Lump Charcoal Showdown: High-End vs Budget Brands

Boy did I get an earful in the other charcoal showdown. Person after person said that lump charcoal is the only charcoal and briquettes are just imposters. In this video, I test to see which lump charcoal provides the best and if it is worth spending more to get something that goes up in smoke!
Tested Charcoal:
Expert Grills (Sold at Wal-Mart)
Cowboy Lump (Sold at Wal-Mart
Royal Oak (Home Depot)
Fogo Premium (Ace Hardware)
Kamado Joe XL- amzn.to/4aWCNGF
B&B (Ace Hardware)
Jealous Devil (Home Depot)
Equipment I used to make this video:
Weber Kettle: amzn.to/49KzqSu
Chimney: amzn.to/44IGJsT
Good Camera: amzn.to/3U82mOe
Better Camera: amzn.to/3w1WcYb
Microphone: amzn.to/44cKkPO
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@AndrewMak]

Perfect timing on this video as we head into grilling season! This makes me feel great about the 4 bags of B&B lump I have stockpiled. Great video and thanks!!

[@Frosty_tha_Snowman]

I've bought a few different kinds because I learned immediately that different lump charcoal gives you different results. I tried B&B first since it was all they had at the time, and it made me question if I'd like any food that comes off of my drum smoker, or if I was doing something seriously wrong. It gave the most slick, oily, nasty charcoal taste ever, and it would smolder for 20 minutes while it was lighting, and when I'd finally regulate the heat at 275 with the vents almost closed, it would still inevitably spike up between 300-350. I used the whole bag on 4½ cooks (2 pork butts, some hanged ribs twice, and then I grilled some burgers and hotdogs to finish it off) and then I got some Royal Oak.. the first batch of ribs I cooked up were perfect. Smoky hickory and apple wood flavor was very evident, with that nice coal & fat dripping flavor I'd heard so much about adding a nice touch to it. I've used Royal Oak since, but it made me wonder if it'd be worth investing in some other brands like Cowboy or Blues Hog, so I got a couple of those to try, but I'm also just here doing some research. Edit: Oh, yeah.. I don't agree the "winners" he chose out of these brands at all - and 4$ less per bag isn't really a "budget" brand, it's probably just a discretion in the manufacturing cost... anyways - almost everyone tends to agree that the best charcoal depends on the type of cook - but it also depends heavily on personal preference.. the most universally approved one I've seen is Fogo. It seems like no one's disappointed in their charcoal quality - and I've never heard anything bad about Cowboy. If you're doing a grill session, you want strong charcoal flavors with a lot of heat - if you're trying to sit under 300 for a long period of time, however, those same dense charcoal brands get compacted, which makes the cooking temperatures do weird stuff, like smolder out and get a nasty flavor, or burn really hot and toast your food. In general, the less dense chunks seem to burn more "clean" while the more dense chunks release a lot of charcoal flavor. I do agree with his assessment of "it depends on what kind of cook you're doing, and what you're after" and that's the conclusion I've come to as well. There's no one size fits all in the arts of BBQ and smoking.

[@agrillingbeerguy]

Thanks for this! I don't typically use a lot of lump charcoal as I have a lot of 100% hardwood "briquets" still hanging around, but I'll definitely check out some B&B soon.

[@GrillTopExperience]

B&B makes both lump and briquets and performed well in both tests.

[@bocivus328]

Your comparison videos are 2nd to none, man. As always, great job and thanks for the info!

[@ohiomp7606]

I bought a couple bags of kingsford briquettes last year but after this review I remembered how much I enjoyed cooking with lump. Going to have to grab a bag of B&B next time I stop at one of the few stores that carries it locally haha

[@gleichg]

I found this video very helpful. I guess I am an outlier. As I use both lump and briquettes. I love lump a small pile of lump for steaks and burgers, but when I smoke I use briquettes. I think the tests were pretty smart, and covered all the bases.

[@dbettis6477]

Be careful kingsford briquettes are toxic to your health A study was done on them I stick to lump charcoal only now

[@williamkrause5624]

Honestly just pouring charcoal out of the top of the bag is misleading and the smaller stuff would have settled to the bottom. You probably wont get a good size comparison that way. You should have poured out the complete contents of the bags to better compare the sizes of the chunks.

[@nellyville41]

^^^this. I’ve tried cowboy, kamado joe, and b&b. Cowboy had the most shards at like 1/2 the bag and sparkled like the 4th of July!

[@boohoohoohoo]

You are the man. You are like the NASA scientist who decided instead to contribute to the advancement of BBQ skills in mankind.

[@brianmohyde2338]

I like to put lump on the Smokey mountain first then dump a hot chimney of Kingsford on top usually get 4-5 hr cook before adding more

[@GuelGuelG]

Great video, the time, experience, and efforts put into this video truly go a long way. Thank you, I subscribed and I am looking forward to more videos.

[@joshbaker1639]

Great comparison video! I’ve always been a fan of B&B, it’s never let me down and always provides a great cook, whether it is steaks, chicken, pork butt or brisket.

[@Southjerseysmokin]

Both fogo and bb do really well in the WSM, and can do a make shift snake method in kettles with them too. I buy mostly fogo, but if it’s out of stock I’ll gladly grab a bag of bb Royal oak is aaaaight but the pieces are normally small

[@clay8222]

Ive used lump for a long time. Harder charcoal is my favorite. Jealous devil is a close second. Least favorite is royal oak

[@MrWayneJohn1]

Yup, Royal Oak is a Royal Joke. That's some.really awful charcoal.

[@johnpnj]

Another great video! I've tried Jealous Devil, B&B, Cowboy, Royal Oak, and another brand I found at Costco. For the price, I honestly enjoy Cowboy. I like their Briquettes too...good wood smoke smell and flavor at a good price. Just my personal opinion

[@jpbanksnj]

For me? FOGO lump black bag and for briquettes B&B. I'd still like to try Jealous Devil, but man, the cost is just stupid.

[@RA-rf4nz]

Thanks. Answered all of my concerns for which lump to use for when. Looks like Kamado Joe, B&B, and FOGO are the ones to stock.

[@MitchAndPhilip]

Wow! This is an excellent comparison video. You did some great tests. Thank you so much for sharing your results. EPIC!

[@jm.519]

I appreciate that you walked through the process and tried to hold everything as even as possible. Were the taste tests blind tests?

[@GrillTopExperience]

Great question. They were not blind and were done over a few hours. I wanted to make sure they all were grilled on a weber kettle to keep things consistent. I'm working on a plan to do a different comparison and make it a blind test.

[@gonzoret]

Using different types of grills like Santa Maria, Weber and Akorn I usually go back and forth between Briquettes and Lump. Got a Solo Stove grill not long ago that I’ve been using with only briquettes. I want to give it a try using lump as I do enjoy cooking with it but always hate the fact the at least 1/4 of the bag (or more usually) is always small tiny pieces or dust. Might give the more premium brands and see if I get different results.

[@Nethanel773]

Thanks for putting this up.

[@mrallan8063]

I'm disappointed you crushed the large peices. Imo, the larger pieces is why you pay the premium. The small peices in my experience burn much faster because there is more surface area vs large peices need to burn down. I'm not even sure using lump for short duration cooking even imparts any meaningful flavor vs briquettes.

[@jaredhuang2225]

I bought a bag of expert grill lump charcoal a few months ago and it said made in the USA. IME the large chunks will not actually catch fire properly, you may want to re-evaluate Kamodo Joe's. There is another budget brand on the west coast "Sonora Charcoal", its made in Mexico and I've seen it in every grocery store in California. The lump sizes are extremely inconsistent (some are the thickness of your forearm and 3/4 of the length), I found it very difficult to light and the big pieces will essentially put the existing fire out.

[@boohoohoohoo]

2:40 How long did each one take to get fully lit? Also aside from JD, which else produced very little initial smoke?

[@gacj2010]

Such great information for consumers.. Thanks , man

[@ChrisBFerguson]

I just ordered some Josper brand charcoal. Very good reviews on Amazon. I am almost done with what was 35 pound bags of Jealous Devil charcoal.

[@ChrisBFerguson]

That Josper brand charcoal cooked way more evenly than the Jealous Devil bag I had and did not take as long to pre-heat.

[@aaronfriesen7557]

Informative and enjoyable! Great job

[@yesitsmario88]

Cool comparison! Walmart carries B&B lump now, it's about $0.75/lb there.

