Minion Method - Bitter Smoke?
- Thread starter Dennis T.
- Start date
Hi all. Bumping an old thread here. I've been reading up on this subject for seemingly the past two bbq seasons and found this thread. I had to join just to reply. Very informative and I appreciate all of the info provided by the posters, mods, and Jim Minion himself.
I had a lot of trouble with this for the first few seasons I used my smoker. Not necessarily using the minion method, but I was firing the WSM using the method in the instructions and adding coal every few hours. I basically always use Kingsford standard, as I was having too much inconsistency with lump.
At any rate, I don't feel like I have a sensitive palate but I most DEFINITELY could taste some sort of flavor from the smoke the charcoal was putting out. It was not mental, and it was not wood or bad charcoal. I have since switched to firing the WSM using standard method found on this site, waiting until all coals are gray before assembling the WSM, and I no longer have the issue.
While I certainly respect the opinions expressed here, I also have had experiences that contradict some of those thoughts and opinions. I don't believe that the billowy smoke you get from the Kingsford briquettes goes away because of heat, though I did see Chris's report from his interview with the manufacturer. A simple experiment shows otherwise, one I in fact performed last night during a rib smoke accidentally.
I had the WSM fired using standard method and must not have filled the chamber with enough fuel. I was starting to get temperature drops about 3 hours in. I had my ribs foiled at this point so I wasn't concerned about additional smoke flavor, but needed more fuel. Thus, I added probably 25-30 coals. Sure enough, the white billowy smoke and distinct charcoal smell began emanating from the top vent/open door almost right away, and ceased after 20-30 minutes when the coals were fully lit.
The pit was certainly hot enough at this point to kill any of that output if you subscribe to that theory - but there it was anyway.
I'm not trying to be argumentative nor a conspiracy theorist but there is no doubt something that happens when you first light these coals up in a fire or otherwise that produces an additional cloud of chemical-smelling smoke that common sense would dictate is capable of flavoring your meat.
I can't speak to the Minion method. I've only tried it once and I didn't set it up very well so when I woke up to check on it the fire was out. Perhaps as others have stated the effect is minimized when using the Minion method due to only a few coals lighting at a time.
Also perhaps I do have a more sensitive palate than I realize, but I don't think so.
I guess if I'm going to Minion, though, I'm going to go with lump and for my shorter smokes the solution is just going to be to make sure all the coals are lit before assembling the WSM and adding the meat. If I need to add more fuel, I'll just get it going in my starter and then pour it in using a shovel to direct it into the chamber.
Has anything new come up about this subject recently that I may have missed?
Thanks again for all of the info and for hearing me out.
I had a lot of trouble with this for the first few seasons I used my smoker. Not necessarily using the minion method, but I was firing the WSM using the method in the instructions and adding coal every few hours. I basically always use Kingsford standard, as I was having too much inconsistency with lump.
At any rate, I don't feel like I have a sensitive palate but I most DEFINITELY could taste some sort of flavor from the smoke the charcoal was putting out. It was not mental, and it was not wood or bad charcoal. I have since switched to firing the WSM using standard method found on this site, waiting until all coals are gray before assembling the WSM, and I no longer have the issue.
While I certainly respect the opinions expressed here, I also have had experiences that contradict some of those thoughts and opinions. I don't believe that the billowy smoke you get from the Kingsford briquettes goes away because of heat, though I did see Chris's report from his interview with the manufacturer. A simple experiment shows otherwise, one I in fact performed last night during a rib smoke accidentally.
I had the WSM fired using standard method and must not have filled the chamber with enough fuel. I was starting to get temperature drops about 3 hours in. I had my ribs foiled at this point so I wasn't concerned about additional smoke flavor, but needed more fuel. Thus, I added probably 25-30 coals. Sure enough, the white billowy smoke and distinct charcoal smell began emanating from the top vent/open door almost right away, and ceased after 20-30 minutes when the coals were fully lit.
The pit was certainly hot enough at this point to kill any of that output if you subscribe to that theory - but there it was anyway.
I'm not trying to be argumentative nor a conspiracy theorist but there is no doubt something that happens when you first light these coals up in a fire or otherwise that produces an additional cloud of chemical-smelling smoke that common sense would dictate is capable of flavoring your meat.
I can't speak to the Minion method. I've only tried it once and I didn't set it up very well so when I woke up to check on it the fire was out. Perhaps as others have stated the effect is minimized when using the Minion method due to only a few coals lighting at a time.
Also perhaps I do have a more sensitive palate than I realize, but I don't think so.
I guess if I'm going to Minion, though, I'm going to go with lump and for my shorter smokes the solution is just going to be to make sure all the coals are lit before assembling the WSM and adding the meat. If I need to add more fuel, I'll just get it going in my starter and then pour it in using a shovel to direct it into the chamber.
