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B&B First Impression

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    B&B First Impression

    I’ve not tried lump charcoal since a bad experience with Cowboy lump and a July 4th cook 10 years ago where all my burgers were bursting into flame due to the lump cooking so much hotter than the KBB I was used to. Anyway, around Thanksgiving I was at Academy and picked up several bags of B&B to try - I got their regular oak lump, the hickory lump, and the char-logs. Impressions on each below.

    B&B Char Logs:

    I used these in the fire box of my small offset to smoke two 19 pound deconstructed turkeys for Thanksgiving, with a couple of chunks of hickory wood. The char logs are really just extruded charcoal briquettes of varying length. They light readily, and burn well, and are pretty well suited to a small offset or other smoker that can handle larger pieces of charcoal. I don’t think they are anything I would ever burn in my kettle though, as the pieces are 3-4 times larger than a briquette, maybe bigger, and just are not well suited for use in the SnS for example. Ash was fairly minimal, and overall I was pretty pleased.

    B&B Lump:

    I’ve used most of a bag of the hickory lump now, and was very impressed. I used this in the offset firebox along with hickory chunks to smoke 6 racks of baby/loin back ribs for my son’s birthday. Lighting the lump in a full size Weber chimney, it lights up much faster than I am used to with briquettes. It burns very cleanly, and I was able to get through a 6 hour rib cook with only adding more to the firebox once per hour, maintaining the cook around 250 the entire time. Ash was very minimal compared to any other charcoal I’ve used before. While there were a few large chunks, most of what was in the bag was moderately sized, not much powder or tiny pieces, and I feel this would work in my kettle with the SnS.

    All in all I am favorably impressed with the B&B products. They light quickly, and burn with minimal ash -the lump more so than the char logs. I will try the B&B briquettes next, as I am on a search for a replacement for the Weber briquettes that I cannot find locally anymore. I will most certainly buy the lump again, but think I will pass on the char-logs.
    Last edited by jfmorris; January 1, 2020, 10:36 PM.

    #2
    When I had my offset brinkmann I loved using lump. I am glad you gave it another shot

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      #3
      For me it is either B&B or Royal Oak Lump. I have not tried FOGO but have heard good things.

      Comment


        #4
        I like the B&B products and really like the briquettes.

        Comment


          #5
          jfmorris Do you notice a difference in flavor with the different wood types of lump, oak and hickory? I'm curious about that. I have been using only Weber briquettes since I got the Performer last summer, so I have no comparison.

          Comment


          • jfmorris
            jfmorris commented
            Editing a comment
            I do notice differences with briquette brands, but mostly in the smoke aroma when lighting. I think any charcoal that is well lit is a minimal producer of "flavoring" smoke. I can tell a different between different wood chunks I use in my SnS - hickory and pecan have more smoke flavor to me than apple or cherry for example. I've taken to using hickory chunks if I am bothering with wood lately.

          • jfmorris
            jfmorris commented
            Editing a comment
            I don't think I can tell a ton of different between the oak and hickory B&B lump, but I've been adding wood chunks to them. I really need to smoke something with ONLY one lump or the other, and see if I can tell a difference. I.e. does the lump underlying wood make a difference in smoke flavor, without added wood.

          #6
          I mostly use B&B. Sometimes I get bags with a lot of dust but I think this is because they are handled roughly during shipping and stocking.

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            #7
            I have never seen B&B in the Baltimore area.

            Comment


            • Onez
              Onez commented
              Editing a comment
              Thunder77 I'm not far from you in the central MD area - I've canvassed a good number of the area ACE Harware stores looking for B&B briquettes. Cannot find them on the shelves, but have been told that you can order online to be delivered to the store and then pick-up in person. I have yet to do that, though

            • skip4313
              skip4313 commented
              Editing a comment
              I scored some B&B at Clark's Hardware in Ellicott City. I have never used it before but hoping it will extend the cook time in my PBC a bit. I had to finish my last pork butts in the oven.

