Minion Method - Where is the Smoke?


 
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Dave Pasma

TVWBB Member
I have used the Minion method for years with great success on my Weber kettle and my UDS.

When I grill on my Weber, I fill my starter with new briquettes, and I light a small starter cube underneath. For 5-10 minutes, thick black smoke pours out of the top of the starter. After that, the smoke tapers off until the briquettes are ready. I am assuming that the smoke is something on, and/or in the briquettes that smokes a lot as it burns off.

When I use the minion method for my low-and-slow cooks, of course I see smoke, but it looks and smells like the wood chunks I mixed in with the briquettes.

Is the same black smoke also there - mixed in with the wood smoke - only a little at a time (and not noticeable)?
 
I use the starter cubes all the time in my chimneys. It's parafin wax, not that harmful. That smoke pours off when you light the chimney as all the charcoal is lighting and is relatively cold when the flames hit it. If you notice after a chimney is about half to 3/4 lit it doesn't pour offf that smoke anymore. When you use minion method you've basically preheated the charcoal and it lights slowly. It's similar to cooking on an offset where people put their next log on top of the firebox to preheat it before putting it in. There probably is SOME bad smoke being released a little at a time from the charcoal but I don't really notice much once the chamber heats up and I don't have any smoke wood.
 
I've used Weber Starter Cubes for a couple of years now. I really like them. I simply light one, either directly on the charcoal grate or other suitable surface, place my chimney of charcoal directly over it. They are odorless, SMOKELESS, and do a very good job. Not sure what cubes you are using but I'd either switch to the Weber Cubes or another means of starting your charcoal.
 
The only time I had "thick black smoke" was when I used some suspect fire starters made for fireplaces. ( southern yellow pine which has a lot of resin )
Weber starter cubes have never failed me, what type of charcoal are you using?

Tim
 
I make my own starter cubes. Cardboard and wood chips and wax... scentsy, old jar candles, parafin, or weber cubes...
 
It is my understanding that the type of smoke (or gas) being exhausted from your pit depends on the type of fuel you are using and the temperature your fuel is burning at. Very high temps will exhaust black, which of course is undesirable. At lower temps, the gases that can exhaust can be white, or colorless. White is steam. The colorless gases is what you desire for your meat. The lignins play an important role and are a component in the wood you burn. I hope this helps.
 
I use the Weber cubes and don't get black smoke, so if you're using those that's not the issue. You will get more white smoke on start up if you are toward the end of a bag and just poor the charcoal in the chimney. Doesn't matter what kind. It's the extra charcoal dust causing more smoke.
 
Dave, I sometimes get black smoke, followed by heavy grey, light grey, blue-grey, then nothing. I have never used cubes. I think the variation in black and heavy grey I get has to do with the method I use to start the coals. ( I like to try different things). Once they are red hot, all visible smoke disappears. This makes sense for Minon as well since the coals are lighting up at full temp by the the surrounding hot coal. Think of it this way... there is an unlit coal inside of every lit coal, not smoking (making it possible to reuse coals after they have died down). Just my 2 cents anyway.
 
I used weber cubes for a long time. Loved them, quick and easy. Then I ran out and was in a bind... I got a cpl cotton balls and rubbed gasoline on them. Perfection!! Now, that's my go to method for starting my charcoal. For about $5 I get a cpl hundred fire starters. When using the cotton, I never notice an abnormal amount of smoke at start up, I agree with the statements above, I think it's the fuel/coal causing your smoke, not the cubes.
Tim
 
My bad for unknowingly saying the cubes are the cause of the black smoke, but if you have black smoke, something ain't right. I've never had black smoke and if I did, I'd be looking for the cause and make sure it don't happen again
 
I just lit a 1/2 chimney of K blue with a Weber cube for some chops tonite, and the smoke looked black for a minute,( against a snow covered pile). After that it turned white.
I would guess if you start with lesser coals in the chimney for the MM you don't notice the thick black smoke compared to a full chimney you normally grill with.

Tim
 
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