Rancher hardwood, not for me


 
D

DavidD

TVWBB Super Fan
I ran out and bought four bags of the HD Rancher hardwood charcoal given all the excitment. I must admit, it won't be replacing my kingsford, at least not for cooking in my performer. That stuff creates a lot of ash and it is very difficult to snuff out the fire. Not sure if others do this, but with the Performer and kingsford, I'll cook until done, then close top and bottom vents. Fire goes out quickly and I tend to have nearly enough coals left for another cook (add 15-20 coals). With the rancher, they burn to virtually nothing, so I am using almost twice as much charcoal and I see not other benefit besides the $3 price tag.
 
I seem to get less ash with the Rancher but it is lighter and flies around more if disturbed, not a problem in my WSM but I can see where it could be when grilling.
 
You must not have a tight seal on your kettle. I have no problems snuffing out Rancher. Do you have a lot of attachments that rest over the lip of your kettle?

The ash does fly around on a windy day in a kettle. You can mitigate somewhat by lifting the lid very gently and gradually. If you lift in one big motion the air draft pulls a lot of ash into the air. On calm days it is a non-issue.

The biggest benefit is that Rancher doesn't smell like crap when it lights.
 
My local HD isn't carrying Rancher. I *really* want to try it, but don't feel like driving 30 miles to get it.
 
I did my first cook with Rancher yesturday... I did up an 11# packer... Other than a little slower light up time than K I could'nt be happier with it...
 
It works great for smoking, it has been noted to have light ash that will fly all over when grilling and it's windy though.
 
I won't use it in my Drum smokers because of the flying ash from fats and juices dripping on the coals, nor in my Imperial Kamado because of the ash buildup and relighting the snuffed briqs just crumble to dust. No problems in the WSM yet.
 
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