Lump Charcoal options?

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jrbBBQ

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I used to use Ozark Oak before they sold out and had enough bags stockpiled to get me through a few contests last year. What are some of the high quality options out there. I'd like to stay in the southern Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky area far as availability. Go ahead and rule out Rockwood, Blues Hog, royal Oak, Frontier, and cowboy lumps. Looking for something dense, no rocks, long burning and pleasant neutral odor, anything out there similar to Ozark Oak used to be?
 
Have you tried Timber Charcoal? It comes from MO. A 20 lb bag is $18ish up here.
 
Lump test & survey data so plentiful it will make your head spin at http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm
We burn R.O. lump and have been extremely satisfied with quality, and they have a very fair price point too. I know you said rule them out in your post, but check out the review & consider giving those red bags another shot��
 
Read multiple reviews on naked whiz, tried a lot of charcoal in the last 6 years. Royal oak gives a soot smell and flavor in certain bags. I can't afford to have that happen at contests. To me Ozark oak almost had a vanilla smell when opening a bag, always burned clean, didn't spark like crazy and didn't have to sift out all the carbon flakes (could be the cause of some of the soot smell).
 
What's wrong with blues hog and rock wood? I've read nothing but good stuff about those 2 brands.
 
twatsonr1 said:
What's wrong with blues hog and rock wood? I've read nothing but good stuff about those 2 brands.
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I've tried them, wasn't a fan. Nothing against the people selling those packaged brands. Some people do like them, just not what I'm looking for. Like I said in the original post, not looking for those as suggestions, I've already tried them.
 
I used to be able to get Wicked Good shipped to my local Ace Hardware for $20 - quite a bargain! Once Ace price creeped up to $27 they lost competitive advantage over other retailers.

If you're pickey about your lump, then you owe it to yourself to try Wicked Good. But experience tells me that success has more to do with the cook than the fuel. Just saying.
 
shares said:
I used to be able to get Wicked Good shipped to my local Ace Hardware for $20 - quite a bargain! Once Ace price creeped up to $27 they lost competitive advantage over other retailers.

If you're pickey about your lump, then you owe it to yourself to try Wicked Good. But experience tells me that success has more to do with the cook than the fuel. Just saying.
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I was going to switch to wicked good, but my local ace said it couldn't order it. I think I'm an okay cook. So your 'just saying' comment doesn't set too well. I shouldn't have to throw out stats during a discussion about charcoal.. 6-180's in the last two years 5 GC's, 3 rgc, 23 top 5's in my last 30 contests, top 10 in brisket (8th) in 2015. So my experience tells me success has to do with EVERYTHING, from moisture content of wood, quality of charcoal, quality of proteins I'm cooking, quality of ingredients in my rub and injections and you think I'm really picky, you should see me picking out garnish for the boxes. Thanks for your input though, I guess I need just need to cook better.
 
I read online somewhere that the former Ozark Oak plant that Royal Oak now runs produces the Kroger Simple Truth lump. I ran through a few bags of it and it's definitely good stuff (much better than RO), but I never tried Ozark Oak so I can't speak to how it specifically compares. Might be worth a shot if you have a Kroger nearby.
 
Roast Beast said:
I read online somewhere that the former Ozark Oak plant that Royal Oak now runs produces the Kroger Simple Truth lump. I ran through a few bags of it and it's definitely good stuff (much better than RO), but I never tried Ozark Oak so I can't speak to how it specifically compares. Might be worth a shot if you have a Kroger nearby.
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I do and I have bought the Kroger charcoal in the last year. I thought that might have been the case as well. It's ok, but there were unburnt and LARGE pieces in the bag, also it sparks like crazy. Like you said it is better than RO. Probably is from the same plant, but I'm wondering about their process and quality of wood they are using, looked like slabs in the last Kroger bag I used. Thanks your your input, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that one. I'm on the fence about it.
 
jrbBBQ said:
I do and I have bought the Kroger charcoal in the last year. I thought that might have been the case as well. It's ok, but there were unburnt and LARGE pieces in the bag, also it sparks like crazy. Like you said it is better than RO. Probably is from the same plant, but I'm wondering about their process and quality of wood they are using, looked like slabs in the last Kroger bag I used. Thanks your your input, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that one. I'm on the fence about it.
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My personal favorite right now is the Basque sugar maple, but you've probably tried that one already. Generally small pieces (so it works well in a gravity feed), sweet but neutral smell when burning, burns clean with little ash, and decent burn time. I order from Firecraft. 20% cheaper to have it shipped from them to my door than to buy it at the local Ace Hardware.
 
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I've used Nature's Own for years and love it. Highly recommend it.
 
twatsonr1 said:
What's wrong with blues hog and rock wood? I've read nothing but good stuff about those 2 brands.
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exactly. If these aren't good enough I don't know would would be. Rockwood and blues hog are 2 of the cleanest burning lump I've ever used along with the other suggested Timber. As far as I'm concerned it don't get better than them 3.
 
Wicked Good Weekend Warrior but you said that your ACE hardware can't get them.

Kamado Joe Lump is about equal to WGWW in terms of density, burn length, no sparking, and odor.

If you have a restaurant depot near by see if they car Carbon Del Sur. They are in some restaurant depots, but not all and priced well. They also are along the same lines of WGWW and Kamado Joe in terms of quality.
 
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