In a pinch, I was able to find some lump mesquite at Cermack Produce on north kedzie. It was called "el mexicano" in quite a generic looking bag. I was not holding out much hope for it, but it really surprised me with it's quality. As was noted before people don't always wnat a mesquite flavor in their food and while i did smell it at first when lighting the chimney, it was very subtle. I smoked my turkey with hickory and i am not sure, but i don't think i tasted any mesquite in the final product. At least if it was there, the hickory smoke was strong enough to mask it.

Here are some pictures of the coal (and what it smoked, just for fun!), There were actually lumps too large to fit in the chimney, which i take as a sign of quality. There were practically no crumpled or small chunks in the bag. Cost was $4.99 for about 7Lbs.

Cermak Produce
4234 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60618
(773) 442-8135

Alright, where's the good stuff these days now that it's 2014? we were just talking charcoal in the Smoked Meat Everyday thread so I thought I'd resurrect this thread.

A1 for lump?

https://a1countryfirewood.com

A1 for lump?

https://a1countryfirewood.com

We use A1's lump on our grill...they are hands down the best source in Chicago for Smoking/grilling. I've mentioned this in another thread (can't remember where now) - but these guys just know what they are selling, while most other places don't. The BBQ Wood Box side of the business is run by John Cunningham, a BBQ Guy, and he sources woods/charcoal specifically for BBQ'ing and Grilling. They supply wood for 84 restaurants and breweries now - anyone cooking with wood/charcoal should check them out. (again, no affiliation - just a very happy customer).

Royal Oak natural lump charcoal has replaced toilet paper, yeast, flour, hand sanitizer, and fresh ground burger meat as the disappearing, actually disappeared, pink rabbit of shopping. Notice I say natural lump, as the Royal Oak brand briquets, quick light etc are mostly available. I rather cut off a toe than use match-lite, quick-lite charcoal.

Frontier seems available, its crap, and Fogo and a few "high" end types for outrageous sums, almost $40 for 20/lbs. Kingsford, widely available, ubiquitous, everywhere from the grocer to hardware store. We went to Home Depot yesterday, there were Hundreds of bags of Kingsford, in the outdoor section and at least three Giant end-caps.

None of the small to big box hardware stores have it in stock, even Restaurant Depot is out of stock. Berger Brothers is out, no stock, hasn't seen Royal Oak lump in weeks.

Kingsford Kingsford everywhere and not a drop to burn

Found this yesterday. $7.?? can't remember exactly, for a 15# bag.

Now to find the wood, then on to lesson 1.

We have switched to Rockwood supplied by the BBQGUYS on-line.
https://www.bbqguys.com/rockwood/all-na ... lbs-3-pack
It’s the top rated by the Naked Whiz.
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumprankpoll.htm
We think it’s excellent.
-Richard

budrichard wrote:We have switched to Rockwood supplied by the BBQGUYS on-line.

No doubt Rockwood is high quality lump charcoal. Couple of problems, at least from my perspective. Cost, $1.66/lb very pricey. Shipping, and handling in general, tends to break lump into overly small pieces.

If I could buy Rockwood locally for under a buck a pound I'd pounce like a Ninja Turtle on a slice of pizza.

I use 5 to 7 pounds of lump per session, at least for the way I've been cooking lately. Have 80/lbs of Royal Oak lump charcoal on hand, enough for ~maybe~ a month.

Kingsford Kingsford everywhere and not a drop to burn.