Hi am a new subscriber. I just purchased a Kamado Joe iii and so far have only used Kamado Joe lump charcoal. There are so many brands, which one is best?
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Welcome! Thanks for joining up. I'm not sure there's a "best", but I know I like Fogo when I use lump.-
Fogo hear as well....but I find I like their Premium over their Super Premium (SP). The chunks in the SP are HUGE....which is great when you get them lit but holy cow I struggle with it. The premium works much better for me. When I bought the Premium I still had 1/2 a bag of the SP and the combination of the two was ideal. Mostly premium with a few big SP chucks thrown in.
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I use Grove or B&B. I don't know about best. They're what they sell at the local hardware store. Both work fine.Comment
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I like Kamado Joe big block, it has fewer small pieces and burns well. I also use Rockwood and B&B both are very good. The only one I absolutely won't use is Cowboy. I may have gotten a bad bag, but I didn't care for it.Comment
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Welcome from south Texas! Glad you’re here. Looks like you’re already getting some good responses from the knowledgeable folks here. More to come I’m sure.Comment
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Welcome to The Pit. Sorry, but I can't help. The only lumps I get are from my wife...
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I use Royal Oak, but I realize not everyone likes it. I think it is good in relation to price. Here is a link to a database that evaluates Lump Charcoal based on four characteristics. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htmComment
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Welcome from Maryland. I don’t use lump often but when I do I use Fogo.Comment
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Welcome to the pit from Western Colorado. I use Royal Oak and Cowboy Lump in my Kamado.Comment
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The Kamado Joe Big Block has some of the biggest pieces I have seen. Fogo is probably my favorite though. I would avoid Cowboy as it seems to have more small pieces and dust. Rockwood is pretty good. B&B is good too.Comment
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Find something that you like, and that is easy to find locally, and use it often. That way you get used to how it works in your KJ. It will reduce variables, make vent settings easier in a variety of conditions.
For me, I can pick up Wegman’s brand at my local supermarket. It isn’t a matter of it being the best; it’s a matter of me knowing how it acts. Plus if it’s January 6th and I need lump in half an hour, it’s there and familiar.
Once you got that down pat, order FOGO, or Rockwood, and see how it works differently. It won’t be THAT MUCH different, but it will be different. But you will have a firm base of knowledge, so that you will know that the difference is the lump, not one of the other possible variables.
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Well said. That's how I view Kingsford briquets. Elitists will say it's garbage, it's the McDonalds of charcoal. I highly disagree. I know how it works, it's as dependable as the sunrise, it's available everywhere, and it's inexpensive. Do the same with lump. -
Yep, KBB is fine. It gives a flavor if you don’t get it hot enough, otherwise it’s just a heat source. I use it interchangeably with whatever else I have. In fact, I mix briquettes all together. I don’t think it really matters, Heat is heat. I do the same with lump. My containers have probably three different types mixed together.Last edited by Mosca; May 12, 2020, 12:26 PM. -
Well said. Jan 6 here is just another day though.
Huskee I only use KBB in my kettles. Man a block of cherry and KBB make dynamite ribs!!
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I went through a bag of B&B lump recently, sold at my local Academy at $12.99 for a 20 pound bag, and really liked it. The only other lump I had used before was Cowboy, which I do NOT recommend.Comment
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Welcome aboard from NY.
B&B and Rockwood are good. But I have since gone exclusively with FOGO. Yes it’s more expensive but it is far superior to the others mentioned here.
Like jfmorris said I don’t recommend Cowboy.
But I did find a good purpose for it. I use it to do a burn out in my kamados for cleaning.Comment
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I look for a balance between quality and price. It's not worth it to me to buy the extra premium lump. However, it's also not worth it to me to buy lump with a lot of tiny pieces and dust at the bottom or worse rocks.Comment
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I like B&B - consistent charcoal size, very little dust, easy to find at my local Ace. I tried FOGO and didn’t care for it - too many small pieces and dust in the bag, plus it costs more.Comment
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I’ve gotten bags of FOGO with the exact opposite problem: lumps between softball and football sized. I think it’s where it was on the pallet.
I got two bags of Rockwood once, there wasn’t a single piece with a diameter larger than a half dollar. It still burned fine in my BGE, but I had to keep an eye on it to keep from clogging the bottom grate. -
Mosca brings up a really valid point, the handling of the product.
I look for right off the pallet rather than on the shelf where some stock person has dropped/rammed the bag onto the shelf.
Walmart sells charcoal off the pallet, great product.
Canadian Tire sells charcoal off the shelf, coal dust and nuggets.
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