Ok everybody I finished my cook test of the new stuff and I have to say, I am fairly pleased. Here is a Link To My Blog Entry about the test.

lookin' good.....I had similar results....i was able to get about 16 hours of good usable fuel.......thanks for well documenting your cook!!!

I posted this in another thread too...

Its done! Just about 18 hours. I did not get to take it to 200 internal temp because the coals literally gave out and the temp started dropping pretty fast. So, I took it off at 194 degrees - not bad; actually, pretty good for this cook. The full ring of coals is 99.9% gone but the ash is a little less than I am used to - so there is definitely an improvement there. Overall, I am happy with the cook and I think I will try another long cook with the new Kingsford to see how reproduceable things are. Here are the finals...

The finished butt!


The remaining coals before I shook down the ash...


Here are the remaining coals after I shook down the ash, I did not empty ash at all during the cook...


Now for a little "Food Porn!"...

Tony,
Nice job with the New Kingsford.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chris Allingham,

quote:

Originally posted by JRPfeff:
I believe what you and the Kingsford scientists say is the absolute truth. But I am not in a Pleasanton R&D lab or running a popular barbecue website.

There is one and only one reason that I will ever light a chimney full of charcoal. To cook something. I'll leave the science experiments and process adjustments to you guys.

When I grill or barbecue, I expect to have the same results I had last week and last year. I will also use many of the same techniques I saw my father use in the 1960's & 70's. This aspect may be a bigger deal than anyone has considered. Much of outdoor cooking is about tradition and family memories. Many of the fondest memories of my youth have to do with watching my father as he grilled every weekend.

I only have two interests in this subject. One is to understand for myself what has changed with the product and to see if I can continue to use it successfully with no more than minor modifications, then to share what I've learned with folks that are interested. My other interest is to help people make their decision based on a body of accurate information. I don't think it's enough for one person to say the product is not good and then everyone assumes that's true without evaluating it for themselves, or at least waiting to see what the general concensus is after a large number of people use it and report their results.

I appreciate what you're saying about repeating the results of last week, last year, and family tradition. If that's really important to you, then you do whatever you have to do to maintain that tradition and those memories. This is not an issue for me, so I'm willing to try to adapt to change.

Some who don't like the new product or were never very psyched about certain characteristics of the old product in the first place may search for a different briquette. Others will use this as an opportunity to move from briquettes to lump. Some will probably figure out how to make the new product work.

In the end, it doesn't matter what any of us chooses, as long as we're having fun and making great barbecue for family and friends.

Regards,
Chris

I don't believe the issue is exaggerated. The v2.0 does not perform as v1.0. This is something with which we must deal. As Chris stated, if minor method adjustments can be made to compensate, I will have no issue. If not, I will adjust to something that works.

I am by no means a Master, but I have gleaned more information from this site than I ever imagined. If anyone can get it, I am positive it will come from here.

I just finished seven racks of babyback ribs with the new stuff. I haven't worked that hard to maintain temp since my rookie cooks. I did mix in some lump for fun, so it wasn't a true test. Nobody complained when they were elbow deep in bones.


I'm pretty sure the sun is going to come up tomorrow, and I'm d*mn sure I have to work tomorrow. Keep smokin'.



BTW...

it still p*sses me off they changed it.

quote:

Update: I just went out to the garage and filled a Weber chimney full with the old and new product, just eye-balling what I thought was full, then I counted the briquettes.

There were 95 of the old briquettes, 91 of the new ones.

Tony, maybe it seemed like you used more because the bag weighs less to begin with and weighs less than you're used to after filling the charcoal chamber with an equal volume of new K.

Regards,
Chris

Chris,

You are right about the size of the coals, they are relatively the same size. I say relatively because the grooves in the new coals equate to mass that is not there unless they have been super compressed and they both weigh the same - I am not sure about that.

I have been pondering this all day and even after my cook test and I dont see a reason to abandon Kingsford based on the new formula. If I move to lump the reason would be because I want a significant reduction in ash. Other than that, I will keep using Kingsford but also explore lump alternatives.

I've held off commenting on the new K-product until I've heard more long low and slow experiences with it...on the one hand, I'm with Chris A....let's keep posting our experiences and experiment with the new product to see if simply takes a slightly altered technique to get it to last...on the other hand...

From all the comments here and elsewhere (good and bad combined) my take on the new product is simple...it will be fine for cooks 10 hours and under without any worry...over 10 hours...well...even with the recent posting of an 18 hour cook at 225 it hasn't met the test...if you put all the comments together it just seems as though the new k-product simply "rides the line" on the long cooks...some find that it will barely reach 18 hours and some experience it falling much shorter...it seems that the new k-product is...well...more delicate/high maintenance on long cooks...and that's not good...

The greater point is NOT that the new product reaches 18 hours but HOW it reaches those longer hours...so, the problem is the inconsistency I'm hearing (implied or otherwise) and the slight doubt/worry it generates...no one can definitively say "yes" it will always chug along to the usual 18 hours or more without a hitch...with the old product I NEVER, EVER worried that it would and that was its selling point...and who wants to worry when you smoke..."worry" and "smoke" should never go together in the same sentence!..."beer" and "smoke" yes! ..."party" and "smoke" yes! ...

