"Red Lump"

[amusedtodeath]

1 hour ago, 5698k said:

Ok, I just lit some red lump. I’m doing steaks, so I’m going hot, about 700°-750°. This stuff has a strange smell, I’m not crazy about it. We’ll see about the flavor. 

On a side note, I tried fogo premium, and liked it a lot. It didn’t have the super big chunks the super premium did, this is a good thing. 

Great post, thanks. I got some super premium, and the chunks were just too big. Good to know the premium is better in that regard. They are a bit ambiguous on their website descriptions. I was thinking that the premium might be better size for our purposes, but now I know for sure by your experience. I will say, it is very sparky when lighting. I think I prefer the Rockwood, it's just a little small, but burns well. 

[ckreef]

1 hour ago, 5698k said:

Ok, I just lit some red lump. I’m doing steaks, so I’m going hot, about 700°-750°. This stuff has a strange smell, I’m not crazy about it. We’ll see about the flavor. 

On a side note, I tried fogo premium, and liked it a lot. It didn’t have the super big chunks the super premium did, this is a good thing. 

Are you talking about the black bag Fogo premium? I'm about to order 2 bags. 

 

[5698k]

I don’t like this stuff. The flavor was just like the smell, it was overpowering to me. 

[5698k]

35 minutes ago, ckreef said:

Are you talking about the black bag Fogo premium? I'm about to order 2 bags. 

 

Yes, I like this. Good price, and I like the chunk size better. There is an amount of fines, but I prefer that to the logs that are in super premium. 

[5698k]

42 minutes ago, amusedtodeath said:

Great post, thanks. I got some super premium, and the chunks were just too big. Good to know the premium is better in that regard. They are a bit ambiguous on their website descriptions. I was thinking that the premium might be better size for our purposes, but now I know for sure by your experience. I will say, it is very sparky when lighting. I think I prefer the Rockwood, it's just a little small, but burns well. 

I didn’t find it too sparky, but I light with Rutland cubes with the lid closed, so I guess I wouldn’t notice anyway. 

[ckreef]

19 minutes ago, 5698k said:

I don’t like this stuff. The flavor was just like the smell, it was overpowering to me. 

I only bought Marabu for one purpose - the Korin. Lit in a chimney starter and allowed to burn until totally orange there was no smell or flavor left. 

 

I will buy some black bags for KK use. I was never interested in the super premium as extra large pieces tend to burn funny be it low-n-slow or high heat. 

 

[tony b]

I stopped getting the Fogo for several reasons - way too big pieces (I started chiseling them down with a rubber mallet and flat blade screwdriver - too much work), was kinda difficult to light (had a tendency to go out on me), and the stuff sparked like mad with the MAPP torch. Nice flavor and burns pretty good, once you break down the humongous pieces! Sticking to Rockwood for now, as I can get it local. Wish that I could get Weekend Warrior (my favorite) easier - closest shop that carries it is 2 hours away.

[amusedtodeath]

46 minutes ago, tony b said:

I stopped getting the Fogo for several reasons - way too big pieces (I started chiseling them down with a rubber mallet and flat blade screwdriver - too much work), was kinda difficult to light (had a tendency to go out on me), and the stuff sparked like mad with the MAPP torch. Nice flavor and burns pretty good, once you break down the humongous pieces! Sticking to Rockwood for now, as I can get it local. Wish that I could get Weekend Warrior (my favorite) easier - closest shop that carries it is 2 hours away.

I agree one hundred percent. My experience is the same. If I ever order Fogo again, I would only get the black bag with smaller pieces. They don't make the difference clear on their website. I've had no complaints with the Rockwood. 

[Syzygies]

Our Fogo charcoal arrived, and I used a chimney's worth in my KK to first grill burgers on a baking steel, then to roast a Spanish potato, onion, salt, black pepper, pimenton mixture in a cazuela with the residual fire. Like pool; always have a plan for what to do with the white ball next.

The Fogo did spark, especially when I fanned the fire with a Milwaukee M18 blower tool. Fun to watch, but no need for a welding helmet.

Very dense, not very smoky at all, hotter perhaps than other fuels. No objectionable flavors at all, and a very mild pleasant flavor imparted to the potato mixture. More like "Of course we cook with fire!" than "Can you pick out those hickory notes?" (I'm notoriously fussy, the guy who came up with the cast iron smoke pot whose wife won't let him use smoke any other way now.) As I mainly wanted to cook outside, I like this subtle profile.

Recommended? Yes. I prefer coffee charcoal from Dennis but we can't get that. Worth the price? Depends on your other options. Worth a try.

Of course we cook with fire!

[Pequod]

Speaking of Yakitori...

@ckreef, how are you liking the Konro?

[ckreef]

1 hour ago, Pequod said:

Speaking of Yakitori...

