Let's Talk BBQ
General => General Discussion & Topics => General Discussion => Topic started by: cookiecdcmk on February 14, 2023, 06:13:49 PM
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I have used quite a few brands of charcoal and still do not know the best ones. My friend recommended Jealous Devil. There are many members here who have a lot of experience, so I would like to get some feedback on their favorite lump and briquette charcoal. Looking on Google, the ratings are all over the place, and like anything online may be tainted? I would feel better with recommendation on this site.
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Guess I'll jump in 1st and get the discussion started.
1. I really only use briquets. I know that there are fans of lump, I'm just not one of 'em.
2. I really typically use the plain Kingsford Blue. I don't there are many who are iffy about this one, it's kind of "love it/hate it" kinda thing.
BD
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I like B&B briquettes and Kamado Joe Big Block lump.
The fewer ingredients in briquettes the better. Don't use Kingsford briquettes unless it's your only choice. Here's the Kingsford list and some details. In the first place, it is not all hardwoods.
Wood Char....this is soft wood like spruce and pine, some authorities say that it can be poison
Mineral Char....this is soft coal
Mineral Carbon....this is anthracite (hard) coal
Limestone
Starch
Borax
Sodium Nitrate
Sawdust
Many charcoal briquette manufacturers use only a wheat paste or another vegetable product as a binder. Competition BBQrs and high-end steak house chefs say that these are much better. Also, look for charcoal made from only hardwood products.
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I've been using Kingsford for over 40 years. Man, I should be belly up by now! :)
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I've been using lump mesquite. Friend of mine would bring back a couple of sacks from Mexico when he would visit his family. Good stuff.
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I use Kingsford competition 100% hardwood big bags from Costco. I likes Stubbs charcoal but I don't even know if they make them anymore. I have some steel drums at work I was thinking of cutting up and making my own charcoal, but that would take time and effort, 2 things I don't have 99% of the time.
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B&B natural Oak hardwood briquettes. I get them at Ace Hardware.
Much larger than standard briquettes. Less additives and way less ash. Burns for a long long time.
you tube has many videos showing how much better these burn than the competition.
Jealous Devil briquettes would be their only challenger.
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I've been using Kingsford for over 40 years. Man, I should be belly up by now! :)
;D Yeah, It was all I used it for years, too. So who knows which "experts" are correct.
But—we also have to consider that the effects of many body-damaging activities accumulate over time. The first cigarette rarely kills a person.
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But—we also have to consider that the effects of many body-damaging activities accumulate over time.
Probably past the "accumulation time" for most (or at least many) of us - no use worrying now. Jus' sayin'...
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I quit smoking 17 years ago. I must say, that was a very good decision. I am glad I did that.
As far as worrying, Ka Honu is correct, too late for that here!
I do worry sometimes that I don't get the boat out often enough...:)
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Don't use Kingsford briquettes unless it's your only choice.
I've been using Kingsford for over 40 years. Man, I should be belly up by now! :)
See, like I said, didn't take long . . . .
BD
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same as Big Dawg
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Seriously, we used Kingsford briquettes night before last on our Pilot Rock park grill.
Some of the best tasting ribeyes I've had for awhile.
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Seriously, we used Kingsford briquettes night before last on our Pilot Rock park grill.
Some of the best tasting ribeyes I've had for awhile.
I'm asking this not to be argumentative, but to clarify your point...
Are you thinking that it couldn't have tasted differently if different charcoal had been used? Maybe worse? Maybe better?
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Yes, I'm sure there are other charcoal brands that would impart a different flavor. Better? Possibly. We have a hickory tree in our backyard that loses a few twigs every so often, so I gather those up and save to throw in the Kingsford briquettes for more smoke flavor.
I should venture out and try new brands, but I'm very satisfied using the old standby.
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We have a hickory tree in our backyard that loses a few twigs every so often, so I gather those up and save to throw in the Kingsford briquettes for more smoke flavor.
Lucky guy.
There are shagbark hickories growing in the woods fairly close to me. I can't think of a way to approximately appropriately harvest wood from them. I never see one toppled.
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I should point out that my fondness for Kamado Joe Big Block lump doesn't apply to all devices. It doesn't work well in my gravity fed Masterbuilt 1050.
I use various charcoal varieties in my various grills & smokers.
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I'm not a "snob". When it comes to brand names and name brands, I'm unimpressed. My Dad would cook hamburgers on the grill for us and he always used Kingsford - back the '50s and early '60s I don't know if there WAS another brand.
When I started grillin', I followed his lead and use Kingsford. I bought a large bag of B&B lump last Fall thinking I would use it in my CharGriller 980 and I'm pretty sure I will.
