Another hometown brand for me. The importer is only a few miles from my home.
Its all I get. I have tried other brands, and all I can say is they do burn. But the BJ Wholesale lump often has rocks and other weird stuff in it. Like for example, wood that is CLEARLY flooring. Tried BGE brand (made by Royal Oak) and it’s not really any different from Royal Oak, except in price. Lots of medium to small chunks, not many larger chunks, and too much shake to be "premium". The Royal Oak brand is OK, given it isn’t priced or marketed as "premium". I’d buy it before BGE brand, it’s the same stuff for about 1/2 - 1/3 the price.
The Fogo super premium is consistently better. More large chunks, fewer small chunks, and less shake. More of what you pay for is usable. I get more burn time per bag too, which acts to offset the higher price (don’t buy as much and more cooks per pound).
Give it a shot. If you don’t think it’s all that, don’t order more.
I've used a bag of Fogo and it's high quality charcoal. I like it a lot. I've also used a bag of Jealous Devil which is also very good stuff. I lean a little toward liking Fogo more, but I need to do a lot more cooks with each to really develop a preference. Go for it, I don't think you can go wrong importing it.
Last edited by AZ Fogey; September 13, 2019, 08:33 AM.
I'm a big Fogo fan myself. Only have used the Super Premium. I'm currently working on a bag of Kamado Joe Big Block: low ash, very big chunks (overall I think larger than Fogo SP). Would buy it again. Costco always has bags when they have the Kamado Joe Road Show in the warehouse.
I tried the Kamado Joe Big Blocks and really didn’t like it. It took forever to get the lumps lit. This may simply be an issue with big lump charcoal. I decided to stick with Kingsford Competition. I don’t see any difference in flavor.
I’ve tried JD and FOGO and they’re both really good. I think JD may burn a little hotter but it gives a different sort of smoke which I think takes some getting use too. Rock wood is also pretty good as well very mild smoke.
Big Joe III
Big Green Egg lg
Grill Dome lg (at camp and it sucks!)
Gas:
Modern Home Products WNK
RecTeq Matador w/WOK
Blackstsones (at home & camp)
Yakatori: Konro XL
Electronics/Tools:
FireBoard - Original, II, and Spark
Fans - Pit Viper, Pit Bull, FireBoard
Temp measurement - Thermapens (all), DOT, timers, . . .
KJ rotisseries (L and XL)
Lots of cast iron, woks, etc.
GrillGrates® and SearMagic®
Sous Vide Water Immersion Oven
Kindling crackers (at home & camp), axes - Gransfor, other favs
Just like most everyone here, a lot of other stuff!
I use three different Fogo offerings - their Super Premium, Quebracho, and Marabu. I am a fan of all three.
As Pequod mentioned the Super Premium is a bit large and I will likely shift to Premium when my stock is depleted. I use it in kamados.
The Marabu is no longer available but they've hinted they will try to stock it again. I use it in a Konro grill. While I don't have a lot of experience with it. The Konro is quite new but I can tell you the Marabu is dense and hot! Hopefully it will be stocked again by Fogo before my stock runs out.
The Fogo Quebracho is dense. It is made from ironwood and it burns hot as well. I use it on PK360 to grill steaks and the like. It is a champ at that.
BTW, I have and use Jealous Devil as well. I think it is similar to the Fogo Quebracho.
As you can tell, I like Fogo. I will also buy more Jealous Devil when my stock depletes.
I’m guess I’m the outlier in the group. I tried FOGO and didn’t care for it. Too many small pieces, dust, and crumbs for my liking.
I prefer B&B lump personally. Larger, more conistent pieces and very little dust/crumbs. It burns hot and produces very little ash.
I'm in the same boat ColonialDawg . I tried 2 bags and got the same results, smaller pieces and didn't notice a difference in burn times, compared to my B&B lump. I realize any brand of charcoal is subject to how it is handled by shipper/carrier, but cannot justify the price of Fogo, at this time. This is especially true since B&B or RO lump is so readily available and consistent in my area.
Thought I would give this a bump......For those with Komodo's are you using the the FOGO Super Premium or Premium.? I have been using the Super Premium in my Primo XL for about a year now and been happy...For the most part....The chunks are HUGE. But they are a pain to get lit!! I did 6 racks of babybacks for a recent Christmas party and wrestled to get it lit, wrestled to get to temp, and to hold. (Probably the worst batch of ribs I have made in a long time, People ate them, but I was not happy with them.....I was considering dropping to the premium for increased surface area, should be easier to light....or maybe a mix of both........Or maybe I am overthinking this like I do with everything else
I tried FOGO one time, in a Big Green Egg. First, there were chunks as big as my head, that is not good. Trying to break it up didn't work, made too much of a mess. Maybe they have done better in the last year or two. But, for the first time in 20 years with the Big Green Egg, that stuff flared up late and I had a 400 degree oven on my hands when I was expecting it to hold at 250 like every other lump I had ever cooked with. I have stayed away from it, tossed the bag I had.
Just finished my first bag of the black bag (Premium) and I like it. Consistent sizes of what i would call "medium" size, and very little small pieces and dust. I also have a bag of the super premium I haven't opened yet, but I think I will like the regular premium black bag better like others here I'm not a fan of the huge pieces. I'll us the super premium for some longer cooks.
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
I have shifted completely from Kingsford Pro to Fogo black bag for the Hasty-Bake. It’s great, huge difference. I can very easily control my heat .... from 250 low/slow to 325 for chicken to 900 for searing steak on the grill grates. I use half as much for the same length cook as I would with Kingsford Pro and have 1/4 the ash output.
The value numbers are awesome, too. I buy it from SnS Grills for $39.99 for 2x17.6 lb bags and get it shipped free. The 2x20 lb bags of Kingsford Pro at Costco cost me $20, but I need to buy two of those to get close to the same amount of cooks as I get from 2 bags of Fogo.
I’m considering converting to Fogo in my WSM as well. Anyone burning lump in their WSM?
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
Also note that a 17.6 lb bag of Fogo Premium on Amazon is $25 with free shipping. Compared to SnS grills who sells 2 bags for $39.99 and free shipping.
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