Trader Joe's Charcoal


 
It's been awhile since I used it but it's good stuff! Not sure if it's still made by the Original Charcoal Company which made Rancher, but that was a great natural briquette.
Try some and see what you think.

Tim
 
Yes, I picked up a bag last month. It is the most sparky, sparktastic, sparkalicious, sparking charcoal whose sparks seemed to threaten sparking a sparktacular fire on my deck.

I do not recommend it and may throw the rest of it out as it's unsafe for my setup. Live and learn.
 
its rancher rebadged. it is natural so it will spark a bit more but i have never had a "bad" bag at all. i still have three bags left from the good ole days. its good stuff so go ahead and stock up.
 
Its natural charcoal similar to lump which can snap crackle and pop ( think campfire )..
It does have a learning curve for getting used to, but If I didn't want any excitement cooking outdoors, I would just use the indoor appliances.:)

Tim
 
I use it for the longer cooks like pork ribs and shoulders, lasts a long time and very little ash
 
I picked up a bag recently and have liked the results. It imparts a smokey taste to what I've grilled. The one thing I have to say is that it takes a while to light. So when I use it, I start with lit KBB to get everything going.
 
I've read mixed reviews, but mostly good. Planning on trying some this season, but will probably start with a layer of KB on the bottom of the chimney to get things going.
 
There site lists Charlotte, NC as there location but I did a Google Earth on the address and it puts you in kind of a high end neighborhood wish I could find out for sure if they have a plant anywhere in the area.
 
Used it for year's sparky or not, the first time you light up a chimney of this stuff you know by the smell it's great.

A. The only ingredient other than wood is cornstarch.

B. Long, really long burn times, and steady as a rock, the whole low ash thing is no joke amazing for a long low and slow cook.

C. You can go ahead and throw unlit briquets into the cooker with no funky smell or crazy temp spikes.

I swear by the stuff, it has gone through a few cosmetic/manufacturing changes through the years. Last fall I had my local store order me 20 bag's for my winter cooks. They don't stock it in the winter up here in Detroit and instead of the egg shaped briquets I was used to they were square, still nice but strange. Over the weekend went by to grab a few bag's along with some of there organic ketchup which by the way is also great, and the bags I got were back to the egg shaped briquets. Got in the Astro and went back, bought out the stores stock 53 bags worth without a second thought.

Try it if you can, that stinky overpriced blue bag will be history.
 
Don Reed said:
There site lists Charlotte, NC as there location but I did a Google Earth on the address and it puts you in kind of a high end neighborhood wish I could find out for sure if they have a plant anywhere in the area.
Click to expand...

They use to have a warehouse on Westinghouse Blvd, if you know somebody in the restaurant business you can by it by the pallet from them. I think it is around 50 or 60 bags per pallet.
 
I tested the Trader Joe this weekend, they advertise that their charcoal burns longer. For this weekend cook I used Trader Joe on one side and Kingsford on the other side. You will notice that the Trader Joe has bigger briquettes. The Trader Joe did take longer to light but they are bigger. I found that the smell from Trader Joe had a more natural smell. As advertised, the Trader Joe did burn longer and stayed hotter than Kingsford. I will use Trader Joe going forward especially for longer cooks.

I also picked up my first bottle of Mustard - Garlic Aioli from Trader Joes....TASTY!!
 
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I don't grill that frequently, so when I do,I want something that's good. Price matters, but to a lesser extent. I used some more this week to quickly grill carne asada. Great heat...long burn...low ash. This is my house briquette now. Makes me want to get rid of the kbb I have.
 
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I have used TJ's charcoal briquettes for various cooks off (long and short cooks) on & off during the past 2 years. It burns hotter, longer, with less ash. The only thing to remember is its a seasonal item for TJs (at least that is what a store employee here in Downtwon San Diego told me). He said they ususally get them in around March and are done in late Sepetember (or until they seel the last bacth out). Hope this help.
 
IMO, the sparky nature is because the dopes at Trader Joe's think it's OK to leave the pallet outside indefinitely and the charcoal picks up moisture. I stocked up on about 5 bags once from a fresh pallet (still wrapped in plastic and only a couple bags missing from the top) and none of those burned sparky. I haven't had that luck since. Both of the TJ's near me used to leave the whole pallet under an awning by the front door. One of them has since started stocking some bags indoors but I have a feeling the rest of the pallet just sits on the loading dock out back.

Still, for the price it's hard to beat. It smells great and performs well (even considering the fireworks). Every time I revert to the big blue K out of cheapness, I remember why I hate it so. I swear I get like 19 lbs of ash from a 20 lb bag, and it's the kind of ash that kicks up easily when I toss wood chunks in. Not so with TJ's briquettes or Stubb's.
 
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