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Kingsford Charcoal Hickory
Kingsford’s charcoal briquettes are available with named accent woods like hickory or mesquite infused into them. This lets you use them as a base coal bed for smoking meats like pork, and poultry with hints of traditional hickory smoke.
Kingsford hickory charcoal can be a convenient alternative for times when you might not be able to source actual hickory wood chips or chunks for your upcoming barbecue.
Hickory smoke is a traditional wood used in a lot of barbecue styles for barbecuing pork, poultry, and even ribs. Though it can just as easily be used for grilling burgers, steaks, and chops over direct flame, with hints of hickory flavor.
You can find Kingsford hickory charcoal at national retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot. A 12-pound bag typically sells for around $10.99, whereas a 12-pound bag sells for $12.99 to $14.99.
The ingredients used in Kingsford hickory charcoal are similar to their original briquettes, with the addition of all-natural hickory wood fibers and a small extra amount of binders. This gives you charcoal briquettes that burn consistently but not quite as hot as original Kingsford charcoal.
The binders and extra wood fibers also leave more ash behind. So, plan on having a little more cleanup, and needing to give your grill a thorough deep cleaning a little more often.
What Is Hickory Charcoal Good For?
Kingsford’s hickory charcoal briquettes are good for smoking meats like pork and poultry that benefit from the flavor of hickory smoke. It makes a great consistent burning coalbed while contributing wafts of rich hickory smoke.
Hickory charcoal is also good for direct heat grilling. The base of the briquettes is the same as Kingsford’s classic charcoal.
What Meats Go Best with Hickory Charcoal?
Hickory is a traditional smoking wood for pork, chicken, turkey, and Memphis-style ribs. You also find hickory being used in Kansas City-style barbecue brisket. A lot of wild game meats also tend to pair well with gentle hickory smoke.
Hickory smoke is also a great accent for fresh, homemade ring and linked sausages. It adds significantly more depth of flavor than classic charcoal briquettes yet doesn’t risk the acrid flavors that can sometimes happen when you put too much pure hickory in a classic sausage smoker.
Where to Buy Kingsford Hickory Charcoal
Kingsford hickory charcoal briquettes are sold in a lot of the same stores where you find original Kingsford charcoal. Prime national retailers to find it for a good price include Home Depot, Walmart, and Target stores.
What Is in Kingsford Hickory Charcoal
Kingsford hickory charcoal uses the same base of charcoal, coal, starch binders, sawdust, and sodium nitrate, with real hickory wood fibers, and a small amount of additional binders.
The hickory wood fibers and binder does tend to leave a little more ash behind than classic Kingsford charcoal briquettes.
Does Kingsford Hickory Charcoal Burn Hot?
This gives you charcoal that burns consistently, at low temperatures, with rich hickory smoke. While it doesn’t get just as hot as original Kingsford charcoal, hickory briquettes still get hot enough to sear meat over direct flame.
Though you should also bear in mind that all the binders and wood fibers leave behind more ash than original briquettes. This means you’ll have more cleanup and need a more frequent deep cleaning if you use Kingsford hickory charcoal as your go-to briquettes.
Should You Buy Kingsford Charcoal Hickory
Kingsford hickory charcoal is great if love to smoke meat and grill food with the rich, classic aroma of hickory. It creates a consistent burning coalbed with easy heat control for barbecuing.
People with charcoal-burning sausage smokers often prefer Kingsford hickory charcoal briquettes to normal briquettes or pure hickory wood chips. It offers better heat control while providing a perfectly balanced amount of hickory aroma in the smoke.
If you don’t care one way or the other about the aroma of hickory smoke from your charcoal, and you only grill meat over direct flame, then you’ll probably get more of the high heat performance you want from Kingsford original charcoal briquettes.
How Much Is Kingsford Charcoal Hickory
You can usually find a 12-pound bag of Kingsford hickory charcoal briquettes for $10.99 at national retail stores. The 16-pound bag sells for $13 to $15.
Bulk stores and prime retailers often sell double bags of Kingsford hickory charcoal on promotional sales around holidays like Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July, and Father’s Day.
These double bag sales usually sell for around $20 to $25, for two 12-pound bags. This is a good, but not a great price per pound for Kingsford hickory charcoal briquettes.
Final Thoughts
You can buy Kingsford charcoal briquettes that are infused with hickory or even mesquite wood fiber in them. It’s a great way to create a strong coalbed for smoking meats like pork, poultry, and fresh sausage as well as searing steaks and burgers over a direct flame with a rich hickory aroma.
If you can’t find real hickory wood for your next barbecue, Kingsford hickory charcoal briquettes can be a great alternative for providing rich hickory smoke. They even tend to offer better heat control than a pure wood fire.
Pork, poultry, and ribs are the most common meats to smoke or even grill with hickory. It’s also great for smoking wild game like venison roasts as well as fresh homemade ring and link sausages with a natural casing.
When grilling over directly flame Kingsford hickory charcoal also does a great job of providing extra hickory flavor to burgers, steaks, and chops. You can also use it when grilling skin-on wild-caught salmon fillets when you can’t find a grill-safe cedar plank.
Kingsford hickory charcoal is sold in most stores right next to their classic charcoal briquettes. You tend to find the best sale prices at national retailers like Walmart, Target, and Home Depot.
On average you can find a 12-pound bag of Kingsford hickory charcoal for around $10.99, and a 12-pound bag for $12.99 to $14.99. During special holidays like Memorial Day Weekend, Father’s Day, and the Fourth of July, you might be able to find double bag sales, which will save you a little bit on the price per pound.
Kingsford hickory charcoal is made from a lot of the same ingredients as their original briquettes, just with all-natural hickory wood fibers and an additional volume of binders mixed in. This gives you charcoal briquettes with the consistent long-burning, and easy temperature control Kingsford is known for, with a touch of rich hickory smoke.