Rack Ribs / Minion Method???

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I'm a newer WSM owner and have managed to pull off two successful pork butts and a small beef brisquet thanks to all of the advice on this board and by using the minion method.

Tomorrow I'm going to give rack ribs a shot for the first time, and in reading up on the rib instructions I noticed that although a 5-6 hour cooking time is suggested at temps of 240F lid and 215F grate, the minion method isn't used. What is recommended is lighting a full chimney, filling the ring to 2/3 with unlit charcoal, allowing everything to ash over, then adding smoke wood, and then adding meat at 320F.

As I'm used to the minion method and my WSM tends to run around 245F lid temp, I'm wondering if there's any good reason to not use the minion method/use the instructions from the main page.

Just to try something new, and not to deviate from good advice, I'm certainly leaning towards using the non-minion approach, but was just wondering why minion wasn't recommended here.

Pros/Cons?

Thanks much, and a happy fourth to everyone!!!
 
Hi,

The idea behind the Minion Method is for long cooks to keep from having to add lit charcoal every few hours for 12+ hours.

With ribs taking a much shorter time (5-6 hrs)
a single load of lit charcoal is usually sufficient.
 
Both methods will work fine. I’ve used both; currently I use a Guru and I prefer the minion method because I can ramp the temperature up fairly easily and don’t have to worry about starting off at too high of a temperature.
 
I use the Minion Method on all cooks, I just find that method easier to control temps with as they climb instead of trying to get them to come down as usually the case if using the other method.
 
You'll be fine using either method. Many on the board prefer MM for all low/slow cooks. The "advantage" of standard firing up is that you have all briqs buring when you add the meat. Some believe they can detect a smell from unburned briqs - I can't. I do use the standard on shorter cooks but I've been doing it a long time and can manage the temp going down which is trickier than managing on the way up as with MM. I just like to use less briqs for shorter cooks which is not a particularly good reason because they can be reused, if you want.

Good luck on your cook. I would stick with what I felt most comfortable with - ribs do better with that consistent lower temp, ime..

Paul
 
Thanks for the responses.

I chickened out and used the minion method.

6 hours - worked great.

Cold Mtn. rub is too much for ribs though... BRITU rub next time round.

Hope you all had a lovely fourth.
 
I'm a "Minion" girl too. If you're looking for a good rib recipe, you might also consider trying Chris Lilly's "competition rib" recipe HERE. Outstanding. (You will, of course, substitute the letters "WSM" for the word "oven" in the recipe. Otherwise, everything stays the same.)

Keri C, still smokin' on Tulsa Time
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by A Mueller:
BRITU rub next time round.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Apply very sparingly - the dusting that is referred to in the recipe should be more than enough. The rub is geared toward tasting good at a competition (i.e. one rib only) - if you apply the "normal" rub amount, they will be incredibly salty if you eat a normal amount.
 
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