My FOGO Larder

[CeramicChef]

As some of you know I'm a BIG fan of FOGO Lump Charcoal. It's all I use except for the Komodo Kamado Extruded Charcoal which I use exclusively on my low-n-slow cooks (for the most part). The reasons I use FOGO is its size distribution is phenomenal (about 70% XL, 20% L, and the rest 10%M and fines). It's dense, non sparking, burns hot, and doesn't produce a lot of ash. I generally order mine through Amazon 4 or 5 bags at a time. I'll generally burn through a 35# bag in a 7 to 10 days, 14 days at the most.

Every order through Amazon came well packed, but I got fed up handling and breaking down boxes, dealing with packing material, etc. It was just a pain for me. So .....

I ordered a 36 bag pallet! IT just arrived this week and I thought I'd share with you what a pallet looks like in person. I am happy to announce the delivery of 1,260 lbs. of FOGO to ChezChef. That's 36 bags.

Here is my friend Tom, the delivery driver with the FOGO. He delivered both Beauty! and TheBeast, my 19" Hi-Cap and my 32" Big Bad KKs respectively. Tom is one of the nicest guys I've met in a long time. And he LOVES BBQ!



Just a nice money shot of nothing but the FOGO.



Here is a shot for some perspective. Tom is an even 6' tall.



And here is BBQ central at ChezChef.



Finally, here is a picture of the biggest lump of charcoal I've ever seen. It was in the latest bag of FOGO. That's a full sized welders' gauntlet that goes to the elbow next to it.

[ribeyeguy]

Holy Mackerel that's a lot of charcoal. How long do you figure it'll last you?

[CeramicChef]

I'm firing up my KKs at least 5 times a week for cooks 300°F + and I probably do a low-n-slow every other week. At my current burn rate, I'm thinking I've laid up enough to get me through a solid year or so.

[ribeyeguy]

Not to step on your thread but just an hour or so ago I was stopped at a railway intersection and every single rail car that went by was loaded with coal heading for the local power plant. I was probably the only person stuck waiting that was hoping for a derailment. I figured that a single car load of the stuff would last me a lifetime. The local media would portray it as a disaster but to me it would have been manna from heaven. Bye bye Kingsford!

[_John_]

Looks awesome. ribeyeguy I've been grumpy lately, hoping for Santa to deliver that sweet sweet charcoal!

[Huskee]

Nice! Never heard of FOGO but it must rock.

[CeramicChef]

Huskee - FOGO is the best lump I've found. It has a very mellow/mild odor to it and doesn't fight the flavor I'm lay on my cook. Ive never found anything but lump in a bag: no concrete, no metal, no plastic like i used to find in other lumps. I dont have to worry about finding obvious mill scraps as ive found in other lumps. It's just pure lump with great size distribution, it's dense and burns hot, and doesn't fill the kamado with ash.

Give it a try and you'll love it.

[ribeyeguy]

Am I the only guy that actually wants Santa to put coal in my stocking?

[Jerod Broussard]

That is sweet. I have just over 3 hours one way to get a pallet of B & B Hardwoods Briquettes. The president said I can drive right up to the warehouse.......one day.

[erictag]

Hi Ceramic Chef- I always appreciate your posts, thank you for sharing your insights!

In using lump I have thought the medium size pieces were the best, and the crumbs and large pieces undesirable. It sounds like you favor the huge pieces of lump- is that correct?

[LA Pork Butt]

Large pieces on the bottom of you Kamado helps with keep the ash from clogging on 14-20 hour cooks. Many build from the bottom up Large, medium, small.

[Mosca]

That's awesome, CeramicChef !

[Breadhead]

That's a big pile of lump my friend. You can start a distribution center for your neighborhood.😉

[CeramicChef]

Breadhead - hmmmm. That's an interesting thought?

[Breadhead]

Mark it up 33.3% and you will be burning lump for free.👍

[Skip]

That pallet of Fogo looks cool. I just ordered 2 bags of Fogo from their website, one bag of Blend and one bag of Super Premium, they should arrive any day. I can't wait to try it. I have been using Royal Oak Lump in my BGE. Thanks for the heads up CeramicChef .

[CeramicChef]

Skip - FOGO in my opinion is vastly superior to Royal Oak for one reason: nothing but charcoal comes in a bag of FOGO. When I used Royal Oak, I got all manner of crap in the bag … plastic, concrete, rocks, etc. enjoy and tell us what you think!

[DWCowles]

How long will that last you CeramicChef ?

[CeramicChef]

DWCowles - that pallets should last between 12 and 15 months.

[CeramicChef]

Hi Ceramic Chef- I always appreciate your posts, thank you for sharing your insights!

In using lump I have thought the medium size pieces were the best, and the crumbs and large pieces undesirable. It sounds like you favor the huge pieces of lump- is that correct?

erictag - theoretically, LA Pork Butt is correct. However, I am MUCH too lazy to pull my lump and resort the lump after each cook. I'm a pick-up-the-bag-and-dump kinda guy. Doing this I've never had any problems getting the lump lit. I use a MAPP torch to light my lump. Using the dump method has never caused me one moment of pain. I've never had a fire go out, my kamados get up to temp very quickly, and airflow is wonderful through the lump pile. I used the dump method when I had my BGEs, my Primos, and now with my Komodo Kamados. I also used it when I briefly owned an Acorn.

[fuzzydaddy]

https://www.fogocharcoal.com is their website. I have used Fogo before and really liked it, but I had ordered from Amazon and their price was much higher when I needed more. Fogo's website says shipping is free, currently $45.95 for a 35 lb bag; Amazon is $61.19 a bag! When I use up the Royal Oak USA I have, I'm ordering some. I did not know I could order directly from them. Thanks CeramicChef!

[CeramicChef]

You're quite welcome! Enjoy!

[Breadhead]

$46 to $61 for a 35 pound bag.😳

The lump I buy from Smart & Final is a 40lb bag and it costs me $18. I never get rocks or other stuff in it. It's about 50% big chunks, 30% medium and 20% small and dust. I've used that lump for 5 years. It's imported from Mexico and it's made from mesquite wood.

1 fire box load of that lump will burn for 20/24 hours at 225°.

It seems to me that FOGO is up there in price like BGE lump.

Personally I feel no need to buy premium lump coal.