quote:

Originally posted by Dan Bond:
Chris could you please post some of the places that they gave you, I'm in the Chicago area and may want to try some. Thanks

Hi, Dan.

In Chicago, I talked to Brian at Royal Oak Sales at 630.368.0900. That's the local sales office. He's a great guy to talk to and he and all his buddies use the Chef's Select. He can point you to some retailers. I believe it was he that even offered to drive some out to me in the trunk of his car!!!

Also, I talked to Kurt at Charcoal Supply Co, at 312.642.5538. They are the same place as Berger Brothers, Inc. located at 1186 N. Cherry Ave. in Chicago.

Several liquor stores closer to me sell it such as Saveway Liquors in Geneva and Armonetti's in Woodstock.

I wish this stuff was more available, as it just kicks Kingsford's a$$, at least from a ash and smell standpoint. It lights fast and burns quite long.

Let us know what you find! Tell ROyal Oak that there needs to be more distribution!

Chris

quote:

Originally posted by Willie H:
Craig- nice to hear. What brand did you use?

I like B&B oak, mostly because it seems to have less bit's/dust than others I've tried. I often blend mine with briquets- but I only add lit briquets. For Minion I will use lump piled up then add lit briquets to the top. I'm one of those people that notices the bad smell from lighting briquets.

Willie,

The lump was Wicked Good Lump. Pretty hard to find, but it was highly rated on naked whiz (?) web site. Burned long, slow, and was easily controlled in wsm on a chilly breezy night. It's a little more expensive than royal oak but had lots of medium and large pieces.

I'm gonna do ribs next weekend with royal oak, and will post my findings then. I am not afraid of good lump anymore.

Chris thanks for getting back on the venders who sell RO. I will try and find some around the Chicago area and give it a try.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve A.:
I have not used the new Kingsford yet, but I did find a deal on the old ones. At Home Depot today they had the new Kingsford 2 pack of 24 lb. bags for $11.99. They had a few of the old 2-24 LB. packs not priced, but when scanned at the checkout they are priced at $7.98 . Is anyone finding this price at Home Depot? Here is the old UPC to look for: 44600 71158

Yep. Home Depot in West Des Moines had a pallet of old Kingsford twin packs in the standard location, priced at 7.98/pack.

Four packs made it home with me - decent price if nothing else.

Jarrod

The new Kingsford does light faster as advertised. I'm now looking at burn time. The BTU content seems to be simular.

Jarrod,
I scored a double at HD for $9.98 Wednesday.
Guess the're trying to get rid of it.

I think the folks at Kingsford have figured out that their real competition is the gas grill. As gas gains in popularity, their primary market of old school grillers shrinks, and so they have to respond with a product that delivers the convenience of gas. Personally, I grill over charcoal a lot more than I BBQ, so I'm looking forward to giving the new stuff a try. I will probably switch to a premium briquette like Duraflame hardwood or lump for BBQ. Trouble is, the Duraflame product is hard to find. Duraflame is also applying pressure to the market by introducing a fast lighting product and a hardwood briquette. I'm sure that's part of the logic behind the change as well.

Scott hit the nail on the head. The enemy is gas. Next years new Kingsford may actually benefit us.

NEW NO ASH KINGSFORD !!! Coming to a store near you soon.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Steve Petrone,

Well, you guys and gals have done it now.

This thread caught the attention of Kingsford. I received an e-mail today from one of their scientists who is already trying to test "low and slow" using the WSM and Minion Method to see how the new product performs. They want to talk to me to find out more about how we operate our cookers and to make sure they understand the Minion Method correctly.

I'll have to bone up on these message threads before my discussion with them, and I will report back here what I learn.

Regards,
Chris

Chris
It is nice to see that someone is listening.

This has to be a sign that there enough folks cooking low and slow to be of interest to Kingsford. Good sign.
Jim

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jim Minion,

You think maybe thay've seen a decline in sales since the new product introduction and they're doing some market research?

Chris,

Thats great. This is evidence that Kingsford is a company that cares about what it''s customers want. I doubt they are seeing a decline in sales already, especially this time of the year.

You know, we may wind up with a better product from Kingsford than we had before made for a slow burn. If they are testing the Minion method and devotong time to research this could be the best thing that has happend with Kibgsford yet.

Jeff

That's good to hear. Bet they've heard about this thread and several others on the same subject. Plus with the competition season kicking into gear they might have gotten worried when the early contests saw less Kingsford used than last year.

quote:

Well, you guys and gals have done it now.

This thread caught the attention of Kingsford.

Chris,

Nice to know that we have made an impression with them.Good luck with your discusion with them.

Ray

I bought a bag of new knigsford, not knowing there was a change. What a bag of crap. I cant believe they thought this was an improvement. I will never buy another kingford product again. As far as this bag goes. It will only be of use if I place it behind my back tire to keep my jeep from rolling out of the driveway, providing the bag hold together.

That's great that they called and I hope we end up with a better product in the end. I just hope that they do not use this as a marketing ploy to sell more product. I can just see the Minion Method on the back of Kingsford bags at some point called the "Kingsford Method". Hopefully not unless Jim M. gets some royalties!

Alright!!! Chris - kudos for creating such a good forum that can pool the collective opinions and insights of a community in such a way that voices are heard.

Based on my experience here here I'm hoping that the new product can be modified in such a way that we can get the good old burns out of it. There just isn't a comparison to kingsford in terms of its ubiquity and price...

here's to hoping...

I needed charcoal and after reading all of the comments about the new formula was a bit dismayed when I visited Costco today and found they only carried the new Kingsford. I made the purchase anyway on the basis I really should try it once, but am mentally preparing myself for the same "hey, this isn't as good as the original" moment I had when trying "new" Coke back in the mid-80s. Some things weren't meant to be tinkered with. Maybe this is all a big ruse to market "Kingsford Classic" in a few months.....

I bought some new Kingsford today at Sams. funny thing is I have enough of the old for an all nighter. I do need my sleep.
Kudos to Kingsford for listening.

Chris,

Glad to hear Kingsford finally got wind of our complaints. I'm sure that by now they have seen most, if not all of the disgruntled posts we have made, carrying on about how inferior the new charcoal is for our purposes. It would be a godsend if they were to develop a charcoal geared toward slow and low cooking. If they really are going to investigate this, welcome them to start some posts here on the board. If they are willing to listen to all of our input, we might be able to help them create a charcoal better than the original kingsford. I am sure (back me up here guys and girls) that everyone would be more than happy to talk directly with kingsford about how to fix this problem. To all people adding posts: If they are willing to do this, please dont just tell them "new kingsford sucks" but put a positive twist on it and offer constructive input. If we do nothing but tell them how much they suck, their presence on this board may be very short lived and unproductive.

Smoke on

Hunter