Mostly Kingsford Blue - I load up when it's on sale at Lowe's and Home Depot. Usually Coscto sells a 2-pack of Kingsford Competition in late winter/early Spring. I'll make that purchase and those 2 bags are sufficient for the year. I'll also purchase a bag of lump, usually Royal Oak, and that one bag is usually sufficient for the year. I have no idea how many bags of Kingsford Blue I go through in a year - except to say that it's a lot. I purchased 3 2-packs of Blue over Labor Day and have gone through almost all of it and that's with the grilling activity tampered down especially as we got later into Fall and certainly winter.
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JeffJ I knew I would be moving to another state either late 2015 or by the 1st quarter of 2016 and there would be an extended period without my Big Green Egg, so I picked up the Weber Jumbo Joe at Walmart on close out for $45 to grill on while at my new location. I had a Weber "18 Silver for years so I was familiar with it. Here's what I like about the Jumbo. 1. System for emptying the ashes is easier than on the one touch silver. 2. There is a ring that serves to lock down the lid when it is in portable mode. 3. The ring also serves as a lid holder when grilling. The second photo is of a poor man's less that SlowNSear, but works pretty well for bringing the meet up to temp before searing. You might be able to do low and slow using Meathead's method. I have done low and slow on my son-in-law's 18" one touch silver.Last edited by LA Pork Butt; February 22, 2016, 05:51 PM.Comment
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I use only FOGO. Period. In over 20 years of burning lump FOGO is the best charcoal I've ever found. FOGO has a great size distribution, about 70% Large and X-Large, 25% Medium, and only 5% fines and dust. FOGO starts easily with minimal sparking, burns hot, and last a long time. There is minimal ash production. FOGO has an almost neutral smell, so if you want an apple smoke on your cook, it's very easy to get that with FOGO.
Another important factor is I find absolutely no foreign crap in the bag. There are no lumps of concrete, plastic, etc. Every bag of FOGO is 100% lump charcoal.
FOGO is the best lump I've found, and I've tried a lot of lumps. The price is right too. I can recommend FOGO whole heatedly.Comment
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I use Wegman's store brand, it is $7/10lbs.
Far, far more important than any search for "the best" is finding something that you have easy access to, and getting used to how it performs in your cooker. Even for someone like CeramicChef ... Notice that he's been burning the same fuel for 20 years! Is it the best? He hasn't checked other brands; he doesn't need to. It doesn't matter to him. He knows it does exactly what he wants it to. FOGO actually has three or four different charcoals, but I'll bet CC uses the one he knows.
Wegman's might or might not be the best. But I know that if I need to pick up charcoal at 6:30 Sunday in the middle of winter, it's there. And I know how hot it burns, and how long it lasts. Because it isn't about burning the coals, it's about cooking the meat. And that requires consistency and predictability.Last edited by Mosca; February 22, 2016, 10:50 PM.Comment
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