# Best Lump Charcoal



## marty catka

I've been reading here a lot about using a good quality lump charcoal.  What do you all consider "good quality" lump?  So far locally for me, SE Michigan, I've seen Cowboy Lump and a store brand offered by Gordon Food Service. 
What is "Good quality" lump and what brands should I look for?  I'll be seasoning a new CG soon and want to start cooking in it right.


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## fire it up

I could be wrong but I think Cowboy was the brand where people would find plywood and gloves and nails and stuff like that in their bags.
If I'm right someone actually did a thread on here once about the weirdest things you found in a bag.
Though not lump I always thought Stubb's made the best all natural hardwood charcoal on the market.


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## mballi3011

I have talked to folks at the gas store where I get my gas and they really do have a bunch of differant grilling/smoking ideas too. But they probally have a wall of bags of charcaol about 6' tall and 6'-8' long of the Cowboy Brand charcoal. Thay say it would last a month around where we live.


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## bbally

Though not a true lump, I use Royal Oak almost exclusively.  I really like it under the hickory for the heat and smoke they produce.


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## rbranstner

Here is a link I found it has tons of info on lump wood. It gives reviews on all kinds of brands, gives you average burn time and lots more. Hopefully you will find some good info here. 

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm


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## marty catka

Thanks for the link.  Lots of good info there.  This will keep me busy for a while.


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## bob the noob

Very nice link!  It's amazing that someone goes through that much trouble to review charcoal... but very useful info!


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## chisoxjim

I prefer Royal Oak, but in the winter I take what I can get.

I have found crap in both Cowboy & Royal Oak bags.


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## hog warden

Almost all charcoal in the US is made from oak and hickory (mainly oak), which starts out as slabs cut off logs at the sawmills. Slabs being the outside edge you cut off to take a round log to square for dimension lumber. These long slabs are then bundled and stacked into large sheds (kilns) where they are heated and turned into charcoal.

Taken directly from the kiln and broken down into small pieces and bagged, you have lump, which is 100% charcoal. Rocks and other stuff are part of the process of loading and handling this stuff with highloaders. A lot of it done on gravel lots vs. concrete floors. 

Briquettes are made from the same lump charcoal, but ground to a fine dust, then mixed with sand, sawdust and other binders in a wet slurry, then pressed into shape. They are not 100% charcoal, but have those fillers and binders. Convenient and consistent, but not the quality of lump. Less heat and more ash and residue when you are done.

Each kiln and charcoal maker may make and bag for dozens of labels, so brand isn't all that important. For dutch ovens, briqs are the way to go due to their consistent size and burn rate. 

Over the long haul, I've always found Royal Oak to have less fillers than say Kingsford and most store brands made to the Kingsford mix. So the RO burned hotter and longer. 

COWBOY, so I hear, is made from drops from a hardwood flooring manufacturer. In theory, this would be ideal and it would be mostly heartwood vs. sapwood and bark from traditional makers. Of the two bags I've tried, it had some other stuff in it, including what looked to me like partially kilned pine. It would be last on my list of charcoal to buy.


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## solaryellow

I have been very pleased with Nature Glo lump. It is Royal Oak's food service brand.


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## silverwolf636

I was going to send ya the same link. A lot of good info here about lump.  I've been using the Mali's for a year or so and really like it.  I've also used one that Lowe's carried but I was getting a lot of foreign materials in it; sorta like gobs of melted rubber or something. I didn't smell rubber burning though but I did quit using it. I don't see it on there site. I believe it was from Texas.  

Edit:
I went back and reread your thread.
I believe you hit though, I think it was Cowboy I used to use and it is on their site.


--ray--


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## rickw

I've used a bunch of different charcoal. I've had good results with most including Cowboy. The GFS brand is Royal Oak rebadged for them. One of my favorites so far has been Stubbs briquettes, bought it at Lowes. It had real good heat, burnt clean and long. In my WSM I do prefer to burn bricks for a nice stable temp.


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## smokin' dick

For lump I use Wicked Good Lump Charcoal. Get it by the pallet from the distributor. Good stuff. Also a very fine lump is made by Humphrey in Pennsylvania.


