Using unlit Kingsford for long burn?

FACT: Kingsford gives off a very unpleasant odor when first burned.

Conventional wisdom is to not add unlit kingsford to your pit while smoking.

Here, the CW is that adding the unlit Kingsford does not produce an off flavor. Is there a rational explanation for this? Does it have to do with the very slow ignition time and restricting the air intake vents more than the exhaust vent?

I am just wondering how much toxic sludge I would be putting into my meat with some of these longer burn methods.

When you are putting a flame to Kingsford I know of the smell you speak, when being touched off by charcoal or firestarter cubes the smell is not there.
Proof that this method works is in the end results. This last weekend Mad Mama and the Kid won the Az State Champ using the the methods we are talking about,food we cook for caterings is done in this fashion and we continue to get more jobs.
Studies have been done and grilling over hot fires for much shorter times is much more of the problem because of the burning the fat in the coals, those gasses are much more harmful.
Jim

Thanks Jim!

I guess that I am too scientific. I have some ideas as to why the smell may not be noticable with you ignition method, but like you say, the results are evident.

In any case, consider me another convert to the weber. I cut my teeth for the last year on a NB Universal Water Smoker. After much thrashing around, I settled on picking up a Weber Charcoal grill to replace my propane grill and the smoking mountain for smoking over going with the NB El Dorado or Bandera.

Thanks.

Greg

Hi Greg,

First off, welcome to the bulletin board, glad to have you join us!

As Jim said, the proof is in the pudding. People who use these long-burn methods with Kingsford don't report any off-taste as a result. In fact, I recall that someone out there (was it Stogie?) did a side-by-side comparison using fully lit coals vs. the Minion Method and reported no discernable difference in flavor or aroma of the meat. I'm not sure why this is the case, but it seems to be true.

If you're still concerned from a taste standpoint, try doing your own side-by-side test and see if you can tell any difference.

If you're concerned from a health standpoint, there are still lots of people who won't put their meat in the cooker until all the briquettes are covered with gray ash, and then add additional lit coals when needed. There's nothing wrong with doing it that way, it's just a lot more work and makes temperature control more difficult. In the end, you've got to decide for yourself what you're comfortable with.

Regards,
Chris