Super Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal, Natural, Large Sized Lump Charcoal for Grilling and Smoking, Restaurant Quality, 35 Pound Bag

FOGO is the single best general purpose lump that I have had the pleasure to use. In over 20 years of cooking on kamados of various types, FOGO outshines every other brand of lump across the board. FOGO gives me the size of lump pieces I want for my cooking, the product itself is dense and lasts a long time, lights well with essential no sparking, FOGO burns hot, and produces a minimal amount of ash compared to other mass market lump charcoals. Finally, FOGO has a very mild odor while burning that I find a real advantage. I cook on a large kamado, 32" across, and because of that my firebox is quite large. FOGO provides the best size that accommodates my kamado. The size assortment of this high quality lump is beyond compare. In my experience of using FOGO for a few years now is that the size of the pieces in the FOGO bag is on the order of 75% XL, 15% L, and 10% M. Of course there will always be a few small pieces and there is a minimal amount of dust in the bottom of the bog, but compared to other lumps I have used, this is a deminimus amount. The size distribution allows me to build a lump pile that allows for good air flow which translates to a lump pile that won't die out during long cooks of 12-20 hours. This is a real plus, especially on over night cooks! FOGO is some of the densest lump that I have used. This density is an important characteristic for me in that I get consistent heat from my lump over a long period of time. This high density also means that on those long over night low-n-slow cooks I know that when I fill my fore box with lump I have more than enough lump to last the duration of any cook. I simply don't have to ever worry about my fire extinguishing because the lump is consumed. For all its density, FOGO is pretty easy to light. Unlike some backyard chefs, I don't use a chimney to light my lump. Rather, I use a MAPP Torch. All I do is pull the trigger, point the nozzle at the spot of lump that I want to light, and 10-15 seconds later, I have a good fire established. Further, FOGO doesn't spark much at all. In fact, FOGO is among the lowest sparking lumps I've found. Some lumps spark like crazy and while I wear welders' gauntlets, lumps that spark like crazy manage to have embers that land on exposed skin and that's not on my Top 10 List of things to experience on a regular basis! It seems to me that FOGO burns hotter than other lumps and that relates to both less fuel consumed during a specific cook and the capability to really get my cookers up to high temps in a hurry. Getting my kamados to searing temps quickly is important to me as I have been known to use the reverse sear technique. His temps are also important when I cook pizzas on my kamado. If you never had pizza cooked on your backyard grill, you deserve to taste pizza cooked over FOGO. Unlike cheaper lumps which have a hard odor given off when burning, because FOGO has a mild odor given off when it burns. FOGO gives each pizza cook just the right hint of wood fired flavor. It doesn't overpower the pizza as other lumps can do all too easily. One of the best qualities that FOGO has is that it produces a minimal amount of ash compared to other lumps I've used in the past. I want to cook on my kamados, not spend a lot of time cleaning ash out of the internals of my kamados. If there is one thing I hate it is cleaning sh out of the cooker. While you still get some ash when using FOGO, its nothing that overwhelms you like other lumps. And in my world, that is a BIG plus! Finally, as I mentioned above, FOGO has a really mild odor produced when it burns. This is advantageous in a variety of ways. First, FOGO doesn't take over a cook and flavor a cook in ways the backyard chef may not want. The odor produced by FOGO is just a hint of oak. This means I can lay on a flavor to the cook as I see fit. For instance, if I want to lay on a peach wood smoke I can easily do that with FOGO since it doesn't overpower every other component of smoke I'm trying to achieve. I like to use a very mild flavor like alder on my fish cooks. FOGO allows me to get that flavor without any problems whatsoever. It's this ability to lay on the flavors of smoke that I want rather being confined to very strong flavors like hickory or mesquite that I really like. I've been using exclusively FOGO for the majority of my cooks in the last few years. I've never had a bag that failed to meet my expectations with respect to size, how hot it burns, ash production, or its odor. Every once in a great while, I'll stray off the FOGO reservation and try some other mass market lump that is on sale. I always come back quickly to FOGO. I can recommend it without hesitation. Give FOGO a try and you won't be disappointed. It is, quite simply, the finest conventional lump I have ever used in my years of backyard cooks.

I have used many different brands of lump charcoal in my Kamado Joe ceramic cooker. I began to notice that the lump of the previous brand that I was using was becoming smaller and smaller in size. I have always loved larger size pieces for my Kamado Joe. I heard about Fogo and had to give it a try. Upon receiving the package I was greeted at the door by a very large box. This 35 lb bag of charcoal is large, but still very manageable. After reading the reviews about the size of the lump in Fogo charcoal, I couldn't wait to open the bag and see for myself. After cutting the bag open I was not disappointed. I was very happy to find many very large pieces of charcoal, but at the same time a good amount of medium to large pieces as well. In my opinion, Fogo provides you with the perfect bag of charcoal based on the assortment of sizes of lump. I couldn't wait to put Fogo to the test. I filled up my Kamado Joe with extra large pieces in the bottom and a few medium to large pieces on top. I was curious to find out if the Fogo would take longer to start due to its large size, but to my surprise it did not! I lit a small amount of lump in the middle and closed my Kamado Joe and let it come up to temp. Once I hit 240 degrees I tossed on two racks of baby backs and anxiously waited. During the cook, I was extremely pleased to see that I did not have any fluctuations in temp. I did not have to adjust my cooker for the entire smoke and maintained a temperature within 5 degress with my stock Kamado Joe without any electronics or fans used to control temp. After 4 hours the ribs had exceptional color and perfectly cooked. The real test was the taste test. The ribs had a beautiful pink smoke ring and looked excellent. The taste of the ribs was excellent. You could taste the cherry wood that was used without any odd additional flavors from the charcoal. The next test was a high temp ribeye cook. I found that the large lump provided great airflow and made it very easy to achieve searing temps. After lighting the fire I was shocked to find that my Kamado Joe had reached 700 degrees quicker than ever before and I'm sure it would have continued going much higher with ease. From smoking low and slow to searing steaks at high temps Fogo lump performs excellently! I am definitely sold on Fogo and will not be using any other brand of charcoal in the future.

