# The Minion Method Explained w/ Tutorial



## the dude abides

As we've seen an influx in new members lately (Yeah!!) I've seen a few questions about the Minion Method and also building fires and maintaining temps. So while getting the WSM fired up this morning I thought I'd take a few or better pictures and jot down my thoughts on the subject.

Below my tutorial is something I copied off another website (sorry forgot where) that I've included that also explains how the Minion Method got it's name and how it started.

First, I start by using a high quality lump charcoal. Seven Oaks is my current fuel of choice. It's made locally so you may not be able to find it in your area. I start by creating a "ring" of lump charcoal. You can do this a variety of ways. The easiest I've seen is to put an empty coffee can in the middle of your fire basket (or fire ring in my case with the WSM) and pour the lump around the OUTSIDE of the can. What I usually do is dump a pile of lump in there and just spread it out with my hands. It's dirty, but you'll wash, trust me. After I do that I add in some chunks of whatever wood I want to use. Here's what it should look something like







You can see that the middle is open. Just lump around the outside.

Now get a chimney of lump going. And let it get completely burning. All hot and ashed over.









Normally I wouldn't do this on the concrete patio, but it was snowy and my little Smokey Joe was buried and I was too lazy to dig for it.

Now take that lit chimney of lump and carefully dump it into the center open area of the charcoal basket.










Back up and get some perspective










That's basically it! Depending on how much unlit you put in is what dictates how long of a burn you'll get without having to add more lump. I will after a few hours open the door and toss in a couple more wood chunks since they burn up faster than the lump. But I've done several 12+ hour smokes without having to add fuel. 

Now it's just a matter of having a quality (and tested) thermometer at the grate level to monitor your cooking chamber temps. From here you just need to ride your air intakes to get them to the point that the chamber is maintaining the desired temps. 

One quick note about air intakes from my experience and what I've learned here on the mighty SMF, is make small adjustments, wait 15 minutes and see what that did to the temp. Then make another small adjustment, wait 15 minutes...etc. If you make drastic changes to the intakes and/or don't wait for the fuel to "catch up" with what you're doing, you'll be chasing it all day. Also, you'll find that once you find where it's holding at your desired temps, that's where you should start from on your next smoke. There'll be less messing with it from now on since you have your reference point.

Hope this little tutorial serves some of you well. 



--Now on to the story about the birth of The Minion Method and one guy’s ability to transfer it from a WSM to a Side Firebox setup...


Sometime back in 1999 or thereabouts Jim Minion was participating in a regional barbeque championship in the Pacific Northwest. His cooker of choice was a Weber Smokey Mountain.
However, following the manufacturer’s instructions on building a fire in this otherwise wonderful smoker proved useless as the fire would quickly shoot up to well over 325 degrees. What to do, what to do?
Jim Minion, a fleet manager for an auto sales company, tried something different – he spread a layer of lighted briquettes over a pile of unlit briquettes and he found that he could maintain a steady fire for as long as 22 hours in his Weber Smokey Mountain. He took a first and a second in two categories that day and the Minion Method was born.
About that same time I was having incredible difficulty holding a steady temp for any decent length of time in my Hondo offset. I came across a description of the Minion Method on the Internet and decided to give it a try. I filled the firebox with Kingsford briquettes as recommended, lit a Weber chimney filled with briquettes, dumped them on top and for the very first time I held a rock steady 220 for four hours, but then the fire choked itself out from all the ash produced by the briquettes. But heck, that was a whole lot better than before.
My wife’s uncle, one of the most fun individuals I have every had the pleasure of knowing (he was one of those people who, from the moment they walk into the room you know you are about to have a great time), and a true lover of ‘que was visiting and he wanted me to fire up the barbeque. As an incentive he brought me a bag of lump charcoal. Not wanting to insult a guest, I fired up my Hondo using the Minion Method with the ump charcoal.
I fully expected a disaster as everything I read about the Minion Method said to use briquettes. Instead I was stunned – I quickly got the fire settled down to 220 and it stayed there – and held – and held – and 8 hours later the temp was still reading 220! By then I was done and removed the meat from the smoker
but it was another two hours before the temp dropped.
A convert was born! 
That was several years ago and I’ve learned a lot since then. Most important is that not all lump charcoals are the same. Some will only hold a steady fire for about 4 hours. The average lump will give you about 6 hours. The best lumps will hold 220 for 10 hours or more. Other things that will affect the burn time are outdoor weather conditions, the make/model of smoker you have, and the temp at which you are cooking. I have also learned that once you learn the individual quirks of your smoker you can “dial in” any temp you want by making small adjustments to the chimney damper and/or the air intake control.
For the longest, steadiest burn times I recommend you get the best quality hardwood lump charcoal you can find. Briquettes will work, however they produce so much ash that the fire chokes itself out within about 4 hours. High quality hardwood lump charcoal burns hotter produces very little ash resulting in a much longer burn time.
If you don’t use a charcoal basket, you need to find a way to keep the charcoal away from the air intake. Here is a good way; 
	

