Rancher Charcoal

[motley que]

yesterday as i was rearranging the bbq storage area in the garage (happy wife mod) I looked at my 3 bags of old K and felt whats the big deal, especially now that i have 25 bags of rancher. I used it for a full week on a aussie walkabout grill and had great luck. sometimes the fire was too hot, sometimes not hot enough, but think back to when you first used K. it took a little time to figure out what worked for ya

 

[bowhnter]

Actually it's still climbing...up to 285*...I don't think I will use it for anything but grilling just to get rid of the bag now. My vents have been 100% closed for 1.5 hrs.

 

[Papa Hogg]

I have used Rancher 2 times & will be using it again this weekend in my BWS. The first 2 trys were very successful, I was able to hold at 220* for the entire cook (cook 1 was 14 hours & cook 2 was 11 hours). Both times I got over 11 hours on 9 lbs. I had no issues getting the smoker to temp and no issues holding temp where I wanted it. My only issue with Rancher so far has been the ash, it produces more than lump. I emptied the ash pan in cook 1 after 11 hours when I added some charcoal, & did not empty the ash pan at all the 2nd cook since I did not refill the fire box. The ash did not effect my cook or temp it just produced more ash than lump, so not really a complaint just an observation. I have over 300 Lbs of this stuff in my garage that I paid $2.99/bag for, if it goes on sale over the 4th of July I will probably buy a few more bags for my collection.

 

[bowhnter]

Well, I'll quit bad mouthing it for now i guess

My center is out of round (replacement already shipped) and once I finally got that turned so it quit sucking in the air at the bottom...back down to 250 already. :roll:

Bet you guys that bought 100 bags and haven't used it yet are glad to hear that :biggrin:

 

[Papa Hogg]

Glad to hear it is starting to work out for you...for the price this charcoal can't be beat Hope the cook turns out good!

 

[backyardchef]

I used it at the Big Apple BBQ Block Party this weekend and I thought it was great. Temperature didn't vary more than 20 degrees or so with little attention. This was on Large Marge, the Meadow Creek.

Used the Rancher to get the fire started and threw in a handfull here or there for the coal bed. We didn't burn more than 2 bags the entire weekend. We switched over to Texas Post Oak for the rest of each day's burn....

The best part was that there was SO much less ash than Kingsford.....

 

[bman]

I have only used it for grilling, but it is now my charcoal of choice. Dont have to use as much, less ash. This stuff is great. This stuff has kingsford beat, hands down.

 

[RIX]

Well this stuff sounds great. From what I have seen around here in MN kingsford and royal oak are the only options, I will have to check our local HD and see what they have. Good info guys.

 

[big blue bbq]

I used mine this past weekend in a contest. Got a good 4.5 hours on a brinkman smoke n pit with no mods. Did get a little hotter than K but as for ash, it may be a bit more than lump, but far less than K I thought.

 

[Ernie3]

Tried it out too this past monday and was pretty impressed!

 

[Bigmista]

Used it at contest this past weekend. Put about 12lbs in the UDS and lit about midnite. Settled at about 215 with one vent open. Overnight temps in the 50's. Two briskets hit 195 about 11am. Pulled them and put them in the cooler. Put in a couple of buts that were have trouble getting up to temp. Opened the vents and the temps shot up to about 300 for another hour and a half. Took the butts out and shut all of the vents and exhaust holes down. At about 3:30, went to dump the ash and there was still about 5lbs. of coal still in the basket and some of them were still lit.

Rancher is pretty cool.

 

[biffleg]

Two briskets hit 195 about 11am. Rancher is pretty cool.

Bigmista -

Out of curiosity - what size were your briskets? Doing a brisket this Saturday - first time for a brisket in my drum and trying to get an idea on the quicker cook time. How much quicker can you count on than the standard 1.5 hr per pound. I know ... it's when the temp says its done ... just trying to ballpark it.

Thanks!

 

[Brauma]

Aint nothin wrong with Rancher now.

Ive only used it once. I choked it down a little too much and my temp dropped pretty fast. (my fault) It took a while for it to come back up to speed compared to K. But I think this is because the Rancher is denser than K. At least it feels denser and heavier than K. IMHO.

 

[Bigmista]

Bigmista -

Out of curiosity - what size were your briskets? Doing a brisket this Saturday - first time for a brisket in my drum and trying to get an idea on the quicker cook time. How much quicker can you count on than the standard 1.5 hr per pound. I know ... it's when the temp says its done ... just trying to ballpark it.

Thanks!

I did two 10 lbers and they were done in about 11-12 hours. I injected them, never turned them and I foiled them at 165. I put them in the cooler at 195 and they were in there for about two hours. Hope this helps.

 

[biffleg]

I did two 10 lbers and they were done in about 11-12 hours. I injected them, never turned them and I foiled them at 165. I put them in the cooler at 195 and they were in there for about two hours. Hope this helps.

It does ... thanks!

 

[tumpedover]

Just bought 6 bags of it today at H.D. Will give it a try this weekend on the offset drum......BTW,Mista I think I'm about ready to join the UDS crowd.....just gotta se aside the time and the change to get it done!:wink:

 

[keale]

Jon???

Ok, dumb question...Whats an offset drum? :icon_blush: got a picture?

 

[Bigmista]

BTW,Mista I think I'm about ready to join the UDS crowd.....just gotta se aside the time and the change to get it done!:wink:

You will enjoy it and you don't have to crank up the big rig for every cook. Let me know how it feel when you don't have to do something every hour while you are cooking.

Might have to do a few more honey do's though...

 

[biffleg]

Might have to do a few more honey do's though...

Tell me about it ... I've already got a small list of stuff to do tomorrow. Whining like a three year old "but honey, I've got to watch the brisket" isn't working ... I think she's onto the low maintenance of the drum :lol: Must rethink strategy!

 

[tumpedover]

Ok, dumb question...Whats an offset drum? :icon_blush: got a picture?

Here you go....Just like it sounds!:mrgreen:


Oh, and Mista.....I've got the wife covered...I just told her that the UDS cooks without much fire tending,so I could be more engaged with her while cooking ,.......I'm not sure but I think I may have shot myself in the foot here!:shock: