Non-Kingsford Burn Time

[Lee-Rowlands]

Hi Guys, using the MM with a non kingsford briquette I'm finding that I can't go beyond 12 hours while maintaining a cooking temp.
I've come to the conclusion that I will need to add more fuel during a cook in order to get the longer burn times.
I have a feeling that if I were to add already lit coals the temp would be difficult to bring under control so, would adding unlit coals cause the the wrong kind of smoke and make the food taste like the inside of a coal bucket?

Many thanks, Lee.

 

[Paul G.]

IMO, no. Be sure you still have some glowing embers before you add the unlit or it won't start. Might even want to leave the acess door open for a few minutes to let it get a little more oxygen.

Paul

 

[Greg Rempe]

Lee,

In the beginning (not so long ago) I used to misgauge fuel all the time, so, I would add during the cook. I never experienced a bad taste when adding unlit to the kettle. Some on this site will argue that it is potentially hazardous to add unlit to burning coals but I, along with many, am not a subscriber to that way of thinking. Truth be told, that is the basis of the Minion Method. Small amount of lit over a bunch of unlit. However, if you look for the long burn times without having to re-fuel at any point during a 14-18 hour stretch, MM is the only way to go.

Anyway, to make a long story longer, I haven't experienced a drop in taste quality when adding unlit coals to lit ones. I have been eating Q forever over coals and I am still kickin'!!

Good Q'in to ya...hope my two cents helped!

 

[m homchick]

I did a 16 hour the other day using the "Method" and found I needed to add fuel at around 12 hours, probably because I was using BGE lump. But, while I can't vouch for the effect the smell has on flavor because I wasn't cooking anything, I have tested adding unlit coals to an existing charcoal fire, using both briquettes and lump, and while the lighting briquettes smelled pretty bad, the time I added unlit lump to the fire resulted in a perfectly pleasant odor.

 

[Jim Evans]

I also had to add some lump about the 12 hour mark. I filled the ring and used the MM at the start of the smoke. I didn't need much to finish the cook, but it worked out very well and tasted delicious.