		
			
		

		
	






Fill the firebox with charcoal all the way to the lip of the opening between the firebox and the cooking chamber then hollow out ever so slightly — about an inch or so — just enough to make the pile slightly concave — a small area in the middle by pushing the charcoal up around the sides a little. 
Fill a Weber chimney with charcoal and light it. When it is going real good (all coals glowing) then pour it all on top of the charcoal in the firebox, keeping it centered as much as possible.
Close the lids but leave all the vents (air intake and chimney) wide open. When the temp reaches 275 – 300 degrees, begin closing the air intake. Close the air intake half way then check the temp in 15 minutes. If it is too high, close the intake half way again and check in 15 minutes. If still too high, close the air intake all the way. Check again in 15 minutes. If the temp is still too high and ALL VISIBLE SMOKE DISAPPEARS, begin closing the chimney — you guessed it – half way. Check again in 15 minutes, etc. At some point the temp will stabilize — check the vents and remember where they were as that will be your starting point next time — in other words, after the initial temp has reached 275-300, then you can close the vents down to your starting point rather than repeating the entire procedure again. The fire will slowly burn down through the pile of charcoal providing a nice, long, steady burn.
So, all of us backyard pitmasters owe Jim Minion a huge thumbs up for daring to try something different and making top notch barbeque a breeze.


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## chisoxjim

informative tutorial Dude.  well done.


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## the dude abides

Thanks Jim.  And thanks for 5 starring it too!  Now you know what this means?  I've got "q" goin' today!  I'll get some threads started after lunch


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## chisoxjim

lookin'  forward to those posts.


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## rhankinsjr

Great writeup!


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## oneshot

Dude, good job on helpin the newbies, as allways....
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	




Now, whatcha got smokin there buddy????


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## beer-b-q

Great Tutorial Dude...


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## billbo

Great job Dude! What's on the smoker today?


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## the dude abides

Thanks guys.  Maybe this is sticky worthy for the Newbies?

The freezer is about empty of all my smoked goodness from my last cook.  With the holidays coming and another big arse snow storm, I figured today might be my last chance for a while.  So today I've got a bone in butt for pulled pork, another chuckie and you guessed it...another Dudestrami!


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## blue

Great info, Dude.

Since I am an offset user...I like to place my lit coals in the SFB opposite the damper. That way the lit coals have to work their way back towards the air intake and for me, it helps with making the coals last a bit longer...

just my additional 2 cents.


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## doctor phreak

very good tutorial....


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## rickw

Nice job Dude. This should become a sticky.


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## smokeguy

This really should become a sticky.  Good job!


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## etcher1

Very well done  *The Dude Abides!!*


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## jak757

Dude!! Excellent tutorial.  As a new member I have to say this was extremely helpful.  If this isn't made an official sticky, I'm still making sure I can get back to it.  Well done -- thanks!!!!

