Kingsford Professional

[ecowper]

Okay David Parrish, I'm smoking a hunk of brisket on the WSM 22 for pastrami .... And I used Kingsford Professional rather than Blue. I gotta admit, the WSM isn't running any hotter than it did with KBB. Now, I'm curious if it lasts as long. Holding a temp of 235 +/- 10 degrees has been easy so far.

I gotta say I am very surprised, considering how hot Professional will burn when you give it air.

My wife is headed for Costco, told her to grab me a couple of the 2 packs of Professional :-)

[Porterdriver]

That left me a little confused, you don't see any heat difference between the Pro and the KBB...so why are going to continue with the Pro (at the premium cost)?

[Thunder77]

Are you sure it's 2 15.4lb bags of blue? Here we have the 2-pack of blue in 18.6lb bags.

[ecowper]

The Home Depot nearest to me never sells that 2-pack. They do sell the 15.4 lb bags for $9.99, and sometimes for $7.99.

[Porterdriver]

New cooker (WSCGC) coming tomorrow so I just bought 2 bags of the Pro (11.1 lbs.) each for $9.88 at my local Home Depot.

[David Parrish]

Okay David Parrish, I'm smoking a hunk of brisket on the WSM 22 for pastrami .... And I used Kingsford Professional rather than Blue. I gotta admit, the WSM isn't running any hotter than it did with KBB. Now, I'm curious if it lasts as long. Holding a temp of 235 +/- 10 degrees has been easy so far.

I gotta say I am very surprised, considering how hot Professional will burn when you give it air.

My wife is headed for Costco, told her to grab me a couple of the 2 packs of Professional :-)

Yep they burn hotter when fully exposed to air but as long as you have good air control you can keep them down at low and slow temps.

Let us know if the food tastes different to you and better or worse.

[ecowper]

David Parrish I'm looking at whether there is a difference in taste and how long they burn. Considering that I can buy Kingsford Professional for a great price at Costco, I am thinking I will just make it my go to. That way I don't have to stock KBB for the WSM and Professional for the Hasty-Bake.

[gcdmd]

What's the difference in the composition of the two types?

[ecowper]

gcdmd here's some good information on the Kingsford Professional at TVWB.

As far as ingredients go, from various "official letters" from Kingsford, the Professional charcoal has wood char, starch as a binder, and borax in it. KBB has wood char, mineral char, mineral carbon, limestone, starch, borax, sodium nitrate and sawdust.

[gcdmd]

Thank you. I was not aware of that site. It looks like it has a lot of good info.

[Porterdriver]

Any thoughts on the Duraflame hexagonal briquettes?

[ecowper]

Never used it myself.

[vwskirch]

Well....I guess I'm stocked up......

[ecowper]

That will last a weekend or two, anyway ;-)

[billg71]

Nah, you're just getting started. "Stocked up" starts at 300 lb or thereabouts.

[jbeck1986]

They were $15 for the same 2 pack at Costco not too long ago.

From what I gather they professional briquettes have less binding materials and are cleaner burning. They have less ash too so less mess to deal with.

[ecowper]

Yeah, every once in a while Costco will put them on sale .... But even at the $20 price, it's a really good deal.

[jbeck1986]

Yeah for sure. That's definetly worth it. It's quality stuff. Plus it makes me feel like a professional when I cook! 😋

[Thunder77]

I have never seen the 2-pack of professional in the Baltimore area. We always get the the 2-pack of 18.6Lb KBB. Lowe's and Home Depot have that for $20, and on major holiday weekends, put it on sale for $10. I don't live near a Costco or BJ's unfortunately.