sdb25
03-14-2010, 12:47 PM
Hey guys! Just wondered if anyone has found a difference in Stubb's briquets purchased recently?
I used it like crazy (and liked it), then it seemed to dry up in Southern California. Recently showed up again at Lowe's so I snatched up 4 bags.
Used it again the first time yesterday, and noticed a difference right out of the bag...
First, the briquets were very uniform with nearly zero broken ones and very little dust in the bag. The briquets themselves also looked a bit different, with no visible bits of charwood. Overall, they just seemed more dense than those purchased previously. Poured the briquets into my charcoal basket and mixed with chunk hickory.
Fired up an upside-down chimney with 10-15 briquets. Lit easily, with no "snap, crackle, pop" that I was accustomed to with prior batches. Within 15 minutes, all were uniformly ashed over with nice thin blue smoke and typical amount of heat. Smell was just a bit different than before. Still relatively "clean".
Next I did my typical minion, and got temps where I wanted (210 for a couple chuckies). Drum temps were a bit harder to control, with temps varying from 200 to 240 with LOTS of work. Finally seemed to settle down about 5 hours in, and ran steady with my last intake choked down almost all the way.
Meat hit temp goals, and turned out nicely (pr0n posted elsewhere). However, there was definitely a hint of charcoal flavor.
I can't blame the stubb's for everything. I was running lower temp than normal, the chuckies dropped a lot of juice, and I was working hard to control temps in the first half of the cook.
Just noticed a difference with this "new" batch of stubb's, and wondering if anyone else has noticed/can comment on their experiences.
Thanks!!!:clap2:
I used it like crazy (and liked it), then it seemed to dry up in Southern California. Recently showed up again at Lowe's so I snatched up 4 bags.
Used it again the first time yesterday, and noticed a difference right out of the bag...
First, the briquets were very uniform with nearly zero broken ones and very little dust in the bag. The briquets themselves also looked a bit different, with no visible bits of charwood. Overall, they just seemed more dense than those purchased previously. Poured the briquets into my charcoal basket and mixed with chunk hickory.
Fired up an upside-down chimney with 10-15 briquets. Lit easily, with no "snap, crackle, pop" that I was accustomed to with prior batches. Within 15 minutes, all were uniformly ashed over with nice thin blue smoke and typical amount of heat. Smell was just a bit different than before. Still relatively "clean".
Next I did my typical minion, and got temps where I wanted (210 for a couple chuckies). Drum temps were a bit harder to control, with temps varying from 200 to 240 with LOTS of work. Finally seemed to settle down about 5 hours in, and ran steady with my last intake choked down almost all the way.
Meat hit temp goals, and turned out nicely (pr0n posted elsewhere). However, there was definitely a hint of charcoal flavor.
I can't blame the stubb's for everything. I was running lower temp than normal, the chuckies dropped a lot of juice, and I was working hard to control temps in the first half of the cook.
Just noticed a difference with this "new" batch of stubb's, and wondering if anyone else has noticed/can comment on their experiences.
Thanks!!!:clap2: