Another question?

[Mike M.]

Should I or should I not burn up any left over coals or wood? Can I not save what does not burn up during smoke? I use to do this with old weber kettle grill. Thanks

 

[Tom Ferguson]

Yep, you can re-use coals and/or wood. One caution, however: if you leave the coals in the WSM between cooks, they might tend to get damp if your weather is humid. That will affect the temp in your cooker, they won't burn as hot at the start.

I'm in Florida, so humidity is an issue. I re-use coals, but always mix in new charcoal with them. I only use new coals in the chimney, especially when using Minion Method.

 

[Doug D]

Leftover briquets (kept dry) tend to burn like lump charcoal-- hotter and faster, so that needs to be considered when using them. I use them for grilling and personally prefer them for initially lighting my Minion Method cooks as I find it helps get the cooker temp ramped up faster. For best control, until you get used to how the WSM behaves, using all fresh briquets is advisable.

 

[Tom Ferguson]

Doug,

What you suggest sounds logical, even though I hadn't thought of it that way. I'll definitely try this next time out.

That's what's great about Q'ing... all these different ideas and experiences. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

 

[John L]

I do what Doug does, and save a bunch on what I'd use for grilling in my kettle. You'd be surprised at how much charcoal you can "re-purpose" (I watch too much HGTV).

 

[Guest]

I also use them in my kettle.