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WSM Brethren - What charcoal do you use?

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    WSM Brethren - What charcoal do you use?

    I ran a trial a couple of weeks back with my new ThermoWorks Bellows fan and remote monitoring (you can find that write up and results in the thermometer section). I used Kingsford Professional for my pinion charcoal - about a half basket - and then Kingsford Blue as my starter - one full small chimney.

    I noticed at clean up that I had a fair amount of ash dust on the walls of my WSM 18.5". Didn't look like it made it into the water pan nor onto the grates. But, a lot more than if I had not used the fan. I have used all Kingsford before, and obviously there is a fair amount of ash in the bottom at the end but I never got it on the walls like I did this time. I am planning on doing either a brisket or butt (or both) Christmas night to serve the day after and I don't want to risk the ash.

    My local Ace seems to have stopped carrying Jealous Devil and now carries FOGO. Never used FOGO before and not sure locally where I can find Jealous Devil.

    So, what have y'all had success with, especially when using a fan/bellows?

    #2
    I’ve only used Kingsford Professional, KBB, and B &B. I prefer B&B and I can find that at my Ace. I’ve never used FOGO but Chuds used their lump in his Kettle series videos. Oddly enough I’ve only seen Jealous Devil at the local grocery store in Wisconsin, which won’t help you. Or me since I’m in Illinois currently. But B&B is my go to.

    Comment


    • jsaniga
      jsaniga commented
      Editing a comment
      radiodome21 on the B&B to you use the premium or the tan bag oak? the last bag of cheaper B&B I bought had some “in-charcoaled” pieces.

    • radiodome21
      radiodome21 commented
      Editing a comment
      The tan oak bag. I believe it’s 17lbs?

    #3
    I second B&B briquettes. They are larger and more dense than Kingsford and leave a lot less ash. They burn a lot longer as well. This is my current set up. Small open ended coffee can in the center surrounded by B&B briquettes loaded to the top of the ring. I use Jealous Devil lump as the starter which goes in the coffee can. You can either pre-light it then load it in the can or drop a starter cube in the can, light it, then load the lump piece by piece in the can. The latter is the easiest IMO. Then take long handled channel locks and slide the can out. I'll attach a pic for reference. I get B&B and Jealous Devil from our local Academy Sports.
    The amount of smoking wood in the pic was used for a pork butt.
    Click image for larger version  Name:	1211221334_HDR-01-01.jpg Views:	0 Size:	5.20 MB ID:	1345074

    Comment


      #4
      I've used both JD and FOGO lump, I prefer JD but FOGO is like 1.a.
      Both top of the heap.
      My son recently picked up some Visions brand lump for some butts he smoked and liked it a lot.
      Haven't tried it yet myself but thats going to change here in a few mins, I have a sirloin tip I'm smoking this afternoon.

      Comment


        #5
        Whatevers on sale usually.

        Comment


          #6
          I use FOGO and I like it. As for the ash, last year I changed my charcoal setup and it seemed to work for me regarding the ash on the sides. I put the lit charcoal on the opposite side of the WSM as the fan (I have a BBQ Guru). Haven’t had ash floating around since.

          Comment


            #7
            I either use Kingsford Pro or Cowboy Briquettes ….. Not a fan of KBB, too much ash and it tends to choke down the fire 2/3 of the way into the cook

            Comment


            • jsaniga
              jsaniga commented
              Editing a comment
              There was a guy at Ace today talking up Cowboy. Will need to see if Costco has it on sale again.

            • ecowper
              ecowper commented
              Editing a comment
              jsaniga I hate Cowboy lump and love Cowboy briq’s …. Bizarre, but true

            #8
            I recommend this. Great for longer cooks like a butt or brisket. Ace Hardware can get it if not already in stock, but Academy typically has it for $5 less.

            Click image for larger version  Name:	charcoal.jpg Views:	0 Size:	173.7 KB ID:	1345469

            Comment


            • ecowper
              ecowper commented
              Editing a comment
              I wish B&B was easily available to compare with Cowboy and Kingsford Pro. Going to talk to my local hardware store (which is not an Ace) and see if they can get B&B

            • jsaniga
              jsaniga commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks. Saw this at my local Ace Hardware. Will pickup some this week.

            #9
            I’ve been happy with B&B. Get it at Ace Hardware.

            Comment


              #10
              Kingsford Blue never let me down.

              Comment


              • jsaniga
                jsaniga commented
                Editing a comment
                That's the one that was giving me lots of ash

              • Beefchop
                Beefchop commented
                Editing a comment
                Yeah, sorry. That's the one I use and I've never had issues with the ash. But I only have to use a fan on rare occasions.

              #11
              I’m a B&B fan.

              Comment


                #12
                I have used regular Kingsford for years. With and without a fan. Never had a problem with excessive ash.

                Comment


                • Jessterr
                  Jessterr commented
                  Editing a comment
                  jsaniga Wondering if a Billows Damper might be helpful in this case. It's a circular piece that replaces the yellow silicone plug for the purpose of restricting the Billows' air flow, and is fully adjustable. My understanding is that Billows delivers substantially higher CFM compared to other brands, something on the order of 46 CFM versus 10. The damper costs only $2.99 from Thermoworks. Be aware though that once attached it isn't removable, at least not without likely destroying it.

                • jsaniga
                  jsaniga commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Jessterr thanks, good information. I'll do a few more smokes and see if that may be what I need.

                • ecowper
                  ecowper commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Okay, the excessive ash conversation on a holiday saturday night …. Be careful how you say that!

                #13
                I also have a WSM.... a 270 WSM lol

                Comment

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