Hey, I just want to go to bed, get up, tap the WSM, have no doubt that I can even open the vents a bit late in the cook to turn up the heat if I wish, and finish the cook strong like in the old days when the only worry was the weather and if I can grab a nap before the cook ended...

So, the bottom line is that I'll use the new k-product for shorter cooks but the worry/lack of decisiveness I hear implicitly and/or explicitly mentioned (even with "successful" cooks) will make me turn to trying other options I have available to me on long cooks until I hear from more of us willing to experiment with the new product...in the meantime, I'm going to use the remaining two bags of Wicked Good Competition lump I have left and test the WG: Weekend Warrior lump I have in storage (I'll post results at a later date)...I'm also going to seek out the elusive Duraflame briquet...

So, let's all relax...yup, Kingsford's change does truly suck...but keep posting those experiences (good and bad) and maybe we can figure something out as a group...

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Hunter:
You are right about the size of the coals, they are relatively the same size. I say relatively because the grooves in the new coals equate to mass that is not there unless they have been super compressed and they both weigh the same - I am not sure about that.

They're not super compressed. Each briquette is lighter than before because of the loss of material where the grooves are now and maybe because of the use of more wood char.

The presence of the grooves is not supposed to change the dimensions of the product. Length, width, and height are supposed to be exactly the same between old and new, so a chimney or a charcoal chamber of old and new should be almost exactly the same number of briquettes.

The idea of shaking down the charcoal chamber full of new product to reduce airflow is an interesting approach. It may help counteract, at least to some extent, the increased airflow that occurs due to the Sure Fire Grooves.

Regards,
Chris

quote:

The idea of shaking down the charcoal chamber full of new product to reduce airflow is an interesting approach. It may help counteract, at least to some extent, the increased airflow that occurs due to the Sure Fire Grooves.

Now that I think about it (and that could be dangerous ), packing in the coals to decrease the airflow due to the grooves defeats the purpose of the grooves right?

Just finished a 40lb bag of Hump lump today and i still don't need to empty the ashes out yet. Probably could burn through another 40lbs before having to empty them.

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:
Just finished a 40lb bag of Hump lump today and i still don't need to empty the ashes out yet. Probably could burn through another 40lbs before having to empty them.

My goodness! Where did you get your Humphreys?

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Hunter:

My goodness! Where did you get your Humphreys?

Tony, I get it local. I drive about 30 miles to Reading PA and pick up many bags at a time to make it worth my while. I paid $17.00 a 40 lb bag last year for it. They give a price break if you buy 5 or more bags at a time. Single bag price is $18 or $18.50 a 40.

Since there seems to be a general movement away from K'ford and toward lump, I am gonna try some Lazzarri Mesquite lump for low and slow this season. Naked Whiz finally did some low and slow testing on mesquite lump (might not have been Lazzarri) and found it good. Sparks a lot at first, though.

The pieces are large and from talking to others the smoke is neither overpowering nor disagreeable. It sounds good...and the price is right at $12.00 for a 40lb bag.

If anyone here has tried mesquite lump (any brand) for BBQ, I, for one, would welcome your experiences....

quote:

Originally posted by DW Frommer II:
Since there seems to be a general movement away from K'ford and toward lump, I am gonna try some Lazzarri Mesquite lump for low and slow this season. Naked Whiz finally did some low and slow testing on mesquite lump (might not have been Lazzarri) and found it good. Sparks a lot at first, though.

The pieces are large and from talking to others the smoke is neither overpowering nor disagreeable. It sounds good...and the price is right at $12.00 for a 40lb bag.

If anyone here has tried mesquite lump (any brand) for BBQ, I, for one, would welcome your experiences....

I have used Lazzarri and really liked it alot. I had to have it shipped here which cost's a bunch. Wish i could get it local because it's a very good lump.

I use Lazzarri too. I am happy with it. I can find it in just about every market here in town. I grill on it and use it in my WSM. Wonder where I can buy it in bulk?

quote:

Originally posted by DW Frommer II:
Since there seems to be a general movement away from K'ford and toward lump....

I wouldn't go that far. I'm with Chris, if the new Kingsford doesn't radically change the way I cook with my WSM, then I won't change. If it does, I'll look for alternatives. My first choice would be to find some Duraflame briquettes. I like lump in my grill, but prefer briquettes for long, slow cooks.

Brian, where in Reading do you get your Humphrey's? It would normally be too far for me but I'm in Reading at least once a summer for the Super Chevy Show at Maple Grove. It's a 4 day event ending on Sunday so I could surely take a side trip one of those days if I knew where to go and when they're open. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Kirk Boorman:
Brian, where in Reading do you get your Humphrey's? It would normally be too far for me but I'm in Reading at least once a summer for the Super Chevy Show at Maple Grove. It's a 4 day event ending on Sunday so I could surely take a side trip one of those days if I knew where to go and when they're open. Thanks.

Kirk, From here Linky

'Preciate that Bryan! I'll see if I can't shoot over there while in Reading. Too bad that ain't until July.