Review of Stubb's 9-Pound All-Natural Charcoal Briquets

Customer Ratings:

I have been using stubbs briquets for years and I LOVE them. They are very reasonably priced and since they are all natural, you get (in my opinion) the best of both worlds when it comes to comparing briquets vs lump charcoal. You get all the heat (well nearly all...I'd say 95% based on my entirely non-scientific personal experience) of lump charcoal and the convenience of briquets (even sized shapes so your heat distribution is better, burn longer, don't waste a lot due to all the tiny little pieces that are too small and fall through the grates etc).

The first thing I noticed when I used stubbs for first time was the smell....or lack thereof I should say. I grew up during the lighter-fuel-on-pile-of-kingsford-briquets years and had grown accustomed to the smell..... so much that I never really realized how bad it is....and how bad for you. If you get regular briquets you're paying for chemical binders, fillers, and probably even coalthat's why there's that smell.

Not So with stubbs. Light up fast and hot with very little smoke and a very little smell. (just smelled like the first few sticks of dry kindling when you're lighting a campfire). So I LOVE stubbs briquets.... If you've read this far you're probably wondering why I gave these briquets 2 stars....so let me explain:

The review above was for the stubbs I would get at my local lowes/walmart (have never been able to find them anywhere else here in northern california). The last few months (yes I grill all through the winter because I'm weird like that) I've been noticing stubbs is getting harder and harder to find. I even went to the webpage on the bag and could only find information about their lump charcoal not their briquetts... I started to panic. Natural briquets are the gold standard as far as I'm concerned and they're very hard to find. only a few brands out there make them.

Long story short, after buying the last bag I could find at a local store, I started to worry the product had been discontinued. I found some for sale here on amazon and bought them up. I was very happy until I lit them up for the first time.... They were much smokier and stinkier than any stubbs briquets I've ever used (I've probably gone through 30 bags in the last couple years)...not quite as bad as a regular briquet...not that chemical smell... just stinky woodsmoke. It's almost like they weren't completely finished in the furnace and still had some wood resin in them. After they burned down they were hot and clean like stubbs always has been but the smell and smoke at the beginning was pretty bad.

I looked all over the bag and couldn't find a single thing different until I found the country of origin: My bag of stubbs from the local store has "made in the USA" on it and the ones from amazon read "product of Paraguay". I have no idea if it's just a coincidence or if they're now being made offshore and the quality control isn't as good. I just know that both bags I ordered on amazon were very noticeably lower in quality than what I'm used too. Since the country of origin is the one and only thing that's different on the bag, I'm forced to assume that's the culprit.

So I'll close this long late-night rambling review by saying this: if you can find stubbs at a local store and it has "made in the USA" on the side, buy it.... buy every last bag. The stuff is nothing but top notch hardwood charcoal and 5% plant starch as a binder. It'll burn hot and clean and you'll be in grilling heaven.... if you're not sure about the country of origin...Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware)

PS: If you find somewhere to buy real stubbs (or have any other natural briquet recommendations, please post it here: I'd be very grateful!)

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This bag was not my best purchase.. I got a larger bag from Lowes previously and I thought I was getting a deal from Amazon from this purchase. Different sized bag from a different country. The listing was for 6 bags at the advertised price but I just got one bag... Amazon customer help was great and took care of things right away.

Amazon briquettes vs USA Lowes has a few differences that will change your entire grilling/smoking process... More ash and lower flavor is what I can say. Didn't burn as hot nor held temp as long as the USA stuff. I had to reload briquettes one time as I was smoking pork butt and couldn't believe that the temp dies down (measured by old trusty thermometer) after the 2nd hr. Taste wasn't intense. No, I am not BBQ connoisseur to say the least, but I am particular about the slightest adjustments as I am striving to grill/smoke the best meats that will make me happy. 5 year old Weber grill and 3 year old barrel smoker, marinating and seasoning, and meat cut size hasn't changed but just the briquettes/charcoal/wood inside has. Everyone has their own theories, best combo for me has been the traditional royal oak red bag briquettes and walmart mesquite chunks in a 50/50 mix. We are all into grilling/smoking this summer, happy eating!

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i like stubbs charcoal it buans with even heat it lites easily (i use an electric lighter) it gives the food a great flavor but ity was advertised as 6 bags for $11.00 a great price. when i got it, it was only 1 9# bag for $11.00. i van get a 15# bag for $9.00 at lowes. also this was not the same ti didnt light as easily it didnt burn as long it didnt give the food the same flavor. the only differance i could see was tne bags from lowes made in the USA. the bags from amazon made in paraguay

Honest reviews on Stubb's 9-Pound All-Natural Charcoal Briquets

Most briquet charcoal today is petroleum based. The other alternative is lump charcoal, such as cowboy. Unfortunately, it does not have a uniform size. Once lit in the chimney, it starts falling through the grate in the chimney, often through the charcoal grate in the grill itself. This is the best solution. Hard would charcoal in a briquet form. Charcoal dust held together with a vegitable binder, it stays were it's suposed to. It heats evenly and is much easier to handle than lump