Favorite charcoal?

Mark C · 04-19-2013, 08:52 AM

I tried to light up the grill for the first time this spring last night and realized I'm out of charcoal.

Last year I used Stubbs lump charcoal briquettes almost exclusively, and before that it was Wicked Good Charcoal briquettes. I haven't seen the Stubbs in stock yet and if I've got to order something online (WGC?) I figured I'd ask for a recommendation first....

What do you guys use?

RevSmoke · 04-19-2013, 09:11 AM

Kingsford

mahtofire14 · 04-19-2013, 09:20 AM

Any kind of all natural oak hardwood charcoal.

RevSmoke · 04-19-2013, 09:51 AM

I also will use the crab apple wood that I cut down in the yard. On the weber, once I get it lit, I can put the cover on and it smolders nicely and gives a great crab apple smoky flavor.

tsolomon · 04-19-2013, 10:03 AM

Tried some others but came back to Kingsford. It's easy to find and it lights easily and burns evenly.

poker · 04-19-2013, 09:57 AM

Frontier brand lump charcoal

T.G · 04-19-2013, 10:26 AM

I use KF blue, it has always been consistent, predictable and if you grab it on sale, well priced. Which is nice since I tend to burn about 300-400lbs of it a year.

mosesbotbol · 04-19-2013, 10:37 AM

Canadian Maple for flavor. Odd sized pieces can be difficult on the long haul and initial lighting.

Kingsford Competition if using chunks, chips or shells. Kingsford has little flavor, burns well and for a long time; great for letting the chunks do the flavoring. Good pricing at Coscto helps too!

Commander Quan · 04-19-2013, 11:25 AM

Kingsford in the Weber grill and WSM. I'll stock up on Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, weekends at Lowes. The last time I grilled I had to open a new bag and that put me under 100 lbs in reserves.

ucla695 · 04-19-2013, 11:44 AM

Kingsford Blue Bag (KBB) here. It's really hard to beat the sale price! I'd use Stubbs and WGC more if they were more competitively priced.

hazydat620 · 04-19-2013, 12:10 PM

I stock up on KBB when Home Depot has their big sale, but last year they went to a smaller size instead of the king size bag

a chimney makes charcoal lighting so much easier, haven't looked back to gas since getting the aussie.

T.G · 04-19-2013, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hazydat620

I stock up on KBB when Home Depot has their big sale, but last year they went to a smaller size instead of the king size bag

The price per lb initially went down with the smaller bags. Twin 20lb bags used to be $9.97, so $0.25/lb, while the twin 13.9lb bags were $5.88 which works out to $0.21/lb. For the Labor Day sale, they had raised the price to $6.88 for a twin 13.9, bringing it back to $0.25/lb.

I suspect that the smaller bag sizes were to get more bags available for the 4-pack per person limit that no stores around here bothered to enforce.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hazydat620

a chimney makes charcoal lighting so much easier, haven't looked back to gas since getting the aussie.

I love my old gas grill, the side burner on it is great for lighting the chimney.

The cook chamber doesn't even have burners in it anymore, I just use it for storing utensils and it's a convenient place to keep a fire extinguisher.

timj219 · 04-19-2013, 01:37 PM

Kingsford. Like others have said it's cheap and good. When I was a Lowes a couple weeks ago it was already in stock.

SvilleKid · 04-19-2013, 02:16 PM

Kingsford. But I only use maybe a dozen or so as a starter for Apple, Hickory and Pecan wood that I cut from my property (hickory & apple) and a friends grove (pecan).

timj219 · 04-19-2013, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SvilleKid

Kingsford. But I only use maybe a dozen or so as a starter for Apple, Hickory and Pecan wood that I cut from my property (hickory & apple) and a friends grove (pecan).

