Favorite lump charcoal?

[flyby]

I started with BGE lump charcoal, and while it worked OK, there wasn't anything that special about it except for the price (pretty high I thought through the local dealer). I do a fair amount of grilling on the spur of the moment and nothing worse than deciding to grill and then not having enough lump to do the cook...and the dealer closed... So I started using Cowboy lump bought at Lowe's. I can't say I've had any significant issues with it - never found any foreign material in the bag, not had serious issues with sparking until I've hit the bottom of the bag where there is more dust. Always thought there was a fair mix of large/med/smaller lumps within the bag...Never had any complaints from the family either...

Having said that, I've just ordered a bag of FOGO (out of stock right now on Amazon) to see what the difference is. Maybe I'm not all that picky - I'd rather have a cup of plain black coffee from Speedway than pay $$ for something from Starbucks that I can barely pronounce...

Hoping to be pleasantly surprised - if it's a noticeable difference, I have no problem at all with the price!

[Paul Morrison]

Having said that, I've just ordered a bag of FOGO (out of stock right now on Amazon) to see what the difference is. Maybe I'm not all that picky - I'd rather have a cup of plain black coffee from Speedway than pay $$ for something from Starbucks that I can barely pronounce...

I hope you like it. I just bought two more bags. You can also buy it directly on the Fogo site with free shipping. Try a nice low and slow cook using the FOGO. This is where I really saw a big difference.

[flyby]

I did just that - canceled the Amazon order, went to their site, and save $10 over 2 bags. I'm anxious to give it a try and see what the differences are!

[Don Jr]

Ranch T for me right now for my Kamado Joe. I only have access to Ranch T and the Big Green Egg stuff unless I want small junk charcoal which I don't want. I never stop looking. I had a guy at work bring me Hawiian charcoal back from his honeymoon about 10 years ago. He's divorced now, but that was a nice gift.

[RichBrew]

They swear by Rockwood over at the BGE forum. I bought two bags, and finally got to try it a couple days ago.

On the plus side, it gives off very little white/gray smoke before settling down to clear/light blue. There is almost no added smoke/wood flavor.

On the minus side, the average piece size is about 1/2 the size of a charcoal briquette; apparently if you order two bags, they are in a box big enough for four or five bags, and during shipping the bags get jostled and Rockwood's (self-described) harder wood breaks into small pieces. Kamados are air-flow regulated, so that shouldn't make a difference on longer cooks; I was making burgers, so I didn't get to experience that, all I got was an Egg that wanted to go to 700+ like a jet engine.

There's nothing really wrong with Rockwood, but there's nothing about it that makes me want to order it again. $22 for 20#, from Firecraft. I didn't see it on Amazon so I couldn't use the AR linking system.

http://www.firecraft.com/product/rockwood-lump-charcoal-20lbs

I use Wegman's store brand, which is reportedly from Royal Oak. The last few bags have been lots of dust, but I attribute that more to the time of year; these are bags that were probably filled last spring and that have sat on the bottom of the pallet since then. The advantage is that they are readily available, and relatively cheap at $7/10#. The disadvantage is a pronounced smoky taste that gives every meal a similar essence, which gets tiresome.

I still have to burn through about 30# of the Rockwood and 15# of the Wegman's, then I may give FOGO a try, since I can order it from Amazon.

Im pretty new to BGE, and also lump. The first I got was a couple of bags of royal oak, because it was $10 for 20lb at Walmart. I had the same experience as others have mentioned here, lots of really small pieces, smokey startup, and I had trouble with higher temps. A local BGE dealer carries rockwood so I had to try it since it at the top of the naked whiz list. Ther was little dust, very nice size pieces, and it seems to burn cleaner and longer than the RO.
With less charcoal flavor in the brisket and butt I cooked, it seemed that the wood smoke came through much better.

[RonB]

I just saw this. My wife gave me a homemade lump for spending too much on bbq gear...

[Josef]

"Weber coconut shell briquettes" for cooks that needs to go a long time. They last for ever and impart very little taste. Expensive but i stockpiled 180kgs at half price at the end of last season.

"Lübzer qualitäts holzkohle" lump for shorter cooks and when a nice subtle smoke flavor is not unwanted. Like most times.
Lübzer uses only hardwood, no lumber scraps or reclaimed wood and you can clearly identify most pieces as parts of branches or trunks. I have never found anything other than wood in a bag.
There is little dust and few very small pieces. Some pieces are quite large and the very largest are not always 100% carbonized in the centre so these are saved for cooks where more smoke is a good thing.

I would never add unlit briquettes or more questionable lump but Lübzer can be added unlit without giving off acrid, horrible smoke. This and the fact that there is a lot less ash than briquettes means I actually use lump for more and more of my cooks.

[Highlander]

I have been using Wicked Good Weekend Warrior for several years. I order it by the pallet (much cheaper) and it burns long and hot. There are some very good size chunks that I reserve for overnight cooking. http://wickedgoodcharcoal.com/