Blankety Blan Temperatures


 
Michael G. (Canada Mike)

Michael G. (Canada Mike)

TVWBB All-Star
So, last night about 8 pm I put two 5 lb pork butts in my smoker. I had used the Minion method, and everything was running all right except that every time i do an adjustment it seems to change everythg radically. When I went to bed it was running at about 255. Woke up at 5 (that's when the cat likes to go outside), and it was down to 170. Opened a few vents and went back to bed when it hit 240.

At 8 it was again back down, this time to about 150. I opened it up, and all the Kingsford was gone - just some ash. So, I started again with a fresh Minion set up. Since then it's been running all right about 235-250. Now I've taken off the butts and put on three racks of ribs and a bit later a beer can chicken.

It's frustrating when it seems like you old pros can get your temp just right and it never budges. I had little wind, quite warm weather, and never lifted the lid till morning. sheesh.
 
How much charcoal did you initially put in the charcoal ring?

I don't even measure; I just fill up the chamber as much as I can when doing an overnighter.
 
what your describing may be your problem. Use the minion method.Fill the ring up and dump 15-20charcoal cubes lit on top. Then it will burn down overnight. Sounds like you had about 3lbs to much lit in there.
 
Thanks for the clarification J.
Canada Mike, looks like I'm in the same boat as you. I haven't done really long cooks yet, but I was wondering about the whole temperature consistency. I was doing the same thing as you, filling the chamber and then lighting a whole chamber. After re-reading the Minion method, I now see the error of my ways, we should be only lighting a few briquettes, instead of a whole chimney

Live and learn.
 
Precisely.

By only using relatively few lit at the outset (I use 12-18 depending on conditions) you set up the dynamic that makes the Minion work well: By restricting air intake when the temps rise toward your desired cook temp you disallow many coals to be lit quickly and set up sort of a balance--just enough air coming in to keep the altready-lit going and to allow them to slowly light the unlit coals they're touching but not so much that this occurs with any speed. This dramatically lengthens the time one can cook without adding fuel. Further, one doesn't see the errant temps Michael describes as the whole process is more stable. Though it's possible to have a spike from an overly dry piece of smokewood combusting all at once (leave everything alone--the restricted air intake and the passing of a little time is usually all that's required), and it's possible to have affects from ambient conditions (a breeze blowing in an open vent, the cooling of nighttime temps), these are issues that are easily reckoned--and reckoned with.
 
Thanks - that's certainly it. I keep thinking I understand stuff and don't review the instructions. You'd think at my age I'd know better. Good news is that it all ended up well.

Thanks for the pointer.
 
you're not alone Mike.
i just did my first full day cook yesturday with my WSM and yup...TOTALLY ignored the Minion method, and as a result, i couldn't keep my temps up for longer than an hour, went through about 4 times the amount of lump i should have and overall cooking time took about 5 hours longer than it should have!

i think experience causes you to slow down and follow proper technique. the first time you get excited to cook something and just do it without taking into consideration the importance of all the information that these forums provide.

Cheers!
 
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