Has anything new come up about this subject recently that I may have missed?
Thanks again for all of the info and for hearing me out.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I don't think so. And welcome to the board.
I Minion the start for all cooks, high heat (the vast majority of the time my cooks are over 300) as well as low/slow. Depending on the cook, I use from 6-25 lit briquettes as the starter - regardless of whether I fill the ring with lump or briquettes. (I almost never use Kingsford blue, though have.) The coals are always well along when I add them. I've never noticed a flavor issue. I've never needed to add more fuel either.
I Minion the start for all cooks, high heat (the vast majority of the time my cooks are over 300) as well as low/slow. Depending on the cook, I use from 6-25 lit briquettes as the starter - regardless of whether I fill the ring with lump or briquettes. (I almost never use Kingsford blue, though have.) The coals are always well along when I add them. I've never noticed a flavor issue. I've never needed to add more fuel either.
Dave/G
TVWBB Emerald Member
I never had any issues using the MM no matter what brand of charcoal I used. Are you sure the white smoke that appeared after you added fuel was coming from charcoal? Maybe coming from some smoke wood that didn't completely burn, but smoked when hit with the added lit. Kingsford does have a unique odor when lighting in a chimney, but so do a lot of other brands I've used. I cannot tell if food was cooked over K or any other brand. I like the Rancher sold at Trader Joes and a few others, but in the pinch I'll use K with no worries. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
Geir Widar
TVWBB Wizard
I see several are talking about the colour of the smoke from the WSM.
How can you be sure that blue smoke tastes better than white? What's the theory/science behind this good smoke/bad smoke?
How can you be sure that blue smoke tastes better than white? What's the theory/science behind this good smoke/bad smoke?
Yes, I'm quite sure it was from the charcoal. I will perform some experiments when I have some time - maybe this weekend. I'll take some pictures and leave the wood completely out of the equation.
Again, for the sake of clarity, this wasn't done using the minion method. This was just a regular old smoke when I didn't even assemble the smoker until all of the coals in the chamber were lit. There was no visible smoke. I added the meat and the apple wood and you see a fairly light, sweet smelling smoke coming out of the vents. This is clearly the smoke from the wood.
Hours later, add 25-30 Kingsford briquettes onto an already hot pit and you get that distinct, Kingsford-smelling burning odor and a thicker plume of smoke.
Give it a shot - you'll see the same thing. Maybe I'll try to cook a burger or something under each condition and see if I can do a blind taste test.
I was kind of surprised to stumble on a lot of chatter that this was some kind of imagined or placebo effect, or that those who notice a difference are some kind of "super tasters". I always thought it was just common sense because it's very real.
Again, perhaps this isn't the appropriate thread for these observations, as this effect may well not occur during a minion method smoke. As others have said and I guessed above, maybe when using mm the effect is lessened because only a few coals are getting lit at one time.
I'll see if I can conduct some very unscientific experiments (will try to keep the beer consumption to a minimum
) and let all know what I find.
Again, for the sake of clarity, this wasn't done using the minion method. This was just a regular old smoke when I didn't even assemble the smoker until all of the coals in the chamber were lit. There was no visible smoke. I added the meat and the apple wood and you see a fairly light, sweet smelling smoke coming out of the vents. This is clearly the smoke from the wood.
Hours later, add 25-30 Kingsford briquettes onto an already hot pit and you get that distinct, Kingsford-smelling burning odor and a thicker plume of smoke.
Give it a shot - you'll see the same thing. Maybe I'll try to cook a burger or something under each condition and see if I can do a blind taste test.
I was kind of surprised to stumble on a lot of chatter that this was some kind of imagined or placebo effect, or that those who notice a difference are some kind of "super tasters". I always thought it was just common sense because it's very real.
Again, perhaps this isn't the appropriate thread for these observations, as this effect may well not occur during a minion method smoke. As others have said and I guessed above, maybe when using mm the effect is lessened because only a few coals are getting lit at one time.
I'll see if I can conduct some very unscientific experiments (will try to keep the beer consumption to a minimum
RichPB (richlife)
TVWBB Wizard
Geir, I'm one of those who (though relatively new at this) has found a "thin blue smoke" to be better than a "puffy white smoke" (or any other color heavy looking smoke) for the final taste. The reason is simply that a heavy smoke is an indication that all by-products are not being fully burned. That heavy smoke almost always happens with a newly lit WSM. No magic to it -- the temp increases, the by-products burn away, any briquette surface materials are gone (from the first mass lighting) and the smoke gets thinner and "bluer" looking. Somewhere I read that if you can smell the smoke, it's there even if it's so thin you can't see it. (Not a real good indicator if your nostrils are saturated with smoke
Rich