I need some help real bad, no matter what i do i cant seem to get anything more than 240 lid temp. I do a minion start and everything is fine for the first 30 min or so then BAM.....temp drop, i need to keep the vents all the way open just te maintain a temp. I go to stir the coals then i notice that some of the coal are still unlit at almost 6 hours through, what am i doing wrong??/
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Temp help...URGENT BUTT IN DANGER!!!
- Thread starter Patrick
- Start date
Not really anything wrong, it's meant to be low and slow with a pan full of water. To get higher temps I use a empty pan. The water is a big heat sink and will absorb most of the heat. Also make sure your thermometer is correct.
Thats normal for a minion start, the charcoal will light and burn very slowly over many hours.
You are doing fine it just takes time unless your thermo is off.
Thats normal for a minion start, the charcoal will light and burn very slowly over many hours.
You are doing fine it just takes time unless your thermo is off.
What temp were you hoping for? 240 is a perfectly reasonable temp for a butt. With water in the pan I've never seen above 260 (which is kind of the point).
The unlit coals after 6 hours is fine - with the minion method things kind of slowly move out with new stuff firing up as the old stuff gets consumed.
The unlit coals after 6 hours is fine - with the minion method things kind of slowly move out with new stuff firing up as the old stuff gets consumed.
im using an 18 wsm, well i let the temp stay where they were and went out and bought a better thermometer,the butt came out perfectly. Thanks for all the help, i m still getting adjusted to the charoal world. I started with a full ring around a coffee can and then a full chimney full of lit K. Is this too much to be adding for a 10 hour cook? I mean there seems to be alot of unburned K in the basket, what would yall recommend?
I'm more used to lump than K, but many folks just fill the ring every cook and close the vents after the cook. Unless you have major leaks you can go out after a day or so and there will be leftovers - just knock the ash off and reuse whatever's there. Some briqs are a bit fragile once they've lit but give it a shot.
I use the full ring like you did even for 5 hour rib cooks, I have found that if I don't it gets hard to judge how much you need and you risk running out. The WSM just seems to work best with a full load. At the end I get to reuse almost half of it. However it seems to burn in different directions, so I am worried that by making a smaller it may burn in one direction and run out and then stop. Since you shut the vents and reuse next time there is no waste anyway.
Patrick IMHO you don't want anything more than 230 on a butt, low and slow. The water pan is indeed a heat sink, and from my personal experience i really recommend filling it on a long butt cook, really holds the moisture. If you do want to raise that temp a bit more for some reason or do so a bit faster, try tilting the lid and watch that needle closely.
Morrey Thomas
TVWBB Super Fan
Ryan;
Try using warm or hot water when you Minion start your WSM. It takes a ton of BTU's to get cold water warmed up. This should help conserve your K somewhat.
Also, try reading posts about foiled clay saucers in the water pan, thusly running the unit "dry". The clay saucer acts like a heat shield, and once hot, makes your WSM more efficient. I can not tell a bit of difference in the moisture content of my finished meats with the water pan empty or filled.
Try using warm or hot water when you Minion start your WSM. It takes a ton of BTU's to get cold water warmed up. This should help conserve your K somewhat.
Also, try reading posts about foiled clay saucers in the water pan, thusly running the unit "dry". The clay saucer acts like a heat shield, and once hot, makes your WSM more efficient. I can not tell a bit of difference in the moisture content of my finished meats with the water pan empty or filled.