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## desertlites

here in southern AZ we have a few brands that come from Mexico,El Diablo-which is a pretty good coal made from mesquite,also another is El Herradero which also is from squite,some of these bags will have 10 pieces of coal in a 20# bag,yes some are quite large.Since getting into making my own charcoal I don't buy it to often.


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## porkaholic

Based on information on the Naked Wiz site I researched my area and found some Wicked Good Lump, Weedend Warrior Blend.  This stuff is the best I have used to date.  Good by bricketts!


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## john3198

That web site has a lot of good information. I use Hasty Bake lump whenever I can get it. We also have a brand called B&B down here. OK, but I don't like the smell when it starts up - reminds me lf an old coal furnace.


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## smokemifugotem

I have found plywood, hardwood flooring, rocks and some stuff you could probably never identify in cowboy brand. I use Lazzari Natural lump. Its 100% mesquite wood. When you open the bag, (i get 40# bags for $14 at the local restaurant supply store) you see whole logs and small twigs and the sort. The link that has been provided is a great one to see all these types of charcoal. I would try some of the higher rated ones if they were available in my area. I use the best i can find here. But i definitely STAY AWAY from cowboy. There is all sorts of glues and resins in plywood and hardwood flooring. 
Here is a photo of what you can expect in a bag of Lazzari:


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## smoking gun

I use the GFS lump. It is excellent and made by Royal oak. 20# bags for slighty more than a 10# bag of RO. Very little ash and nice long burn time. On rare occasions I'll use some Frontier brand. It is made from Brazilian hardwoods and although it can be hard to get started it burns longer and hotter than any coal I've tried. The Brazilian wood also gives a unique flavor. Really good for briskets or chuckies.


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## marty catka

Thanks for all of the input guys.  I was on a shopping trip with a friend who is a restaraunteur and he got me into a place called Restaraunt Depot.  Got 2 butts @ .94/lb (fully trimmed) and a 17 lb. bag of Royal Oak for $7.95.  

The Naked wiz is a great site for comparing charcoal.  Definitely going in my favorites file.








to all!


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## b8h8r

For the longest time, all I could get was Cowboy (Lowes and HD).  Then the Kingsford brand became available here, and I liked it.  RO is finally being carried at the Walmart here, and I pretty much switched to it exclusively. 

IMO Cowboy is garbage, and I have better results with regular old Kingsford than with Cowboy.


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## richoso1

I'm with Bob on this one. As far as consistency is concerned, I have found RO lump made in the USA to be the best that is available in my area. I also use it along with chunks.


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## coyote

My choice. then there is a lump mesquite we get out of mexico that is pretty good.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag11.htm


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## silverwolf636

Maybe this is wrong for me to ask this in someone elses thread but how much are ya'all payin for lump charcoal? I am payin, for Mali's, $7.00/ ten pound bag here in east ohio.
--ray--


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## smokemifugotem

I pay $14 for a 40# sack of Lazzari in Boise Idaho at a restaurant supply store.


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## jbw

I have tried several in my area and found that Wicked Good Weekend Warrior Blend to be the best.  It seems to come in bigger chunks than most lump charcaol brands.


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## smoking gun

11.00 for 20 lb bag at GFS.


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## jirodriguez

GFS is a great buy if you got it in your area - like they said re-branded Royal Oak (usually cheaper). I usualy use Royal Oak, but I have started using Lazzari as well. The only draw back to Lazzari is it sparks like mad when you first light it.

Since I found out I get my best results of temp. vs. burn time using a mix of lump and briquets, I now put a mix of Lazzari and briquets unlit in my basket, then fill my chimney 1/2 full of Lazzari and top it off with briquets. That way when the Lazzari starts sparking the sparks aren't flying off onto the wood deck and/or fence.

Also remember Lazzari is made 100% from mesquite... so if you don't want a mesquite flavor pick something else.