John


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## trotline

Thanks for the write up dude. I fired up my new WSM for the first time this weekend after 1 seasoning smoke. I used the minion that I have read so much about on here. I filled most of the ring with charcoal then lit 1 chimney and dumped on top. With 1 vent open and the other 2 closed I held right around 225-240 for about 5 hours. I then started to drop and had to light another half a chimney to finish the smoke. I expected this to hold temp. longer than that but maybe I just need more seasoning? The weather here was in the 40's and no rain or wind to speak of. Any ideas? Thanks for all the advice.... This board makes me look like I actually know what I'm doing!


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## rickw

What charcoal were you using?


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## trotline

Kingsford Comp.....I would normally use Royal Oak lump but I could not find any this time.


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## rickw

I've never used it but have got pretty good time out of regular Kingsford. Also used RO bricks and Stumps, all of these gave me long burn times. 

How many lbs of charcoal were you using. I put nearly the full bag (15 lbs I'd say) in and lit up with 10 to 20 bricks and trough them on top.


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## trotline

yeah, this was the first time I have used it. Also was my first go with a WSM so I still just need to get used to the smoker. I thought I filled the ring mostly full but I guess next time I need to make sure it is completely full. I also think I could close the one intake just a bit to about 3/4 full or so and still be fine on temp. Other than that it did an awesome job. Thanks for the help.


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## oneshot

This gets my vote to become a sticky...
Very informative and helpful to those beginning in this arena of smoking....


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## the dude abides

Thanks everyone.  Glad people are getting something out of it.


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## got14u

Great job DUDE !


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## gruelurks

Thanks for the great thread and background story.


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## alx

Jim minnion used to post here alot dude...

Suprised you can get 12 hours with that load,but as you mentioned quality lump-not the cowboy etc...

I modified mine while back with a UDS style basket.Lots of mods for these cookers...



I actually use all natural briquetts and they pack real good and have been succesful with lump or briquett minnion...

Intersesting thread.....Thanks for sharing your experience


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## ddave

Great post! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	


















Dave


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## the dude abides

Cool basket.  I need to make a couple of those.  Maybe you could make them for me.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  I've got a barrel in the garage for a UDS project later this winter.  Ironiclly enough with my smoke today, I didn't put enough lump in and ended up getting 8 hours before it started crashing.


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## meateater

Great job on the breakdown! +1 on the sticky!


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## the dude abides

Thanks meateater.  Sorry, haven't been back to check on this thread lately.


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## chisoxjim

Im probably going to try the Minion method you spelled out here this weekend Dude(heat wave here, gonna be over 32 degrees), I have been using the K.I.S.S. method spelled out by my buddy Gary Wiviott in his book Low and Slow which is very similar, the difference being you dont put the lit chimney of lump in a hollowed out area of the unlit, but right on top. 

Figure Ill give this method a try and see how it works, cant experiment too much.

thanks again


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## rickw

It works about the same Jim, I've done both and see no real differences.


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## chisoxjim

thanks for the info rick, 

I tried some Kingsford competition briquettes this past week(couldnt find any lump on the way home), worked pretty good other than the large ammount of ash compared to lump. 

Where do you get those Stumps briquettes you use?


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## thunderdome

I primarily cook on wood, or a bag of mesquite lump, but I bought Kingsford Blue bag for the UDS recently

I remember hearing/reading that it's not safe to use briquettes till they're ashed over. If this is the case, wouldn't you taste the charcoal "additives" in the food by using minion method w/ Charcoal? 

Was or is this true about briquettes?


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## rickw

Lowes carries the Stubbs charcoal.


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## chisoxjim

ill have to check it out based on your rec. 

thanks.


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## badfrog

Dude,

I look forward to reading your posts...always well thought out and informative. This one is no exception and should absolutely be a sticky. 
by the way, when is that butt going to be ready?? I'm getting hungry!!


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## the dude abides

Thank you Badfrog.  It's nice to be noticed when you put in the effort to type something like this up.

