I'm using Cowboy lump charcoal in my chimney.

I have 2 questions:

#1. Should I wait for the lump to get lit at the top of the chimney,
or half way up the chimney before I dump into the grill?

#2. When I dump the lump, do I want to dump it into a pile or spread
it out? And does spreading it out cause the lumps to cool and lose
their heat? Or do they need to be together in order to retain their
heat?

meatnub wrote:

> I'm using Cowboy lump charcoal in my chimney.

There's your problem right there.

Oh - you didn't have a problem. Yet.

Seriously, I'd avoid. I'd use Kingsford before I'd use Cowboy.
I've been burned by them twice - putting some sort of treated or
non-wood (plastic?) floor scarpings into the bags of lump. I'm
not going to fall for it a third time.

That goes for Whole Foods lump, Fresh Market, and a few other
brands that come in 8.8lb bags that Cowboy charcoal makes for
re-branding.

-sw

On Aug 26, 1:43*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
> meatnub wrote:
> > I'm using Cowboy lump charcoal in my chimney.
>
> There's your problem right there.
>

Yeah, Cowboy is (s)crap.

And you don't say for what you're using it, grilling or BBQ, and what
sort of container, a bowl like on the WSM or a firebox grate.

Sqwertz wrote:

> meatnub wrote:
>
> > I'm using Cowboy lump charcoal in my chimney.
>
> There's your problem right there.
>
> Oh - you didn't have a problem. Yet.
>
> Seriously, I'd avoid. I'd use Kingsford before I'd use Cowboy. I've
> been burned by them twice - putting some sort of treated or non-wood
> (plastic?) floor scarpings into the bags of lump. I'm not going to
> fall for it a third time.
>
> That goes for Whole Foods lump, Fresh Market, and a few other brands
> that come in 8.8lb bags that Cowboy charcoal makes for re-branding.

I have been avoiding "Full Circle" lump at the grocery store, because
it came in the dreaded 8.8lb bag. However, the Naked Whiz now has a
review up:

<http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag77.htm>


Looks to be "Cowboy free", so I might give a it a try. The local
supermarket last year carried both Kingsford lump and Royal Oak, but
this year went to just the Full Circle.




Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

On Aug 26, 2:23*pm, meatnub > wrote:
> #1. Should I wait for the lump to get lit at the top of the chimney,
> or half way up the chimney before I dump into the grill?
>
> #2. When I dump the lump, do I want to dump it into a pile or spread
> it out? And does spreading it out cause the lumps to cool and lose
> their heat? Or do they need to be together in order to retain their
> heat?

#1: Depends on how big a fire you plan to have and how soon you want
it going. Generally, I use a whole chimney to start with but never
let the whole thing get going before dumping it out. I basically use
the chimney as a measuring cup for how much lump to burn at a time.


#2: Depends on what you're cooking. If you're doing a smoke session,
there's really no need to spread out the coals especially if you're
like me and doing off-set cooking in the same chamber (I use a 55
gallon drum). OTOH, if you're grilling a lot of stuff, spreading out
the coals will get you more area to have the meat over.

-frohe

"meatnub" > wrote in message
...
> I'm using Cowboy lump charcoal in my chimney.
>
> I have 2 questions:
>
> #1. Should I wait for the lump to get lit at the top of the chimney,
> or half way up the chimney before I dump into the grill?


Wait for flames to shoot out of the top.

>
> #2. When I dump the lump, do I want to dump it into a pile or spread
> it out? And does spreading it out cause the lumps to cool and lose
> their heat? Or do they need to be together in order to retain their
> heat?

Are you dumping them on top of other coals Minion Method style, or just
dumping them into a grill?


I wouldn't put cowboy in my chimney. I'd toss it in the garbage can. Royal
Oak can be had for good price at Wal-Mart, and I've had reasonably good
success with Full Circle. Cowboy, however, is really not very good,
especially for overnight cooks as it burns way too fast leaving your meat
sitting over a dead fire while you sleep peacefully with no knowledge of the
problem.

--
It's Fosco, Dammit,
And I'm Mo-Bile!