Lump Charcoal Shootout! 12 WAY REVIEW WHICH ONE IS BEST

WELCOME lump charcoal fans, this is a HUGE 12 way - not sponsored - brutally honest charcoal review! Which lump charcoal is best? We light, measure, examine, and cook with all of the top lump charcoal out there, and give you our unbiased review. We review:
Royal Oak Lump Charcoal
Big Green Egg Lump Charcoal
B and B Lump Charcoal
Jealous Devil Lump Charcoal
Lumberjack Lump Charcoal
Frontier Lump Charcoal
Wicked Good Lump Charcoal
Rockwood Lump Charcoal
Kingsford Briquettes (dont worry we only talk about them)
Blues Hog Lump Charcoal
Cowboy Lump Charcoal
Fogo Lump Charcoal
This review of lump charcoal took a while to make, so please let me know your thoughts! At the end I give you the best on burn temp, taste, cost, and uniformity. We test them each in a Big Green Egg as well.
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[@YesItsMario]

Great review! My favorite is JD, Walmart carries 35lb bags for $40 and they got rid of the plastic bag, paper now.

[@tavarisjones551]

So you are correct about the paper bags absorbing moisture. However the point of the plastic bag of JD is to ensure moisture NEVER makes it to the charcoal. Sucks that the zipper broke, but it mostly did its job. If it can prevent moisture in the warehouse, then you likely won't own it long enough for moisture to be a big issue. I also suspect that the fireflies/sparks that come off of some lump charcoal is due to moisture.

[@jeremysavoy1975]

FOGO Super Premium Lump lover here .... works great in my Big Joe iii and because of the very mild smoke profile I can easily choose another smoking wood to include based on what I"m cooking - have also tried JD but prefer the neutrality of the FOGO with smoking wood of choice.

[@caiuscosades362]

That's weird, much of what I heard about FOGO was flavor was its standout feature.

[@TheReal_DeanD]

Thanks for doing this test and comparison. Very well done. Very helpful and great detail.

[@jpbanksnj]

Great video. I've been away from charcoal cooking for the last few years and always used the Cowboy and Red Oak brands. So I was surprised when I recently started getting back into it that there were now all of these premium brands to choose from. I cooked with FOGO for the first time today and really liked it, but I really want to try the Rockwood and Jealous Devil brands too.

[@kw7796]

Jd is the premium of those 2 ( my opinion)

[@adumbcamel]

Did the egg come back down to cool between charcoal? If it didn't, which I expect to be the case (no judgment, it would take FOREVER to make the video doing that), then it makes sense why the temperature kept getting (generally) hotter as the test went on. The temperature of the ceramic egg, which holds heat for a long time, would keep building on itself.

[@LightZone9]

Thanks for going to all the trouble of making this video. It was extremely informative and entertaining.

[@nathanmorin1]

Truly a great video. It deserves all the likes, shares, and subscribes. It answers all my questions on lump, and immediately sends my wife to a different room. Thank you

[@BackdraftBBQ]

You sir are a gentleman and scholar

[@michaelmaxwell6798]

Jealous devil has by far been the best charcoal I’ve ever used. Especially when you pair it with their whiskey smoking blocks. It worth every penny. 😎👍🏾

[@johnkim4792]

This man speaks the truth.

[@ac-6569]

Yes, this is an excellent combination. I have used to do reverse sear steaks. AWESOME RESULTS!!!

[@Johnny87Au]

Burns to hot imo for smoking

[@brandonescobedo9911]

I once found an N-90 facemask inside my royal oak bag but kudos to them because they replied in a respectful timely manner. I didn’t continue with refund but I’m glad I got their attention and hopefully they learned from it 😂😬

[@bcramer0515]

That's a good day munching on burgers over and over! Great review on all of the brands. Thanks for doing all that work.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

It was fun!

[@cory8791]

Sometimes I get confused when I should use lump VS briquettes thanks for the vid!

[@ChrisPollard]

So far, i've been most impressed by Jealous Devil, both their Chunx extra large lump and their XL briquettes. Very consistent, and still using paper bags up here in Canada. Haven't seen anything with a zip top here. Lights well, burns hot, and lasts a long time. Just expensive as heck. Going to pick up some Weber briquettes to try, and a bag of Kamado Joe Big Block lump soon. (Before the stores here stop carrying BBQ stuff and haul in the snow shovels!)

