New Lump Charcoal Found

I found a new version of Royal Oak Lump charcoal at Menards.
I will be using it for Pork Butt smoke this weekend.
Does anyone have any info on this product? How does it differ from standard Royal Oak lump charcoal?

maxpower wrote: How does it differ from standard Royal Oak lump charcoal?

I'm guessing it costs more. Other than that, probably not much difference.

maxpower wrote:Does anyone have any info on this product? How does it differ from standard Royal Oak lump charcoal?]

Max,

Royal Oak lump is a good product, never seen the Steak House variation. Naket Whiz's Lump Charcoal Database doesn't have any info, but I'm guessing it's simply repackaging of standard lump charcoal. Does it say where it was made?

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote: Does it say where it was made?

According to one of the Berger Bros., all of it (regardless of brand) is made at the same place in Missouri.

stevez wrote:According to one of the Berger Bros., all of it (regardless of brand) is made at the same place in Missouri.

Steve,

I've been told the same thing at Berger Bros, but Naked Whiz has Royal Oak listed as being manufactured in four different countries, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and USA.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

stevez wrote:According to one of the Berger Bros., all of it (regardless of brand) is made at the same place in Missouri.

Steve,

I've been told the same thing at Berger Bros, but Naked Whiz has Royal Oak listed as being manufactured in four different countries, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and USA.

Enjoy,
Gary

I'm sure that's true. I'll bet Berger Bros meant that all charcoal that they sell for use in the USA is manufactured in Missouri...even the French Roayal Oak that they were selling for a while.

stevez wrote:I'm sure that's true. I'll bet Berger Bros meant that all charcoal that they sell for use in the USA is manufactured in Missouri...even the French Roayal Oak that they were selling for a while.

Steve,

I'm not so sure of that, I will make a point of asking next time I'm at Berger Bros, as I am sure will you.

Enjoy,
Gary

The bag in the pic says "burns hotter." Do they intend that to mean hotter than briquettes or hotter than their non-steakhouse variety lump? It seems intentionally vague. I'm guessing this new variety is really just some additional marketing applied to their standard lump but who knows . . .

=R=

G Wiv wrote:

stevez wrote:I'm sure that's true. I'll bet Berger Bros meant that all charcoal that they sell for use in the USA is manufactured in Missouri...even the French Roayal Oak that they were selling for a while.

Steve,

I'm not so sure of that, I will make a point of asking next time I'm at Berger Bros, as I am sure will you.

Enjoy,
Gary

The French Royal Oak for sure is manufactured in Missouri. It was that French labeling that prompted me to ask about the origin of their charcoal (since brands seem to change all the time) in the first place.

stevez wrote:The French Royal Oak for sure is manufactured in Missouri. It was that French labeling that prompted me to ask about the origin of their charcoal (since brands seem to change all the time) in the first place.

Steve,

In the lump charcoal data base if you click on, for example, Royal Oak Brazilian under quick stats it has the country of origin, in this case Brazil. That is what I am referring to.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

On the wiviott.com forum, there was discussion on sources for wood charcoal. I had noted Sunset Foods had offered wood charcoal from Grove Charcoal, based in Cedar Grove, Wi. pdaane knew the situation better:

I was going to schedule a field trip to the Ceader Grove charcoal works. Hwever, even though I knew the company had changed hands, I didn't realize that they shut down the Ceader Grove kilns. All Grove Charcoal is now imported from Canada; where they used to get the scrap wood. Apparently it is cheaper to process and ship the lighter charcoal, than the raw lumber. Canada most likely would rather ship value-added product than raw materials.

Regards,

Hi Guys!

The bag says it is made in USA, although does not give a location.
So far it lit well and is maintaining my WSM at between 225-245, My pork butts are looking and smelling good.
I did noticed there did not seem to be any rocks or lumber pieces in this bag, although I have had the Red bags of Royal Oak in the past not contain any of those elements. There does seem to be less sparking when lighting the chimney and the price was exactly the same as the Red Bag.

maxpower wrote:Hi Guys!

The bag says it is made in USA, although does not give a location.
So far it lit well and is maintaining my WSM at between 225-245, My pork butts are looking and smelling good.
I did noticed there did not seem to be any rocks or lumber pieces in this bag, although I have had the Red bags of Royal Oak in the past not contain any of those elements. There does seem to be less sparking when lighting the chimney and the price was exactly the same as the Red Bag.

I apologize greatly for this aside, and the mods are free to delete it if they see fit, but I just couldn't let it go.

Max Power, he's the man who's name you'd love to touch! But you mustn't touch! His name sounds good in your ear, but when you say it, you mustn't fear! 'Cause his name can be said by anyone!

I note the bag also says it's made from 100% natural wood . . . as opposed to that other kind of wood, I imagine.

I will start off by saying that I am a novice griller, but I need help.

When I first moved to Wisconsin I bought charcoal at the local mexican grocery store, I don't remember the brand but it was blacked charred pieces of heavy wood. I think I remember red on the bag but that is it. That charcoal would burn all day long almost and I loved it. Best of all it was really inexpensive, like $1.99 or $2.99 a bag. The store was Racine Produce.

I have tried Grove Charcoal from Piggly Wiggly pursuant to the suggestion in the thread. It is not the same as the above charcoal as the bag is much much lighter. And it does not burn anywhere near as long.

First, (a) can anyone recognize what type of charcoal I am referring to by my description and (b) does anybody know where I can get some of it????

Holiday Girl,

Take a look at the Naked Whiz Lump Charcoal Database.

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

Pictures of 70 brands of lump. You just might recognize the bag.

Tim

funholidaygirl wrote:I will start off by saying that I am a novice griller, but I need help.