[@GrillTopExperience]

That's pretty lucky. Mine doesn't and I had to go to two different Ace hardwares to find it. On the bright side, I found a much better selection and they do taste tests on Saturdays.

[@ebrente]

B&B 💪 I’m also a big fan of Buffalo lump of you can get your hands on a bag.

[@heavyset0223]

Best lump charcoal is El Diablo mesquite lump. $20 for 40lbs

[@overboostn]

If you really want some hate, do a pellet smoker showdown.....🤣

[@judsonkr]

Am making the switch back to briquettes. Tried multiple brands, most of the ones mentioned here and 70% of the bags are crumbs.

[@Derekyounan]

Try feel the bags before you buy them

[@gregorystatt5562]

I am unimpressed with Cowboy. I found weird pieces, some looked like pieces of old pallets or construction debris. Also, way too much dust and small pieces in the bottom, looked like that budget stuff. I used a few large bags I bought.rom Costco and some I picked up (unopened) on FB Marketplace. All same junk. Costco now has a Kirkland brand briquettes and they look puffed up. I used them with Kingsford and there was alot more left of the Kirkland ones. I am going to try it on a couple pork shoulders tomorrow and see how long they last. Anybody else try them yet?

[@InkraggablKrunk]

Curious to see if any of the upcoming huntsman accessories will fit on your kettle joe, or if the kettle joe grates fit on the huntsman

[@boohoohoohoo]

5:50 how was the flavor of the other brands? very curious about Kamado Joe Big Block, JD XL Lump?

[@benjaminlee5976]

thanks for great info

[@paulrod53]

Which one put out most smoke?

[@jaybee1570]

America’s test kitchen recently claimed their tasting panel could not tell the difference between lump and briquette. Curious if you would agree?

[@GrillTopExperience]

I'm working on a plan to test that, but need some help so it can be a blind taste test.

[@declanfarber]

Those people are from the Boston area. They don’t know anything about barbecue, except maybe what they saw on the radio. ;^)

[@pareloader5989]

I bought 4 bags of Royce oak for $9.95 a bag.. couldn’t pass it up

[@johnray7636]

Ill never buy royal oak again. Had a piece explode in my face while lighting with an electric lighter. Eyebrows and hunk of hair gone. Lucky didn't get in my eyes. Be carful out there.

[@GrillTopExperience]

Yikes!

[@HookFaced]

💥 😮

[@johnshultz9557]

I have a offset smoker which brand do you think would work the best

[@GrillTopExperience]

Most people use cheap charcoal to get the fire going before switching over to wood on an offset. If you are mostly using charcoal, the same brands would be good.

[@johnshultz9557]

@@GrillTopExperience I've been using Kingsford charcoal but I thought about trying lump to get wood going that's why I asked

[@user-vg5rv5xf4u]

Wood coal

[@robzilla69]

Lazzari. Next

[@thommtum]

Jealous devil is not made in USA!

[@GrillTopExperience]

Doh! Jealous Devil says made in Paraguay in tiny letters on the bottom. Fogo is El Salvador. You Tube lets you cut parts of a video after it is published and I submitted a fix to pull that part. Thanks for commenting.

[@emmgeevideo]

Why do you rate the brands in cost per pound but your other weight measurements are in grams? Not helpful. We never heard why chunk size makes a difference in long cooks -- which you didn't test anyway.

[@GrillTopExperience]

Americans are used to buying things by the pound and using the metric system in science class. It's either that or I'm trying to aggravate both the US and international audience.

[@emmgeevideo]

@@GrillTopExperience As an American I'll say that over the years I have an intuitive sense of what a pound feels like. Your citation of a chunk's weight in ounces didn't register in my mind the way it would have if you had cited it in ounces or pounds. I certainly know what a gram is in terms of a unit of measure and I use grams on my scale when weighing ingredients for pizza dough. My recommendation is that you decide where most of your audience lives and you verbally use one system of measurement (i.e., the one your audience is most familiar with) and superimpose a caption with values using the other system of measurement. That way audiences familiar with either measurement system can easily understand your point without you getting tongue-tied as you narrate. But mixing cost per pound and citing chunk weight in grams is the worst of all possible approaches. IMHO...

[@wwjj64]

Cowboy is trash. Too much ash and sparks too much. Not to mention I found suspicious looking pieces of wood.