Lump from Walmart

[SierraBBQGuy]

Local Walmart has this $10 per 30 lb bag. There is a review on Naked Whiz, but 15 years old. Anyone tried it? Any good?

[SmokeyGator]

It’s all from trees.

My theory is what you are paying for in charcoal size and brand naming. My grill came with a bag of Primo branded lump. It was mostly larger chunks with some shake. My second bag was Roal Oak (which supplies BGE with their brand lump) and it was mostly smaller pieces (BGE takes the larger chunks and bags it as their lump).

More recently I bought a small bag of Fogo, it was almost all larger chunks. I also picked up a 35 pound bag from a wholesale club for $15 and without even opening it I can tell it’s mostly smaller chunks and dust.

So bottom line? It’s all carbonized wood. It’s all made the same way. Larger chunks (premium brands) give a more consistent longer burn with less ash. Cheaper brands have smaller pieces and so it burns up faster with more ash. Cheaper brands will have more of the total weight as Shake and ash (which is thrown out). But it all gets hot enough to cook with.

I need to do more experimenting to determine what is a better value, an 8 pound premium bag for $10 or a cheaper 20 pound bag for the same $10. It will all come down to burn time, ability to be reused, and how much ash has to be cleaned out.

[Timcee]

I just watched a fella yesterday (FB live) doing a brisket somewhere out camping with this charcoal.. He spent a half sec showing the bag and then moved the cam and I kept pausing it to see what brand because he kept saying how impressed he was with it, especially for what he paid for it from Walmart..
I looked up on Walmart.com to see if I could find a matching pic and couldn't so thanks to you now I know what it is and will be trying it! But according to the brisket camper, he loved it and it had a long burn time... He never spoke on chunk size, etc..

[customtrim]

I buy frontier at bjs 16.99 for 34 lbs never have a issue with burn time, temp, or ash regardless of piece size

[kamadoRob]

I used to use Frontier from BJs. We moved and now I can't find it out here. It worked really well and was cheap. I miss it.

[lual]

Because it is a "bargain" compared to most other charcoals, I picked up a bag of this "Western" lump at Wally World late last month to give it a try.

Then, I opened the bag, spilled out the entire contents, and did a sort....looking for foreign objects, furniture pieces, etc.

I didn't find any foreign material in this bag.

Anyway, to answer your question--I had no issues with starting or keeping this stuff burning in my PBC. However, it does burn faster than other lumps I've tried, or quality briquets. It's not a dense lump, so a full charcoal basket in the PBC will just get about 8 hours worth of cooking time (I cooked a pork shoulder with it for Mem Day weekend).

It produced no odd odors, or sparking issues, either.

If your smoker/cooker only has a single intake vent, you will find you'll probably need to rotate your fuel basket/tray with this lump, to keep the fire going during longer cooks.


Bottom line: it appears to get the job done, but....as usual, I find that you do get what you pay for.

I would only recommend it for shorter cooks--say, a rib cook...or something else even shorter.

Use something else better for your longer cooks, like brisket and pork shoulder.

[Mosca]

Some charcoal smokes smell and taste different from others. I don't know about the one in the picture.

I use mostly Wegman's charcoal, which is made by Royal Oak. It does add a flavor, but I don't mind it. It's cheap ($6.99/10lbs) and I can get it on Sunday afternoon in the middle of January, if I want to.

My theory on lumps size is that it is dependent on where the bag lands on the pallet prior to shipping. Top bage have large pieces, and bottom bags....

Bottom line, find something you like and use it often!

[fzxdoc]

My Walmart is now carrying B&B Lump. I wish they would carry B&B Briquettes. And my local Kitchen and Company is carrying Fogo Lump this BBQ season. Ditto about wishing for briquettes but I don't think Fogo makes them. I'm tempted to try both lump brands in my WSCGC just to see what the hubbub is about. That Fogo is really pricey.

Kathryn

[SmokeyGator]

Fogo is local for me. I can find it easily. I think it’s going to become my standard go-to.

[PaynTrain]

Yes I have tried it for my brisket last week!!! It is just as good as Royal Oak, no issues for me! Burned clean, lit well, and stayed hot. $6 per 30# bag here in Ohio, so I sent the wife and my truck to get 20 bags!!!! Score.

[DWCowles]

I need to get some of that.