When I first moved to Wisconsin I bought charcoal at the local mexican grocery store, I don't remember the brand but it was blacked charred pieces of heavy wood. I think I remember red on the bag but that is it. That charcoal would burn all day long almost and I loved it. Best of all it was really inexpensive, like $1.99 or $2.99 a bag. The store was Racine Produce.

Does Racine Produce still carry this brand?
I have been there in the past and remember seeing Royal Oak in the red bag, but they could have others as well.

I have only seen Kingsford at Racine Produce now. If you recall Royal Oak being there that was probably it. It does look slightly familiar.

Are there some natural lump charcoals that are heavier? Grove is light in weight and is Cowboy Charcoal and I remember this stuff being heavy.

funholidaygirl wrote:Are there some natural lump charcoals that are heavier? Grove is light in weight and is Cowboy Charcoal and I remember this stuff being heavy.

Charcoal is sold by weight. Cowboy is sold in 8.8 lb bags.

Note that there is some variation in weight from bag to bag (and some brands are more erratic than others). See the Naked Whiz for more details.

Cowboy is also available in 40# bags. I paid $15/bag in Milwaukee. I usually drive to Berger Brothers and get enough for the season of Royal Oak but with everything torn up you just can't get there from here, so Milwaukee it is.-Dick

If anyone is looking for Royal Oak lump, check Menards if there's one nearby. I saw it at my local store before Memorial Day when it was on sale. I haven't been back recently to see if they still have it in stock or what the regular price is.

funholidaygirl wrote:I have only seen Kingsford at Racine Produce now. If you recall Royal Oak being there that was probably it. It does look slightly familiar.

Are there some natural lump charcoals that are heavier? Grove is light in weight and is Cowboy Charcoal and I remember this stuff being heavy.

I know what you mean, Cowboy brand always burned real hot and real quick for me. The Royal Oak brand, the pieces feel heavier than the Cowboy brand pieces and the coals seem to last longer. Menards in Kenosha and Racine both have Royal Oak Lump in the Red bag usually about $4.88 a bag occasionally it goes on sale for $3.88 a bag and that is when I go buy about 5 bags of it.

One thing that I have noticed when reading the labels on various bags of Royal Oak lump charcoal is that the word "hardwood" seems to have disappeared as of late. Perhaps due to the fact that much of it seems to be coming from South America.This, in my mind leaves the source of the end product open almost any type of wood.
Lately I've gravitated away from lump because it just seems to burn too hot and fast. Great for grilling a steak or some chops, but for smoking "low and slow" I've found that I can get a longer burn time with a more even temperature range while using less fuel with Royal Oak 100% hardwood briquettes.

JSM, I really like those Royal Oak foodservice briquettes you show in your post. I always keep them on hand and will occasionally mix them in with lump when I need a longer cook time. They're not noxious-smelling like Kingsford and have a very 'pure' aroma, for lack of a better term.

=R=

Strolling through Costco the other day and came upon a lump hardwood from the Original Charcoal Company. Sold as two 10 pound bags packaged together, priced at either $8 or $9. Well I decided to add to the multitude of 40 pound Berger bags already in the garage. Lit some up this weekend and a 10 pound bag was just right for 4 slabs of baby backs in the WSM. It initially sparked a lot more than the the Berger's but settled down and kept a steady 225 degrees for three and a half hours. The compact size made it easy to gift the other bag to my brother, in my attempt to get him off the Kingsford.

T Comp wrote:Strolling through Costco the other day and came upon a lump hardwood from the Original Charcoal Company. Sold as two 10 pound bags packaged together, priced at either $8 or $9. Well I decided to add to the multitude of 40 pound Berger bags already in the garage. Lit some up this weekend and a 10 pound bag was just right for 4 slabs of baby backs in the WSM. It initially sparked a lot more than the the Berger's but settled down and kept a steady 225 degrees for three and a half hours. The compact size made it easy to gift the other bag to my brother, in my attempt to get him off the Kingsford.

That sounds real similar to the Lazzari Mesquite Charcoal I just tried. I know it doesn't rate as well, at the NakedWhiz, as some of the lumps I've used...but it tasted great and I was able to maintain a nice low consistent heat when needed. Of course I could add some more pieces and crank up the heat too. But boy oh boy did this stuff spark and pop up a storm!

take care,
dan

Lazzari is awesome. I actually read the Naked Whiz review to be pretty positive, especially among the brands available here. Anyways, it's currently a buck cheaper than Royal Oak for a 40 lb bag at Berger Brothers. It's also one of the few hardwood charcoals made from mesquite wood (but it imparts a much softer mesquite flavor than smoking with mesquite wood).

ronnie_suburban wrote:JSM, I really like those Royal Oak foodservice briquettes you show in your post.

I occasionally use the Royal Oak briquettes, they burn clean, if a bit slow, and the only additional ingredient is vegetable starch for binder.

Where are you finding the Royal Oak briquettes in 40# food service bags? I've been amazed how fast my smoker has been blowing through Royal Oak lump. Thanks!

grace

JSM wrote:Lately I've gravitated away from lump because it just seems to burn too hot and fast. Great for grilling a steak or some chops, but for smoking "low and slow" I've found that I can get a longer burn time with a more even temperature range while using less fuel with Royal Oak 100% hardwood briquettes.

swine dining wrote:Where are you finding the Royal Oak briquettes in 40# food service bags? I've been amazed how fast my smoker has been blowing through Royal Oak lump. Thanks

Grace,

Berger Bros has them in stock, in fact I was thinking of making run today or tomorrow, I am down to less than 100-lbs of lump and getting antsy.

Enjoy,
Gary

Berger Brother's Charcoal
1176 N Cherry Ave
Chicago, IL 6062
312-642-4238