Review - Sam's Club "Best of the West" 100% Mesquite Lump Charcoal

[bigabyte]

A couple weeks back I posted about my first time lighting up a chimney full of this stuff. Since that first lighting, I have only had very great results with this stuff. It is officially my new favorite charcoal.

This stuff comes in a 40 pound bag for $12 and change at my local Sam's. The pieces inside it are freaking huge, and I am really liking that option of having charcoal logs for putting on the smoker, awful convenient.

I only had issues with the coals sparking, and putting out lots smoke on my very first chimney laod. I can only guess there must have been a piece or two in there that was not fully charred. Since then however, after about 10 more chimneys, I have not had that problem at all.

I ran my WSM on this charcoal for 24 hours on this stuff from yesterday through this morning I had to refuel twice (I got 8 hours per load), and refueling was easy because the pieces are so big it was like tossing a few sticks in there basically. I had ZERO problems with sparking/popping or the charcoal producing smoke at all during this whole time.

This was my initial posting about this stuff.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80187&highlight=sam%27s
The first post would be a little misleading because that particular chimney-full sparked and smoked a lot, but that was the ONLY time that has happened to me.

[hcj3rd]

I remember your original post.Thanks for the review. I have been eyeing it at Sam's but was going to wait until we heard back from you. I'm going to pick some up my next trip to Sam's.

[1FUNVET]

I was also waiting to hear about the results.Will pick up some on the way home tomorrow.I would have a hard time with 2 bags on the Harley. :-P

[Chef Jim]

I just checked Sam's web site and they list this charcoal as unavailable, at least not on the web or in Florida.

Then I Googled it and found this web site. http://www.twotreesproducts.com/

The bag is different from the one shown on Sam's, but the logo is the same.
Havn't checked the price yet but it might be OK for those of us that can't get any other way. :thumb:

[kik_start]

I bought some yesterday and it has LOGS in the bag....pieces so big that I will have to chop them up before I can get it in the weber kettle.

[Jeff Selle]

I use Lazzari's Mesquite Chunk Wood Charcoal, and it is great. Although I can't find it for less that $20 for 40 pounds, but even then it is cheaper than Kingsford -- and better for many applications.

I did an over-nighter with it last night for the fist time and I admit I was a little nervous, but it went from 10:30 p.m. to 8 a.m. this morning before I had to add fuel. I found packing it very tightly into the fire ring on my WSM makes a difference in how quickly it burns...

[bigabyte]

I bought some yesterday and it has LOGS in the bag....pieces so big that I will have to chop them up before I can get it in the weber kettle.
Yep, they are freaking huge. When I started my WSM, I put 3 of those logs, and filled in with the small pieces. Then when refueling i used the medium sized chunks, which of course are bigger than the biggest chunks form any other bag of lump I have ever seen. The big logs wouldn't fit into the WSM through the access door without lifting the middle chamber off. Then again, maybe the logs you got were even bigger than the ones I got and they can't even fit in the charcoal ring??:shock:

[FireChief]

Hey all. Yeah, I posted about this stuff a week ago as well and just cut into the bag today. I can also confirm, the pieces in this bag are HUGE!! I've never seen lump like this. I'm running it right now in my Pro Q Excel. It's only been a couple hours so not sure how long it will run. Doesn't seem to be running very hot, but it's pretty breezy out right now so it's affecting my temps.

Despite the warning on the bag, I got almost no sparking and I lit it off with my weed torch. This too may become my fuel of choice going forward. I picked mine up for $14.25 here in El Paso, TX. For 40 lbs. of this stuff it's one hell of a deal.

[EatRBBQ]

Thanks Bigabyte, good intel.
Now I gotta check my local Sam's to see if/when they'll get it in for me!

[jrb03]

We've been using this stuff at home and comps for a while now. It is a good deal for the price, and the big pieces work great in the backwoods. One word of caution though, most bags have a huge amount of "dust" at the bottom, Im guessing we are using ~ 30-35 lbs from each bag. One bag last month was absolutely horrible, threw away at least 20 lbs of unusable chips and dust. This one bag was a fluke, so we will continue to use the product. $12 for 30-35 lbs of usable lump is a good deal.

[FireChief]

Hey all. Yeah, I posted about this stuff a week ago as well and just cut into the bag today. I can also confirm, the pieces in this bag are HUGE!! I've never seen lump like this. I'm running it right now in my Pro Q Excel. It's only been a couple hours so not sure how long it will run. Doesn't seem to be running very hot, but it's pretty breezy out right now so it's affecting my temps.

Despite the warning on the bag, I got almost no sparking and I lit it off with my weed torch. This too may become my fuel of choice going forward. I picked mine up for $14.25 here in El Paso, TX. For 40 lbs. of this stuff it's one hell of a deal.

Update. Ran my offset on Sunday (Charcoaler Duo) doing to chicken breasts and this stuff ran hot! Not sure how many pounds I used, but it was about 2/3 full in the smoker box, sitting on an elevated expanded metal grate at ash pan level. These pieces due to their size take a long time to heat up, but the main chamber got up to 400 before closed down the intake and let it run at about 310-325. Chicken came out great and only took about 1 1/2 hourse to cook. I'll have to play around with this stuff somemore so I don't waste any charcoal.

My next smoke just has to be a hot and fast brisket. I think stuff might be perfect for that. I've used split logs before as they get hot but they die down too quick (at least in my cheap offset) and produce tons of ash. Later.

[bbq54321]

i too, found at least 25% powder. and for that size bag, thats bad business in my book. also, anyone realize its from meh-hi-ko and, to my knowledge dere aint inny control or restrictionz

sorry to pizz on the other positives

[Midnight Smoke]

Thank Chris, I will be checking into that. Good price!

[Midnight Smoke]

i too, found at least 25% powder. and for that size bag, thats bad business in my book. also, anyone realize its from meh-hi-ko and, to my knowledge dere aint inny control or restrictionz

sorry to pizz on the other positives

Did you just try 1 bag?

[bigabyte]

My bag wasn't 25% powder, but perhaps many of them are. Mine was maybe between 15% to 20% fines, not really dust either but pieces too small to use mostly. I dumped it into a plastic container when I opened it so I saw how much there was right away.

Even with 25% dust, that is 30 pounds of usable lump for $13 here. That's $4.25 for 10 pounds of lump. I can't think of a better price for lump that good, and the bags you are comparing it to will have unusable dust/fines whereas the 30# you get for $4.25 is all usable because we already took out the 10# of dust you mentioned.

[Midnight Smoke]

Just checked and it is $14.27 local. That is still a killer price! Go figure, I am an hour's drive from Mexico but the product is cheaper in the Midwest. :doh::confused:

[bigabyte]

Adobo surcharge!:wink:

[bbq54321]

Did you just try 1 bag?


yes sir - thats all it took to form a lasting impression. maybe i expect too much. it wasnt only the 3-4 lbs of powder that turned me off. i prefer some consistant chunk size. i dont like pouring to be stopped by an 18x4" piece that Ive got rip open the bag to get out. also, the popping sounded like kids having a pop-gun war on Christmas day. thenn - i read the bag :shock:

be that as it may - i appreciate the opened minded gesture :becky:

fwiw: im stuck on royal oak lump (red bag) :thumb:

[HHpepper]

Very good stuff, I like the large pieces too.

[Midnight Smoke]

yes sir - thats all it took to form a lasting impression. maybe i expect too much. it wasnt only the 3-4 lbs of powder that turned me off. i prefer some consistant chunk size. i dont like pouring to be stopped by an 18x4" piece that Ive got rip open the bag to get out. also, the popping sounded like kids having a pop-gun war on Christmas day. thenn - i read the bag :shock:

be that as it may - i appreciate the opened minded gesture :becky:

fwiw: im stuck on royal oak lump (red bag) :thumb:

Just wondered, I have been using the RO Red for a couple years and I have gotten good and bad bags. Lately mostly bad with a lot of powder and broken up lump. Gorilla handlers at Wally World :mad:. I have gotten Lazzari and had enormous hunks that I broke up with a Welding Hammer (thanks Thrideye). I like Chris's logic though, on the price paid for the amount you end up with.

[bbq54321]

Just wondered, I have been using the RO Red for a couple years and I have gotten good and bad bags. Lately mostly bad with a lot of powder and broken up lump. Gorilla handlers at Wally World :mad:. I have gotten Lazzari and had enormous hunks that I broke up with a Welding Hammer (thanks Thrideye). I like Chris's logic though, on the price paid for the amount you end up with.

[I like Chris's logic though, on the price paid for the amount you end up with.]
great logic - great money management! yes - great value indeed! and great report, ill add! :clap2::clap2:

i also need to mention what swayed my size preferrence. when using a chimmney fire starter, consistant size is almost necessary. also, i mainly do low and slow. as im sure you know,mesquite is not choice for l-n-s

noww, ive got a stumps grav-feed and love it !! again, big chunks not practical for my animal cooker portfolio :-P

[bigabyte]

I think your point about it being made in Mexico has merit. I've been wrangling with that for a while about a few brands of lump. I used to rely on RO as the dependable source of lump anywhere, but sometimes the bags aren't from the US for that brand either unfortunately.:sad: Honestly, the only reason I tried this was just in case Sam's carries this regularly, it will be easily available to me at a great price. However, if I know Sam's Club at all, one day this stuff will simply no longer be in stock, then I'm back to RO basically.