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## jeremymillrood

Geez, all this bad press about the Cowboy lump is making me want to ditch the stuff I have..To be honest, I've never really been happy with it, pieces are too small and it seems to burn way to fast, but it's all the stores around me seem to carry. Guess I need to start looking for something better.


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## chisoxjim

I wouldnt ditch it, use it up, and then move onto some better stuff.  

I avoid Cowboy,  but if it is all I can find I grab a bag(bbq using Cowboy is better than no bbq 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  ),  I even used Kingsford Comp. briquettes last week for the first time because a stop at another store wasnt in the cards9worked pretty good in sub zero temps).  

I try to use Royal Oak, but am going to try a bag of that Peoples Woods generic lump from the reviews.


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## rickw

I've used Cowboy lump with good results and have a bag at this moment. I see nothing wrong with it. What exactly is it folks find so bad about this product?


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## silverwolf636

After burning it I have found stones and other substances. The only way I describe the other substances is it looked like melted rubber.  I never smelled rubber but it's just the idea of it.  It wasn't just once but every time I used it I would find this in my pit after a smoke.  
--ray--


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## chisoxjim

To me it burns a little quicker than Royal Oak,  also it seem to have more small pieces.  

I mentioned upthread, I have found junk in bags of both Cowboy & Royal Oak.  

The Super WalMart by me used to always have Royal Oak lump, but reduced all their bbq space when x-mas came(no wood chunks, no lump, etc.),  hoping things are back to normal now. Ive been going to Bass or Home Depot instead.


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## rickw

The same can be said about Royal Oak, there has been countless people reporting stones, fiberglass and other objects in the RO bags.


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## rickw

I've been using Steakhouse brand of RO as I had a gift certificate from Menards and the same can be said about this stuff. It has a lot of smaller pieces that fall right through the grate of both my units and grill.

It (Cowboy) does burn a tad hotter but I don't see this as a negative thing. It also has less ash than any other brand I've tried.

Cowboy is not the brand I use the most but it sure as heck wouldn't keep me from having Q if it's the brand on hand.


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## 3montes

I just bought two bags of RO this morning. Around here I have very little choice. The fleet supply store carries Cowboy but they are more expensive than the RO I get at Wally. Seeing as how I have never tried Cowboy I really can't comment on it. I am pleased with the RO performance. I have never found anything in the bag that caused me alarm but then again I don't always look that closely. 

I use lump and charcoal as a supplement to wood rather than the main source of heat. Kingsford as a starter for the wood than the lump here and there along with wood for more heat as I go along.


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## chisoxjim

heres a link to a thread I posted after I found a glove in a bag of RO,  doubt that would have tasted good...
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





that is the only odd thing I have found to date.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=78791


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## chefrob

perzactly!


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## jirodriguez

When I first started smoking I used Cowboy. It does work, but I did have a lot of of uncarbonized plywood. I can't help but think that the glue used in plywood is not great to burn
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Also the length of burn time on the Cowboy is way shorter than Royal Oak or Lazzari. I would use 20+ lbs. of Cowboy on a 6 hr. smoke, now I use about 12 lbs. of RO or Lazzari.

The one place I did like Cowboy was when I was doing high heat searing. On The Naked Wiz.com I believe Cowboy had the 2nd highest score for temperature - something like 1100 °F!

If I have a choice I will buy RO or Lazzari, but if Cowboy was all I could get I would use it. Just try to pick out the stuff that is obviously plywood.


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## smoking gun

lol yeah that glue burns hot!!!!


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## smokeamotive

Being from KC. I'm surprized by the lack of choice in lump charcoal. All I can find is Kingsford and RO. The Kingsford seems to have alot of small pieces and fines in it so I've been using the RO. Have not seen Cowboy around here but then I have'nt looked evrywhere. But as far as finding thing like plywood in lump charcoal, I would stear clear of it. Plywood and other conctruction lumber are made from pine and fir that contain creosote. For those of you who have checked out woods for smoking they tell you that these woods are not acceptable for use in smoking. Not to mention the glues and other chemicals that are used in processing these products. How do you know if these plywood products were presure treated? If so these are treated with things like copper cianate. Are you going to feed this to your family? I would contact these manufacturers who put these things in your lump charcoal and ask them to stop allowing these products in their lump charcoal.


