AZ Barbeque.com
BBQ Related Topics => BBQ Fuel Discussions - Charcoal, Lump, Pellets, Wood & Gas => Topic started by: Laveen-BBQ on May 07, 2011, 04:20:14 pm
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Just picked up a 20lb box of this from my boys at BBQ Island (http://www.bbqislandinc.com/).
I am using it to grill some ribeyes for mom's day tomorrow. I will post some pics and an overall review later tomorrow.
We will see if it tops my current favorite, Ozark Oak also purchased from BBQ Island.
(http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3083/38586280.jpg)
(http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/6686/68566442.jpg)
(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/8731/96319234.jpg)
Instead of a bag this stuff comes in a box. Rather fancy for my taste but I am sure it ships well. The contents of the box is a apple/maple mix. I thought this would give a strange flavor to the meat but it turned out great.
(http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8130/13833625.jpg)
When I opened the box I was expecting to find a lot of soot based on the size but there was none.
(http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9797/44208588.jpg)
(http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/2285/75834723.jpg)
As you can see each of these pieces are very similar in size. The contents of the entire box were almost simtetrical. Some were a little bigger than the pieces I am holding but none were really smaller. Each one was probably the size of briquette. This similar in size characteristic made the lighting of a chimminey full of charcoal extremely fast. I would say the entire chiminey was lit in about 8-10 minutes. This is probably about 5 minutes faster than any other charcoal I have fired which is a definite plus.
During the cook the Real Montana burned hot. Not as hot as the Ozark, or Diablo, but it burned hot enough for a real good sear on the steaks. I used about 3 chiminey fulls for 15 steaks (My grill is very deep I designed it so the next version will be shallower). When the cook was done I probably had about a bowl full of ash which I thought was a plus as well.
Overall I like the Real Montana. The best things about it are its uniform size and the amount of ash it leaves behind. The heat it gives off is not a drawback even though it does not burn as hot as some other brands. This could be because of the size of the pieces but I will have to do some more experimenting to know for sure.
If you like lump I would definitely suggest picking up a box or two (I will be going back for another because I know this stuff will go fast) from BBQ Island. They also sell it in a grocery type bag as well but I grill so much during this part of the year the box works best for me.
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Wow. That's some great looking charcoal. This thread slipped thru the top 10 before I ran into it! I'm glad I'm reviewing!
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Wow. That's some great looking charcoal. This thread slipped thru the top 10 before I ran into it! I'm glad I'm reviewing!
I am glad you liked it. I have used all of mine up so I will be back to the store for more. It worked great on my spare rib cook that lasted 10 hours.
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We have had good luck and real positive feedback on this stuff. HOpefully we can keep it in stock- he is very backed up, that last load only took 6 months.
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I very nearly went the extra $ for that today. As it was, the RO lump was nicely medium sized.