And since you asked about the butt.  Here's the links to the smokes I did the day I posted this.
The Butt
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=85937
The Chuck Roast
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=85936
The Pastrami (or Dudestrami as oneshot named it)
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=85935

Hope you like 'em.  I know I sure did.  Might have to do a pulled chuckie pizza tonight.


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## schmoke

I agree with Badfrog, Dude.  Thanks for sharing this info.  I'm certainly glad to be associated with this forum.  I shows that there are good people around, you just have to know where to look.


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## camper4lyfe

I've got an offset as well (Char Griller Duo) and the first time, and only at this point, I used the minion method, I put the lit charcoal at the inlet side.  I ended up having to fight to keep the temps DOWN.  I'm definitely going to try putting the lit at the opposite end next time.  I'll probably also use a bit less, as I used a full chimney the first time.


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## jonboat

after fighting to keep my temps up on my first smoke this past weekend, I'll be modding my ecb, and giving the Minion Method a go for my next one!


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## luvdatritip

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion

Great source here and some variations to the Minnion method


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## schaydu

I have been experiencing a lot of difficulties with my fire during my smokes, so i looked for different fire methods. The minion method seems to be very popular. I have an offset and i dont have charcoal basket. I did see on the tutorial where it mentioned hollowing out an inch or so. Should an old coffee can be used to make it concave? And had anybody else tired this and an offset without a basket? And does anybody have any pics of this. Thanks in advance


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## jirodriguez

Usually the problem you run into on a side fire box without a basket is that if you build the fire in the bottom of your box there is no place for the ash to fall. So as the ash builds up it starts to choke out the coals. If you have a brinkman or char-griller get the shaker basket from Lowe's.


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## schmoke

This is an excellent suggestion.  I just did my first smoke since modding my Char-Griller, and what a difference it made.  The shaker basket fits perfectly and held the temp to a constant 200 - 225 for 4 hours with only adding more wood chunks for smoke.  BTW, I used the Minion Method.


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## schaydu

Thanks i didnt know that the ash would choke the fire out. I guess i need commission by welder friend to make one for me.


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## schaydu

I have a 20in longhorn smoker. My welder buddy is going to build a charcoal basket for me. What dimensions would be appropriate for a smoker that size?


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## camper4lyfe

I tweaked my minion method yesterday with my Char-Griller Duo.  Typically, I'd stack the unlit on the food side of the fire box, and then dump the lit on the opposite end of the charcoal box.  This lead to me having to fight to keep the temps DOWN.

Yesterday, due to the suggestions of others on various forums, I switched it, putting the lit charcoal on the food side of the fire box, and the unlit on the opposite side.  

This helped a LOT.  My temps fluctuated between 200 and 250 as opposed to the 300+ spikes I had been getting with my previous method.

All I need to do next is to learn to be more patient, and wait for the coals in the chimney to die down and ash over more before dumping them onto the unlit coals.


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## raybones

Thanks for posting this great info.  I have recently started using this method and it works like a charm every time!  It takes a lot of the work out of smoking so you can relax and have a brew


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## toekneemac

> When the temp reaches 275 – 300 degrees, begin closing the air intake


Is that the temp in the fire box or the smoking chamber?  If it is, how do you take the temp inside the fire box?  Thanks


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## jrod62

in the smoker


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## toekneemac

jrod62 said:


> in the smoker


Great.  Once I hit that temp in my smoker, the minion method stops and all the charcoal are lit or close to it.  I may as well light all the charcoal at once.  I was hoping you would say the firebox, that way I thought I had a chance of making the minion method work.  Now, I'm not so sure.


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## straatshootr

i finally got my minion to work today!!  WOOHOOO!!  i luv these forums:)


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## shoneyboy




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## straatshootr

well, i got it to burn,. but when i put it in the smoker in the coffee can, then took out the coffee can, let it burn,.  this is my cheap little ecb...an hour later it was barely 212?  it never did get up to half way in the ideal section.  the charcoal pan looked like it didnt have as much charcoal in it though it had looked full to start with.   my ribs were cooking though.  after the first hour i started another chimney of charcoal and put it in there.  then the temp went too high like over 300.  the ribs were done in about 3 hours or less. i let them get to over 200 i think.    so i'm not sure that i had a big enough fire to start if i'd had a big fat round piece of meat on there instead of the ribs.


