Cowboy 20 Pound Hardwood Lump Charcoal

I knew this charcoal was good when I first opened the bag and saw the nice big chunks alongside some smaller ones. It got even better when I got the first whiff of smoke after I started the fire. This smell was different than the chemically smell of the other charcoals. This was sweet and woodsy. The way it should be! The burntime was very long as well.

Bought about 7 bags and each one has had white stones in them that I keep finding when clearing out the fire pit. Spoke to a friend who recommended cowboy and he found one as well in picture below. The cynic in me thinks this is a way to get the bag to weigh more. The hopeful person in me wants to think this is scooped up in the process but hearing about others who have found various metal objects in their bags makes me concerned. The mix is inconsistent too with one bag having tiny pieces which burn way too quickly and others with large chunks only.

Here's the thing; Cowboy is by far the BEST charcoal I've ever used!!! The charcoal lights quickly and easily, the heat is easily modulated and predictable, and the coals last a long time. I've never ran out of heat before the food was done - and I've cooked for a 150 person wedding one one batch of coals. I have nothing but rave reviews for using the charcoal. But...and I'ts a BIG BUT...Sometimes the pieces are so broken up in the bag that I only get 60% of usable charcoal. It's kind of like when all the cereal is broken up into tiny little pieces in the box of rice chex. It's gotten progressively worse over the last 4 years and it's super frustrating. Having said that I now look at it like I'm paying 20-40% more for what I get. I've even resorted to squeezing the bags to see how much of the bag contains usable charcoal versus useless dust.

At least half of every bag was fine powder that is unusual. It's also suppose to be all hardwood but hard to believe when it snap crackles and pops the way it does. :( guess you get what you pay for. Only plus was it was delivered right to the house. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

I've bought bag after bag of your brand and I continue to be disappointed. I'm not even sure why I continue to waste my money. Every bag I have bought had trash in it from pieces of cans, 2x4s, wire mesh now I've found what seems to be a piece of metal tubing of some sort. When you light it, it cracks and pops and stinks. Good quality lump doesn't do any of that.

Very poor quality, you get some good pieces but have the bags are small broken pieces. Shake is useless for cooking, red oak brand is way better. I bbq once week tried your brand for roasting a pig, had to use more than necessary sorry but I will not use or recommend your brand.

I'm new to the lump charcoal game but I've read enough to know which way the wind is blowing. I also admit that I bought 2 bags of this thinking that it was the same as the Southern Style lump charcoal also from Cowboy. It's not. It sparks like crazy, smells like burning oil and leaves a ton of ash. I'm going to be returning the second bag of this stuff and the remainder of the first bag will end up in the trash. I wouldn't cook my dinner over a garbage fire, which is basically what this is.

I bought a 34 lb. bag of Southern Style Lump Hardwood at a local retailer a few months ago and finally opened the bag which has been sitting motionless in the garage since purchased. I'm was very disappointed to discover that the so-called lumps were no larger than an average briquet.

Bought a bag of this charcoal hoping the bad reviews were wrong. Opened it and maybe a few large pieces, the rest were so small they wouldn't even stay on the grate. Returned and got something else.

Absolutely the worst lump I've ever tried - very small pieces and a very strong sour smell. It's hard for me to believe this is hardwood, oak, charcoal. Everything I cooked had a strong, strange flavor and the smoke coming off this lump was awful. My low and slow cook was a disaster- had to pull everything off and light another full load of charcoal.