B&B Oak + Hickory charcoal

[DaveD]

Hey folks, like many others, I keep my eye on the Walmart website every so often to see if they have their periodic blowout sale on B&B charcoal going. When they put it on sale, it's US$9.99 per bag with free shipping. Today was one such day because I'm clean out, and luckily that sale is now going. But, the regular 17.6lb orange bag of oak "competition" charcoal had just one bag left in stock, which I bought. But then I noticed they also have a B&B variety I'd not seen before, coals made of oak plus hickory. They look identical, and the only difference in the packaging is the US flag graphics on the combo coals bags. Same price too.



Still labeled "competition", as you can see. I doubt there will be any noticeable difference in these in either performance or flavor, but if anyone out there has experience using these I'd love to hear about it.

[Steve R.]

What are you waiting for? I'd be all over that if I didn't have an Academy nearby. I've never seen it in the wild, though, so I can't help with any feedback.

[DaveD]

Not waiting! I ordered five bags this morning and they arrived by 2pm. That picture was taken in my garage Still have the single bag of their regular oak charcoal yet to arrive.

[RonB]

Ordered 4 bags - thanks!

[RichieB]

Went to order a few bags. Go to checkout. Out of stock, WTF. Why allow to put in the cart when they know they're going to fly the bird at you.

[RichieB]

UPDATE: I tried again this morning and magically they were back in stock 😏 and they'll be here Friday.

[Mosca]

Went to order a few bags. Go to checkout. Out of stock, WTF. Why allow to put in the cart when they know they're going to fly the bird at you.

I ordered online, free shipping, they’ll be here Sept 3rd. Same price. They also have the competition char logs, 15lbs/$8.97, but I don’t need any of those.

[ssennott]

I just ordered 4 bags arriving Friday thanks

[Jessterr]

No problem here either, ordered 2 bags of briquettes @ $9.97 each and 2 bags of hickory lump 20# @ $14.97 each, with free shipping. Interesting thing, The Naked Whiz states that B&B lump products are comprised of blends of about 35% of the wood species mentioned on the label, with the remaining 65% consisting of a blend of three other woods. They use a combination of four different woods in all their products, oak, hickory, mesquite, and something called Texas Ebony. So if you buy a bag of lump labeled as “with oak”, it’s actually about 35% oak with 65% being some combination of the other three. Same for hickory, same for mesquite. I suspect the same is probably the case for their briquettes, that it was likely always some combination of these woods but maybe they’ve recently upped the proportion of hickory? Just speculating. And to be clear, I love B&B products, that’s pretty much all I use these days.

[DaveD]

I'm fully sold on B&B charcoal for all low & slow cooking, won't use anything else if I can help it. I still keep a bag of Kingsford on hand for when I just need to sear something or some other quicker cook, like 2-zone chicken. B&B is so superior to anything else I've tried for extended and consistent temps.

[Oak Smoke]

I’ve used B&B lump exclusively for several years now. It is normally so well carbonized that there is really no flavor difference between oak or hickory. I get mine at either Walmart or Academy. I just get which ever kind that looks to have been handled the easiest. If that bag looks like it has no wrinkles then there’s a good chance it hasn’t been broken into small pieces.

[Spinaker]

I have never tried their briquettes, I love B&B though, they make great stuff.

[DaveD]

They are nearly twice the size of Kingsford coals, broader and thicker both. When I did my brisket last weekend, one SnS insert's worth lasted all night holding temp very steadily, a full 10+ hours. Impressive - most impressive.

[Finster]

In my experience, B&B is great product.
Ordering charcoal online from Walmart not so much.
Even in the stores, condition of charcoal varies from location to location.

[HawkerXP]

I ordered 5 bags of these B&B last week. Arrived in two days. They were in boxes this time. Seem to be ok.

Yes, in the past Walmart just slapped a label on the bag and shipped. Not so good.

[DonQ]

I just received 5 bags from walmart ($9.99/17.6# bags, free shipping) 4 intact bags, one bag broken open in a box.

[JHB]

I had the same experience as DonQ. 5 bags at a good price, but terrible packaging.

[JohnPaul]

Sweet I've been out of B&B for while and using my stockpile of Kingsford Pro. It's fine, but not my favorite. Just ordered 10 bags to be shipped to the store.

[JoeSousa]

Picked up 4 bags of this. The orange bag oak briquettes are my go to. Will be interesting to see how these compare.

[DaveD]

Delighted that so many are jumping on this!

[RichieB]

I just pulled out a 3 # pork roast out of the freezer. A Saturday cook and I'll be using the B&B which arrives Friday. I'll report back and Happy Labor Day for all you who work.

[Grillin Dad]

Dang, this is the first time I've seen the char-logs on sale. I'm tempted to grab a bag or two, but I've still got quite a bit from the 30 lb bag I bought last year. If you haven't tried them yet, they're great for long smokes (brisket, shoulder, etc.). Take a bit longer to get initially lit, but they burn waaaay longer than regular briquettes.

[Purc]

I always mix B&B Briquettes with Char-Logs for my long smokes.

[Finster]

What Purc said..

[RichardK]

I was low on B&B 3 months ago. Walmart's online price was very high. So, I picked up 2 bags from Ace and it was the Oak-Hickory. The next day I did some searching at the several Walmart stores for in store pickup. Ended up buying 10 bags; same Oak-Hickory label. I am prone to panicky purchases when the favorite charcoal out of stock or the price goes up. Drove over an hour and bought 20 bags of Cowboy when my local hardware stores stopped carrying it.
I didn't notice the different label on the B&B bag or a difference in cook.

[Finster]

Can’t go wrong with Cowboy if you’re talking briquettes.
One of my go to brands

[DaveD]

I have not heard of Cowboy charcoal before, a googling I shall go...!