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## tony maulorico

Great tutorial, very informative. Thanks,


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## craigroller

When you are cooking at the right temp, do you want to see no, smoke some smoke, or a lot of smoke. On one of the web sites for a smoker it says no smoke when you are cooking. I am new to smoking and this info will help. Also what is a good temp gauge.


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## craigroller

When you are cooking at the right temp, do you want to see no, smoke some smoke, or a lot of smoke. On one of the web sites for a smoker it says no smoke when you are cooking. I am new to smoking and this info will help. Also what is a good temp gauge.


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## craigroller

What is a shaker basket ?


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## jirodriguez

craigroller said:


> What is a shaker basket ?


They sell them at Lowe's and Home Depot in the BBQ supplies. They are also called grill baskets, they are usually approx. 10" L x 8" W x 5" D (give or take an inch or so in each direction). Some are made of heavy wire and others are made of metal with holes punched in it.

Basically it is a metal/wire basket that you can turn into a charcoal basket so you can use the minion method.


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## craigroller

what is a shaker basket ?


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## craigroller

Thanks jrod


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## craigroller

What is a good brand of lump, and is cowboy not good ?


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## rhinton82

Royal oak is a good one.. usually Wal-Mart has it.. even the Best Choice brand is pretty good.. used it several times with good results everytime..


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## craigroller

Thank guys for all the help.


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## isosa

Hey! i am one of those beginners that are going to benefit from this information. This is new to me.

Thank you!.


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## leonidasmma

I'm gonna have to try this!  it seems impossible to keep my temp consistent! I got an ECB...made a few mods but this looks like it will help alot!


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## onewondershow

thank you for the help, this was a very clear and concise description of how to do this I really leaned a lot.


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## parman

great info! In the firebox shown how high would you fill it with charcoal?


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## dr k

Dude,

Great information.  This is the only way to build a fire in my Kamado Kooker to smoke at 225* or I won't be able to keep it under 250*.  1/4 of my charcoal chimney filled and lit on the grate with unlit lump around it.  The chimney has a trap door bottom so I can just lift it to drop the coals on the grate. I make sure lit and unlit coals are touching with a few chunks of wood for smoking.  The bottom vent is closed and top is barely cracked.  I'm going to try your method on filling the offset just under the cooking chamber opening with the concave coal set up.  Since the offset is easy to quickly pitch in a chunk of wood as needed I was adding coal as needed as well and was having trouble keeping my offset at 225*.  It was mostly 185-200*.  Loading the fire box and regulating it with the fire box vent will solve that problem.


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## bpopovitz

Great information here.  Been on the forum for a few years, but havent posted in awhile. Recently bought the char-griller Kamado Acorn cooker and love it, I've had a gas grill and gas smoker for many years and gettin into scharcoal always kind of "scared me" since the gas was so easy I thought why change.  Well for me it was the challenge, the undiscovered country.  The minion method is perfect for the kamado.  Hopefully I'll have some Q-view coming up this weekend.


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## wxmanmac

When you mention the unlit charcoal on the non-food side, do you mean on the right hand side? How many charcoals, lit and unlit, did you use for about 3 hours of cooking?


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## rhnewfie

I found this worked well with my COS. I used a piece of expanded metal as a divider and then poured the lit coal into the open space.













image.jpg



__ rhnewfie
__ Jul 1, 2013


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## cpfitness

What do you guys do if you are doing a really long smoke  I have a 10lb pork shoulder that I am anticipating taking 15 hours. Let's  say I get really good lump charcoal and do everything perfect and get ideal temps for 10 hours, how should I go about getting the other few hours I need?  Just light chimneys as needed?


