Royal Oak Charcoal, $7.88 Bag at Home Depot. May 20, 2016 Only

[egmiii]

For those of you near a Home Depot, they are blowing out 7KG bags of Royal Oak today only (5/20/16) for $7.88 per bag. Obviously it's not nearly the same quality as Komodo Kamado brand, but I'm willing to overlook the flaws at that price.

[bryan]

Thanks! Picked up 15 bags. Milton, FL

Joe

[Stile88]

Thanks going to pick some on way home from work

[ckreef]

Grabbed myself 10 bags. Should last a couple of months anyway.

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[CeramicChef]

I've bought exactly ZERO bags of RO.  I'm decidedly not a big fan of RO.  I don't like concrete, rocks, mill scraps, plastic, metal straps, etc. in my lump.  RO has been going downhill for quite some time.  It used to have a good size distribution; not so much anymore.  I didn't walk away from RO, it walked away from me.

 

"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.". John Ruskin.

[Stile88]

So what kind of lump do you go with CC???

[bosco]

You know something... I have tried some very high end brands of lump over the years and some crummy stuff.  

I just burned off a bag of Argentinian hardwood that's suppose to be the best and I hated it.  

Getting KK lump in Canada is very expensive so not really an option.  

I still really want to try the fogo lump that CC uses eventually. 

But I must say the RO red from the US is awesome.  I really love it.  I am a huge fan and have been burning it for the past few years.  Yes you get the odd rock but it burns great, gets to temp fast and smells awesome 

with all that said mewantkj from the guru alerted me to the sale and I was flying into Buffalo from Vegas today.  I stopped in and picked up 20 bags.  I now have 40 bags stocked in the garage.  

Ken I will give your lump a go soon.  I just need to find a way to get it to my PO box cheap

[Stile88]

20 minutes ago, bosco said:

You know something... I have tried some very high end brands of lump over the years and some crummy stuff.  

I just burned off a bag of Argentinian hardwood that's suppose to be the best and I hated it.  

Getting KK lump in Canada is very expensive so not really an option.  

I still really want to try the fogo lump that CC uses eventually. 

But I must say the RO red from the US is awesome.  I really love it.  I am a huge fan and have been burning it for the past few years.  Yes you get the odd rock but it burns great, gets to temp fast and smells awesome 

with all that said mewantkj from the guru alerted me to the sale and I was flying into Buffalo from Vegas today.  I stopped in and picked up 20 bags.  I now have 40 bags stocked in the garage.  

Ken I will give your lump a go soon.  I just need to find a way to get it to my PO box cheap

You stopped in buffalo and didnt visit me bosco lol 

I bet you had a great time in vegas 

I must say the same i do love the ro i got 10 bags myself today i tried cowboy and another off brand and it sucked

[bosco]

Where are you located??

[Stile88]

10 minutes ago, bosco said:

Where are you located??

I am in west seneca 

[bosco]

Oh wow! We will have to meet up this summer with JonB as well.  He is in Syracuse 

[Stile88]

Just now, bosco said:

Oh wow! We will have to meet up this summer with JonB as well.  He is in Syracuse 

Yea syracuse isnt that far 

Sounds like a plan 

[EGGARY]

1 hour ago, bosco said:

You know something... I have tried some very high end brands of lump over the years and some crummy stuff.  

I just burned off a bag of Argentinian hardwood that's suppose to be the best and I hated it.  

Getting KK lump in Canada is very expensive so not really an option.  

I still really want to try the fogo lump that CC uses eventually. 

But I must say the RO red from the US is awesome.  I really love it.  I am a huge fan and have been burning it for the past few years.  Yes you get the odd rock but it burns great, gets to temp fast and smells awesome 

with all that said mewantkj from the guru alerted me to the sale and I was flying into Buffalo from Vegas today.  I stopped in and picked up 20 bags.  I now have 40 bags stocked in the garage.  

Ken I will give your lump a go soon.  I just need to find a way to get it to my PO box cheap

Bosco, 

Are you able to get some Kamado Joe Lump Charcoal ?  That is some very good charcoal.  I get it at Costco when a Road Show is in the area.

[CeramicChef]

5 hours ago, Stile88 said:

So what kind of lump do you go with CC???

@Stile88 - except for the few occassions I use the KK Coconut Char, I am strictly a FOGO guy.  It has wonderful size distribution (about 75% XL and L, 25% M, and 5% Small and fines), very little detectable odor, it burns clean and hot, it is dense yet lights easily with my MAPP torch, and produces very little ash.  I love the stuff enough to have ordered a 36 bag pallet.  You can get FOGO at amazon or through the FOGO website.

[wilburpan]

I’ve gone through several bags of Royal Oak, and haven’t found many issues with it. I’ve found maybe three rocks over the course of one year’s worth of cooking, and the presence of those rocks didn’t negatively impact my cooks.

I’m working my way through my second bag of Fogo charcoal. This stuff is entirely different. The pieces are huge (the website states 80% of the bag are pieces over 4 inches, and I believe it), and I get considerably less ash production compared to Royal Oak. The one downside is that the pieces are so big that lighting a fire for a hot and fast cook is more difficult. I think that the smaller pieces in Royal Oak do provide an advantage for hot and fast cooks, as there’s more surface area to burn, which helps the fire build faster and provide more heat.

The Fogo website lists both a Super Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal in brown bags, which is what I’ve been trying out, and a Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal in red and green bags, which I haven’t tried yet. The Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal is described as having a mix of smaller pieces of charcoal (70% of medium sized pieces of 2 to 3 inches, 30% 1 1/3 to 2 inches). Here’s a picture from their website that shows the difference.

I’m going to get a couple of bags of smaller-sized Fogo and try it out for fast cooks to see how that behaves.

By the way, if you look at the Fogo charcoal website, you’ll see that the Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal comes in a red bag and a green bag. I emailed them, and they said there’s no difference between the two besides the color of the bags.

Having said all that, it’s hard to beat Royal Oak for $7.88 a bag. I wish I had had time yesterday to stop by my local Home Depot to grab some.

Edited May 21, 2016 by wilburpan

[ckreef]

Interesting on the red and green bag variety. I personally don't like huge pieces of lump. I consistently get better results with a bowl full md/lg sized pieces compared to XL pieces. That's both for low-n-slow or high heat cooks. I know I'm in the minority with this opinion.

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[tony b]

Ken got me to try FOGO and I like it. It does crackle and pop a bit, but not really bad. I put the BA (that's big ass) pieces on the bottom and fill in with the medium and smalls to help get it started with the torch. I have struggled with high temp cooks with it because of the large size pieces, as Wilbur noted. So, if I'm doing one of those, I tend to shy away from the BA pieces and stick to the medium and smalls.

I'm trying another brand, Kebroak, as it got good ratings on Amazon. So far, I'm like it a lot, as it has a more even distribution of piece sizes (not many BA pieces) and a tad cheaper.

http://smile.amazon.com/Kebroak-KHWC40LB-40-Pound-Hardwood-Charcoal

My previous favorite was Weekend Warrior by Wicked Good Charcoal, but the local dealer here couldn't get it anymore. Something about a bad fire at their factory. Need to check back with him again, as that was many months ago.

If folks don't know about the Naked Whiz's charcoal database, you should check it out. You'll be surprised to find out how much charcoal out there is just re-branded Royal Oak.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm