Think I may throw Royal Oak to the curb

Learning to BBQ

Learning to BBQ

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Around here all the stores I regularly shop at stock Royal Oak charcoal briquettes. It's the cheapest, $8.99 for 15lbs. One stocks Kingsford BB same size for $14.99. Figuring there's little difference between RO and Kingsford, and being the frugal guy I am, I've always just bought the RO. I felt experimental a couple of weeks ago and splurged for $20 for Weber briquettes for a 20lb bag (their bag is ridiculous with the zip seal thingy on the side, next time its just cut the top off). The weber briquettes are larger and leave way less ash. What your left with at the end of a quick grill (mostly what we do) is still usable, whereas the smaller RO briquettes are smaller when I'm done and shut down once lit again are pretty much done. I opened a bag of RO on fiday and i'm pretty much done of it now on sunday. Just seems the Weber bag lasted way longer with way less ash. Thinking it may be worth it to spend the extra money. What has been your experiences? I don't have the choices some of you have keep in mind. I just emptied the ash catcher and it was full after three short cooks with the RO.
 
I don't really know about the regular Royal Oak briqs, but the RO Chef Select are fantastic. $24 for a 40# bag and can be gotten ship-to-store on DoItBest, but I pick 'em up at a local wood supply place here (I think for less - can't remember). Great stuff - my go-to. I have no doubt the Weber is great, but it's a little costly for me.

I miss Rancher, esp. the Trader Joe's rebranded Rancher - cheap, great and easy to get - but no more. :mad:
Anyway - if you can easily find Royal Oak Chef Select, I'd give it a shot. Great burn, low ash, really good stuff for the price.
 
I like Weber briquettes a lot. They’re hard to find around me so I don’t buy them often. I like Kignsford Professional too, but will use blue bag for grilling.
 
Weber is now the only briquette I will use
 
I don't have the choices some of you have, I just have the cheapest RO that they make (I'm not dissing the brand), I'm sure they make better stuff which some of you have access to. I think it may be worth the money for the Weber.. Bigger coals left over, way less ash.
 
And I wish that I could change the title now of this thread. I'm not throwing RO under the bus, it's just what I have access to. I'm sure they have better stuff. Walmart and my other locals only stocks their cheap stuff.
 
RO Natural in the brown bag is available at Walmart in my area. I like it much better than regular RO or KBB. Give it a try if it is available.
 
I bought two RO Classic twin pack from Walvid-19mart during the $8.88 sale and it was horrible. I returned it for a refund. I kind of liked the Kingsford Apple briqs I got from Bargain Hunt 15# bag for $5 and should have hoarded but did not. Academy doesn’t want to stock BnB charcoal but has truckloads of their pellets.
 
KBB guy here. Never had a problem. Cheap and I can get 16 hours of burn time out of a full ring in my 18" WSM. The trick is to make sure it is burning clean before adding the meat.


Just my .02.
 
I went strictly to Weber and havent looked back. Most of what is on the shelves is rather cheap and does not last long, plus, seems to have a chemical smell to it.
I buy from Ace Hardware with the $5.00 off cupon I get once a month.
 
Your lucky you can get Weber, ya can’t find them anywhere around here...

Best briquette ever, and 100% worth the money.
 
I really like Weber briquettes. January 2019, I bought 35 bags from Home Depot @$3.90/bag based on rave reviews. I still had a stash of $4.00 Stubbs to work through, so I didn't get to the Weber until March 2020. First thing I noticed is they take longer to light. Second thing I noticed is the yard didn't smell like an old tire on fire like you get from KBB or RO. Third thing I noticed is after cooking with the Vortex on the 26" is four hours later the 26" was still 400 degrees.



Really impressed with the product. Don't know if I'm impressed enough to spend $20 a bag though because I have been spoiled by low priced charcoal for a long time. For some reason I can never find the $8.88 Royal Oak at Walmart. I'd probably try it at that price just to see if it was any good. I would like to try the RO chef select, but just a nag before I bought a pallet.


I hope Weber doesn't discontinue this product.


Robert
 
I bought some of the Royal Oak from Walmart for 8.88 for two bags. The only thing I use it for is hamburgers. I tried it in a smoker and it produced the most white smoke and rancid taste I have ever experienced.

I have used other Royal Oak charcoal before and was OK with it, but this cheaper charcoal is cheaper for a reason.
 
What RO was it?

I've always been a fan of KBB or now KBB Pro (just found a costco deal on it and love it). I fell for the cheap RO Classic last year and it is trash. I use it for burgers or quick charcoal grill cooks. Or to light my fire pit.
 
LloydQ said:
RO Natural in the brown bag is available at Walmart in my area. I like it much better than regular RO or KBB. Give it a try if it is available.
Click to expand...

Same here. RO Natural is a solid choice. The Walmart around here carries it as well so that's my go-to.
 
Really like the Weber. Been using them for three years now, along with B&B oak lump.
 
Started using Weber briquettes a few months ago and like them A LOT.
Might take a bit longer to fire up but they burn really stable and for a long time.
And leftover briquettes as still good to use, you can even light them up again in a starter.
 
gtr said:
I don't really know about the regular Royal Oak briqs, but the RO Chef Select are fantastic. $24 for a 40# bag and can be gotten ship-to-store on DoItBest, but I pick 'em up at a local wood supply place here (I think for less - can't remember). Great stuff - my go-to. I have no doubt the Weber is great, but it's a little costly for me.

I miss Rancher, esp. the Trader Joe's rebranded Rancher - cheap, great and easy to get - but no more. :mad:
Anyway - if you can easily find Royal Oak Chef Select, I'd give it a shot. Great burn, low ash, really good stuff for the price.
Click to expand...

Thanks, out best do it has the Chef Select, now I will try it. I did buy some the the home deopt embers. Not my fav at all. Wierd lumpy ash and a lot of it and I go through it much faster. The KBB is a finer ash. and lasts longer but, I do get what everyone means about the chemical taste. You know right away when someone is using KBB
 
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I tend to find these things go in cycles. I used to get Cowboy lump really cheap, but I'd find all kinds of chit in them, cement, rocks, one time even a live frog that hopped out when I opened the bag. Switched to RO, and thought it was the greatest chit in the world, for about a year or two, then started to find the same rocks and crap in the bags. Switched back to Cowboy and was amazed at the quality, how much it had improved. A couple years later, start finding pieces of crap in there again, and on and on and on. I feel they have some agreement between the companies that one will produce a crappy product for a couple years and then the next company gets the short straw for a couple years.
 
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