Royal Oak Briquette--Review

[bgross88]

Thanks to the Brethern, I found out about the recent charcoal sales at Walmart and Lowe's. I have always used KBB, but with Lowe's having Royal Oaks' briquettes on sale, I figured I'd buy a few bags(4) and give them a try.

Personally, I've never had an issue with KBB. I fire it up, let it burn down to TBS, and start cooking. That being said, I'm always up to try something new.

I fired up my 22.5 WSM, with water in the pan, packed the charcoal ring full with a full bag(15 lbs), and off we went. First off, it definitely has a different smell than KBB when 1st lit. It took about 45 mins for the smoker to settle in around 240 and I put on 3 racks of BB ribs I had picked up from Restaurant Depot. This is where things got a bit interesting.

My WSM usually runs rock solid between 240-250, with water, and a full ring. Obviously, it will drop a bit when adding the meat, but it goes right back to the 240-250 range and stays there for HOURS. I run with the top vent open, and one bottom vent 1/3 open to achieve those temps. (This is when cooking with KBB)

The Royal Oak would not come back up to temperature after I added the ribs. I had to open all 3 lower vents almost 1/2 for over an hour to get it back to 250. I then slowly closed each vent to insure it would stay at 250. It started dropping after 2.5 hours, so I reopened all 3 vents to maintain 250 for the remainder of the cook.

Not sure what to think....maybe I got a bad bag. Though there were no rips in the bag. Just weird I couldn't get the WSM to settle down. It wasn't windy, and the temps were in the mid 60's outside.

I didn't notice any difference in taste. I was very curious to see if I could since I've always used KBB and I know some people are very unhappy with it. For me, there wasn't any noticeable difference in food quality. YMMV. Total cook time was a bit longer than usual, but that's a product of my temps yo-yo-ing for a while.

It produced approximately the same amount of ash, and I'm left with about the same amount of charcoal to re-use the next cook. I didn't get scientific and measure amounts--just giving it the eyeball test.

Overall, I want to try it again to see what happens. Since KBB doesn't bother me, and I didn't notice an improvement in taste, I'm inclined to stay with KBB, but that's pending a few more test runs with Royal Oak.

Feel free to ask questions, I'm sure I left some things out.

 

[Harbormaster]

These are two completely different charcoals made my two different companies. I would have been terribly surprised if they burned exactly the same in your WSM. Part of using a new fuel source is understanding how it's going to burn in your pit.

IMO, using water in your WSM is a major waste of fuel energy. Not only does it require a great deal of energy to get the water to boiling, it requires a lot of energy to keep it there. In my 10 years of cooking on WSMs I have completely gone away from water. My BBQ does not suffer in the least quality wise.

 

[daninnewjersey]

Thanks for the insight. just got some today and will do a trial tonight. I'll report back tomorrow....

 

[tom b]

I usually use the lump but picked up a six pack of the briqs, smiked like crazy upon light up but all else was fine. I have only used it for a coal bed in the stick burner.

 

[wmarkw]

I like the royal oak briquettes and use them quite a bit for vortex grilling with the kettle. I also like the Academy Sports brand as well which i think is an offshoot of RO. They take a little longer to get going but I havent had any major issues. Recommended.

 

[bgross88]

I like the royal oak briquettes and use them quite a bit for vortex grilling with the kettle. I also like the Academy Sports brand as well which i think is an offshoot of RO. They take a little longer to get going but I havent had any major issues. Recommended.

Wondering if that may have been my issue--threw the meat on a tad early? Next time I use them I'm gonna wait longer before starting the cook.

I wasn't expecting them to burn just like the KBB. But I also did think it would take that big of adjustments to get a steady temp. Live and learn!

 

[bgross88]

These are two completely different charcoals made my two different companies. I would have been terribly surprised if they burned exactly the same in your WSM. Part of using a new fuel source is understanding how it's going to burn in your pit.

IMO, using water in your WSM is a major waste of fuel energy. Not only does it require a great deal of energy to get the water to boiling, it requires a lot of energy to keep it there. In my 10 years of cooking on WSMs I have completely gone away from water. My BBQ does not suffer in the least quality wise.

I didn't expect them to cook like KBB-but at the same time, I was a bit surprised with the cook.

I've heard a lot of people say the same thing about water. I should probably try a clay saucer or just foil it, as a comparison. But I've had such good results with water I keep using it.

 

[IXL]

Next time, you might want to try opening the vents quite a bit more from the git go. The R.O. probably just needs more air for any given temperature than the KBB.

 

[Smokeoholic]

I use both lump and RO.

RO gets the job done....well

 

[SmokinM]

Burns out too fast imo. Kbb is so much better.

 

[bstomper]

Thanks to the Brethern, I found out about the recent charcoal sales at Walmart and Lowe's. I have always used KBB, but with Lowe's having Royal Oaks' briquettes on sale, I figured I'd buy a few bags(4) and give them a try.

Personally, I've never had an issue with KBB. I fire it up, let it burn down to TBS, and start cooking. That being said, I'm always up to try something new.

I fired up my 22.5 WSM, with water in the pan, packed the charcoal ring full with a full bag(15 lbs), and off we went. First off, it definitely has a different smell than KBB when 1st lit. It took about 45 mins for the smoker to settle in around 240 and I put on 3 racks of BB ribs I had picked up from Restaurant Depot. This is where things got a bit interesting.

