Interesting Article on Charcoal "Fraud"

[dpearce]

I guess the only way you’ll ever know, is if you make your own lump charcoal. Or cook with properly sourced wood.

[Uncle Bob]

Bill Purc , my point is people see what they want to see. "Vegetable binder" could realistically be considered an additive and even a filler. Undefined "hardwood charcoal and sawdust" could be a very wide range of types of wood (which is what is being complained about in the lump examination) and "real (whatever that's supposed to mean) varietal wood is pretty much the same vague description. Perhaps this is all much ado about nothing (as long as genuinely harmful products like pressure treated lumber are excluded).

[Purc]

I agree but what choices do we really have? The info was from the Cowboy charcoal website. They do try to be transparent in their product descriptions. As we talked last week, maybe I should try some lump in both the Weber Kettle and Bronco. What brand do you use?

[Uncle Bob]

Jealous Devil is my reliable, followed by KJ Big Block if there's a significant sale (seems to happen maybe once a year). They're both south american hardwoods called quebracho, though I'm not naive enough to think it's 100% that without some other in there. I doubt their harvesting practices are entirely diligent.

[ericinva]

I stopped using lump a few years ago when I found stuff in a bag that clearly shouldn't have been there (rocks, string, metal, etc). I tried Jealous Devil lump on someone's recommendation a little over a year ago, and have been using it ever since. It burns very clean with noticeably less ash left behind, and I get nowhere near the creosote build-up in the charcoal hopper that I used to get with briquettes. I've never found a foreign object in a bag (I still look from time to time), and I never have "gravel" that falls through the grate unburned. My one knock on Jealous Devil is the occasional football-sized lump that I have to break up.

[ilooklikeelvis]

I never seem to have great luck with lump lately. I stopped buying Royal Oak as there were SO many rocks in there, over and over. Jealous Devil has been ok but harder to find recently. I've been sticking with Rockwood for the past year or so - I don't see a lot of rocks in it but the bag I'm on now has a lot of small crumbly pieces it in (admittedly, nearing the end of that bag). It is expensive too, but has been the more consistent of the bunch lately.

[Oak Smoke]

Every company seems to put out a less than perfect batch occasionally but I’ve had great luck with B&B lump. I did get a couple of bags earlier this year that had too much small stuff. Day in and day out I get consistently good lump from them. I try to look for bags that don’t show signs
of having been handled much when I buy now days. Academy and Walmart carry it. I can usually get it for $15.99 a 20 pound bag.

[Smoker_Boy]

I have liked the lump that I got from The Good Charcoal Company.

With that being said, I'll be glad when I go back to briquettes.
Lump is entirely too messy.

[radshop]

Interesting but not highly significant to me personally. I mostly use briquettes, but there are a few scenarios when I prefer lump. I've never had anything but excellent results from Fogo Super Premium, while I was disappointed in the other brands I tried. And I honestly never read the Fogo label, so I don't know what claims they make - I tried it and I like it. But maybe I'll start taking a handheld scale to the store to check the weight when buying.

[smokenoob]

The holiday stockings I fill don’t seem to notice.
#scroogenoob

[radshop]

Ding! Ding! Winning answer! LOL