[@ThePdxster]

Please do a video on the all natural 100% hardwood briquettes. Lots of brands these days- Kingsford, Cowboy, Frontier, B&B, Jealous Devil, Chef's Select, Royal Oak, Blues Hog, Original Charcoal, and Eco Charcoal. Probably more. Lots of us Weber Kettle fans still prefer briquettes!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Great suggestion, but kamado cookers dont like bricks. They tend to be sooty and due to the nature of cooking on these, that would not be good.

[@ThePdxster]

@@BackdraftBBQ The charcoal products I mentioned contain nothing but hardwood and a small amount of food grade starch (typically corn) as a binding agent. So no coal, borax, limestone, etc. found in typical briquettes and as such there is much less ash. Of the 4 or 5 brands I've tried so far B&B is my favorite. Can they work well in a kamodo, I don't know but maybe you could find out?

[@RecreationalNuke]

Royal Oak definitely has some QA issues (the worst being when you get an entire bag of small chunks) but it's an amazing charcoal. When you get a good bag it's hard to beat, especially for the price, but there's nothing that'll ruin your day like getting an entire bag that'll dump straight through your chimney

[@emmvee1678]

I rarely get a good bag of it.

[@hermangan8888]

I personally stay clear of Royal Oak lump charcoal after getting only very small pieces in a 16lb bag. I wrote to the company to give them the feedback and to their credit, they did gift me a coupon for another free bag.

[@looptone]

Great video!! Loved the honest reviews and good edit 🔥🔥🔥

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you so much 🤗

[@boohoohoohoo]

Great video! I couldnt find lumberjack. What is the next best brand for producing the least amount of smoke?

[@Cwrigh25]

I haved tried Royal Oak, cowboy, jealous devil and Fogo. Honestly, the Royal Oak was my favorite still.

[@ronscott700]

I like to mix the my charcoal depending on burn time. I love jealous Devil for long cooks and I mix it with Rock Wood (and sometimes Fogo) because they compliment each other with Smokey flavor. I really enjoyed your video and appreciate the comparison test.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

That's a great idea!

[@SK-dp3nz]

Thank you for this video, I will try rockwood but honestly I thought that the big green egg will be the winner. 👍

[@raycrouch6193]

I use Royal Oak and Cowboy , we appreciate the smoke that we get from these lump Charcoals. Will look into the Rockwood. Thanks for the comparison.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you!!

[@SandTiger42]

I just bought my first ever lump charcoal in the US, haven't used it yet. I saw the bag I bought in your lineup. My palms are sweaty..how will it do!?! Edit: It was jealous devil and it seems it did ok. I have a giant mesquite tree in my front yard... free wood chips! I think I want to try Cowboy next. I reallllly appreciate you doing this video. Hope this is a series and many people sent you bags of other charcoal so it can keep going! Funny, I passed on Royal oak because online reviews said rocks. Seems it's good quality other than that.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you so much bro!!

[@detroyt232323]

JD has come down to around $21 and changed their bag. Im guessing that would get the nod by today's standards.

[@richardstephens2294]

Great video and excellent channel!! Thanks for the comprehensive review.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Glad it was helpful!

[@pats9924]

Great review. That’s a lot of work!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

thank you!

[@halentucker8991]

Great video I'll be on the lookout for some of these brands. I use royal oak rn and have also noticed the rock problem with them 😂

[@BackdraftBBQ]

You know what they say... don't throw rocks if you are using a ceramic cooker

[@ta420nk5]

i use cowboy.. mainly because thats whats around me.. looks super similar to royal oak and also has rocks, also sparky. personally cant justify the cost difference in fogo.. i do like it but i feel cowboy is just as good honestly. I definitely gotta give rockwood a try

[@chrisdavidson3180]

Really entertaining vid. Had me laughing! Only used cowboy as I don't use charcoal much except for carne asada and all pastor and cowboy has a nice smokeyness.

[@AMadrigal72]

Thank you for the time you spent making this review. I've used bb cowboy and jealous d lump charcoal. For smoking with a barrel smoker I prefer B&B. Burns low and slow. Need it to last for my brisket cooks.

[@Steven-nb7nm]

I use jealous devil lump and briquettes charcoal. They no longer use plastic bags anymore. All of the jealous devil that I have bought, has been in paper bags. Only other charcoal that will come close to it would be B&B.

[@TheDrGoody]

Thanks for all your time and effort! The reviews were excellent. I'm curious if you have any thoughts on any of the products as they relate to use for fuel for "smoking" (i.e. low and slow cooking or true bbq) as opposed to grilling at high temperature.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

I liked rock wood the best for that. Some of the others provided hotter temps, but not much for smoke flavor. Rockwood is pretty good for a balance. Also, don’t forget to add chips/chunks or my favorite PELLETS. I have a video on that, it’s a game changer/

[@Pasovineyard]

@@BackdraftBBQ Your not a barbeque expert.

