Recently I've been using Royal Oak Briquettes. I find the taste to be slightly more mild than cooking with Kingsford. I think there is a time and place for both charcoals. I like the Royal Oak for chicken specifically. I think the more intense Kingsford is good for red meats.
I'm finding the burn with Royal Oak to be less consistent though. When I go check on the basket of coals the next day after cooking there are still quite a few coals with Royal Oak that have not been used, or have greater than 50% of the useful life left. This is probably for 15-20% of the charcoal in an entire basket.
I'm curious if anybody else ever has this issue. It doesn't bother me really, but I would not want to do a brisket or whole turkey with Royal Oak if I'm going to have this issue. Also, is all Royal Oak the same? I noticed that the bag at Walmart is different than the other grocery store by me that has Royal Oak.
Are there any other brands of charcoal worth trying or ordering? I only ever see Kingsford and Royal Oak on the shelves, besides the grocery store brand.
Thanks for any input on this.