2 Things NOT TO BUY!

[Panhead John]

If I can save even one of you from wasting your money, this post is worth it. A week or so ago I went to Home Depot to restock on my KBB, it’s usually 2 20lb. bags for $17.99. This is my go to charcoal for grilling or short cooks. B & B is my choice for low and slow. They were totally out of KBB and the only briquettes they had left was this Royal Oaks Embers, two 20 lb. bags for $15.99 I wasn’t gonna go shopping around and thought I’d grab some of this stuff. It’s made by Royal Oak, thought it couldn’t be too bad…..WRONG!

I cooked some chicken wings on my kettle tonight with the Vortex, which is known for making screaming hot temps. I’m not lying, I couldn’t get my near grate temps hotter than 325* on my SNS kettle! The thermometer on the SNS is close to the grate and is always pretty accurate, not exact but close. I’ve never had a problem hitting 450* before. I checked several times throughout the cook and not once did it go over 325*. And I had all vents wide open the entire cook. Normally my vortex wings take no longer than 30-40 minutes till done. Tonight it was an hour!



HOTTEST GRATE TEMPS I COULD GET USING THIS CHARCOAL



Also, don’t ever buy non-serrated steak knives! Several months ago, you might remember, I bought a very nice and expensive set of Wusthoff knives. I picked out the block I wanted, as well as each knife I wanted to get. Well, at the time, I didn’t know the steak knives I was ordering were non-serrated. They were $95. apiece! My fault for not paying closer attention. Well, after more than 6 months of using them….they suck at cutting meat on my plate! Not only that, it just feels weird cutting meat on a plate with a non-serrated knife. The rest of my knives I absolutely love! But I’ve had cheap Walmart serrated knives cut better than my $95. apiece non-serrated Wusthoffs I have now…🤬

EDIT: Left out….They were actually pretty good when new. But I’m not used to having sharpen a steak knife, having had serrated all my life.

[CaptainMike]

I wonder what P.T. Barnum would be saying right now...

[jfmorris]

Panhead John I saw a video recently where an online knife sharpening service could turn your knives to serrated. They did it amazingly quick. Talk to a local knife sharpening service if you can find one, and see if they can serrate those expensive steak knives for you.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I won't use anything OTHER than non-serrated steak knives. Just buy better ones next time or sharpen em every 6-12 months

[Panhead John]

Just buy better ones? What, $1,000. apiece knives? Mine are sharp, but suck at cutting meat…IMO, on the plate. Brand new I didn’t care for them. And I’ve only had them 6 months maybe.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Panhead John mine are all Asian angle I wonder if that makes a difference? I just don't like the way serrated knives tear meat.

[bbqLuv]

Ditto on sharping/honing them.

[MBMorgan]

If you want more of a DIY approach to (sorta) converting your steak knives to serrated, a Chef's Choice "Trizor" electric sharpener will do the trick. I quit using mine a while ago because it removes too much metal for comfort ... but because that's pretty much what you're looking for, you might want to have a look at one.

[texastweeter]

Stop cooking your steak to well done in the microwave and you can cut it with your fork like me...

[Panhead John]

Hey, I’ve got a top of the line Maytag 5000 Crap-O-Matic Microwave! Don’t tell me I can’t cook a tender steak!

[bbqLuv]

Stop steaks are not cooked to well done in the Microwave? But mama likes them well done, no pink. I finish hers in the microwave. But having said that I am slowly breaking SWMBO from a hint of pink to medium rare.

[hoovarmin]

Dang, woke up this morning and was thinking I could deliver that zinger but you beat me to it!

[mnavarre]

I bought a bag of Embers a while ago and the best thing I can say about it is it does actually burn. It's almost completely worthless for BBQ, but might be OK for grilling. I ended up using most of the bag to start my fire pit. 3/10, would not buy again.

[Panhead John]

Agree, I’ll probably just bite the bullet and toss em.

[DaveD]

Alright, I'm really confused. PJ posts about lousy charcoal, and the followup posts are all about serrated vs. non-serrated steak knives. I mean, I'm as much of a fan of a derailed thread as the next guy, but what the heck am I missing??

[Panhead John]

I mentioned there’s 2 things I didn’t recommend buying.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Panhead John I want to make a joke about space scientists and stuff... but I think Daves had enough gut punches with last weeks double failure to launch... but speaking of double there was double the things you recommended not to buy

[DaveD]

Well, alrighty then. Ask the question, and get a perfectly straightforward answer: "What you missed is the last paragraph." Simple, declarative, reproducible, and verifiable. For SCIENCE.

(Is anybody buying ANY of this??)

[TxF]

👎🏻 On the serrated steak knives.

[texastweeter]

Doesn't AR sell steak knives?

[Draznnl]

John, sorry to hear about your knife issue. I was going to suggest checking with a sharpening service, there must be one in Houston, but someone else already did. As for your charcoal issue, get a gasser and solve your fuel problems for good.

[swartzster]

Or a pellet grill

[bbqLuv]

I have one of this, Dicks Rapid Steele to touch up the blades of Farberware knife set, cheap set, works for me.
!0 passes works great.

[Allon]

I have one of those. Mines aluminum...

[Histrix]

A serrated blade won't cut a steak better than a properly sharp non-serrated knife.
A dull non-serrated knife will not cut a steak as well as even a somewhat dulled serrated knife.

A serrated blade won't cut a tomato better than a properly sharp non-serrated knife.
A dull non-serrated knife will not cut a tomato as well as even a somewhat dulled serrated knife.

Moral of the story - if you're not going to keep your regular knives properly sharp then it helps to have some serrated knives.

[FireMan]

Well put, sharp is sharp. Ya want it sharp, ya have to do something about it.

[DavidNorcross]

I typically just need a fork to cut my steaks.......

[SmokingSteve]

DavidNorcross Serrated or non-serrated fork?

[Bkhuna]

Same thing happened to me. Home Depot was out of KBB so I bought a two pack of Embers. Anybody want 1 3/4 bag of Embers?

I stop using serrated steak knives when I honed my sharpening skills.

[Panhead John]

I might just throw the rest of mine out, I’ve got 1 1/2 bags left.

[Smoked Transistors]

PJ , just use the remaining Embers charcoal as fire staters for your favorite B&B charcoal briquettes,that way your getting something out of them instead of chucking them into the trash