[@industryrule-4080]

Props for the amount of effort, and eating, to make this video. I’m using Jealous Devil XL and like it just fine, but I’m just a casual smoker. Bought mine at a big box store in California and the bag is paper.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

this guy for the win!!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you!

[@Najim1958]

Great comparison video! I'm looking into smoking meats on a Weber Kettle. My wife HATES the smell of charcoal burning, but I think what offends her is the smell of briquettes and starter fluid. Are the lump varieties less likely to have the odor I associate with briquettes? Thanks!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

100%. Lump is just wood. Bricks often have other stuff added to them.

[@WilKoch]

Thanks for the review! Last Royal Oak bag I got I found a piece of what looked like expandable foam about the size of my hand. Luckily I caught it before putting it in my egg. Won't be buying from them again. The last few bags of BGE I've had I feel like there has been a huge amount of dust and small pieces that are unusable. Hard to say how much of that happens during transport I suppose. I have a new bag of B&B to try, fingers crossed the chunks look as good as yours!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ac-6569]

Damn, How many BGEs do you have, I found someone has the same problem I do. Currently have Mini-Max, Med, and XL. I love the way they work and each one of mine provides a different experience. Thank you for the in-depth review of all the lump charcoals. I have used many brands over the years, and have found out that there are several factors that can affect how charcoal burns. You are absolute correct, the lump that you use will impart different flavors, it becomes a subjective choice.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you bro!! It is an issue on the number of eggs, or so my wife says....

[@robinjohnson2749]

Great video very interesting is rockford one of the best charcoal could somebody eat it and is it safe

[@r.w.199]

B&B and JD seem to work best in an Oaklahoma Joes offset. I could never get Blue Hog to stay consistent.. but damn that clean smoke from Blue Hog is great

[@mikeberecochea2020]

You mentioned Jealous Devil being "against the grain" in that it is in a plastic bag with a seal. I know most manufacturers use paper bags because it absorbs moisture, but wouldn't the Jealous Devil bag be acceptable because it should keep the moisture out of the bag to begin with? Especially if it's left out by mistake. Great review by the way!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

I just worry that it would trap any moisture that got in, but you may be right. Thank you!!

[@BrianMiller1973]

I don’t think JD uses the plastic bags anymore, for environmental reasons. They’re paper now. If you like the plastic bag, save it and reuse.

[@Nothing0873]

Yeh last several bags I have bought have been paper bags like all the other brands.

[@BrianMiller1973]

My local Walmart is now carrying B&B lump and briquettes, Jealous Devil lump and briquettes, Blues Hog lump and briquettes and of course Royal Oak. Royal Oak is just becoming frustrating with the increasingly small pieces in the bag.

[@YesItsMario]

Walmart stepped up their BBQ game this year for sure. My Walmart has everything you listed except B&B, have to order it on their website.

[@mrblonde71384]

Austin, Texas gets B&B lump oak and briquettes. My new go to charcoal spot

[@BackdraftBBQ]

wow this is crazy, our's only carries junk. Guess I need to move.

[@Nothing0873]

I do long cooks, briskets, pork etc. I like jealous devil over the long haul.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Right on

[@shawnwoloschuk4445]

Do you think the plastic bag with zip seal will keep moisture OUT ? 😅 anyway good to see your opinions 🎉 tks

[@Gonzo1968]

Great video, but blasphemy saying that St Louis is the birthplace of real bbq! This Texan would beg to differ!😬

[@Nothing0873]

Yeh I agree. Texas is BBQ

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Good point, I apologize to all those in the state I shall not mess with

[@Three.5]

Texans... BBQ was not invented in Texas🤣. It has been around before US was even a country. St. Louis and Kansas City has some bomb ass BBQ. Lived in San Antonio and BBQ was alright.

[@Gonzo1968]

@@Three.5 😂😂😂

[@millman82]

Go to Texas for a great steak! Go to KC for the best BBQ in the US!

[@TheProjectManager100]

Awesome review! I like Fogo but it shoots out way too many sparks but I will still buy a bag every once in a while. I use Jealous Devil consistantly and love it....just don't love the price. I've also used Blues Hog a few times and thought that was good too. I also like using Kamado Joe Big Joe Charcoal.

[@Pasovineyard]

What? Just BS

[@michaellochmoeller4520]

My Walmart is selling Blues Hog lump in a same size bag as Royal Oak lump, for the same price. I was curious and got a bag of each, thinking maybe Blues Hog is made by Royal Oak. Blues Hog comes from Missouri and I know Royal Oak's lump facility is in Missouri. Well after using both, I will say they are kind of similar but not identical. Both light fast and burn hot, but the Blues Hog bag had better size pieces in my opinion, not that Royal oak was bad. Also the Royal Oak seemed to have a bit stronger smoke (which I prefer), Blues Hog was a little milder in my observation. So I don't know, being from Missouri, and both bags were the same weight and same price, could it be made by Royal Oak? I doubt Blues Hog has their own kilns and really makes it themselves, but I could be wrong. I figure they outsource it to someone. Maybe Royal Oak will screen the charcoal and burn it differently for different brands?

[@MontereyBayLounge]

Which one got the best smoke flavor?

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Rockwood was really good

[@MontereyBayLounge]

@@BackdraftBBQ thank you!

[@polsok44]

Great video, nice job!👍

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you! 👍

[@whatfreedom7]

Speaking of lava rocks can you use lava rocks in charcoal grill along with lump or briquettes? Seems like you could and if things were burning down it might help with heat a littl.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

They retain heat, but so does the egg itself. It is very efficient at using charcoal.

[@achefimnot]

The spark is probably due to the powder size charcoal that explodes at high heat. Also I would have opened the bags from the bottom. How much weight is the powder charcoal. Which is useless in cooking. Granted handling can cause an excess of powder.

[@royansen9337]

I have tried Rockwell and it seems more burns up when you shu it down.

[@jcgreader]

Would like to have seen the whole bags emptied to see what the bottom dregs loked like.

[@richardbitner7709]

Great video Cowboy has let me down numerous times. Burns really fast. Royal Oak, gave up on it rocks found. I've been sticking to BGEs but I'll try a couple of these

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thanks!

[@Dr.Octogon]

Yea, I keep finding rocks in my Royal Oak as well. Also lots of small pieces. Seems like the quality went down over the years.

[@tl56kmair]

I realize this video is a couple of years old. I just picked up 5 bags of jealous devil in paper bags at the local Walmart for the same price per pound as royal oak. That's a win. My son is a fire fighter/paramedic in SLC Utah. To be clear, my son being a fire fighter has nothing to do with the price i paid for Jealous Devil. Just a coincidence to the video maker.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Oh wow!

[@Nothing0873]

I know its a much harder video to produce. But you should do the same brands but on a long burn and after an hour or 1.5 hrs, see which brand is still producing heat. I have a feeling it would be jealous devil

[@BackdraftBBQ]

I agree

[@jamesmorton9389]

When I hear someone say St Louis, BBQ is not what comes to mind……TX native born and raised here.

[@hawgwildcastiron2023]

Which is best for camp oven cooking, lump or briquettes?

[@BackdraftBBQ]

100x Lump

[@UnionVizsla]

Great video. Beautiful Vizsla you have!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you very much! Duke is a good boy

[@lifeoutdoors2day357]

Did you not notice the rubber tire smell of jealous devil? I can't use it because of the smell

[@davidwhiten3742]

I disagree with your findings only because I've watched other videos with completely different outcomes on which lump is the best. I'm going to try Cowboy and if i don't like it I'll try B&B next.

[@Steve-jo1qj]

Awesome thanks

[@Nope145]

Enjoyed the review

[@notjackielam]

Great review!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@manuelpaniagua3238]

Great job! Thank you

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you too!

[@xacto7]

Great Job!!!

[@armandoramirez739]

When is that B&B bag from? I swear I haven't had a bag that looks that good since 3M acquired them.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

It was new, only a few weeks old when I shot the video

[@adamreed6336]

Man, Rockwood at my local Ace is almost $40 for 20 pounds. Jealous Devil is only $27 for 20 pounds.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Wow good price on the JD

[@theone5404]

Isn't green egg and kamodo 2 different brands?

[@tubewatcher8330]

It would have been informative if you had fully dumped each bag so we could see how much dust and uselessly small bits were in each bag. Still a great review!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Thank you!

[@donjuandemarco4115]

I think the store and employees handling the bags plays a huge roll with broken bits and dust. It’s hard to blame the manufacturer for employees handling the product poorly during shipping, unloading, and placing on the shelf.