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## jdt

Head for the iowa border, Lineville to be exact 

http://sevenoaksinc.com/index.html


I really like this lump, its two bucks a bag cheaper locally than the Wicked Good Weekend Warrior blend and I can't tell any difference. Since its an iowa product that makes it even more appealing.  

They got a review on nakedwizard, wish they still made the lump and chunk together like they did in the old days.


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## oldschoolbbq

Save your money and go on a rideabout. Find some good wood nobody wants,fire it up and when it gets to coals,smother it,no air allowed.
It's cheaper and you don't get a bag of dust you can't use anyhow.
Join the move to natural cooking. Cut the middleman OUT!!!!!


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## chisoxjim

thanks for this link,


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## chisoxjim

Big fan of R.O. lately.

i've been getting RO lump 17.6 lb. bags @ Restaurant Depot lately for $8.00. Great price, nice bags with large chunks of lump.

long 10-11 hour burns from one ring and a chimney, in weather in the mid 30's.


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## acemakr

I'm jumping on the lump bandwagon - I've found it's hotter and cleaner than briquettes I've tried. While briquettes are a lot easier, it's annoying as the ****ens to have little pieces of lump drop through a grate that's made for briquettes. I've read that galvanized material is to be avoided when smoking but am wondering if a small piece of square wire mesh could be safely used to cover the charcoal grate?


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## chisoxjim

Im not sure if it would work on your smoker, but on a WSM folks buy a second charcoal great, and set it on top of the other grate  so it lines up in a criss cross pattern to  keep pieces from falling through.

I really like how there is almost no ash left after smoking when using lump vs briquettes.


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## billv

I have been using Chef's Choice for a couple of months and I like the taste of steaks cooked with it.  If anyone is familiar with the Rendevous restaurant in Memphis which is a famous BBQ joint known for their ribs they also use the Chef's Choice brand of charcoal.  Although what I am using is not the lump charcoal I like it.


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## rober49

unfortunately royal oak bought out most of the independent charcoal kilns in Missouri. I say unfortunately because the one on highway 72 in Reynolds county would let locals come buy & fill their own containers ( bags/barrels/etc. ) for free!! charter oak put an end to that right quick.


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## gixxerfrk

I just burned through the last of my Cowboy lump and how I never noticed it before finding this site is beyond me but the last 3 bags I had all clearly had decking boards in them. In fact it looked like the majority of the coal was scrap lumber. The Royal Oak I started buying instead actually looks like it came from actual wood chunks so I'll be buying that from now on unless I find a better product locally.


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## robcava

I be bought cowboy coal 2x, and both times there was a lot of lumber. I won't use that anymore. BGE brand is awesome (apparently the premium/large prices from RO) but way too expensive. I've been using royal oak, but my local SAMs club had Vision coal at $9 for 20lb bags, so I grabbed a few. This stuff is awesome. Huge pieces, slow, hot burning. You can tell it is quality hardwood.













image.jpg



__ robcava
__ Apr 24, 2016


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## slimc

does anyone on here order via the internet? If so what brand do you get delivered and from what website? My only decent option right now is royal oak from home depot locally in bensalem PA, looking to try something different but all the "good" ones being recommended I would have to pay a pretty penny on the interweb and on amazon, etc it's too pricey


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## thaloca

The factors to consider "good quality" are natural, low smoke, high calorific value, long burning time, low ash... I think so


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## thaloca

I found high quality charcoal in Vietnam on my trip on November. The company is Vinacharcoal (http://charcoal.vn/).

I am buying mangrove charcoal. This is excellent quality. My customers are really delighted.


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## smokepigtails

Somehow a company in Quebec seems to have some of the best charcoal you will find. I has served me well for the last 7 years.

http://www.mapleleafcharcoal.com/


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## jeremyjohnson04

I've been using Rockwood Lump charcoal and it is AWESOME!!   The pieces are much larger than the royal oak and it's lasting me much longer.


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