[jrb03]

Ive been buying this at Sams for close to two years now, I dont see it going anywhere soon. This is not the ideal lump for grilling because of the size, but is PERFECT for low and slow smoking. Big pieces last forever. Love mesquite lump for low and slow, it is nothing like mesquite logs in a stick burner, which I dont like.

[mgwerks]

This is what I've been using the last couple years, and I can't remember issues with popping or sparking. The large pieces work great in the WSM 22.

[grillfella]

A couple weeks back I posted about my first time lighting up a chimney full of this stuff. Since that first lighting, I have only had very great results with this stuff. It is officially my new favorite charcoal.

This stuff comes in a 40 pound bag for $12 and change at my local Sam's. The pieces inside it are freaking huge, and I am really liking that option of having charcoal logs for putting on the smoker, awful convenient.

I only had issues with the coals sparking, and putting out lots smoke on my very first chimney laod. I can only guess there must have been a piece or two in there that was not fully charred. Since then however, after about 10 more chimneys, I have not had that problem at all.

I ran my WSM on this charcoal for 24 hours on this stuff from yesterday through this morning I had to refuel twice (I got 8 hours per load), and refueling was easy because the pieces are so big it was like tossing a few sticks in there basically. I had ZERO problems with sparking/popping or the charcoal producing smoke at all during this whole time.

This was my initial posting about this stuff.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80187&highlight=sam%27s
The first post would be a little misleading because that particular chimney-full sparked and smoked a lot, but that was the ONLY time that has happened to me.

I don't know if you have a restaurant depot over there it is $9.89cents for a 40lb bag of 100%natural mesquite charcoal big chunks in bag as well

[swamprb]

Lowes had some 9lb bags of Best of the West Mesquite lump and I wasn't too pleased with what was in the bags. Way too much dust! The small bags were pretty useless and it took almost 3 bags to fill my BGE!

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_2629.jpg

I'd probably buy the 40lb bags for $12 if I saw them, but Cash & Carry stocks the 40lb bags of Lazarri Mesquite lump for $13. It's hit or miss with the large bags, some have freakin' logs and meteorites that that need to be broken down, which is a PITA and a huge mess-I probably get @25-30lbs of usable lump after sweeping up the dust and duff!

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_2623.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_2626.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_2627.jpg

Firing off the Lazarri or BOTW Mesquite lump is like lighting sparklers! I wear safety glasses when I'm torching it in my Egg or kettle, cinders have burnt my decking and wood tables!

[texman02]

Went to my local Sam's yesterday, they were selling Frontier Hardwood lump for $14.27. Haven't tried this yet but picked up a bag. Is this stuff any good?

[jeffjenkins1]

I'll have to check my sam's out to see if they carry it. Thanks for the info.

Jeff

[SirPorkaLot]

My main concern is: "Mesquite Lump"

I don't care for the flavor of mesquite, so I can't imagine liking the results of lump from 100% mesquite..

[bigabyte]

I don't like cooking with mesquite wood either. The flavor from the mesquite lump is so much milder. I would equate the difference in flavor to the difference between cooking with Oak wood and B&B Oak lump.

I'm not trying to sell this stuff. I just thought I would share my experience with everyone since it took me over a year to finally bring myself to try this stuff, only to find out I really like it. I should have started buying it long ago in my opinion. Just thought I should mention that since I have made a couple posts defending this stuff. I'm not saying it's the UDS of charcoal (snicker), just saying it's my new lump of choice. It's not for everyone of course, that is why there are various kinds of fuels because not everyone buys the same stuff.

[ytsejam]

Went to my local Sam's yesterday, they were selling Frontier Hardwood lump for $14.27. Haven't tried this yet but picked up a bag. Is this stuff any good?

that is what my local sams had.
I went ahead and picked up a bag to give it the ole college try.
I just noticed you are a dallas person too, maybe it is a regional thing or somesuch.

[texman02]

that is what my local sams had.
I went ahead and picked up a bag to give it the ole college try.
I just noticed you are a dallas person too, maybe it is a regional thing or somesuch.
Yeah that is what I am thinking. Hoping this rain get cleared out of here tonight gonna fire up the drumpit tomorrow and try the stuff out.

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

I bought a bag of frontier. I mixed it with some stubbs in the drum and it worked fine. The stubbs was on top, so it lit as usual with the weed burner. The second time I used it, I used it by itself in the egg. I will never do that again. It cracked and popped and exploded like crazy. I didn't think I would ever get it lit. I will use it up by mixing with briqs in the uds, but not by itself. I will not buy another bag.