# Which charcoal brand do you use?



## Bobby Strange (Aug 30, 2021)

I have recently bought a Nomad grill/smoker and I typically play around with pellet grills and now I’m slowly getting into the charcoal game…just wondering what everyone’s favorite charcoal brand is…I’d like to experiment a little.


----------



## forktender (Aug 30, 2021)

Royal oak for both lump and briquettes, or whatever is on sale.


----------



## Colin1230 (Aug 30, 2021)

Kingsford  Blue Bag here. Used to buy it cheap but no sales lately. Burns very consistent. Kingsford Pro is good also just burns a little hotter. I definitely want to try some Royal Oak.


----------



## TomCrump (Aug 30, 2021)

I stock up on Kingsford Blue Bag when it's on sale, generally around holidays.

I've experimented with other brands, but found Kingsford to be more consistent with heat output and burn times.


----------



## PPG1 (Aug 30, 2021)

Royal Oak "Masterbuilt GF"


----------



## Chasdev (Aug 30, 2021)

Kingsford Pro/Comp for me.
I get it from costco, they sell two jumbo bags for under $20, but it's not around all the time.


----------



## HalfSmoked (Aug 30, 2021)

Me I'm a cheapie I use Walmart Expert Grill and have never had a problem with. Cost $6 for a 16lb bag.
Some think its made by Royal Oak because it has the same style ridges in it.

Warren


----------



## BigW. (Aug 30, 2021)

Here is a good read:






						Kingsford Briquettes vs. Royal Oak Ridge Briquettes: Burn Temperature, Time, and Ash Comparison
					

It's that time of year just before Memorial Day when "bulk" charcoal goes on and off sale, with deep discounts, up to 50%.  July 4th will be the next opportunity, then Labor Day.  After Labor Day you can often find "clearance" sales that are unbelievable as stores empty their summer stock to...




					www.smokingmeatforums.com


----------



## MJB05615 (Aug 30, 2021)

I agree with Warren, been using the Wal Mart Expert Grill Briquettes and Lump.  I've been told several times it is made by RO.  Either way can't beat the price, and it's almost always in stock.


----------



## noboundaries (Aug 30, 2021)

Royal Oak briqs, which are near flawless stamps, or one of their "seconds" store brands (Embers, Expert Grill, Safeway, and Winco. I'm sure there are others, but I don't know them).  The seconds burn exactly like the good stamps but are a little misshapen or cracked. 

When I want lump, I use Royal Oak or Lazzari. B&B is great but too pricy for my preference. 

Kingsford anything will never heat my grill or smoker again.


----------



## SmokingUPnorth (Aug 30, 2021)

Royal oak, embers, whatever is on sale. KBB if I’m in a pinch


----------



## pushok2018 (Aug 30, 2021)

Colin1230 said:


> Kingsford Blue Bag here.


The same here....


----------



## HalfSmoked (Aug 31, 2021)

MJB05615 Thanks for the like I appreciated it.

Seconds works for I mean even ask my second wife,     (40 years now)

Warren


----------



## MJB05615 (Aug 31, 2021)

HalfSmoked said:


> MJB05615 Thanks for the like I appreciated it.
> 
> Seconds works for I mean even ask my second wife,     (40 years now)
> 
> Warren


Thank you for the like as well Warren.  Seconds also works for me, although I'm still on my First Wife, 36 years.  But food wise I'm very partial to having seconds at most meals, lol.


----------



## SlowmotionQue (Sep 1, 2021)

Jealous Devil.


----------



## gmc2003 (Sep 1, 2021)

Basically what's every available in todays world or what on sale. 

Chris


----------



## whistlepig (Sep 18, 2021)

B & B Competition Oak Charcoal briquettes. I have to order them ship to store from Ace Hardware.






						B&B Charcoal All Natural Oak Hardwood Charcoal Briquettes 17.6 lb - Ace Hardware
					

Charcoal is one of the most widely known and widely used fuel sources in both smokers and grills, even by champion barbecue PitMaster. It is made by partially burning hardwood until it carbonizes. The most common form of charcoal is briquettes. These are all consistent in size and shape and are...




					www.acehardware.com


----------



## WeberBlackStoneYoder (Sep 18, 2021)

Kingsford Professional, Blue bag or any of their flavored charcoal. Never use Match lite.


----------



## SuperCorona (Sep 21, 2021)

B&B briquettes, when I can get it.  Rancher briquettes and lump when I can't get the B&B.


----------



## xbubblehead (Sep 21, 2021)

Plain old Kingsford Original, burns predictably and is cheap in the dual 20 lb bag packaging from Sam's Club.  I've tried other brands over the years but keep coming back to Kingsford.


----------



## fxsales1959 (Sep 21, 2021)

Bobby Strange said:


> I have recently bought a Nomad grill/smoker and I typically play around with pellet grills and now I’m slowly getting into the charcoal game…just wondering what everyone’s favorite charcoal brand is…I’d like to experiment a little.


I recently stocked up on some Wal-mart expert grill lump, as my last big bag of royal oak lump had mostly marble size lumps. I like the smaller bag for management purposes. $5 for 8lb bag at wally world.


----------



## GonnaSmoke (Sep 21, 2021)

fxsales1959 said:


> I recently stocked up on some Wal-mart expert grill lump, as my last big bag of royal oak lump had mostly marble size lumps. I like the smaller bag for management purposes. $5 for 8lb bag at wally world.


I have been using Expert Grill lump for a few months now and have been fairly pleased with it, especially the price. At less than 50¢/lb, it's hard to beat. The smaller bags would be easier to handle, but the 30 lb. bags are $12. Kind of hard to pass that up. Expert Grill is made by Royal Oak for Walmart...


----------



## Mr. Zorg (Sep 22, 2021)

Here's what I'm using these days. I typically use lump in my offset smokers as ash management is more of an issue in those, and briquettes in my bullet style vertical smokers. If I need to add charcoal during a cook session in my vertical bullet style smokers, in general I find it easier to add briquettes through the side door than lump.

*Locally Available

Members Mark briquettes from Sam's Club*; 100% hardwood blend including Oak & Hickory (same as Royal Oak Chef's Select I think); Made in USA

*Frontier lump from Sam's Club*; 100% hardwood blend made from Oak, Mesquite, and Mexican / Texas Ebony; Made in Mexico

*Frontier South American briquettes* from Target; 100% hardwood White Quebracho; Made in Paraguay (purchased but not yet cooked with)

*Online Purchase*

*Master Grill briquettes*, South American hardwood blend including White Quebracho; Made in Paraguay

*Jealous Devil Max briquettes*; 100% hardwood White Quebracho; Made in Paraguay (purchased but not yet cooked with)

*Jealous Devil Chunx lump*; 100% hardwood White Quebracho; Made in Paraguay (purchased but not yet cooked with)


----------



## Mr. Zorg (Sep 22, 2021)

For those who use Expert Grill lump, the stuff in the 30 lb. bags comes from Duraflame and is Made in Mexico. The website printed on the back of the bag is for Barbeque Wood Flavors. Duraflame now also owns B&B Charcoal and Western in addition to having owned Cowboy Charcoal for quite some time (always?). Here's a list of companies currently owned by Duraflame.









						Duraflame | Duraflame, Inc. Corporate Information
					

Learn more about Duraflame, Inc. and its family brands and subsidiaries, including company history and job openings in all locations.




					www.duraflame.com
				




Here's a link to the recent review of Expert Grill lump by The Naked Whiz.






						Review of Expert Grill Lump Charcoal -- Naked Whiz Ceramic Charcoal Cooking
					

Review of Expert Grill Lump Charcoal



					www.nakedwhiz.com


----------



## 1MoreFord (Sep 22, 2021)

Generally B&B lump.


----------



## black05tj (Sep 30, 2021)

For the kettle grill, I don't mind using Royal Oak and often will mix with pre-burned B&B briquettes from the WSM that have life left in them.

I like B&B briquettes in the WSM because they're larger and burn for a good while. They've always been pretty consistent for me.

However, this summer I've had difficulty acquiring B&B briquettes locally.  Then I wasn't having luck finding Royal Oak either, so I gave in and got a bag of Kingsford. Never again! This stuff smokes something horrible when trying to light with Weber chimney (I don't like to use fluid) - it's foul smelling and makes the whole backyard look like it's on fire! Royal Oak and B&B smoke maybe 1/4 as much when lighting as the Kingsford did.  Then, when it did settle down and was ready to cook (thank goodness the smoke stopped once it got lit), ashes everywhere! I had ashes all over the food I was grilling! Ugh! Maybe just a bad bag, but definitely not what I wanted.

During this time of briquette scarcity, I found and tried B&B char logs. These seem more similar to briquettes, but are about 6" long and maybe 2" diameter with a hole running lengthwise through the middle. I used these in the WSM and was pleasantly surprised.

Fortunately I recently found B&B briquettes back in stock and bought a bunch. It ought to be enough to get me through the new year. I'll probably keep buying the char logs to use in the WSM, so that will help stretch the briquette inventory a bit longer.


----------



## Mr. Zorg (Oct 1, 2021)

black05tj said:


> For the kettle grill, I don't mind using Royal Oak and often will mix with pre-burned B&B briquettes from the WSM that have life left in them.
> 
> I like B&B briquettes in the WSM because they're larger and burn for a good while. They've always been pretty consistent for me.
> 
> ...


Since you're in Texas, you might try the HEB Grand Champion charcoal briquettes. I've used both those and B&B Oak charcoal briquettes, and *I think* they have the same composition and are manufactured at the same place (in Mexico) with the only difference being presses that emboss a capital letter B vs a Lone Star.



			https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-grand-champion-charcoal-briquets-16-6-lb/1619227
		


I suspect the HEB / Central Market lump charcoals are bagged by B&B as well.


----------



## fxsales1959 (Oct 1, 2021)

black05tj said:


> For the kettle grill, I don't mind using Royal Oak and often will mix with pre-burned B&B briquettes from the WSM that have life left in them.
> 
> I like B&B briquettes in the WSM because they're larger and burn for a good while. They've always been pretty consistent for me.
> 
> ...


on an Expert Grill roll here. last big bag of RO I got was full of marble sized chunks. EG $5 for 8 lbs at wally world. don't use mass quantities unless i fire up the offset stick burner.  Kamado sips fuel.


----------



## black05tj (Oct 1, 2021)

Mr. Zorg said:


> Since you're in Texas, you might try the HEB Grand Champion charcoal briquettes. I've used both those and B&B Oak charcoal briquettes, and *I think* they have the same composition and are manufactured at the same place (in Mexico) with the only difference being presses that emboss a capital letter B vs a Lone Star.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I've seen that brand in the stores, wasn't sure about it - never heard from anyone that had used it. I'll be sure to give it a try, if it's just as good or even close it'll be a good alternative. Thanks!


----------



## whistlepig (Oct 3, 2021)

B&B for me. They are a hassle to get. And worth it.


----------



## Fueling Around (Oct 3, 2021)

Not a Kingsford fan.
I formerly used Royal Oak (RO) briquettes and the re branded Embers and Expert Grill.
This year my experience with those briquettes was dismal.  Poor heat, slow starting, and excess ash so I looked for a better fuel.
RO lump is low quality around here.
Friend gave me a bag of Frontier lump.  Wow! Real lump.
I will never go back to briquette.


----------



## fxsales1959 (Oct 26, 2021)

Mr. Zorg said:


> For those who use Expert Grill lump, the stuff in the 30 lb. bags comes from Duraflame and is Made in Mexico. The website printed on the back of the bag is for Barbeque Wood Flavors. Duraflame now also owns B&B Charcoal and Western in addition to having owned Cowboy Charcoal for quite some time (always?). Here's a list of companies currently owned by Duraflame.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's a nice write-up by Whiz.
I was just going to post and ask if others noticed a shorter burn time with ExpertGrill.
it might have been personal enhancement, but my long burn last weekend seemed shorter than usual with about the same amount of lump.


----------



## crippledcracker (Oct 26, 2021)

Lately I've been using Royal Oak and FOGO lump. I did get my hands on a bag of Jealous Devil which was great, but expensive. As far as briquettes, I normally use Kingsford.


----------



## 912smoker (Oct 26, 2021)

I didn't like the results I got using the Expert Grill in the Gravity flow. Too much ash and half burned briquettes. Going back to RO and BB Char logs. Great consistent results for my pit.


----------



## cornman (Oct 26, 2021)

I know I’m like the 1000th person to weigh in,and I know others have said the quality has gone down, but I still like Royal Oak and it derivatives.  Still get a solid, hot and long  burn compared to Kingsford.  

When it’s really cheap, I like a bag of Kingsford to use a small batch in my chimney starter since it lights so quickly and then dump it on Royal Oak  for a sustained cook.  Just my 2 cents…


----------



## Ringer (Oct 26, 2021)

My new go to for long cooks or hot cooks is B&B competition char logs. They take longer to light but last longer than anything else in my rf.


----------



## Mr. Zorg (Oct 26, 2021)

fxsales1959 said:


> That's a nice write-up by Whiz.
> I was just going to post and ask if others noticed a shorter burn time with ExpertGrill.
> it might have been personal enhancement, but my long burn last weekend seemed shorter than usual with about the same amount of lump.


It'd be good to have a comparison between the 30 lb. bag of Expert Grill lump at WM vs the 30 lb. bag of Royal Oak lump at WM - especially since it's clear the 30 lb. bag of Expert Grill Lump is supplied through Duraflame.  Especially using the same metrics by The Naked Whiz. 

The 30 lb. bag of RO lump is priced at $18.97 at WM,  $4.09 more than the Expert Grill. But I don't expect to see a review specifically for the 30 lb. bag of RO lump by The Naked Whiz considering his revoew of Made in USA RO lump hasn't been updated since December 2007.



			Robot or human?


----------



## Mr. Zorg (Oct 27, 2021)

Ignore, unintended double post.


