Best Lump Charcoal

[Triton19x2]

What is everyone, that uses lump charcoal, using? I have a Kamado Joe classic ceramic grill/smoker and have been using their brand coal but lately its been really beat up with lots of it pulverized in the bag. Just checking to see if anyone has found one they really like.

[rb]

[FTC]

B&B all the way.

[Triton19x2]

So you're saying you have used this before then............Thanks RB, I'll try to find some near by

[fr8dog]

B & B or Royal Oak normally. Needed some in a hurry a few months ago and grabbed a 20# bag of Homeland store brand. I was pleasantly surprised. Going to give it another shot when I run out of the “good stuff”.

[kissfan]

Big Green Egg makes a good one.

[WPS456]

Rockwood. I’ve tried a bunch and it burns the cleanest by far and isn’t full of rocks, nails, etc. which are put in to get the weight up. When you light your lump, just look at the smoke. If it’s easy to see (white) then that’s all impurities burning off. With Royal Oak and B&B, it usually takes at least 20 minutes for all of it to burn off. As for lump that is in a bunch of small pieces, that usually has way more to do with how the bag is handled during shipping than the manufacturer.

[mikeky]

Big Green Egg makes a good one.

It's made by Royal Oak

[Triton19x2]

Thanks guys....lots of good suggestions here

[Blue Steel]

Fogo

[Condor482]

Another vote for Fogo

[Heritage]

Rockwood for me.

[Arley]

kingsford

[MichPhoenix77]

B&B or blues Hog.

[MichPhoenix77]

Rockwood for me.

I have never tried it but I hear good things about it

[RazorCat]

Tried several of those listed. I always end up back with BGE Lump charcoal. It’s been the most consistent as far as even heat production throughout a long (23-24 hour) cook. And most consistent as far as the size of the lump which means more usable charcoal.
2nd choice would B&B (quality can vary widely between bags). I normally use B&B for high temp cooks, and BGE for low and slow.
I’ve tried El Diablo and Fogo, but they’re simply too expensive. Lump size is no more consistent (or larger) than lower priced BGE, and I didn’t feel they were any better at producing a more consistent burn rate or cooking temperature. That’s just my opinion based on many hours of cooking on a BGE.
Two I tried and won’t bother with again are Cowboy Charcoal or Rockwood. Lump size varied widely with both, and there was way too much waste and dust at the bottom of the bag. Two different bags of Rockwood I purchased had sticks or rocks in it, and the larger lumps were no more than prices of wood with burnt edges.

[fr8dog]

Cowboy was the worst I’ve used. Had 2 bags. Both had rocks, chunks of 2x4, and several pieces of plywood. Yeah, I sent pics of the plywood to them. No answer.

[Bassakwards]

Rockwood is my choice. Royal Oak is OK. I tried FOGO once, it was expensive and the chunks were so large I couldn't get enough in my egg to get to the temp i wanted. It was a very clean burning charcoal, though.

[rb]

Cowboy was the worst I’ve used. Had 2 bags. Both had rocks, chunks of 2x4, and several pieces of plywood. Yeah, I sent pics of the plywood to them. No answer.

Same with me. Costco had 40lb bags of Cowboy and was a great price, so I tried it. First bag was good. 3am one morning I opened the second bag to do a big cook for someone. When I cut the bag oprn it just didn't smell right. I filled the chute on the smoker and could still smell something. I reached in to checked the level in the chute and what I touched wasn't charcoal. I pulled it out and it was a dead crow. Had been sealed in bag. Lucky had enough of another brand to use. Took pictures and sent numbers and codes off of bag and sent them in. Nothing

[fr8dog]

Dead crow???? Hell, I’d have packed that up and sent it to them!