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## dcj438

using charcoal briquettes with the minion method, will you not get the nasty chemical smoke taste flavor in the food?


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## remmy700p

Dcj438 said:


> using charcoal briquettes with the minion method, will you not get the nasty chemical smoke taste flavor in the food?


Not if you use briquets that do not have the "match-light" accelerants in them. Kingsford does not impregnate their Blue label nor their "Competition" label briquets with these chemicals.


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## treeman75

I have a WSM and have tried kingsford and stubs with the minion method and have got 12 hours of burn time but the meat has a bitter smoke taste. It seems like alot of smoke is coming from the charcoal and not the apple wood im using. I cant figure it out! Has anyone else had this problem?


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## remmy700p

treeman75 said:


> I have a WSM and have tried kingsford and stubs with the minion method and have got 12 hours of burn time but the meat has a bitter smoke taste. It seems like alot of smoke is coming from the charcoal and not the apple wood im using. I cant figure it out! Has anyone else had this problem?


Bitterness can be caused by a lack of flow. How did you have the exhaust stack damper set?


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## treeman75

I always leave the top vent open.


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## dburne

What a great tutorial, many thanks!

The first time I did it, about a week ago, the coals lasted a long time.

Yesterday, I did it again - the temp shot up too hot at the start, and then the coals burned up very quickly. I had to keep adding coals for about every hour or so.

I also may have started with too many lit coals, I started with about a 3rd of my chimney starter loaded with coals.

The temp was a lot cooler outside, with pouring rain ( smoker was under a pop up canopy).

I used Kingsford Briquettes, next time I will pick up some lump and see how that does.

Again, many thanks for the tutorial!

Don


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## hamature

Great explanation on the minion method.  I had never heard of the term before but had heard of the trick..Tried it with kingsford and it choked out on me but...after reading this, going to give it a try with some good quality lump and see if that works better.


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## neumsky1

You know this minion method came way before minion claimed it. Ask any kamado style cooker owner how they start their cooker. Put the charcoal in there...throw a fire starter in there with vents wide open. When it gets to temp...put the vents where you need it for the desired temp.:yahoo:


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## neumsky1

CPFitness said:


> What do you guys do if you are doing a really long smoke  I have a 10lb pork shoulder that I am anticipating taking 15 hours. Let's  say I get really good lump charcoal and do everything perfect and get ideal temps for 10 hours, how should I go about getting the other few hours I need?  Just light chimneys as needed?



Throw unlit lump on top...leave door open till lit...close door.


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## wxmanmac

Very well explained and seeing pictures helps me a lot as I was having difficulty visualizing it. I noticed regular charcoal left lots of ash also and hesitant in using lump coal but after reading several posts I will need to give it a try this weekend. One question when you mention charcoal in the firebox towards the end of the article, are you talking about lump or regular charcoal? I am thinking lump because of ash content. :grilling_smilie:


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## neumsky1

Lump leaves the least amount of ash.


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## jburn244

Does anyone have problems with draft when using the Minion Method in an offset cooker? Using KBB, when I close the damper way down to keep the burn slow, I end up with a hot spot on the stack side. I found the sweet spot on the damper that gets me even temps side to side, but then I get too much air because basket then burns up within 2-3 hours unless I'm using a LOT of charcoal. I was only able to get about 2.5-3 hours of temp using about 10 pounds of charcoal. I may just need to adjust my tuning plates to create the most even temps I can get with the damper closed down. Although even then you still have a bit of a draft problem.

After owning a WSM and getting 12 hours+ burns easy with KBB, I was beginning to think KBB was king of the Minion Method. I'm intrigued now to try it with lump. I'm shocked to hear of an 8 hour burn with lump in an offset. 

The design of offset cookers doesn't really lend itself to the Minion Method like a vertical or WSM type does...much less efficient in general and with a little bit bigger/thicker cooker like mine you need more heat to start to get the cooker loaded with heat in under an hour (unless your stick burning).


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