My WSM usually runs rock solid between 240-250, with water, and a full ring. Obviously, it will drop a bit when adding the meat, but it goes right back to the 240-250 range and stays there for HOURS. I run with the top vent open, and one bottom vent 1/3 open to achieve those temps. (This is when cooking with KBB)

The Royal Oak would not come back up to temperature after I added the ribs. I had to open all 3 lower vents almost 1/2 for over an hour to get it back to 250. I then slowly closed each vent to insure it would stay at 250. It started dropping after 2.5 hours, so I reopened all 3 vents to maintain 250 for the remainder of the cook.

Not sure what to think....maybe I got a bad bag. Though there were no rips in the bag. Just weird I couldn't get the WSM to settle down. It wasn't windy, and the temps were in the mid 60's outside.

I didn't notice any difference in taste. I was very curious to see if I could since I've always used KBB and I know some people are very unhappy with it. For me, there wasn't any noticeable difference in food quality. YMMV. Total cook time was a bit longer than usual, but that's a product of my temps yo-yo-ing for a while.

It produced approximately the same amount of ash, and I'm left with about the same amount of charcoal to re-use the next cook. I didn't get scientific and measure amounts--just giving it the eyeball test.

Overall, I want to try it again to see what happens. Since KBB doesn't bother me, and I didn't notice an improvement in taste, I'm inclined to stay with KBB, but that's pending a few more test runs with Royal Oak.

Feel free to ask questions, I'm sure I left some things out.

It's a coincidence that you posted this now because I just smoked a pork shoulder the other day on my master touch and used the red bag royal oak birquetts and had a hell of a time trying the stabilize temps. By KBB are you refering to the kingsford original blue/white bag? In my UDS I have tried the blue bag RO lump, red bag RO birquetts and Kingsford original blue/white bag. Through lots of trial and error, I now only use the kingsford in my UDS. It seems to give me extremly stable temperature control and longer burn times. This was my first low and slow on my new mastertouch so I'm still learning on it. I ran out of kingsford so I was using up what I had left of the RO for this cook. I had a hard time controlling the temperature swing. It was all over the place. I was actualy quite dissapointed because of all the hype on the weber kettles for low and slow. I was using my home made SnS so I thought maybe that was the issue or a combination of a few things. Now I am realizing that maybe it was the RO that was causing me the issue. Next L&S I do on the weber will be with kingsford and see if it makes a difference.

 

[bgross88]

It's a coincidence that you posted this now because I just smoked a pork shoulder the other day on my master touch and used the red bag royal oak birquetts and had a hell of a time trying the stabilize temps. By KBB are you refering to the kingsford original blue/white bag? In my UDS I have tried the blue bag RO lump, red bag RO birquetts and Kingsford original blue/white bag. Through lots of trial and error, I now only use the kingsford in my UDS. It seems to give me extremly stable temperature control and longer burn times. This was my first low and slow on my new mastertouch so I'm still learning on it. I ran out of kingsford so I was using up what I had left of the RO for this cook. I had a hard time controlling the temperature swing. It was all over the place. I was actualy quite dissapointed because of all the hype on the weber kettles for low and slow. I was using my home made SnS so I thought maybe that was the issue or a combination of a few things. Now I am realizing that maybe it was the RO that was causing me the issue. Next L&S I do on the weber will be with kingsford and see if it makes a difference.

Yes the original Kingsford Blue/ White bag.

 

[bbeavers]

I started smoking on my Bandera using cheap briqs in a black and red bag from Wally World. Found KBB twins on sale for about the same price. Using the KBB, I noticed quicker burn down time and steady temps. I get the pale blue smoke shortly after I light it and no off smells. I haven't used lump yet but so far KBB is doing right with me. By the way I generate smokey goodness by smoldering chunks in a cast iron skillet next to my coal bed.

 

[Hoss]

All natural lump,whatever the application.My opinion.

 

[WanderingTexan]

Same exact story here..bought a bunch of bags of the RO "Ridge" briqs...thought I scored a deal. First cook was a bad sign...Tons of white smoke and the briqs never really lit. Usually a chimney full of anything decent will light fine. Not these. The smell was on par with an old bag of KBB that had been sitting in swamp water. I thought maybe it was a bad bag. Opened another tonight...same thing. Sorry RO...I love your lump, but these briqs are utter garbage. Sorry I bought so many bags...they're going to end up in a landfill.

 

[12ring]

Good review.

 

[daninnewjersey]

Here's MY review.... Royal Oak briquettes are very similar to KBB. I'm convinced more than ever my move to lump was the right one...

 

[ChrisBarb]

I haven't used any of the RO briquettes that I bought on sale at Lowe's, yet. Despite the reviews here, I will keep an open mind and report back.

 

[upStomp]

Bought 4 bags of the RO bricks at Lowe's yesterday. I'll try them for a L&S cook this weekend. If it doesn't work out, I'm sure they'll work fine for grilling - worst case they'll get dog & puck duty

 

[hammb]

I'll preface this with saying I have switched to ONLY lump charcoal the past 2 seasons. I have also gotten to where I use my stick burner 90% of the time and it's been about a year since I last fired up the WSM.

That being said I was a long time fan of the Royal Oak briquettes as vastly superior to the KBB briquettes. That was before they started doing the "Grooves" or whatever they call them. KBB started it, then Royal Oak came up with their version a year or two later. Ever since that time I had a heckuva time keeping the Royal Oak briquettes burning and keeping temp up in the WSM. I used up 2 bags of their new grooved briquettes and was frustrated with it every time. I haven't bought the RO briquettes since. I was pretty bummed because before the re-design the RO was definitely my goto for the WSM.

Over the past few years though I have found that I just prefer the final product of using lump, even in the WSM. I do typically have to reload it much sooner than I would with Briquettes, but I also find that I have FAR less ash.