Big Green Egg Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: July, 2002 Date Of Latest Update: December, 2007 Purchased From: Barbecues Galore Date Purchased: 6/29/2002 Price: $11.95 Weight: 20 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: "Hickory and other hardwoods" Strange Material?: None Scrap Lumber Pieces?: None Smell: Nice mild smoke smell. Country of Origin: USA Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Photos of Contents: Click Here Other Photos: Click Here Photo of UPC Code: Click Here Contact Information: Click Here Rate And Comment On This Charcoal: Click Here Commentary This is some nice lump. It is manufactured by Royal Oak for Big Green Egg. We have heard rumors that Royal Oak saves their best lump for BGE. We have reviewed Royal Oak's own brand and found it to be as good as the BGE lump. This bag consisted of mostly usable sized pieces, very few chips and little dust. We found some unburned pieces, but probably only 8-10. Some of the lump comes from the edges sawn off of logs. You could see saw marks on one side and bark on the other. This was by far, the most bark we've seen so far, but then it appears to be all good wood, some the edges from a lumber mill. Some people don't like bark and claim it has a bitter flavor, so if you are one of them, you might want to pick through the lump to get the bark out. As for smell, this lump has a very mild smokey smell, less strong that, say, Maple Leaf. One other word about what we found in the bag. Check out the photos and you'll see we found some funky looking rainbow pieces. These pieces were definitely the same type of wood as the rest of the bag. We believe that some pieces, depending on whatever, come out this way. However, these pieces were NOT pine or some other funky wood that you wouldn't want in your grill. Also, since this lump is made by Royal Oak, you might wish to read the review of Royal Oak for more information. Normally, we don't take the price into account in rating lump charcoal since it can often vary greatly depending on where you buy it. However, Big Green Egg lump is consistently one of the most expensive charcoals on the market. Considering you can get the same charcoal from Royal Oak at half the price, we feel this knocks this charcoal down a notch to our Recommended rating. To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. Now that you have read our review, if you have used this charcoal and would like to rate it and leave your comments, Click Here To view reader ratings of all brands, Click Here. Other Information None. Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "100% Natural Lump Charcoal" "Big Green Egg charcoal is 100% natural lump charcoal. It is premium charcoal and has significant advantages over ordinary charcoal briquettes. It is specially processed from hickory and other hardwoods. No additives or fillers are present, resulting in clean and even burning. It lights easily. It burns hotter than charcoal briquettes and lasts three to four times longer. There is very little ash, and there is less cleanup when you're through. Your tastebuds will notice the difference. It is a perfect companion for the Big Green Egg, the World's Best Smoker and Grill." "Manufactured exclusively for the Big Green Egg Co., Royal Oak" Lighting Instructions 1. Fill firebox about halfway full. Charcoal should be slightly above airholes. 2. Use electric charcoal starter. Place charcoal over electric starter and plug into outlet. 3. Wait until six (6) pieces of charcoal are glowing. Remove electric charcoal starter (about six minutes). Close dome, leaving both drafts wide open. 4. When temperature gauge reaches 300 degrees F, reduce draft to maintain temperature. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Those are 1 inch squares on the measuring bar. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. There were about 8-10 pieces of wood which hadn't been converted to charcoal. There were saw marks on many pieces, but if you turn them over, you find bark. These are obviously just edges sawn off of logs, not tongue and groove, etc. The piece on the right had saw marks. It's hard to see them in the photo. The piece on the left also had saw marks, but you can see the bark on the other side. Here were some odd pieces. I've never seen moon rocks or creosoted pieces in any lump I've bought, and I wonder if these pieces are similar to what others have reported? The piece in the center was very shiny at the right angle, while the other two have a rainbow color effect. Closer examination of these pieces showed that they are the same wood as all the rest of the bag. Some pieces just come out looking funny. Other Photos None. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information www.biggreenegg.com 3414 Clairmont Road Atlanta, GA  30319 (404) 321-4658