----------



## 912smoker (Oct 27, 2021)

I'm going to try All Brands again this week. And the winner shall be.........
Whichever bag is the easiest to open LOL


----------



## Mr. Zorg (Oct 28, 2021)

It might not be widely known, but FWIW Royal Oak purchased the Frontier brand from Packaging Services Corporation back in 2015. After being difficult to find at best for several years, Royal Oak is using the Frontier brand for charcoal vareities Royal Oak is importing from outside the USA in general, and Latin America in particular. The Naked Whiz has never posted test results for any of the currently available Frontier charcoal products.

https://www.frontiercharcoal.com/


----------



## Fueling Around (Oct 28, 2021)

Good info I learned recently.
Amazing the difference in quality between RO and Frontier lump.
My last bag of RO was lots of shards and the lump was significantly kiln dried lumber scraps.
On my 3rd bag of Frontier and all wood pieces.  Still a bit of shards, but I modified both my chimneys and my kettle grate to hold the shards from falling in the ash pile


----------



## crippledcracker (Oct 29, 2021)

I bought a bag of flavor and fire lump from Publix a couple days ago and was pretty happy with it. Decent size with very little gravel.


----------



## fxsales1959 (Oct 29, 2021)

Bobby Strange said:


> I have recently bought a Nomad grill/smoker and I typically play around with pellet grills and now I’m slowly getting into the charcoal game…just wondering what everyone’s favorite charcoal brand is…I’d like to experiment a little.


I'm   going to be a girl and change my mind.  All done with expert grill after today's cook.8 lb bag cindered in less than 6 hours. going back to Royal oak. need to find a container and ice scoop to manage the huge bag


----------



## JeffB1961 (Mar 10, 2022)

Walmart Expert Grill is what i use .


----------



## Fishonshawn (Mar 10, 2022)

My wife grabbed me a 30lb bag of royal oak lump to try out (had to see why everyone loves it) and I gota say I hate it. Maybe I got a crap bag but im 3/4 through the bag and aside from one giant chunk of what looked exactly like a 2×4 every piece in the bag is a tiny little nugget. I mean so small a lot of it falls through the grate at the bottom of my chimney starter. Doesnt burn any hotter than the original Kingsford briquettes I use and completely burns out super fast (probably because each piece is small). Ive watched videos of other people using it and theirs seems to be a good mix of medium sized pieces but the bag i got is crap. I like the consistency i get from the Kingsford briquettes. Even if they aren't the highest regarded briquettes i get 2 20lb bags for less than $20 from lowes and I grill a lot so wherever I can save money is good.


----------



## 912smoker (Mar 10, 2022)

Fishonshawn said:


> My wife grabbed me a 30lb bag of royal oak lump to try out (had to see why everyone loves it) and I gota say I hate it. Maybe I got a crap bag but im 3/4 through the bag and aside from one giant chunk of what looked exactly like a 2×4 every piece in the bag is a tiny little nugget. I mean so small a lot of it falls through the grate at the bottom of my chimney starter. Doesnt burn any hotter than the original Kingsford briquettes I use and completely burns out super fast (probably because each piece is small). Ive watched videos of other people using it and theirs seems to be a good mix of medium sized pieces but the bag i got is crap. I like the consistency i get from the Kingsford briquettes. Even if they aren't the highest regarded briquettes i get 2 20lb bags for less than $20 from lowes and I grill a lot so wherever I can save money is good.


Well hate you had a bad experience with the RO but sounds like you've got a keeper for a wife   !
I'm always curious about the handling once it arrives at the destination.  Lots of bags I see at WM are torn and I have to sift thru them for a good one...trying to avoid the chips and broken pieces. Some stores like Lowe's will give a discount for torn bags.

Keith


----------



## fxsales1959 (Mar 10, 2022)

I've bounced from xpertrill walmart) and RO lump. I think wally world burns faster. I like the little bags for $5 and bought a ton. works perfect for my MB560. I went to a third world county to buy some B&B  lump and wasnt that impressed for the extrsa moeny.


----------



## jcam222 (Mar 10, 2022)

I probably have my answer somewhere I’m the thread but if not, B&B lump. Tried many and it’s the best in my book. Burns clean and hot and never any scrap wood or crazy stuff in the bag.


----------



## Fishonshawn (Mar 12, 2022)

912smoker said:


> Well hate you had a bad experience with the RO but sounds like you've got a keeper for a wife   !
> I'm always curious about the handling once it arrives at the destination.  Lots of bags I see at WM are torn and I have to sift thru them for a good one...trying to avoid the chips and broken pieces. Some stores like Lowe's will give a discount for torn bags.
> 
> Keith


Yeah I wondered about handling too but this 30lb bag is MASSIVE. It would take a LOT of mishandling for it to have broken everything in it into smaller pieces like I got. Im pretty sure they came from the factory like this. Oh and there was a rock in the bag too. Forgot about that. Saw a video online also of a guy that had a massive rock in his bag as well.  The rock that came in mine was smaller than his, little smaller than a baseball maybe.


----------



## mlk18 (Mar 13, 2022)

B&B competition oak briquets.


----------

