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Guest
Guest
Still experimenting with my new WSM, and now that I've got 6 or 7 cooks under my belt, I would like to hear some opinions on the "Panless" Minion cooking method.
I have had good success with the panless method on short cooks with ribs and chicken, but I tried it on a long overnight cook with two 7 lb. Boston Butts and the bark was a little too crisp. The good news...I was able to maintain 225-250 degrees for a full 21 hours! (The meat came off at the 18 hour mark, with the internal temp @ 190.) I did have one spike to 270, but I got it back down to below 250 within an hour.
I did the same cook with the same amount of meat and charcoal the following weekend, but used the water pan with water, i.e., method #2, The Minion Method. I maintained an average of 200-225 this time, but had the vents open wide after about 11 hours. The bark was perfect, but the charcoal ran out at the 18 hour mark, before I could get the internal temperature I like for pulled pork (190-200 deg. range). Reading through the various posts and articles on this site, I understand that the water pan method absorbed much of the heat, but I've also read that the "panless" method doesn't necessarily dry meat out. Since this was not my experience, I'm curious to hear from others who successfully use the panless method, and what they have done to prevent dried out bark. (Or was my experience just an abnormality?)
PS: I'm using Kingsford charcoal, and controlling wind by placing the smoker in a small shed with the door open. Ambient temps were in the 30's on the first cook, and 50's on the second cook.
I have had good success with the panless method on short cooks with ribs and chicken, but I tried it on a long overnight cook with two 7 lb. Boston Butts and the bark was a little too crisp. The good news...I was able to maintain 225-250 degrees for a full 21 hours! (The meat came off at the 18 hour mark, with the internal temp @ 190.) I did have one spike to 270, but I got it back down to below 250 within an hour.
I did the same cook with the same amount of meat and charcoal the following weekend, but used the water pan with water, i.e., method #2, The Minion Method. I maintained an average of 200-225 this time, but had the vents open wide after about 11 hours. The bark was perfect, but the charcoal ran out at the 18 hour mark, before I could get the internal temperature I like for pulled pork (190-200 deg. range). Reading through the various posts and articles on this site, I understand that the water pan method absorbed much of the heat, but I've also read that the "panless" method doesn't necessarily dry meat out. Since this was not my experience, I'm curious to hear from others who successfully use the panless method, and what they have done to prevent dried out bark. (Or was my experience just an abnormality?)
PS: I'm using Kingsford charcoal, and controlling wind by placing the smoker in a small shed with the door open. Ambient temps were in the 30's on the first cook, and 50's on the second cook.