My choice may have to do with the memories I have of the simpler days with my Dad. We didn't have a grill - we had a grill grate or maybe it was and old oven rack. Dad got the charcoal going on the dirt, then use two cinder blocks to support the grate for the burgers. I can still remember that scene and smell that smoke when I light my Kingsford. I don't get that from just any old brand of charcoal.
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I can still remember that scene and smell that smoke when I light my Kingsford. I don't get that from just any old brand of charcoal.
To me, that indicates that Kingsford is significantly different from everything else you've cooked over. I get that.
I'm rather fond of Fogo lump. I think it delivers a taste comparable to cooking with wood. I don't think other brands match it.
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WARNING! Minor thread hijack/diversion follows (with any apologies you think are necessary):
Like Jack I'm kind of a Kingsford guy, mostly because it's always available (a big issue in Hawaii until recently) and, after eating "fired food" almost as many years as Jack (and Bremer), I'm used to it. My real preference, however, hasn't been mentioned (probably because this thread is titled "Charcoal," not "Outdoor carbon-based cooking fuels").
When I can con some out of friends with excess and I'm not being lazy (a smaller portion of the time every year), the ONLY way to grill is over WOOD. Not pellets, chips, or chunks, with or without charcoal - just real WOOD, like it came off the tree (but dried and usually split). It may not be as easy as charcoal and there's a learning curve involved (right wood for the cook, building a fire in a pit or grill, fire tending, etc.) but nothing can replace (or even approach) the amazing flavor of food cooked over real wood.
Jus' sayin'...
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I'm asking this not to be argumentative, but to clarify your point...
Are you thinking that it couldn't have tasted differently if different charcoal had been used? Maybe worse? Maybe better?
And I hope that you think that I was meaning to start something. I was just pointing out that, for a number of us grillers/smokers, the Kingsford brand brings out strong feelings.
My best advice for the OP is to try different brands, lump vs briquette, etc. and see what fits his style of cooking and his, and his family's, taste.
BD
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kingsford is definitely part of my DNA but switching to B&B charcoal has worked out nicely for me
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I enjoyed all the discussion so far. I just tried the Jealous Devil briquettes, and they did not last long like they advertised and temps not high. I want to try the B & B as the comments here are positive. I used to like Stubbs but do not see them now in stores here.
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Very surprised the Jealous devil briqs dissapointed. I think you will like the B&B briquettes. I use them in the snake method in my charcoal oven and they work nicely
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WARNING! Minor thread hijack/diversion follows (with any apologies you think are necessary):
Like Jack I'm kind of a Kingsford guy, mostly because it's always available (a big issue in Hawaii until recently) and, after eating "fired food" almost as many years as Jack (and Bremer), I'm used to it. My real preference, however, hasn't been mentioned (probably because this thread is titled "Charcoal," not "Outdoor carbon-based cooking fuels").
When I can con some out of friends with excess and I'm not being lazy (a smaller portion of the time every year), the ONLY way to grill is over WOOD. Not pellets, chips, or chunks, with or without charcoal - just real WOOD, like it came off the tree (but dried and usually split). It may not be as easy as charcoal and there's a learning curve involved (right wood for the cook, building a fire in a pit or grill, fire tending, etc.) but nothing can replace (or even approach) the amazing flavor of food cooked over real wood.
Jus' sayin'...
That is how I learned to cook over an open fire with real wood, not junk stuff split and aged, it doesn't get any better. And it tastes fabulous whatever you cook. Wood is getting harder to get around here now. sad.
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WARNING! Minor thread hijack/diversion follows (with any apologies you think are necessary):
[T]he ONLY way to grill is over WOOD. Not pellets, chips, or chunks, with or without charcoal - just real WOOD, like it came off the tree (but dried and usually split). It may not be as easy as charcoal and there's a learning curve involved (right wood for the cook, building a fire in a pit or grill, fire tending, etc.) but nothing can replace (or even approach) the amazing flavor of food cooked over real wood.[/b][/color]
I agree. That's why I continually hope that the direct flame zones in pellet pits will reproduce that flavor. Alas, in my experience it hasn't been so.
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Lucky guy.
There are shagbark hickories growing in the woods fairly close to me. I can't think of a way to approximately appropriately harvest wood from them. I never see one toppled.
Do the hickory trees in your woods produce nuts? If so, I like collecting the hulls, green or dry, they also add great flavor when cooking with charcoal. They're easy to collect, and very easy to disperse among your charcoal. Nice sweet aroma too!
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B&B when I can find a t a decent price. Kingsford most of the time..