The Minion Method ??


 
L

Lance L

TVWBB Fan
I have a 18.5 WSM and have been using the Minion Method by putting a open bottom can in the center of the charcoal ring then putting hot coals in the can and pulling the can out the center. Now I'm seeing a lot of people just put unlit coals in the charcoal ring then spread the hot coals on top of the unlit coals.

While I think both would work fine I would like know what you use and why?

Will changing from the hot coals in the center to the hot coals on top make burn time longer or shorter?


Thanks Lance
 
I just put the lit coals on top. It's easy to do, doesn't require any extra "equipment" (open bottom can) and it has always worked fine for me. When it comes to barbecue, I usually find that simpler is better for my purposes.
 
I get a better burn using the coffee can method. KB makes a lot of ash. It may not matter using lump.
 
I just like the can cuz it makes me feel like I know what I'm doing....probably doesn't make a lot of difference. ;)
 
I use lump, fill the ring with unlit, then dump lit on top and spread it out.

The only reason I do it that way is because I'm lazy.

I add smoke wood one chunk at a time after the fire burns clean.
 
Hi Lance,

Jim Minion used both methods at various times. I don't remember if he found one to be 'better' than the other. Either way works very well. All comes down to what you, the pitmaster, wants to use.
 
I did forget to tell y'all what coal I'm using didn't I?
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I always just spread the lit on top and never had a problem, works fine even with Kingsford. Never tried the can though so don't know how it would compare.
 
I put the lit on one end, and let it light across (for briquettes, because there's much less chance of ash smothering the fire). I believe the "light across" variation of this method gives you a longer burn.

Only issue I've had with the coffee can method - while it does work - is that coals tend to get lit in every direction, which means coals are expended sooner, and more lit coals can make you run higher temps - possibly leading to more vent adjustments, adding of water, etc. to stabilize temps.
 
Michael O'Neal said:
I just put the lit coals on top. It's easy to do, doesn't require any extra "equipment" (open bottom can) and it has always worked fine for me. When it comes to barbecue, I usually find that simpler is better for my purposes.
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I do what Michael does....
I tried doing the tin can method but for me it took a long time to come up to temp. Maybe I was doing it wrong.
 
I've been doing the can trick and it seems to work ok so I will stick with it for this weekends cook because we're feeding a few people and I don't wanna deal with unexpected problems.
 
Consistentcy is important to me. I get consistent results with the tin can minion method. I ALWAYS do the tin can, now.

I even use it with my Mini-Joe as well as the WSM. I mostly use Kingsford Original. I buy it on sale by the hundreds of pounds (generally about 400 lbs at a time) and it costs less. It's that simple.

FWIW
Dale53:wsm:
 
Lance L said:
Will changing from the hot coals in the center to the hot coals on top make burn time longer or shorter?
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I just dump the hot coals on top. It seems to me that with the can method the flame front burns outwardly only, but with the dump-on-top method the flame front proceeds downwardly and outwardly. I would think that a longer flame front path would give a longer burn, and that points to the dump-on-top method. The dump-on-the-side method sounds interesting in that it would seem to give the longest burn path.
 
While i've never tried the tin can method I have found that just dumping the lit coals on top works wonderful for me.
 
After filling charcoal I simply use a small trowel and push back the coals in the middle and make a pocket in the center with maybe 1 layer left on the bottom and dump the lit coals in there. Always works great.
 
I've tried both ways with KO and really couldn't tell any difference. But then again I'm old, slow and full of fleas and probably wouldn’t notice any difference
 
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