Sweet! Thanks bro.
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While I am fully aware that I'm responding to 3+ month old posts here...

Excel, while I've never seen "Best Choice" brand out here, if it is in fact "Royal Oak" as Brad says it is (I have no reason to doubt him, I'm saying I've never researched it myself since you typically can't buy it here) you should be able to find Royal Oak at Wal-Mart.

One thing to watch for when you buy Royal Oak, and that is that you have to check the country of manufacture on the bags. It's made in 4 different countries now, and supposedly, according to NakedWhiz some of the foreign stuff is crap. I've only used the USA manufactured and have no complaints for the price. Unlike a lot of other lump in that price class, RO isn't made from kiln dried scrap trimmings (ie: fast burning and flavorless).
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I need to look into that myself. This Piggle Wiggly stuff I get is some of the most interesting
stuff I have ever seen. I have gotten other lump that has strips of molding and sections of
board in it, but the P.W. stuff has sections of where branches enter tree trunks, and
LONG strips of twisted oak chunks. For visually interesting, I give it the highest marks.
But although I love lump and thought I would never go back, I think I am going to pick
up a bag of briquets soon to have on hand. I think there is room for both in the smoking world.
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Thanks for the heads up! Heading to Home Depot a little later. Just put a brisket and a pork butt on the smoker. Perfect timing!
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Remember this is an OOOOooollld thread, lol.
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Very true. I have a Big Green Egg and swear by the USA made Royal Oak lump charcoal from WalMart. Never any scrap pieces and I can get 4+ 450* cooks out of about a half a bag or less. Royal Oak also manufactures the Big Green Egg brand.
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The 2x20 for 9.97 sale is back on until Sept. 8. See post 18.
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Royal Oak Briquettes are on sale this weekend at OSH. IIRC they are $5.97 each for a 16 lb bag and if you buy two bags you get free lighter fluid.
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Lighter fluid? EEEEEEEWWWWWWWHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :-):-):-):-):-)
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Eyebrows are overrated
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You can do what you want with the fluid. The prices are still the same for the coal. I don't know if these are good prices or not but I figured I'd say something since you guys were mentioning the brand. I just got started grilling again after years of not doing it. My first few bags were quick light and then I bought a chimney. I like the chimney.

Maybe you'll teach me how to do some smokin' Adam.
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So is food that doesn't have "essence of Naptha seasoning"
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I just buy the large bags of bedding material they make for hamster beds. I usually pick up a bag or two at the pet store when I get my kitty litter beads. Much cheaper! LOL
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16lbs for $5.97 is about $0.37/lb. I don't know if RO briqs are any good or not, or what wood it is made from and were the wood comes from, as I've never used them, but the price per lb is equal to what KF blue goes for at Sam's club (they sell 2x20lbs for $14.99).

The Home Depot sale price of $9.97 for 2x20lbs is $0.25/lb, which is as cheap as KF blue ever gets; actually, it's below cost.

Typically KF blue goes for about $0.40/lb give or take a few cents.

One thing about KF - it might not be the hottest or longest burning, but it's probably the most reliable and predictable briquette out there. Year after year, bag after bag, always the same (unless they tweak the formula, which I've seen them do twice in the last 15-20 years). Unlike some of the other brands where they change from year to year, or even lot to lot, due to spot market buys of wood for their briquettes, and sometimes even changing factories. One of the keys to good Q is consistency, and when your fuel is all over the map for how it burns, it's very hard to be consistent.

Teach you how to smoke food, sure. Just so you know though, in 15-20 minutes I can tell you what you need to know to get started, after that, it's just a lot of practice and the experimentation that will naturally come with it.
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:-) I love the taste of Naptha in the morning :-)

The last thing we used lighter fluid for was to start up bonfires on a damp fall evening.
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The chimney is the greates piece of equipment you can get for grillin. I can't believe I don't
have one, lol. I used to make a foil one every weekend, and it works for a bit, then burns through.
But it DID get the thing going in the same manner. Now I just build a stick fire out of the yard trash
then pile on the coal.

Yup, I had NEVER smoked a single piece of meat, and then one day I went to the BBQ festival
down at memphis in May. I caught the jones something fierce, and I practiced about twice a month,
sometime FOUR weekends a month. Just slab after slab of ribs, dollar after dollar "wasted"
in meat I tasted then basically gave the rest away. that's not entirely true, but when you cook
four weekends in a month, you really shouldn't be eating 3 racks of ribs a week.
I think now I have got my style down to the point where it could be sold for serious money.
But one thing for sure, I don't practice every weekend anymore, lol. but it's FUN!
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Bump. Stocked up again at Lowes. They have the twin pack 20 lbs bag for $9.99. No limit at the stores nearby.
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Home Depot also has a 2x13.9lb pack for $5.88 this weekend.
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Craigslist.

I am down to my last four bags. If I can't find more, I am going with Kingsford Competition. Kingsford Competition is easier to use due to uniform chunks. With real hardwood charcoal (in natural form), the smoker can choke easily due to small pieces taking up all air pathways. Nothing worse when the smoker can't get enough air!
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If you have cash and carry (Oregon, washington, Idaho) they always have mesquite lump hard wood 40lb bags for $14. I exclusively use this for grilling. Any smoking I go with the kingsford.
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