Why can't I master the minion on a kettle?


 
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John09

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I've been trying multiple times and I keep failing miserably each time on both a 18" daisy wheel and a 22" otg. My general technique is to put up the snap in wire charcoal rails on each side. Then I take a small chimney full of kingsford and split it between each side. I push a couple wood chunks in.

Next I put about 12 coals in the chimney and light them with a cube. When they're hot I scatter half of them on each side of the grill. Today's result, and not an unusual one, is that with the otg one side of the grill was red hot glowing all the way to the bottom of the pile before the coals had even been on for an hour, the other side never caught and burned out.

When I use something like the ECB minion works fine for me, how am I messing it up this bad on the kettle? Am I just over firing it?
 
I'm not sure, sounds like you're doing the right thing to me. Only thing I can think of is the coals on the top of the chimney might not be as hot as you think, and the side that gets the coals first is the one not catching. With 12 coals, there isn't much of a top, so I don't know if that's a likely reason. Are the coals white when you transfer them?

Another reason could be if the wind is hitting one side very hard.
 
i tried the split kind of cook also. left and right. i even made sure that the openings were equal on both sides. no matter what i to could not get both sides to cook evenly. so i started just doing it with coals on one side with an opening under the coals. that way works the best.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by George L:
Lumping charcoal just to one side works best for me too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto here. Also, I use fire bricks instead of rails, like this (although this wasn't a minion start)

IMG_2049.jpg


IMO, 12 coals is overkill. I start minion method on my kettle using 3-5 coals.
 
Try splitting your starter cube in half. Place each piece slightly under 2 -3 coals on both of your piles and light.

Tim
 
I'm sura ya know this..but as reminder...make sure to have the "non-wheeled" leg pointed directly into the wind and the lid vent positioned opposite that leg...that's your best draft for a weber kettle and will help equalize two split fires on either side of that same leg
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Only thing I can think of is the coals on the top of the chimney might not be as hot as you think, and the side that gets the coals first is the one not catching. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I ran an experiment on Saturday with my One Touch Silver 22" just to see if I could maintain 225-250F. I had the coals split like you're doing with a baking pan in the middle. I had this very problem, even though I tried to avoid it - coals on top of chimney were not as well lit at the bottom, and more of the cooler ones were on one side and hotter on the other. The cooler side eventually went out.

Other than that, which I'll fix next time, I was able to hold the low temps with a little monitoring. I plan to try some ribs.
 
ditto on the one side approach.

I gave up doing 2 sides and now only do one side, with the top vent on the cool side of the grill. Done this method the last 10 + times and it works great!
 
Ron makes a good point on how to set up for a split burn..
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I would just add.. don't just dump half of your partially lit on one side.. than add your fully lit on the other side.. Divide your dumps into 1/4's.. Top half of your chimney dropped on both sides, than the same with your bottom half..

I've never had a problem doing a dual burn like this..

Tim
 
As an aside to this discussion....the guy who invented the "Smokenator" has a video on YOUTUBE demonstating the single fire technique in great detail.. vent settings, amounts of lit vs. unlit, food placement, etc. ... I've tryed this also...it works well
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I've had good luck using the MM in my OTG by using about 4-5 coals and only putting them on the edge of the pile (not spreading them around over the top). I also have coals on one side of the grate, not both. It's more like a sideways minion method.
 
Sometimes you might want two zones of charcoal, like a seared pork loin that's finished in a pan in the middle and a glaze. If trying to cook low, I generally do only use one pile of coals.

Anyway, the only time I ran into a problem with uneven temps between two piles of coals was when the lid was out of round. I'd check that for sure. I was smoking a turkey (using the crescent moon charcoal setup from the Weber book) before Christmas and had that problem on my dad's OTS.
 
What I do is line the charcoal grate with aluminum foil. Cover the grate with foil except under the coals. This will direct the air flow to the coals, I use the foil all the time for indirect grilling, both with the coals one one side or both sides. Hope this will help.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MaynardO:
What I do is line the charcoal grate with aluminum foil. Cover the grate with foil except under the coals. This will direct the air flow to the coals, I use the foil all the time for indirect grilling, both with the coals one one side or both sides. Hope this will help. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

and it keeps the bottom of the weber clean
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I use the one-sided pile and it works well, but I don't even use a brick wall or other divider. All you need is a few hot coals on top of a bigger pile.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Joon O:
I use the one-sided pile and it works well, but I don't even use a brick wall or other divider. All you need is a few hot coals on top of a bigger pile. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The fire bricks give you thermal mass which helps holding a steady temperature. I use them all the time for longer cooks.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John09:
I've been trying multiple times and I keep failing miserably each time on both a 18" daisy wheel and a 22" otg. My general technique is to put up the snap in wire charcoal rails on each side. Then I take a small chimney full of kingsford and split it between each side. I push a couple wood chunks in.

Next I put about 12 coals in the chimney and light them with a cube. When they're hot I scatter half of them on each side of the grill. Today's result, and not an unusual one, is that with the otg one side of the grill was red hot glowing all the way to the bottom of the pile before the coals had even been on for an hour, the other side never caught and burned out.

When I use something like the ECB minion works fine for me, how am I messing it up this bad on the kettle? Am I just over firing it? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I think that the biggest problem that you are facing is you don't have total control over your intake air. In the picture in Dons post. is the way that I set up my fire but with 1 exception,I completely cover the open portion of the charcoal grate with aluminum foil and I also fill the crack between the gate and the bowl. This makes the fire receive all the air from the bottom creating a natural draft. cold air in the bottom and hot out the top.It also makes for a very clean burning fire that burns very efficiently. I can get 5 hrs undisturbed of 240-250 deg cooking. Keep the exhaust w/o and the intake open about 3/16". I burn lump but I start it with 10-12 briquettes that are ashed over and laid on top. I start with the intake fully open, when the temp gets to 200 deg measured on the cooking grate I close it down to 3/16 " and it will settle out 240-250 deg. if you need it hotter for say beer can chicken go a little under 1/2 open. good luck.
 
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