Rancher Charcoal - First Overnighter


 
J

John Vale

TVWBB Fan
On Sunday, I plan to do an overnight cook of 7 lb bone-in butt using Rancher Charcoal for the first time. The target grate temperature will be 235 degrees. I will use the Minion Method to start the fire and I don't expect much temperature variation because I use a BBQ Guru automatic temperature controller.

Based on your experience, using a full ring of Rancher briquettes, how long will this charcoal hold the temperature before I need to add fuel?
 
I've done a 6lb but with rancher and the Minion Method and didn't have to add any charcoal. After the cook I left the coals burning just to see how long it would last (was first time using Rancher) and it went 16 hours before dropping below 240 at the lid. This was about 11 hours cooking and 5 hours just heating an empty cooker using a clay pot base on top of the webber pan.
 
The Rancher charcoal was terrific. A full ring of briquettes lasted for the entire 12 hour 30 minute cook of a 7.35 lb bone-in Boston Butt without the need to add fuel. There was plenty of charcoal left over for at least 2-3 more hours of cooking at the grate temp of 235 degrees.

I am a believer. The Rancher seems to be much better than the old Kingsford. Tomorrow, I am off to HD to stock up.
 
Full disclosure: Only one cook under my belt (the Chicken on the 4th I don't count). But I used a full ring of Rancher on that one cook and while I meant to check every 2 hours I failed to wake up for the 2-6am checks at 8am temp was holding steady at 250 still and plenty of fuel to get me to the end. in all it was a 14 hr cook, two butts 5lb and 7lb
 
I've only used the Rancher a few times on the grill so far, but the charcoal seems to stay hot for a long time (noticeably longer than Kingsford). I am not surprised by the positive comments that others have made.

I was showing my 8-yr old son how to grill brats yesterday, and he was VERY impressed by the amount of sparks that the Rancher produces when you pour it into the grill from the chimney
icon_cool.gif
. So if you have kids and want them to think that grilling is the coolest, show them this. Just make sure that they are a few steps away from the grill.
 
I too had a chance to do my first Rancher charcoal overnight. I used 3 big chunks of Natures Own Pecan wood and a completely full ring of briquets (about 14-15 lbs I would guess) The meat was four bone in pork shoulders totaling 37 pounds of meat. I use a pitminder for temp control. 21 hours cook time at 225 degrees was an absolute dream, I didnt get awaken by a middle of the night nu-temp alarm, just rock solit temps. This stuff it the real deal and what we all have been waiting for. I believe it so much I wrote them a letter telling them how much buzz they are creating and how much I like their product....would you know it they wrote me back. Oh the pork was absolutely delish! Thanks for listening and I hope this pushes the non believers to give it a shot, this is a great product that is almost as great as the WSM itself.
 
This is killing me. I can't find the Rancher brand around here anywhere. I guess I'll have to hit a few more HD's in Kansas City. Would love to test in the BDS as well as WSM. Nothing but great reports.

I had read somewhere that the Rancher just hadn't made it this far west yet. Can anyone confirm or deny?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chad M. Anders:
This is killing me. I can't find the Rancher brand around here anywhere. I guess I'll have to hit a few more HD's in Kansas City. Would love to test in the BDS as well as WSM. Nothing but great reports.

I had read somewhere that the Rancher just hadn't made it this far west yet. Can anyone confirm or deny? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Email the rep for the Original Charcoal Company and ask him.

ekrause@originalcharcoal.com

He responded very promptly when I emailed him a question about the availability of their lump charcoal in the Charlotte area.
 
Do you all use the lump or the briquette type of Rancher? I bought a small bag of the natural lump for the first time and used it on the 4th mixed with some kingsford. Normally for a 12-14 hour smoke it almost "set it and forget it", but my temps took a nosedive after about 8 hours and all of the lump was burned up, so I added some Kingsford.

Would the Rancher briquettes give a longer burn?
I like the ease of use of Kingsford, but I am always looking for ways to better my 'Q.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shane Atwood:
Do you all use the lump or the briquette type of Rancher? I bought a small bag of the natural lump for the first time and used it on the 4th mixed with some kingsford. Normally for a 12-14 hour smoke it almost "set it and forget it", but my temps took a nosedive after about 8 hours and all of the lump was burned up, so I added some Kingsford.

Would the Rancher briquettes give a longer burn?
I like the ease of use of Kingsford, but I am always looking for ways to better my 'Q. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Rancher is their brand of natural briquettes. I've used it for a low and slow butt smoke with no problem. I like the "clean" smell. I've also used Royal Oak lump with the same excellent results. I like lump because it produces less ash and it haven't noticed any temp spikes.
 
I am in California, near San Jose. There is plenty of Rancher's charcoal here at the local HDs.

I cannot compare it to other brands but I agree with other posters here that it has a nice clean smell when it burns.
 
I just went to HD with the wife looking for something unrelated - they had a pallet of Rancher in the alcove, with the 4.99 sign on it. I bought 2 20lb bags, on the advice of people here and on other BBQ forums. Can't wait to try it, I think I'm gonna do a chuck roll and some spares this weekend. Hopefully the HD I got it at, continues to sell it. I had been there 3-4 times previously and all they had was Kingsford briquettes.
 
I picked up 4 bags of Rancher charcoal at my local HD on Monday at $4.99/bag. They only had about 10 bags left from the only pallet that I have seen there. I don't know if they are going to get anymore this season, so I am going to go back today and buy what they have left
 
There are no HD's anywhere near where I live, so on a recent visit to Green Bay, I picked up 80lbs of Rancher (received a blank stare from my wife when she saw the bags in the trunk
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).

I filled the charcoal chamber with the Rancher to cook a 12 pound brisket on an overnighter. Finished the brisket and cooked a batch of ABT's while the brisket rested in the cooler. Did not have to add fuel once.

I have used R/O lump in the past but have always needed to add fuel at some point. I'm sold on the Rancher for long cooks. Thank you to whomever brought this product our attention.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Neil R.:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chad M. Anders:
This is killing me. I can't find the Rancher brand around here anywhere. I guess I'll have to hit a few more HD's in Kansas City. Would love to test in the BDS as well as WSM. Nothing but great reports.

I had read somewhere that the Rancher just hadn't made it this far west yet. Can anyone confirm or deny? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Email the rep for the Original Charcoal Company and ask him.

ekrause@originalcharcoal.com

He responded very promptly when I emailed him a question about the availability of their lump charcoal in the Charlotte area. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Will do, thanks for the contact info. I checked 2 more HD's in the KC area on the way home this evening and was greeted with blank stares and never heard of it when I asked the employees if they carried Rancher brand charcoal.

The search continues!
 
I sent an e-mail to original Charcoal and received a reply within 15 minutes. According to Eric at Original Charcoal, the Home Depot deal for this year was a "sell-through promotion - while supplies last" so if your HD doesn't have any, the only chance for them to get some is if they transfer it from another store. The Home Depot SKU # is 990-347. I found 5 baqs left at a local HD this afternoon so I bought all 5.
 
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