@ckreef, how are you liking the Konro?

 

I love Konro skewers. This weekend I ordered 2 more LG bags of Marabou lump for future use. 

 

Within the next few days should be receiving a care package from a new found friend that lives in Japan. A bunch of different stuff used for making marinades. I'm really excited about this as it's all stuff you can't buy readily in the states. 

 

Edited June 26, 2018 by ckreef

[tony b]

Can't wait to see what you cook with them. 

[Pequod]

I asked about the Konro because of all the talk about Suya and Satay. A Konro would amp up the fun for such cooks. Now I've got a hankerin' for one. 

[ckreef]

9 minutes ago, Pequod said:

I asked about the Konro because of all the talk about Suya and Satay. A Konro would amp up the fun for such cooks. Now I've got a hankerin' for one. 

 

I love the Konro and it's super fun way to cook. It is sort of weather dependent. To cold or to hot would be miserable. Usually I do a full outdoor picnic type cook around the Konro but I have cooked skewers and taken them inside to eat. 

 

[Pequod]

6 minutes ago, ckreef said:

 

I love the Konro and it's super fun way to cook. It is sort of weather dependent. To cold or to hot would be miserable. Usually I do a full outdoor picnic type cook around the Konro but I have cooked skewers and taken them inside to eat. 

 

I have a "Shade-room" (aka screened in deck) that's usable 9 months out of the year. Doesn't get too hot in the Summer due to the shade. I'm thinking that's a perfect Konro spot.

Is the large Konro heavy? If not too heavy, I'd take it out and down the stairs to add coals. Wouldn't want to bring a chimney starter inside the perimeter.

[ckreef]

34 minutes ago, Pequod said:

I have a "Shade-room" (aka screened in deck) that's usable 9 months out of the year. Doesn't get too hot in the Summer due to the shade. I'm thinking that's a perfect Konro spot.

Is the large Konro heavy? If not too heavy, I'd take it out and down the stairs to add coals. Wouldn't want to bring a chimney starter inside the perimeter.

 

That would make a great space for Konro cooking. It's heavy but would be doable. It would be really hot. I would dump the coals in the middle of the Konro then move the coals around once you get it in the screen porch. A nice pair of long welding gloves would probably be useful when moving with hot coals. 

Also once everything is glowing orange and you bring it in there is no additional smoke. Only small whiffs of smoke as fat/marinade drips onto the coals. 

I would have no problem with your game plan if that was my screen porch. 

 

 

[Pequod]

Well it’s done. I am weak. I ordered a medium Konro - plenty big enough for just wife and me since it won’t arrive until our youngest flees the nest. Backordered until Winter, so this solves wife’s annual Christmas shopping dilemma as well. 

[tekobo]

4 hours ago, Pequod said:

Well it’s done. I am weak. I ordered a medium Konro - plenty big enough for just wife and me since it won’t arrive until our youngest flees the nest. Backordered until Winter, so this solves wife’s annual Christmas shopping dilemma as well. 

Happily, I gave in before you so mine will hopefully be with me in September/October.  I gave up on the European company that was more expensive, didn't deliver when they said they would and wouldn't respond to any emails until I got PayPal on to them to get my money back.  I still didn't get any emails from them but I did get my money AND one of those automatic survey emails telling me they cared about me and wanted to know about my experience of buying a konro from them.  

[ckreef]

6 hours ago, Pequod said:

Well it’s done. I am weak. I ordered a medium Konro - plenty big enough for just wife and me since it won’t arrive until our youngest flees the nest. Backordered until Winter, so this solves wife’s annual Christmas shopping dilemma as well. 

That is awesome. Not weak. You and the wife will have a blast cooking on it. We use the Konro for date night. A couple that cooks together stays together - LOL. 

Also you're plan will be easy with the medium version which should weigh a few pounds less than my LG version I was referencing. 

 

[tekobo]

I have only ever used cocoshell briquettes in my KKs and they have been great.  Looking to get a new grill soon and was in the market for "ordinary" charcoal.  I happened to see a TV programme that included this company showing how they make charcoal sustainably in the UK: https://www.oxfordcharcoal.co.uk.  When I rang them up they mentioned the fact that they have some Cuban Marabu too.  That sparked (tee hee) my interest because I remembered seeing you folks talk about Marabu.  I was going to go all in and buy some for the KK as well but I now see from your earlier posts, @ckreef, that you think Marabu charcoal is too sparky for the KK.  Oh well, I might buy a bag of Marabu to try out in the konro and will also try out their locally made charcoal.  I've paid no attention to your recent char burning experiments Charles because I thought I was all set with my cocoshell but I am now on a mission to  try these single species charcoals.  Hard to imagine how alder char differs from wild cherry char but that will be the fun of exploring.