Long Cooks with Royal Oak lump and Minion Method?


 
D

Dave Russell

TVWBB Honor Circle
I've done a lot of really long cooks before with my upright drum smoker (no pan) using Royal Oak lump, but SO many folks insist on kinsford for it's consistancy....SO....

how many of you guys (or gals) have ACTUALLY tried an overnighter with good lump using the Minion method? Let me qualify: I mean actually get a decent nights sleep, with no bbq guru to "pit sit", (using a larger size water pan than the old one.)

I would expect the need to re-fuel sometime the next morning, but I'd think making it through the night with temps staying in the 200-250 range would be doable under decent ambient temps and minimal wind. Any successes or failures anyone care to relate? I'd really appreciate any tips. I know contests are won with kinsford, but I hate the smoke/smell and all the ash. With lump, I find it burns so clean that all the smoke is wood smoke. Also, I don't have to worry about the ash snuffing out the fire, even with vents closed almost all the way. Anybody got any feedback?

Thanks,
Dave
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Cris:
I put up a thead today about doing an overnight cook using Royal Oak lump.
http://tvwbb.infopop.cc/eve/fo...80069052/m/357105973 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks, Cris. I don't think I'll ever put a whole pork shoulder in my new wsm. Glad your wsm didn't tip over!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by craig castille:
I use quality lump (picnic, wicked good, humphreys) and have never had to refuel using minion method. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Craig, Academy Sports was carrying the B&B lump, and I believe it lasts a lot longer than the Royal Oak. I don't know where in the Nashville are I can find anything better now, though.

Since I don't have a guru, I would really like to use water in the pan overnight for the "peace of mind". However, I doubt I would try it without a better lump than Royal Oak unless we had a calm night that wasn't too cold.

Thanks,
Dave
 
Well, I hadn't been up there in a while so I gave 'em a call. It appears I'll be making a run to Academy Sports to pick up a few bags of B&B lump! Boy, am I glad they've got it back in stock, 'cause I just couldn't bring myself to pay shipping on charcoal!
 
George, thanks. Now that I've located the B&B lump, I feel a lot better about it. I've used the Minion method with different brands of briquettes and lump in my upright drum smoker that works like a BDS. The B&B lump IS good stuff. Sorry lump like Cowboy gives good lump a bad name, and most wouldn't believe the burn times with a good lump.

I appreciate all the tips, and hope to get an all night burn with water in the pan to help me sleep better. I'll add water the next morning if it looks like I have plenty of lump left to burn. I haven't decided whether I'll light the coals with my torch or dump some from a chimney. I'm wondering what the consensus is on placement of lit coals. I know some dump lit coals in the center where they have a bottomless coffee can. I've never tried that, and really don't see the point. I'll probably just use the torch.
 
I have been using either RO Lump or Grove for nearly all of my cooks so far on the WSM.

This isn't set in stone - but it's just my observations so far:

I've got the dual charcoal grates, & pack the ring pretty full.

However, on most occasions, I've had to "stir the coals" at about the 6-hour mark. Not sure of the exact nature of this, but I suspect that the charcoal is not catching evenly, plus the small stuff sometimes "plugs-up" the bottom of the fire, cutting oxygen & heat. Once I give 'em a poke, things heat up again & hold for around another 2-3 hours before I need to add some more lump.

I've been using the water pan all the time so far. I suspect that with the clay pot or foil, I may be able to cut-down on charcoal usage - but I'll probably wait to try that in a few more cooks.

I general, from what I've seen - I would add some coals & give 'em a stir before bedtime, and plan to check on things after about 6-hours of sleep, then maybe stir the coals again & go back to sleep for a while.
 
Ron, thanks so much for the reply! I too think that you can have your charcoal ring packed too tightly if you have too much small pieces. With the B&B, there is a lot of really large pieces, with smaller pieces to. My drum smoker's charcoal ring is about 18" round by 9" high. I'd fill it up, and not so much worry about packing pieces tight, but mixing in large and small as evenly as possible. I don't remember the last time I had any problems with the fire getting choked since I started doing that.
 
I just thought of something else. This is what I've done with my drum's charcoal ring. I load it while it's sitting on an old board, then put it in the bottom of the drum. Next, I sprinkle any small pieces that fell through the grate on top of the pile. I wish my wsm grate didn't have those gaps, but I really don't want to use a second grate since it worked great with just one in my drum as I described. I guess a second grate can't hinder oxygen flow or ash falling through significantly, though.
 
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