quote:

Originally posted by Tom Ferguson:
.....Therefore, for low and slow cooking we suggest that you be ready at the beginning of the BBQ for the early heat and even experiment with a little bit less char coal at each addition to manage the heat and avoid losing any by having to damper it off.

Translated:

Sure you can do 20 hour cook. With the new Kingsford, you add 4 briquets every 45 minutes instead of 6 an hour with the old.

Head Smack,

JimT

I think it's interesting that the response from Kingsford indicates that the mix did change. Someone earlier in this thread or another one (I'm not sure), said that Kingsford said that the mixture was the same. Maybe the same ingredients, but different proportions.

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry N.:
I think it's interesting that the response from Kingsford indicates that the mix did change.

From the article Kingsford Charcoal Briquets: New Design, New Formula for 2006

"In addition to Sure Fire Grooves, which make the briquet light and burn more efficiently, leaving more of the briquet to burn while you are cooking, we have made a significant investment in formula enhancements and high quality ingredients that contribute to longer burn time."

Regards,
Chris

FYI - I just went to my local Wal-Mart, and even though they had a huge display of the new Kingsford, I saw a few odd bags of the old Kingsford (18 lb bag for $6 and change). I then noticed a huge stack of the old stuff on their top shelf. I bought 4 bags, but plan on going back tomorrow to buy the remaining 20 bags they have. I live in Connecticut, so not too many people have been buying charcoal over the winter. That's the only reason I can guess as to why they still have some of the old stuff around.

dude... which wal-mart???? I'm in CT as well....

save a few bags for me!

What other brands are working ? I used Best in the West Lump It was too hot but a great fire
Just way too much ash in this Kingford

Adam- it was the one in Danbury right off I-84. There's plenty there if you want to make the trek up there to get some.

In February I bought 2 bags of the new stuff to give it a fair test and posted this on another forum:

It works just like it says. I filled up a weber chimney with coals and paper in the bottom. I gave the paper a couple hits of cooking spray then lit it. The chimney was ready in record time - about 10 minutes! The down side is of course the faster it burns the faster it burns up! The new briquettes are smaller too so that means they go fairly fast - and there is not as much in the bag. I am using my WSM today and I packed my charcoal ring full - well over half the bag, hmmm; 5 hours later and its all mostly ash now. That is not good since I am used to kingsford lasting 12+ hours on a fully loaded ring. The cold weather may have something to do with this too to be fair. This is my first time using them so I will have to do a couple more cooks to give it a fair shake. If I continue to see these results, I think I will have to find another briquette to use. Otherwise, the meat came out great.

quote:

It works just like it says.

How could this be true? It says - lights faster and "burns even longer". Lights faster I'll give them. But "burns even longer? Anyone else out there think these are mutually exclusive characteristics? Perhaps the manufacturer can clarify, but it sounds to me like false advertising.

Tony - Just did two more cooks with the new stuff this weekend. Definitely burns faster. I'd say a good 1/3 faster than the old stuff. I've now done 4 cooks with it, so it's more than just an anomoly...

Scott - I think there are brands of charcoal out there that light faster and also burn longer than the old kingsford. so by that notion, I guess the two characteristics aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. However, the new Kingsford isn't it... as you suggest, they light faster, but they also burn through faster. Not longer.

- Adam

I did a cook tonight with the new stuff (grilled skinless, boneless thighs). The new product definately burns hotter and lights faster. It was fine for my grilling tonight, though I had to adjust to higher heat. Kingsford's research people have to have rigorously defined what is meant by "burns longer". They couldn't defend their claims without it. Maybe it burns longer within a certain temperature range or under some other set of controlled conditions. In practice however, in real world scenarios, perhaps not. More testing is in order

Scott - you are on the money. Accorging to the Kingsford official press release, it burns longer as follows: "13 percent increase in cooking time at a temperature over 380 degrees Fahrenheit -- new briquets offer a longer burn time"
http://tinyurl.com/9s4eg

Bill, tried using lump for the first time this weekend. A little trickier than briquettes. But definitely a keeper.Good bye Kingsford. I may buy a small bag to start my lump.

Congratulations Paul!

I mostly start long lump cooks with some lit charcoal. Although there may be some conditions that may warrant charcoal use in the future, the quality of flavor of lump is just too much a difference over charcoal.

What kind of lump did you use?

quote:

Originally posted by paul h:
Bill, tried using lump for the first time this weekend. A little trickier than briquettes. But definitely a keeper.Good bye Kingsford. I may buy a small bag to start my lump.

Paul, Which lump did you use?

Tony

I used Royal Oak. I bought a bag of that and a bag of Nature Glo just to see which one I preferred. Funny, in the bag ,eventhough the both weigh the same ,the Nature Glo feels heavier.I had read a lot of the previous posts about lump and made sure I filled in the empty spaces on the grate. Tony, I volunteered to judge up in Carmel this year. Maybe I'll see you up there.

Chris,

Thanks for the link to the press release. There it is then - 13% more burn time at >= 380 degrees. In other words, the stuff is optimized for grilling. I can't figure out what they mean by same number of uses per bag though. Is that if you count briquettes? If there's the same number of briquettes per bag and each briquette is smaller, how could a chimney of the new stuff weigh less? The comment from the company about more wood char in the product is interesting. Maybe it burns hotter for longer because there's less filler (ash). Wouldn't that be ironic? In any case the direction is clear - hoard the old stuff for the WSM and grill on the new.

Have only tried it grilling so far. I probably wont be using it for smoking after reading all this.

Bonanza!

I found 11 bags of the old Kingsford today at Lowe's and barely got them into the car. People were really buzzing in the parking lot...."Look at that old gal trying to steer those 2 buggies full of charcoal to her car!" Several wanted to come to the party. I may have to store my stash in the living room.

Lowe's also carries Royal Oak briquets. Is it worth my while to look for more old Kingsford or is the general consensus that Royal Oak briquets make an equal substitute for Kingsford?

Rita

Rita that is a great question. I hope there are some Royal Oak users who'll share their experiences.