New Charcoal Alert / Review - Costco House Brand

[gdsim1]

So upon going to Costco a few days ago for my beloved Kingsford Competition briquettes, I made a shocking discovery - Costco has come out with their own house brand (Kirkland) of charcoal. Not sure why it took them this long since they’ve had their own pellets for a while now, but being an adventurous sort (and honestly in a hurry lol) I decided to give them a whirl.

REALLY glad I did - these things are awesome! They fire up quickly and easily, burn very hot AND last a good long time - to my utter surprise, they beat the Kingsford Competition briquettes in all three of those categories. They’re not the same shape as typical briquettes… while they are still squares, they’re thicker and with a deeper channel that runs right through the middle of the top. Think capital letter H, if capital letter H had a weight problem.

Which would make me and fat letter H brothers in the struggle, but I digress. LOL!

The best part? They’re about $6 a bag cheaper ($18) thank the Kingsford Competition ($24) too. 😃

So in summary, great price for a superior product - Costco has managed to do it again. Buy with confidence, and I look forward to hearing the opinions of others as you do. I hope they never get rid of these things. 👍

PS: Apologies if this is something that’s been posted up before. I went back a few pages and didn’t see anything on em.

[J-Melt]

Thank you for posting this! I saw these at Costco the other day and wanted to ask the Pit about it, but never did. I’m blowing through my B&B haul from the most recent walmart sale, so I will probably be getting some soon!

[Panhead John]

Thanks for posting this! A lot of people, including me, will probably give ‘em a try. I’m assuming you’re referring to Costco selling them in a 2 bag package? Can you confirm? Also, what is the weight of each bag?

[gdsim1]

Hi John. 😊 Yes, they come in the two-bag package, with each bag being 20lbs I believe.

[FireMan]

Yes, that’s ✌️to those in Oconomowoc.

[Rod]

Not seeing them here in AZ yet, but hope to soon. What's the start up smoke/odor and ash clean up like?

[gdsim1]

Great questions Rod. Start up smoke is difficult to answer - I got a BBQ Dragon setup at the same time I got the Costco coal (BBQ Dragon did NOT come from Costco) so it’s hard to tell. The Dragon has the can smoking like the pit of hell very nearly from jump. 😳

The odor I would say is a bit stronger and the ash a bit heavier than Kingsford Competition. Not sure why or if the two are related… good question for fzxdoc maybe?

[acorgihouse]

Thank you! Costco is my mother ship, and anything I can get there keeps me from stopping elsewhere (or ordering online.) I haven't been there in a couple weeks, but due a trip, so will check it out. Thanks!

[gdsim1]

Always happy to help, and it feels good to give back to a community that’s given so much to me over the years. 👍

[realdocBBQ]

Dang. I haven't been to Costco in... seems like MONTHS, but I have family coming to visit, so I'm sure I'll be there a couple times over the next few weeks. Sheisse, now that I think about it, I bet I haven't been there this calendar year. I haven't cooked much this year until the last couple of weeks, as all my free time was spent building, not cooking.

Anyways, I've found I like the Cowboy charcoal briquettes from WalMart 100% better than the standard Kingsford blue bag. Haven't tried the others - we don't have B&B at our WM and the big bag of Royal Oak lump I bought was a huge disappointment - it was easily >50% tiny broken pieces. Horrible, horrible stuff. The Cowboy stuff I bought (admittedly only 2 bags total so far) has been the best stuff I've used to date.




I am sure I'll get some of the Kirkland stuff though - I've always been danged happy with Costco's house brand, in almost everything I've tried.

[ecowper]

I much prefer Cowboy to Kingsford Blue Bag. I consider Cowboy and Kingsford Comp to be on par with each other. I just stocked up on multiple 2 bag sets of Kingsford Comp at Costco 2 weeks ago, dangit.

[Alan Brice]

I bought a bag of Cowboy Lump back in the spring. I found a steel strap and some type of quartz rocks in the mix. The rocks were bigger than a briquet. Quite odd. The burn was good though I did not encounter a lot of larger pcs.

[sigjig]

I had the same problem with Royal Oak lump in the 30 pound bags! At least half of the bag was so fine it blinded the flow of air through the charcoal, couldn’t get my smoker above 200°. I sent an email to Royal Oak, they sent me coupons for 4-15 pound bags to compensate for what I went through. Now I don’t even see the 30 pound bags on the shelf anymore.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Have not used charcoal in years, but I might start adding some to my wood during cooks on my Santa Maria Rig
IMHO Ace usually has a good line-up IF you are not a CostCo member

Appreciate the info-we may need to give this a try

[gdsim1]

Can you send a link to your Santa Maria? I’d love to see it, and could use some BBQ porn today. 🙏

[Bad Hat BBQ]

gdsim1 email with pics sent.....happy to share pics of that Rig; she is awesome!

[Alan Brice]

Bad Hat BBQ I can count on Ace for CharLogs. Good price and they have a points rebate based on your purchases.

[radiodome21]

Excited to try this if I see this in Illinois. I’ve been using their pellets exclusively for the past year and I’m a happy camper.

[J-Melt]

It was at the Costco on S. Ashland in Chicago last week, so if the Costco near you stocks like them, you should see it soon!

[gdsim1]

I’ve been very happy with their pellets also, and you dang sure can’t beat the price. 👍

If you’ve got a Sam’s Club card (or have a buddy who does), keep an eye out for the whiskey barrel pellets there - burn great, and the best flavor pellets I’ve run across. Dirt cheap too - like $10 a bag or something ridiculous like that.

[Reds Fan 5]

Thanks for tip gdsim1. How is the ash production compared to KBB?

[gdsim1]

Compared to KBB I’d say the ash is considerably heavier. It’s was noticeably heavier than the Kingsford Competition I’ve been using for years, and I’ve found the competition was heavier than the classic KBB.

Hope this helps some. 👍

[Reds Fan 5]

gdsim1, thanks. Wow, heavier than KBB. That is a lot of ash.

[Panhead John]

I went to Costco today and while there, I thought I’d see if they had the Kirkland Brand Charcoal mentioned here. As I entered the store I asked an employee if they carried it. He said “No, it’s mainly a regional item and we don’t have it here as far as I know.” I was a little disappointed because I was really wanting to try it out. Knowing big box stores and their propensity to carry stuff for a while, then drop it and carry something else, I wasn’t gonna just take his word for it. After being forced at gun point to the meat department 🙄 I picked up a few filets and some shrimp. Afterwards I went to the general area where charcoal is found. Didn’t see any and asked an employee where the charcoal was. She directed me here…….👏👏👏



If anyone’s interested in getting this, just go into the store and look for yourself. Most of the time employees give you the right answer, but let’s face it…Costco carries so much inventory it’s hard for anyone to keep track of it all. This might be a regional item, don’t know, but it’s for sure being sold here in Houston. Thanks gdsim1 for this review and heads up about the new brand! You gave me the idea of comparing the briquette sizes when you talked about the bigger size of the new Kirkland Brand…….here’s a pic of how they stack up.

Left - KBB [not pro]…….Center - Kirkland’s Brand…….Right - B & B



The new Kirkland charcoal is a good bit bigger and heavier than KBB. I didn’t have any Kingsford Pro on hand for a comparison. The B & B briquettes are even bigger and heavier than the other 2.

I paid $18.99 for the 2 pack of 20 lb. bags. Here’s 1 of em.


I might try some tonight and see how it does. I have no doubt it’ll probably be just as good as gdsim1 says!

[Troutman]

Dang it, I just bought 6 bags of Pro from them about a month ago along with a bunch of Fogo. I don't recall seeing Kirkland there. I may go grab a couple of bags for the heck of it. I will say that Pro has always done me well so it may take an above average briq to get me to change. Thanks for checking it out John.

[Panhead John]

You’re welcome Steve. Charcoal is kinda like beer, you can always buy more than you need….it’s not like it’s gonna go to waste.

[STEbbq]

Hmm. Now I feel like I should try some B&B briquettes again. Ehh, still have 4 bags of lump.

[Finster]

Was at Costco this afternoon.
Looked for the Kirkland, but no go.
Kingsford Pro was all they had. Regular price at 24 dollars for the 2 pack

[Santamarina]

Hmm…I’ve been to Costco a few times in the last week and didn’t see this. Been using lump for the last couple years because it has less ash, but the inconsistencies in size are frustrating.

Used KBB for years and always preferred it to Pro…but this is darn tempting. I don’t use charcoal much these days…typically just for a quick coal bed in the stickburner or for starting small splits on the grill for tri-tip and steaks.

Just used the last of my lump…so I’ll def be on the lookout for this on my next visit!

[Murdy]

Didn't see any in St. Charles, IL, only Kingsford Pro.

[Panhead John]

Seems like this is definitely a regional thing ….for now anyway. If I had to guess, Costco might be trying to sell off their inventories of Kingsford before spreading the Kirkland brand nationwide. I just can’t see Costco implementing a Kirkland brand of product and not selling it nationwide eventually. Of course that’s just my guess.

I did use a chimney full of the Kirkland charcoal last night for grilling a steak and some shrimp. It worked fine for me also, no complaints! As gdsim1 mentioned, it started easy and fast, burned hot and lasted far longer than I needed. I can’t speak for the amount of ash it produced though. I rarely pay attention to that, but it seemed about a normal amount compared to KBB. This stuff definitely was good enough for me, and since it’s cheaper than Kingsford and at the very least, just as good, I’ll be buying it from now on!

[SheilaAnn]

I was just at our local Costco (cypress, ca). Only kingsford pro briquettes and Kirkland pellets.