I love to use apple in my side smoker. I burned through the last of my stock at the end of last fall and haven't found a new source yet

SvilleKid · 04-19-2013, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timj219

I love to use apple in my side smoker. I burned through the last of my stock at the end of last fall and haven't found a new source yet

I've got three old trees (30+ years) in my yard that have stopped producing, and are slowly dying. I cut a large limb or trunk off every year or so. Should have enough to last a decade or more.

mosesbotbol · 04-19-2013, 02:26 PM

I am big on soaked pecan shells for smoke flavor.

jjirons69 · 04-19-2013, 02:58 PM

Lump all the way. I've used Royal Oak Natural Wood lump for a long time. I now am really enjoying B&B Oak Lump Charcoal. RO had started having smaller and smaller pieces per bag, with a lot of dust and crap. The last several bags of B&B have really been impressive with large chucks and little to no waste. Both burn about the same. It's really about usability, plus the B&B is a little cheaper, as they both smoke really well.

Check out for some dated info:

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

hammondc · 04-30-2013, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjirons69

Lump all the way. I've used Royal Oak Natural Wood lump for a long time. I now am really enjoying B&B Oak Lump Charcoal. RO had started having smaller and smaller pieces per bag, with a lot of dust and crap. The last several bags of B&B have really been impressive with large chucks and little to no waste. Both burn about the same. It's really about usability, plus the B&B is a little cheaper, as they both smoke really well.

Check out for some dated info:

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

I agree on the RO. Used it exclusively for years. Word on the BGE forum is that they changed manufacturing facilities. Either way it is pretty terrible now. I use Stubbs or B&B now.

Mark C · 04-19-2013, 05:41 PM

Thanks guys. Ended up getting Royal Oak Chef Select (all natural briquettes) for $0.50/lb. Price was the same as Home Depot is selling Kingsford at the moment. I love the ease of use you get with briquettes but hate the ash. Stubbs and Kingsford competition are better than "regular" briquettes, the wicked good stuff is fantastic, but $1/lb shipped. I'm hoping for a compromise with these bags.

04-19-2013, 08:52 AM	#1
Mark C Feeling at Home Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SE PA Posts: 674 Trading: (4)	Favorite charcoal? I tried to light up the grill for the first time this spring last night and realized I'm out of charcoal. Last year I used Stubbs lump charcoal briquettes almost exclusively, and before that it was Wicked Good Charcoal briquettes. I haven't seen the Stubbs in stock yet and if I've got to order something online (WGC?) I figured I'd ask for a recommendation first.... What do you guys use?

04-19-2013, 09:11 AM	#2
RevSmoke Ain't Never Gonna Leave Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Todd Location: Northcentral woods of Wisconsin Posts: 6,844 Trading: (51)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Kingsford __________________ Todd__ "Smoke what you like, and enjoy it!"

04-19-2013, 09:20 AM	#3
mahtofire14 Chillin in the Aging Room Join Date: Oct 2012 First Name: Pete Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 1,588 Trading: (16)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Any kind of all natural oak hardwood charcoal. __________________ Saving basements in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

04-19-2013, 09:51 AM	#4
RevSmoke Ain't Never Gonna Leave Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Todd Location: Northcentral woods of Wisconsin Posts: 6,844 Trading: (51)	Re: Favorite charcoal? I also will use the crab apple wood that I cut down in the yard. On the weber, once I get it lit, I can put the cover on and it smolders nicely and gives a great crab apple smoky flavor. __________________ Todd__ "Smoke what you like, and enjoy it!"

04-19-2013, 10:03 AM	#5
tsolomon Have My Own Room Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Tom Location: The Villages, FL Posts: 1,246 Trading: (31)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Tried some others but came back to Kingsford. It's easy to find and it lights easily and burns evenly.

04-19-2013, 09:57 AM	#6
poker 1:11 Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Kelly Location: SoCal Posts: 5,280 Trading: (7)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Frontier brand lump charcoal __________________ Cigar Asylum: A cigar board birthed without agendas, without profiting, and without advertisements. Amor puro Character is what you do when no one is watching

04-19-2013, 10:26 AM	#7
T.G Grrrrrr Join Date: Mar 2009 First Name: The Other Adam Posts: 15,557 Trading: (37)	Re: Favorite charcoal? I use KF blue, it has always been consistent, predictable and if you grab it on sale, well priced. Which is nice since I tend to burn about 300-400lbs of it a year.

