BGE Lump

A little off topic, but I just burned some BGE brand lump charcoal. It was really really good. It felt light and burned a little faster than other lump, but was a nice size, lit up easy and smelled great.
 
I use lump for steaks and any high heat fast burn cook. Damn, skirt steaks over lump... you can taste the difference. Love it.

I like Cowboy brand.
 
Plah. I've used Cowboy lump before. It was okay. Lots of controversy associated with that brand though i.e. foreign substances, fillers, chemicals, plywood etc. found in the product.
 
Weird, I thought I posted this in a Big Green Egg thread. Anyway, most all lump is good, but to me this BGE stuff is superior. I like the flavor of Cowboy, but I end up with a lot of dust and huge hard chunks. To a lesser degree that was a problem with the last bag of Chef's Delight mesquite I used. This Big Green Egg lump was really nicely sized and perfect for my hibachi where a consistent medium size is best. Could just be a good batch, but so far it's the best charcoal of the 10 or so I've tried. Can't wait for the weekend, it's looking like chicken and ribs.
 
Plah. I've used Cowboy lump before. It was okay. Lots of controversy associated with that brand though i.e. foreign substances, fillers, chemicals, plywood etc. found in the product.

Didn't know! Damn, and I'm big into looking for no-filler briquettes! Not a huge lump user just the stuff at Lowe's for steaks. Otherwise I'm all briquettes. I've only used Cowboy so can't judge. There were some huge chunks and some small bits. It burned fast and hot, which is great for steaks, but I thought that's the way lump burned. Does good lump last longer? School me TB!

I'll stick to wood for the good stuff.
 
THP that is an excellent topic for discussion. For those not in the know, essentially there is lump charcoal and there are briquettes. Lump is made from actual tree branchs and large sticks and depending on the brand can be leftover scrap wood materials. Briquettes are pressed chunks that can include scrap wood and sawdust that is pressed together with a binder. Binders vary from corn or maize to baking soda or sorghum. Often nitrogen based accelerants can be added to facilitate quicker lighting.

In general, although results can vary all over the place, briquettes burn hotter but produce more ash while lump burns slower with less ash but can be more difficult to get started.

It seems that charcoal can be a shadowy world surrounded by deceit, chicanery, mystery and more than a little voodoo. That all seems rather fitting to me as you and I both know how volatile a subject such as bbq can be. Get a few good ole boys together down here in Texas and start talking about what 'que is and isn't, somebody could get shot!!

Here is a link that I reckon is on the up and up and and in great detail delves into the mysteries of a wide variety of brands of charcoal. Checking out the site you will note that these guys are downright anal with the information forthcoming in their reviews, from sorting and photographing the contents of individual bags to providing average temps and burn times and ash produced. I like it. As Spock would say.."fascinating Jim!"

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

Clicking on the bag of Cowboy you can see photo's and concerns about that brand. Nothing too scary really. I think many would be surprised about what really goes into our favorite charcoals and even more surprised that some of the more pricier foo foo charcoals are nothing more than rebadged average product. Doesn't bother me at all as that is a common practice in any manufacturing whether it be pharmaceuticals, soap, canned food products and/or thousands of other common household products we tend to take for granted.
 
I heard Maple Leaf is good. I clicked on it on that site. They seem to like it. I also heard it's only available in Canada.
 
THP, did you check out the review for the Dragon Breath brand? They mention it as distributed on the east coast out of upstate NY. Excellent review and moderately priced.
 
Its all about the Royal Oak....availible at walmart.  Gaurenteed satisfaction. I have tried many including BGE, Cowboy, Etc.  When i fire up my BGE its with royal Oak.  Read some threads about what people use in their BGE's, most use Royal Oak.
 
This thread is really old but yeah the RO is pretty good. It's readily available, that's why most people use it and say it's good. It has some fairly large pieces, the best brands will be mostly all good medium pieces and very little small pieces, micro pieces, or logs. RO is decent, but they do throw some logs in there.
 
I can't believe what you guys pay for charcoal??!! $7 for 20lb?  Jeepers creepers!  Here in SA we have 2 types of charcoal: quick burning (ready to grill in under 45min) and proper hardwood.
 
We pay around ZAR30 for 5kg.  Converted that's $2.49 for 11lbs!  And before anybody goes cray cray about conversions not necessarily being true reflection (cost of living) - we pay around the same you do for meat, our veg is cheaper, our fuel more expensive, our property cheaper.  Kinda evens out.
 
Our hardwood charcoal is either mupani or sicklebush.  Both super hard and burn out to white ash with no bits left and have the most amazing sweet aroma.  Proper hardwood.  The fast burn stuff is rubbish though.  Usually made from Eucalyptus and in some cases impregnated with parafin (alkane).  It burns like all hell and stinks.
 
Briquettes are CRAP!  All kinds rubbish in their including coal and quartz chips.  They stink.  And more ash than heat.  Best avoided like the plague.
 
RobStar said:
We pay around ZAR30 for 5kg.  Converted that's $2.49 for 11lbs!  And before anybody goes cray cray about conversions not necessarily being true reflection (cost of living) - we pay around the same you do for meat, our veg is cheaper, our fuel more expensive, our property cheaper.  Kinda evens out.
 
First, let me say that I'd love to spend time there ... BUT ...
 
2nd sentence on the 1st Google hit for "South African Crime" yields:
 
"South Africa is known to have one of the highest crime rate per 100,000 residents in the world regarding assault, rape and murder."
 
Regardless, I'd like to take a safari ... even if it's a safari of biltong =)
 
I hear you.  BUT.......
 
Cape Town is a very different place to the rest of SA.  I wouldn't live outside of the Western Cape.  The rest of the country is ruled by a different political party and it has gone to shit.
 
Whilst there are pockets of the WC that have baaaaaad crime for the most part we are way better off than for example Joburg.  Almost everybody I know in Joburg is on Zanax or similar!
 
obviously there are parts I wouldn't go to - the large informal settlements - but generally Cape Town is chilled and well-worth visiting.
 
Oh. and the biltong is amazing!  So too the meat - especially lamb!  Dang I'm getting hungry now.
 
I use Royal Oak and I like it.  There is another that I used last year that was good, but I forget the name.  I will look at the store.  I don't think it was on that list TB posted.
 
JayT said:
I use Royal Oak and I like it.  There is another that I used last year that was good, but I forget the name.  I will look at the store.  I don't think it was on that list TB posted.
 
RO is on there.
 
Waaaay down.
 
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