Cowboy lump is like a cereal box with a prize inside...

[Curt.P]

I stopped buying Cowboy when I found a piece of painted wood in a bag. Nails seemed to be pretty common with them too. So far, I have not found any prizes in my bags of Jealous Devil or Fogo.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Cowboy is junk. Bad, camp fire , creosote type aftertaste. But then Royal Oak isn't much better either. Both are liable to have rocks, pieces of metal and whatever else in the bags too.

I've found that if I want good lump charcoal, then it has to be Jealous Devil, Kamado Joe, or Fogo all three are good. Neither is cheap though.

 

[IamMadMan]

I've been the (seemingly) lone "defender" of Cowboy for several years now. :grin:

I've bought dozens of bags when on clearance, and honestly, I've had very little to complain about. Maybe a few small pieces of non-coal stuff. Nothing "toxic". It's not the best lump I've used by any means, but it's a usable fuel and, even in it's low lump status, smells better than the best KBB. :razz:

And the sparks are cool in the dark!

Your not alone.... I've used Cowboy for over 8 years now since they cleaned up their act. I buy a half of a pallet at a time and have never had any foreign material. I have the same luck when I play the lottery, but I don't feel left out.


For those that talk about dust; the dust and small fragments are created when the retail stocking merchandiser roughly handles the bags, or stacks other palleted material on them. Lump charcoal is almost pure carbon which makes it very fragile. When the bags are filled with lump at the factory, they have a rotary or vibrating screen to remove smaller pieces and dust. The collected dust and small pieces are then used in the briquette making process.


To those who don't want dust or small pieces, pick your own bags, take them from the center of the pallet where they have the most protection. Slowly turn the bag from end to end, this can easily spot a bag of lump with many broken pieces in it.


I stopped using briquettes after hurricane Katrina hit the golf coast. So much structural and tree debris to process and most of it went into briquettes. I worked for a company that built the temporary kilns and the processing machines to handle the never ending clean-up process. I got to see the charcoal making process front and center.


I will say that this is probably one of most memorable surreal pictures from that disaster.