Looking for tips on my minion setup (long cooks)


 
A

Adam aka DocAutomatic

New member
My usual is filling up the ring w/ unlit KBB, make an indentation in the center, dump about 12 or so lit coals (from chimney) in the indent. It works... OK. I do sometimes need to stir things up late in the cook but that's not a big deal, much prefer that vs having to add coals. Btw, I use an ATC.

The main thing I hate is the billowing nasty smoke that takes a long time to stop before I can actually put the meat on. Additionally, my neighbor is a piece of work, starting a late night fire for an overnighter I've had a visit from the FD. Nothing wrong with cooking whenever, but I'd like to keep the excessive smoke during the initial lighting a bit less or at least for less time.

I have a cook planned for Wednesday. I'm going to try the tin can method and use Stubbs instead of KBB. Do you think this will cut down on the smoke &/or time it takes to put brisket on? Any other suggestions that won't adversely affect my cook & convenience of a no-reload cook?
 
The only white smoke I get is from the coals in the chimney starting. Once I dump the coals into the tin can and remove it no more white smoke.
 
Really? Man, I must be doing something wrong because it's taking me 1-1.5hrs from lighting the chimney to be satisfied with the level of smoke to put meat on. My coals are pretty gray by the time I dump them in.
 
I use the tin-can minion set up & I'm the same as Rich, no white smoke. Billowy white smoke is the wood catching quickly in direct contact with red hot briqs, not the briqs themselves.
I get billowy white smoke when I put a small lump of wood directly on the hot briqs after the can is removed. This only lasts 20/30 minutes. No big deal.
I assemble the cooker with meat on the grate straight away & catch the temps on the way up.
 
Adam, don't over think the process! I am a fairly impatient person, and the time I wasted waiting for 10-12 lit coals to get my WSM up to temp drove me crazy! Now, I light about 3/4 of a full Weber chimney to start my minion method. After about 15 minutes, I poor the lit coals over the full unlit coals, and at that point I add my meat. I know that using this many lit coals, I will be up to my target temp of *265 in about 15-20 minutes. I run my WSM with a foiled water pan, so at that point, I close all but 1 vent and the 3rd vent I close about 85 percent. After about 2-3 hours. I open one of the closed vents and close the vent that has been open. I do this every few hours so that air is flowing over different coals throughout the cook. I have yet to have to open the smoker to adjust the coals mid cook.
I hope this makes sense. It seems to me, you are waisting a lot of coals, and time waiting that long before you put the meat on. Good luck,
Tim
 
Hi there,

I also had the same problem with a neighbor next door a few years ago. If he keeps calling, just take him aside and tell him that you are smoking meat only and there's nothing to worry about and if he keeps calling the fire department you are going to send him the bill that they send you.

Are you letting the coals light up completely before you dump them or remove the tin can? I make sure that in the chimney, the coals no longer have white smoke and flames are coming out before i dump them in the unit. Also, I feel if i use 3 weber cubes instead of two, the coals light faster in the chimney which produce less white smoke.

I hope this helps,
 
Adam;
You may be "overthinking" the start method. I normally use the gas ignition on my Performer to start my chimney. However, when I use my WSM's to smoke, I use the tin can minion method:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?388...Pepper-Stout-Beef&highlight=Tin+Minion+Method

After dumping the lit coals into the tin can, I immediately remove the tin can (with pliers) and assemble the smoker. When using the 18.5" WSM I start closing the bottom vents when the smoker hits 200 degrees internal (I use a Maverick 732 on the top grate). It is important to catch the temperature on the way up to avoid getting too hot. As soon as the smoker temperature stabilizes at the target temperature I put in the meat. When doing ribs or Boston Butts I use both grates (normally do two Boston Butts or six half racks of ribs using rib racks with three on each grate).

When using the 14.5" WSM or the Mini, I have found that it works best to let the smoker get up to temp before closing it down. I use fewer starting briqs with the smaller smoker (8-12).

I do NOT wait after the smoker is up to temp. I have NO problem with any bad smoke taste on any food.

I might make a comment on neighbors who complain about smoke. I am fortunate as I have good neighbors. You might want to invite the "bad" neighbors over for a cook out and show them what you are doing. It may turn them around. It's at least worth the effort... Just a thought or two...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top