04-19-2013, 10:37 AM	#8
mosesbotbol That's a Corgi Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Moses Location: Boston Posts: 6,171 Trading: (6)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Canadian Maple for flavor. Odd sized pieces can be difficult on the long haul and initial lighting. Kingsford Competition if using chunks, chips or shells. Kingsford has little flavor, burns well and for a long time; great for letting the chunks do the flavoring. Good pricing at Coscto helps too! __________________ Port Wine & Claret \| British Cars \| Welsh Corgi's

04-19-2013, 11:25 AM	#9
Commander Quan Feeling at Home Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Derrick Location: Canton, OH Posts: 966 Trading: (4)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Kingsford in the Weber grill and WSM. I'll stock up on Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, weekends at Lowes. The last time I grilled I had to open a new bag and that put me under 100 lbs in reserves.

04-19-2013, 11:44 AM	#10
ucla695 Neither here, nor there Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Pool Posts: 3,696 Trading: (5)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Kingsford Blue Bag (KBB) here. It's really hard to beat the sale price! I'd use Stubbs and WGC more if they were more competitively priced.

04-19-2013, 12:10 PM	#11
hazydat620 Still Watching My Back Join Date: Dec 2012 First Name: Chad(choad, schoad) Location: PDX, the great Northwest Posts: 241 Trading: (10)	Re: Favorite charcoal? I stock up on KBB when Home Depot has their big sale, but last year they went to a smaller size instead of the king size bag a chimney makes charcoal lighting so much easier, haven't looked back to gas since getting the aussie. __________________ " Buy the ticket, take the ride"- Hunter S. Thompson

04-19-2013, 01:37 PM	#13
timj219 Feeling at Home Join Date: Jun 2010 First Name: Tim Location: Binghamton, NY Posts: 699 Trading: (15)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Kingsford. Like others have said it's cheap and good. When I was a Lowes a couple weeks ago it was already in stock. __________________ "All this of Pot and Potter - Tell me then, Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?" Omar Khayyam

04-19-2013, 02:16 PM	#14
SvilleKid Yes I am a Pirate Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 33°46′08″N 86°28′16″W / 33.76895°N 86.471037°W Posts: 2,776 Trading: (52)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Kingsford. But I only use maybe a dozen or so as a starter for Apple, Hickory and Pecan wood that I cut from my property (hickory & apple) and a friends grove (pecan). __________________ Ceilin' fan it stirs the air, Cigar smoke does swirl. The fragrance on the pillow case, and he thinks about the girl. Thanks, JB, 1975.

04-19-2013, 02:26 PM	#17
mosesbotbol That's a Corgi Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Moses Location: Boston Posts: 6,171 Trading: (6)	Re: Favorite charcoal? I am big on soaked pecan shells for smoke flavor. __________________ Port Wine & Claret \| British Cars \| Welsh Corgi's

04-19-2013, 02:58 PM	#18
jjirons69 Haberdasher Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Jamie Location: Chucktown, SC Posts: 4,120 Trading: (94)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Lump all the way. I've used Royal Oak Natural Wood lump for a long time. I now am really enjoying B&B Oak Lump Charcoal. RO had started having smaller and smaller pieces per bag, with a lot of dust and crap. The last several bags of B&B have really been impressive with large chucks and little to no waste. Both burn about the same. It's really about usability, plus the B&B is a little cheaper, as they both smoke really well. Check out for some dated info: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag __________________ Somebody has to go back and get a chitload of dimes

04-19-2013, 05:41 PM	#20
Mark C Feeling at Home Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: SE PA Posts: 674 Trading: (4)	Re: Favorite charcoal? Thanks guys. Ended up getting Royal Oak Chef Select (all natural briquettes) for $0.50/lb. Price was the same as Home Depot is selling Kingsford at the moment. I love the ease of use you get with briquettes but hate the ash. Stubbs and Kingsford competition are better than "regular" briquettes, the wicked good stuff is fantastic, but $1/lb shipped. I'm hoping for a compromise with these bags.