How clean is your lump charcoal?

[jgg85234]

Over the years, I've frequently used a locally available lump charcoal from a Phoenix company called El Diablo. It's mesquite lump and is a little sparky sometimes. Well, most of the time. But it works great in my KJ.

I know lots of brands of lump end up with horseshoes, drywall, chunks of plaster and a variety of other undesirable things in the bag.

I know that when I buy expensive stuff like Fogo or KJ's South American lump, I expect it to be pretty clean. But, you pay for that at $1-$2 per pound for the charcoal.

The El Diablo stuff sells all year long at Costco and Walmart in Arizona at about $12.99 per 40 lb bag. That's pretty cheap for good lump. How good? I just finished a 40lb bag over the weekend. Never pulled anything out of the bag other than lump. At the bottom of the bag there was probably about 1 cup of dust. And, the 3 stones in the picture. That's it. Nothing but lump.


How clean is your favorite?

Best regards,
Jim

[JeffJ]

I go through maybe a small bag per year. Our local grocery store carries some odd brand and I've never found any debris inside a bag of this stuff. My only gripe is the size of the pieces are all over the place with a lot of really small pieces. Stuff burns hot and clean though with very little ash.

I can't find any kind of brand name on this bag:

[Spinaker]

I like to use Rockwood and FOGO. I have never found any FM in these bags. They are expensive, but I am not cooking with it everynight. FOGO is my favorite stuff, I absolutely love using that stuff in the BGE. FOGO has a great range of huge, large and medium pieces. This allows for great airflow and solid temp control.

I have found FM in bags of BGE lump. (Which is just Royal oak in a green bag) In my experience, Royal Oak has a lot of dust, uncarbonized pieces, small and tiny pieces and FM in Royal Oak bags. I know some people have not seen this, but pretty much every bag I have ever bought has had these problems.

[JeffJ]

I haven't been impressed with RO. I always find rocks in it, TONS of coal dust and the pieces seem to burn out very quickly.

[Spinaker]

Yep, same here. JeffJ

[vandy]

Same here with the RO the few bags I did try ended up with huge chunks of concrete and some metal banding along with assorted other garbage so I don't buy that stuff any more.

[Sfdrew28]

I use Lazzari lump. They mainly supply restaurants around the country. They make an Oak and Mesquite. The mesquite is fantastic although I use the oak 5x as much. Solid tree parts and never found any foreign substances in it. The oak is really good too but it is extremely brittle. If you aren't careful in the transport it can end up being 1/3 small chunks and dust. I buy the 20# bags to limit breakage. I handle it like a newborn and it is fine. I live right near the company warehouse which has been there since 1890's. Pretty cool place. A 40lb bag is $15 and 20 around $9 so even if a bag or two has too many fines I still come out ahead at these prices.
I tried cowboy and realized that it smelled terrible and I was lucky to live so close to Lazarri. Hers a few photos of the place. It’s just a beat up old train stop warehouse.

[Spinaker]

I'd love to have a spot like that! Any pictures of the lump?

[Sfdrew28]

I'm at work...can do when I get home.

[JeffJ]

Those prices are fantastic. I posted a picture of the one brand of lump available locally that I like. Otherwise it's Royal Oak or Cowboy, and I've read similar criticisms of both of those 2.

[Sfdrew28]

here’s the bottom third of the bag. The bigger chunks are gone. They even sell several different small logs woods, chips, or chunks. Hickory, pecan, alder, apple, cherry, and mesquite. The smoke wood prices are crazy cheap too.

[Sfdrew28]

@jeffq-it’s double the price at my local food store ten minutes from the warehouse.

[DWCowles]

Making your own lump charcoal is the cheapest way.

[JimLinebarger]

I can get Lazarri , Royal Oak, and Cowboy here. I mainly use Lazarri. Tired Royal Oak but it seems like balsa wood and sparks badly (compared to Lazarri) and doesn't seem to get as hot. Haven't tried Cowboy yet but can get it at Wally World. The Lazarri I can get is in 40# bags and usually 1/4th to 1/3rd chips and dust. I use the chips and dust to make starters with toilet paper rolls or paper egg cartons and paraffin wax and newspaper wicks. Get a wide range of chunk sizes from tree branches 4" thick and 12-15" long to ice cube size. But still like it better than Royal Oak. Cheaper, too.

[Sfdrew28]

Do you get the oak or mesquite? If you can get 20# bags they have less dust. Also, don’t bother with cowboy. It was terrible.

[JimLinebarger]

Sfdrew28 I only have the 40# bags at the 2 locations and they are mesquite. Thanks for the heads up on the Cowboy.

[EdF]

In fairness to Cowboy, I thought it was awful 3-4 years ago. But I got some last year because it was convenient, and the quality (in the couple of bags I tried) was much improved.

[Jon Solberg]

I make my own. It’s anazingly clean : )

[EdF]

I, for one, would really like to see a tutorial with pics, if you can get around to it!

[JCBBQ]

I used to get Rockwood. That was the best I've ever used. No rocks and lights fast. Unfortunately they don't sell it at FireCraft.com any more and I haven't seen a place that sells it w/o charging an arm and a leg for shipping. No brick and mortar sell it in NJ that I'm aware of. Sooooooo, i'm pretty much using Royal Oak bc that's what's easily available. I do find the occasional rock and some dust but, it's pretty cheap. I doesn't really bother me. The only thing that bugs me is that it's harder to light the lump if it's not fresh - meaning leftover from a previous cook. Once it's lit I've found zero difference between any of the brands Ive used. As far as I can tell, they all cook the same. I say get the cheapest lump you can find, and don't sweat it if there is a rock or two.

[JeffJ]

For me, the only reason to use lump is as an upgrade over briquettes. It tends to burn hotter and cleaner and with less ash. When a brand of lump, like Royal Oak (in my experience) doesn't outperform Weber briquettes, I see no reason to use it.

[Mudkat]

I've only used Cowboy. Rocks, dust, small pieces that fall through the grate, and small strips of blue tarp are in almost every bag. Not enough medium to big stuff. It seemed to get worse over the years so I stopped using it. A lot less ash though which is a plus.

[JeffJ]

That is the one gripe I have with the brand I'm using - too many small pieces that fall through the grate. Other than that, I really like it.

[leol2]

You can buy Rockwood direct from their website. If you buy 3 bags or more shipping is free. Just bought 3 bags and the cost with free shipping was $80.85

[DWCowles]

A bag weighs 20 lbs JeffJ

[JCBBQ]

Oh! That's great. Thanks leol2!

[JCBBQ]

Oh, wait. I just saw the price. Ha! They include the shipping in the price of the bag. It used to be $20 a bag. Damn. I'll stick with my el cheapo strategy

[Danny Mac]

I'm a control freak. We all cook by time and temp but the fuel is always the gray area. I always know how many briquettes it take to cook 6 to 12 hours @ 230° I have tried but with lump its a crapshoot. All different size pieces and it burns so fast and hot. I know that what you read on the internet you have to take with a grain of salt. If you use the same thing all the time and get good results why change. Know what you know best.

[jgg85234]

What cooker are you using? I've discovered that lump works great in my Kamado Joe, but standard Kingsford Briquettes work better in my Weber Kettle and WSM.

Jim

[EdF]

I think kamado's change the nature of the fueling game a bit. More slack.

[Danny Mac]

I have tried to weigh out lump charcoal and have not had the same results twice. I look at Kamado Joe and its made like a brick oven to hold the heat for a long time. Once it's set and cooking it's not easy to add or subtract charcoal or water. I guess I would have to cook with it to get a feel of it.

[jgg85234]

It's a difference in how the airflow affects how much lump is lit at any given time. I can get 20+ hours out of a load of fuel in the KJ. Doubt I could get anywhere near that in the WSM, or even the Kettle/SnS combo. The insulated cooker plus the slow growth of the fire in a Kamado is what makes lump the ideal fuel for them. Other cookers (Kettle, WSM, PBC, etc. were designed with the briquettes as their native fuel.

After some experimenting when I got the KJ, I just decided lump in the KJ, KBB in my other cookers.

Jim