            • Thunder77
              Thunder77 commented
              Editing a comment
              Is that the one all the way on the west side of town?

            #8
            I have recently been using B&B lump and briquettes. Really like the briquettes, which seem to burn longer and can be reused well if extinguished. The mesquite lump has worked well for me as well in both my kettle and Jumbo Joe.

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              #9
              I use the char logs in a Backwoods G2, They lay neatly and tightly packed in the tray and worked well for a long cook. Did not notice any difference in cooking temp from the KBB briquettes - using a Fireboard and Pit Viper. Flavor was not different from the KBB. I have also used their briquettes in the SNS and did not notice much difference from KBB. I want to try the lump in the future. For the price, you can't go wrong with B&B.
              Last edited by jlazar; January 2, 2020, 03:20 PM.

              Comment


              • jfmorris
                jfmorris commented
                Editing a comment
                I can see the char logs working well in a cooker with a charcoal tray or basket, or a firebox like my small offset. Its sure not a great fit for a tight basket like the SnS in my kettle.

              • jlazar
                jlazar commented
                Editing a comment
                Agree. Would not try the logs in an SnS.

              • Craigar
                Craigar commented
                Editing a comment
                I use them all the time in my SnS.

              #10
              I picked up a bag of the char logs a few weeks and didn't realize what exactly I was getting. I thought they would be smaller in size. Anyway, picked up an enormous salmon fillet before Christmas and had to use it on the Weber/SnS. I believe I added 5 of the logs and started them with a couple OK Joe's Fire Starters in the corner. I was able to keep the Weber right around 250 and the salmon turned out great. I was amazed at how long the logs burned. They are definitely an odd fit in the SnS compared to briquettes but given how I was able to easily stack them I think I might be inclined to give them another shot on a longer cook mainly because of how damn long those few longs took to burn out. As you found, I didn't have a ton of ash left and what was left was pretty fine.

              Comment


              • jfmorris
                jfmorris commented
                Editing a comment
                If I still have some (I cannot recall if I used them all up on Thanksgiving), I'll have to give them a try in the kettle and SnS for a shorter cook.

              #11
              B&B is only available at Academy, which isn't one of my normal shopping destinations, but will make a special trip to buy the lump and briquettes. Their briqs work well in my PBC and the lump is very consistent. The only gripe I have is when I light it with my weed torch, it pops and I've had to start using eye protection or just light with starters. Like you mentioned, the logs are too large for any of my cookers and I don't see me using them. The thing that drew me to them is when Stubbs charcoal wasn't available anymore, so the briqs were a great replacement, low ash and long cooks.

              Comment


              • jfmorris
                jfmorris commented
                Editing a comment
                Yes, I started the lump in a chimney, and having only used lump once before, back in my days where I just made a big pile and squirted lighter fluid on it - I was surprised by how much popping there was, and also by how quickly the lump was fully engulfed in flame, compared to a chimney of briquettes.

                I went in search of B&B mostly as a replacement for the Weber briquettes I cannot find anymore, as I am down to 2 or 3 bags of those in my "stash".

              #12
              B&B Lump is my go to alongside Weber Briquettes. I agree the pieces are very consistent with very little crumbs. I tried FOGO last year and I personally did not like it. Too many small pieces.

              Comment


                #13
                The B&B brand seems to be something you can trust. We've used their lump, logs and briquettes. I use their pellets exclusively on my Yoder pellet grill. I know they source their pellets from a company in Arkansas. That makes me think they may well buy their other offerings from others but regardless, what we have used are top shelf offerings.

                Comment


                  #14
                  I use B&B in my kamado. Good stuff.

                  Comment


                    #15
                    This is interesting. I hadn't thought about stacking char logs like that in the PBC. Makes perfect sense though.

                    Comment


                    • phoccer
                      phoccer commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Woah: "I used them on an overnight cook last week, 12 solid hours at 250⁰"

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