[@glenndavis2096]

Can't find Lumberjack anywhere!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

lumberjackcoal.com

[@jacobhart5342]

Where can you buy Lumber Jack?

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Prior to the war, in a lot of places. Now it seems to be online.

[@whatfreedom7]

What torch is that?

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Just a Benzomatic type propane torch

[@rufusdaniel1578]

Informative, while entertaining #goodstuff #ilike

[@TheReal_DeanD]

I found a metal bracket and another weird looking metal piece from the last bag I bought from Royal. no thanks no matter how hot it gets.

[@dondiesel1100]

B amd b only

[@paulmarion7578]

What part of Maine are you from ?

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Western! Yessa wicked decent bub!!

[@Fredflinstone23]

Rockwood charcoal is actually expensive.. Jelous devil brand is cheaper

[@BrewReview]

I've been using (and hating) RO for awhile. Just too many rocks and questionable pieces and smells coming out of those bags.. I didn't like the price of JD for what you get and their sustainability practices aren't exactly friendly with their giant plastic bag that always breaks. Big Block always smells like burning tires with a heavier than normal smoke profile which I don't particularly like. Fogo Super Premium is great for low and slow cooks but for me, the daily driver is all about BGE with its hickory and oak combo and possibly Rockwood going forward.

[@chechnya]

I found a piece of charred baseboard in some Mexican charcoal once 😂

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Delish!

[@michaelmilitello5644]

You definition of briquettes was wrong. Not all briquettes are bad like kingsford.

[@JM-fc9gm]

Fogo is the only brand I’ve bothered using.

[@bigdaddyharold23]

That's A Bad MAMA, JAMA.!!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

You know it!!

[@charlescanaday1599]

Dude! Really! St. Louis as where BBQ started or the heart of BBQ? LOL. I think you're about 300 miles too far east of the real BBQ town. Kanasa City! Even Memphis has STL beat by a long shot.

[@codyholmes2490]

Kansas City BBQ is trash 😂 and BBQ didn’t start in St. Louis or anywhere you have mentioned. Read a history book it started in the Caribbean you narrow minded twit 😂

[@charlescanaday1599]

@@codyholmes2490 I think you need to read my post again moron. I didn't say it started in StL. Or KC. What I said was kC and Memphis both have better BBQ then Stl.

[@JohnBrown-vx3rx]

north carolina says hi

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Texas has entered the chat.

[@dman357]

Look at how small the green egg is. It would of been better if you used a normal sized egg like the large or xl to determine how fast the grill would come to temp with the different lump charcoals. It doesn't take much to come to temp when using something small as the egg your using.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Sorry, if you misunderstood, we compared all charcoal evenly and use the small one, as the large would’ve taken much more time to get up the temperature and use significant amounts of lump. Because everyone was tested at the same standard we were able to compare apples to apples.

[@luigiviking3667]

No price on cost the

[@wesleyderrick4326]

Royal oak is terrible. I’ve bought two bags and found rocks, nails, wire and burlap.

[@Danr07]

Ukraine got that imported Chernobyl charcoal.

[@farmerwayne1404]

Lumber jack. It has a special ," glow"!! Im surprised that you didn't find any, bones in any of these 🥴 kidding of course! Nice job! Like the shed! And the four legged coal eater...

[@BackdraftBBQ]

Hahahahah

[@crazydave-ib1zo]

First question, how many beers did this test take?? You were slurring by the end. Great video anyway! Not like grilling and beer don't go together anyway.

[@BackdraftBBQ]

I don't drink...dont know what you are talking about

[@Hunter-ld9tx]

Great video but way to many advertisers. If you didn’t cool down the egg then your test was flawed because it retains the heat. Never by from Ukraine.

[@moogs]

Dumped Royal Oak. So much smoke, random crap in the bag, small pieces, crackle pops… Never using it again…..

[@WillieReactsTV]

what the fuck did he say on 6:25???????????

[@Mr8otter]

Royal Oak has 6 plants in south central Missouri, Missouri #1 export is Charcoal!

[@robinjohnson2749]

THE COWBOW CHARCOAL CAN IT BE EATEN AND IT HARMFUL TO THE BODY SHE DOEST EAT ANYTHING BUT THE CRUNCH COULD LET ME KNIW IN A MESSAGE

[@terrysommer3592]

4 fitty? That's an unfollow

[@johnmcdonough666]

Royal Oak quality control is absolute garbage.

[@infomutt2339]

You're too biased for the judging!!!

[@BackdraftBBQ]

you should make a video!! I will watch it.

[@ronscott700]

Great come back!