This was fire! Gave a delicious seasoning and smell to the food.

It is decent charcoal and I like it enough to buy more for my green egg. It sucks that the price seems to be going up quickly. The piece sizes vary substantially based on where they came out of the bag; 6" diameter pieces on top and the bottom 10% being less than 1/2" and another 10% of the bag being unusable dust which just clogs the fire bowl and makes it impossible to reach high temperatures until the dust/small bits burn out. Also, there is tons of thick black smoke for about 10 minutes when you first add new charcoal; don't plan on adding any with food present and keep your grill well away from your house or other structures you don't want stained black. Update: I bought a bag of something else at Costco and I'm still regretting it but can't bring myself to throw it away. I guess I shell out the $50 for another bag. I was paying just $41 for it in April '15.

This version of the charcoal is great. Large chunks, burns hot with little ash … makes for stunning grilled meats

I probably cook with charcoal 2-3 times per week and I am fairly new to buying my charcoal online, so far I have picked it up at the local supermarket or wholesaler. 1. Price Nothing can beat the price if you happen to have a local wholesaler of charcoal. But I have found that Amazon's pricing is very competitive compared to supermarkets, home centers etc. Add to that that it is completely hassle free - you order it, two days later you have it sitting in your garage, I must say for me it's worth the extra money. Time saved, car clean... Happy Wife! 2. Quality I want to break down the quality point into three parts - size, burning, smoke/flavor. Size - I must say I read that this is Premium Charcoal and that it was supposed to be big pieces, but which charcoal manufacturer doesn't claim that. But oh was I in for a surprise. Seriously the entire bag is full of larger then fist size pieces, I put 4-5 pieces into my chimney starter and lit it with vegetable oil soaked kitchen paper and then broke down the pieces once fully lit in my grill. Burning - it lit to my surprise without any sparks. I had dealt with South American charcoal before so was expecting sparks flying everywhere but surprisingly there were no sparks whatsoever. It just lit without a fuss and the 4 big pieces of charcoal I used lasted me for what i was cooking, a couple of steaks, some burgers, corn, chicken etc - I could have kept going but run out of food to grill. Smoke/Flavor - I recently had made the bad experience of cooking with Mesquite Charcoal, I really didn't like that flavor. I prefer a subtle, oaky/woody flavor that is not too overwhelming. This was right up my ally, actually I was standing with my son next to the grill enjoying the smoke and taking it in, waiting for the food to get ready. It was perfectly delicious. So in conclusion, I am actually back here on Amazon to order me some more bags. I really like this and want to have some stock over the holidays. I can only recommend it. Great product!

This was a gift for my father, but I forced him to give me a review of the product so that I may share it with all of you wonderful people on the interweb. He loved it. He said the pieces were of above average size, but that there was a natural range. He loved the fact that it burned hot and burned long. This is lump charcoal that can be used to sustain an 8 smoking job, or be used to get the perfect sear on 28 day dry aged prime NY Strip. You should be able to get more than one use out of most of the coals if you kill the heat once you're done (which helps someone start the next fire). He recommends this product, and he has 63 years of experience putting flame to meat and devouring it. Now it's time to order some for myself.... ***UPDATED*** I have since purchased this charcoal and wanted to update my review for my experience. The pieces are huge, at least at the top of the bag. I've had to get out a hammer and break the pieces apart, because they wouldn't fit in my chimney. Not as hot burning as I'd like for burgers and steaks. This charcoal shines best for lower heat and smoking purposes.

The first image on the left showing many smaller pieces is from a major brand think (small purple chicken)….its a yoke get it, but I distress. The other two images show just how large the majority of the bag contains. The bag was very consistent in size and quality throughout the bag. I read one reviewer’s comment talked about smaller pieces and lots of dust. I had only the slightest amount of dust particulate in my purchase. Literally, I am so impressed with the quality of this charcoal product. It will definitely be my go to brand in the future. Now with regard to the cooking, this was fast lighting and taste was excellent. This first use was for steaks, so the jury is out for long burning. I will update this review when I cook some whole ducks I’m planning on in the next week or so. Enjoy!

As crazy as it sounds because...it is just charcoal...it's worth it.

Where has this been all my life!!! Best value in lump charcoal, superb quality, great distribution of lump sizes. And burns long. I find its ideal for low and slow and it imparts a very mild smoke once up to temp, making it great for adding any other flavour of wood you wish to use to kick up the smoke. I use this on a Kamado Big Joe grill. The bag is huge and satisfyingly heavy. I'll be buying more. It's received excellent reviews elsewhere. It's absolutely worth a try. Prime makes it all the better a service.

Best lump on the market, burns low and slow or hot and fast.

Nice chunks.

Amazing product. Large chunks, easy to light, long burn, ability to attain high heat and sustain low and slow burns. Excellent flavour. I cannot give enough praise to this product. However, it loses points for price. I've found Vision lump charcoal at Home Depot (made for the Vision brand of Kamado BBQ). It is a close second place to Fogo, but is almost 1/3 the price at only $20 per bag (same size bag). I cannot justify the difference in price with so little difference in the products.