Quote:
Originally Posted by YOhio
Clark, you sound like an old pro. I'm new to smoking, so I have nothing of value to say on this topic. I just wanted to get the conversation started again.
What's the Minion method?
|
I'm far from an expert, but living in NC does give plenty of opportunity to taste and create BBQ.
Goatnapper mentioned the Minion method earlier. Basically, instead of starting the fire and continually adding charcoal through the process, you start out with a large pile of charcoal, then you light up a small amount and put them on top of the pile. the charcoal will slowly burn through, giving you many hours of burn where the fire doesn't need to be tended at all. The disadvantages are:
- I think that it only really works with the Weber Smokey Mountain, where you have a tightly sealed smoker with good air control.
- Some people feel strongly that all charcoal added to the smoker should already be started, or it will give an unpleasant side taste to the food. I don't notice this.
- Since lump charcoal burns quicker, if you want to do a long, unattended burn (like more than 6 hours or so), you are better off using briquettes. For some purists, using briquettes is only slightly better than smoking up a turkey loaf. I'm not a purist, so I use briqettes more often than not when I am smoking. Not only can you leave them unattended for longer, but they burn more consistently and at a lower temperature, so they are easier to control. I've gone well over 12 hours without adding any charcoal, and I've never had the charcoal go cold overnight or while I'm away at church.
How about temperature? Has anyone done any real experimentation here? Most places I see say to keep it around 220 degrees. I like to keep it a little cooler, usually around 200 to 210, but I haven't done enough testing to see what difference it makes to do it at 190 vs. 210 vs. 240.