Thanks for the heads up tho, I'll look for it next time I go.

bigabyte
03-11-2010, 01:25 PM
I could not find a brand name on it anywhere. It just said "100% Mesquite Charcoal", and had a bunch of stuff in Spanish too.:lol: So I'm sure it was Hecho'd in good ol' Mehico. I did not take a pic of it in the bag, sorry. Bag is long gone and I have the lump in a storage container.

thomasjurisd
03-11-2010, 01:30 PM
:biggrin:

Although, I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the mesquite source is from all those piles of poisoned mesquite from clearing land down there in Texas.

The things we tend to focus on amuse me sometimes. For instance, my wife (a safety specialist at MD Anderson here in Houston) has this thing about PCB's in plastic food containers (like the one's microwave meals come in) and worries about the chemicals that leach out of this stuff when you microwave food in it. Anyway, she was discussing this with a cancer doctor a few weeks ago and his comment was (I'm paraphrasing here) "People worry all the time about toxins in food, water, toys you name it etc. but the air we breath everyday contains more toxins than all these combined." I don't know if he meant the air in Houston (which is worse than most thanks to the refineries in Deer Park) but I would agree that in general we tend to focus on red herrings when it comes to what is actually killing us. .02.

Chef Jim
03-11-2010, 01:31 PM
Chris, good lookin stuff!

Smokey Al Gold
03-11-2010, 01:55 PM
Looks awesome Chris! I see this same 40lb mesquite bag at sam's everytime I go but I haven't tried it yet. I'm gonna have to pick up a bag next time I usually grab the 2 pack of K instead. But it won't hurt to have a 2 pack of k and 40lbs of lump :)

bigabyte
03-11-2010, 02:02 PM
The big chunks in this stuff (at least in the bag I got) are the biggest I have ever seen in any lump I have ever owned before. Previously B&B had the biggest chunks I had seen. I have one piece from this bag that is almost as big in diameter as my chimney, and is about 8 to 9 inches long. It's a short charred unsplit log basically.

Woodreaux BBQ
03-11-2010, 02:04 PM
the sparks are from the pressure treated remnants they use

U crack me up.

thirdeye
03-11-2010, 02:19 PM
I haven't noticed it at my Sams's, but I'm going there for some corned brisket. I'll have to ask about it.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%2012/DSC09911a.jpg


I've cooked on mesquite charcoal for years and love it. Right now I get the Lazarri in 40# bags for $19. It's not as sparky as some. All mesquite lump has big pieces, but I built a lump whacker to even things out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC09979aa.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC09981a.jpg

bigtex52
03-11-2010, 02:20 PM
I've used it a lot and sparklers are not an exaggeration! When you are starting it up, you need to babysit it as it pops big chunks out of the chimney. I have some nice sized burn craters on my wood deck and a couple of burn scars on the soles of my feet. (OK, it's not a good idea to go barefoot around a popping fire! ;)

Plus, it has been my experience that a lot of it is way under-carbonized, so it is like cooking with a mixture of lump and mesquite. Can't beat the price though, for what you get.

Bushwacker
03-11-2010, 03:04 PM
That Bird came out looking real good. I remember being stationed out at Ft Carson, CO. back in 77 and we'd light a campfire during gunnery, and it was mesquite, It would "Snap,Crackle and pop all night long,, burnt some holes into my Field jacket trying to keep warm up there in the winter, lol, those were the days...

bigabyte
03-18-2010, 12:33 PM
Just thought I should wrap this up by saying this is officially my favorite charcoal now. I have not had the problems with sparking/popping or the smoke ever since that first chimney full.

I posted my review of this stuff here.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80624

Chef Jim
03-18-2010, 01:15 PM
I looked in Sam's yesterday and they don't have it here.

barbefunkoramaque
03-18-2010, 04:59 PM
Third I still love the long long probe you sent me to see if the briskets are juicy where I can't reach them... its like 22 inches long.

I call it Thirdeye's Big Juicy Probe.


I haven't noticed it at my Sams's, but I'm going there for some corned brisket. I'll have to ask about it.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%2012/DSC09911a.jpg


I've cooked on mesquite charcoal for years and love it. Right now I get the Lazarri in 40# bags for $19. It's not as sparky as some. All mesquite lump has big pieces, but I built a lump whacker to even things out.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC09979aa.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC09981a.jpg

Derek
03-18-2010, 05:02 PM
Looks farkin good man! keep up the good work!

Smitty250
03-18-2010, 05:28 PM
I just bought a bag of it yesterday to use this weekend at a comp in Chandler, AZ. I used it for a bed of coals in my FAT 40 then just add wood as needed. Thanks for the review.

-Smitty