Favorite charcoal?

[Mark C]

I tried to light up the grill for the first time this spring last night and realized I'm out of charcoal.

Last year I used Stubbs lump charcoal briquettes almost exclusively, and before that it was Wicked Good Charcoal briquettes. I haven't seen the Stubbs in stock yet and if I've got to order something online (WGC?) I figured I'd ask for a recommendation first....

What do you guys use?

[RevSmoke]

Kingsford

[mahtofire14]

Any kind of all natural oak hardwood charcoal.

[RevSmoke]

I also will use the crab apple wood that I cut down in the yard. On the weber, once I get it lit, I can put the cover on and it smolders nicely and gives a great crab apple smoky flavor.

[poker]

Frontier brand lump charcoal

[tsolomon]

Tried some others but came back to Kingsford. It's easy to find and it lights easily and burns evenly.

[T.G]

I use KF blue, it has always been consistent, predictable and if you grab it on sale, well priced. Which is nice since I tend to burn about 300-400lbs of it a year.

[mosesbotbol]

Canadian Maple for flavor. Odd sized pieces can be difficult on the long haul and initial lighting.

Kingsford Competition if using chunks, chips or shells. Kingsford has little flavor, burns well and for a long time; great for letting the chunks do the flavoring. Good pricing at Coscto helps too!

[Commander Quan]

Kingsford in the Weber grill and WSM. I'll stock up on Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day, weekends at Lowes. The last time I grilled I had to open a new bag and that put me under 100 lbs in reserves.

[ucla695]

Kingsford Blue Bag (KBB) here. It's really hard to beat the sale price! I'd use Stubbs and WGC more if they were more competitively priced.

[hazydat620]

I stock up on KBB when Home Depot has their big sale, but last year they went to a smaller size instead of the king size bag :emo2004
a chimney makes charcoal lighting so much easier, haven't looked back to gas since getting the aussie.

[T.G]

I stock up on KBB when Home Depot has their big sale, but last year they went to a smaller size instead of the king size bag :emo2004


The price per lb initially went down with the smaller bags. Twin 20lb bags used to be $9.97, so $0.25/lb, while the twin 13.9lb bags were $5.88 which works out to $0.21/lb. For the Labor Day sale, they had raised the price to $6.88 for a twin 13.9, bringing it back to $0.25/lb.

I suspect that the smaller bag sizes were to get more bags available for the 4-pack per person limit that no stores around here bothered to enforce.


a chimney makes charcoal lighting so much easier, haven't looked back to gas since getting the aussie.

I love my old gas grill, the side burner on it is great for lighting the chimney. :D
The cook chamber doesn't even have burners in it anymore, I just use it for storing utensils and it's a convenient place to keep a fire extinguisher.

[timj219]

Kingsford. Like others have said it's cheap and good. When I was a Lowes a couple weeks ago it was already in stock.

[SvilleKid]

Kingsford. But I only use maybe a dozen or so as a starter for Apple, Hickory and Pecan wood that I cut from my property (hickory & apple) and a friends grove (pecan).

[mosesbotbol]

I am big on soaked pecan shells for smoke flavor.

[jjirons69]

Lump all the way. I've used Royal Oak Natural Wood lump for a long time. I now am really enjoying B&B Oak Lump Charcoal. RO had started having smaller and smaller pieces per bag, with a lot of dust and crap. The last several bags of B&B have really been impressive with large chucks and little to no waste. Both burn about the same. It's really about usability, plus the B&B is a little cheaper, as they both smoke really well.

Check out for some dated info:

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

[timj219]

Kingsford. But I only use maybe a dozen or so as a starter for Apple, Hickory and Pecan wood that I cut from my property (hickory & apple) and a friends grove (pecan).I love to use apple in my side smoker. I burned through the last of my stock at the end of last fall and haven't found a new source yet :sh

[SvilleKid]

I love to use apple in my side smoker. I burned through the last of my stock at the end of last fall and haven't found a new source yet :sh

I've got three old trees (30+ years) in my yard that have stopped producing, and are slowly dying. I cut a large limb or trunk off every year or so. Should have enough to last a decade or more.

[Mark C]

Thanks guys. Ended up getting Royal Oak Chef Select (all natural briquettes) for $0.50/lb. Price was the same as Home Depot is selling Kingsford at the moment. I love the ease of use you get with briquettes but hate the ash. Stubbs and Kingsford competition are better than "regular" briquettes, the wicked good stuff is fantastic, but $1/lb shipped. I'm hoping for a compromise with these bags.

[hammondc]

Lump all the way. I've used Royal Oak Natural Wood lump for a long time. I now am really enjoying B&B Oak Lump Charcoal. RO had started having smaller and smaller pieces per bag, with a lot of dust and crap. The last several bags of B&B have really been impressive with large chucks and little to no waste. Both burn about the same. It's really about usability, plus the B&B is a little cheaper, as they both smoke really well.

Check out for some dated info:

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

I agree on the RO. Used it exclusively for years. Word on the BGE forum is that they changed manufacturing facilities. Either way it is pretty terrible now. I use Stubbs or B&B now.

[mkarnold1]

I just use Kingsford and chunks of apple from the dead stump in the middle of my apple tree.

[pektel]

I use cowboy brand lump charcoal. I tried kings ford once since, and noticed such a difference in taste that I swore off the mixed stuff completely. All natural lump coal or nothing.

And +1 on royal oak. I swear last time I bought it, there looked like pieces of charred 2x4 in there, and burned extremely fast.

[dwoodward]

Kingsford over here. Atleast it's what I use when camping, around home I just fire up the propane grill, faster and more convenient, and I'm not a very picky guy lol.

[Mark C]

I've grilled twice with the RO all natural hardwood briquettes. So far, so good. Easy to light, not too much ash, seem to burn pretty hot - my steaks cooked quicker than I expected. The briquettes are a tad larger than most, seem to last awhile though I haven't tried smoking with them yet.

In case you're interested: http://www.doitbest.com/Charcoal+and+Lighting+Items-Royal+Oak-model-10426-doitbest-sku-838136.dib