getting long burns


 
D

doug gillis

TVWBB Fan
On my last butt smoke I had a little trouble getting a long burn- went probably about 6 hrs before adding more K charcoal as according to my thermometer stuck through top of vent- started out 250 then had dropped to slightly under 200. I'm wondering if I'm being too stingy with the charcoal to start out with? I used the minion method-one chimney starter of unlit then one full of lit. Butt came out well though took 12 hrs and guessing I consumed 7-9 lbs of K along w/ chunks of hickory. I hear the wsm is very capable of producing long unnatended smokes.
 
Too much lit, not enough fuel. 'One full chimney of lit...' really isn't the Minion Method--it's much closer to a standard start-up.

Fill the ring completely with fuel. Start with 15 or so lit. When you add the lit, assemble the cooker and load in the meat immediately. Start closing lower vents when 25-35 degrees shy of your cooktemp target.
 
Agree with Kevin. Fill that ring halfway, add a few wood chunks, then fill until you can't fill it anymore. NOw you add 8-10 (this is my summer number) and a few more wood chunks.

Even with Kford, this'll get you 20+ hours.

Start adjusting your vents when you hit 200.
 
Yup, I agree with Kevin here (as I do most times :-)).

Also, did you use water in the water pan? You might want to consider the clay pot or the Piedmont Pan mods (documented in the modifications section). They will help to also conserve full and produce longer burns.

When I do butts/brisket/chuck roll I probably start off with a good 10-15 pounds of charcoal unlit. I've never measured it, but my charcoal ring is so heaping full of unlit, I sometimes have troubles getting the smoke wood and the 10-15 lit briqs to stay on top of it!!!

Last long cook I did was with K, 60 degrees outside avg, using clay pot base inside stock water pan, 20 pounds of chuck roll in the cooker, cooker inside a wind screen, and it ran for 16 hours, and I still had some fuel left.

Todd
 
I always do one chimney lit on top of a chimney unlit as the minion method comes up to temp way to slowly for my tastes (even with an empty water pan, it usually takes an hour to get up to temp - and the whole reason I do high heat cooks is to reduce cook time). Let me ask though - does the minion method conserve a lot of fuel? (How much would you guesstimate?) If it does I would consider switching back.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jay Rogers:

fill until you can't fill it anymore. NOw you add 8-10 (this is my summer number).

Even with Kford, this'll get you 20+ hours.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree Jay, I use more like 15-18 lit in the winter here, but during the summer I use about half that. 20+ hours is easily attainable with K, as long as the wind is minimal.
 
Minion's method doesn't conserve fuel on High heaters I don't imagine. I feel I benifit from what your doing (one full unlit on bottom, and one full lit on top, or vise versa, whatever) because I don't have to open the grill, or smoker to add more. I feel/know that I get a longer period of time w/ high heat with lid closed. im a big believer in lid closed as much as possible. I don't think we all realized you were talking high heat Pinny.
icon_wink.gif
...anyway thats what I do, and not sure why your having problems. If your shooting for like 300-350 or higher you'll need to inconvieniently crack your fuel door open about 1/2 inch -- or maybe 1 inch with a stick or something. that should get you there easily. I couldn't tell you about temps. of 400 or higher really cause im at the grill for that stuff. I feel the wsm lacks vents for that unless modified, plus honestly i suck at getting it up there that high.
icon_biggrin.gif
hope that helps you at least some. have a good one. -Dan

edit: nevermind pinny, I meant doug. I thought this was your post. Doug, I CERTAINLY dont know why you would get stuck at 200 degrees with a full chimney of lit...? even thought thats not the official "Minion Method" that doesn't confuse anyone else? were your vents wide open? if I would have done that I think I would have been well past... of course by now im confused.
 
This was the second time I used my WSM and filled the charcoal ring about halfway and put in about 12 -15 lit coals and got over a 9 hour burn. That was nealy twice as much time I needed to cook the ribs. Hope this pic turns out.

URL=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2158487570102474177HCBZBC]
2158487570102474177S600x600Q85.jpg
[/URL]
 
After reading these valuable responses I believe I've been a little stingy with the charcoal as don't think I have yet to pack the charcoal ring to full capacity.
 
Ya, that's what I'd guess to Doug. After I remove the food, I try to get back out and close up the WSM as quick as I can, shutdown all vents, etc, and the fire goes out pretty quick, saving whatever charcoal is left. The next day or so, I'll shake off the ash, then pile it into a coffee can and reuse it on the next cook.
Todd
 
I filled the ring most of the way and used 12 bricks in the chimney when I did some ribs. I had so much left over I used it to grill steaks a couple days later.
icon_biggrin.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top