Why you light it like you do?


 
Bill W San Diego said:
Great post Dave. To answerer your question, no, I've never tried a layer of briquettes in the bottom before putting the can in the center. I will try it and see what the difference is.
Thanks
Bill
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Bill, reason I asked is that I'd think you'd get a little longer burn for long cooks. Just a thought.
 
Lew said:
I'm a B-C guy. I make an indention in the middle and pour in 12-15 lit coals. Snake method on my Smoke EZ. I've found it easier to get thin blue smoke with the snake method.
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Thanks, Lew. Do you think it's easier to get TBS simply because there's a lot less contact with green briquettes?
 
I have a Stoker, and use B if I'm using briquettes. With lump, I fill the ring with lump, then push it away from the point where the Stoker's airflow comes in, creating a space for dumping a partial chimney of lit. This also packs the lump together tightly for a more consistent burn. I find that this gets my temperature up quickly, without overshooting (the Stoker does a good job of controlling the temperature on the way up). The fire progresses away from the point of origin, in the direction of the airflow.
 
Dave Russell said:
Thanks, Lew. Do you think it's easier to get TBS simply because there's a lot less contact with green briquettes?
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Dave Russell said:
Thanks, Lew. Do you think it's easier to get TBS simply because there's a lot less contact with green briquettes?
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With the Smoke EZ and the snake method, the wood chunks are buried under the coals at intervals and are farther away from the fire initially. They have longer to warm up before the fire actually gets to them.
 
Oh, I thought you were talking about the charcoal burn. But yeah, that's the same reason I like to put the wood on spots around the outside where there's no lit. Thanks.
 
I fill it with desired amount of charcoal and dump half starter of coals evenly over bed of charcoal never had an issue and don't have to add charcoal til around 8 hours so don't see any need to do it any different ?
 
Stephen Hammond said:
Dave,

I was using Kingsford Competition. I poured a hole bag in charcoal ring, made a hole to the grate, and dumped about 40 lit ones in the hole. I used 40 because it was in the 20's. Should I have used a tin can?
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Stephen, I don't think there is much difference in making a hole and using a tin can. Unless I'm doing it wrong, the can gets pulled out of the coals once you dump the hot coals inside it anyway. But even if the can stays in place for the duration of the cook, it still transfers the heat (via direct contact) to the adjacent coals and the fire burns toward the outer ring.

Dave Russell said:
My take on the tin can method is that it probably burns just as clean as the MM, and that it may be a superior method if using cheap briquettes like Kbb. I say that because the ash isn't falling on top of the unlit as much and potentially suffocating the fire, with the fire burning OUT, as opposed to just DOWN.
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I had always thought that the "original" Minion Method and the tin can method were the same thing, basically put the hot coals in the center of unlit coals, and that over time the MM "evolved" into just dumping the hot coals on top. As far as it being superior, I don't know about that as I've only used KBB.

That said, I do see the logic of the as not falling on top theory. However that doesn't seem to hang together the the "evolution" that I just described. Meaning if burning out reduces the suffocation factor, it makes more sense that one would go from dumping the hot "haphazardly" on top of the unlit to strategically placing the hot in the center of the unlit.

Regardless I have started giving the tin can method a try recently to see if I notice any difference. I think I've tried it once, but not on a really long cook so not sure it made a difference.
 
I always do B. I seem to get a longer, more even cook that way. Started out doing C, but it turned out to be more work, and by the time the fire started to get to the outer edge of the ring it would die out.
 
I usually dump a bunch of lump in the basket, make a little bowl with my hands in the center--not all the way to the bottom--and then dump 1/2 chimney of coals in that bowl. Seems to work great that way. I just got a flame thrower (torch) from Harbor Freight.. blasted the center and got it going quickly :) It was fun and it seemed to work fine -- only did it once so far as I got it around 2 days ago.
 
Jennifer said:
I usually dump a bunch of lump in the basket, make a little bowl with my hands in the center--not all the way to the bottom--and then dump 1/2 chimney of coals in that bowl. Seems to work great that way. I just got a flame thrower (torch) from Harbor Freight.. blasted the center and got it going quickly :) It was fun and it seemed to work fine -- only did it once so far as I got it around 2 days ago.
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Jennifer, both are great methods. I finished a 17hr butt cook this afternoon. For this cook, I packed a bottom layer of cheap Backyard Grill walmart briqs on the bottom and then poured in some Cowboy lump. Then I filled in the gaps with some little pieces of Royal Oak lump, making a crater like you described doing to dump half a chimney of Stubbs briqs in. Thankfully, my PartyQ didn't have any problems, and I only had to hold the two nine pounders an hour and a half before our party.
 
Having recently gotten a 26'er kettle I've used option B) Light about 15 briquets in the chimney and pour on unlit coals. It's work great so far with a butt and ribs.
 
This is my version of the tin can method


IMG_4486 di BBQness, su Flick

I use 14 light briqs to start. It gives to me up 13 h of smoking T around 225 F with water in (2 gal). The start point is just in front of the vent and it gives to me a great control. Last time I did the tin can method from the center and it did not give to me the same control and duration.
That is 22.5 WSM.

For the 26.75 OTG I use only the snake method and It lasted up to 18 h


IMG_3323 di BBQness, su Flickr
 
EnricoB said:
This is my version of the tin can method


IMG_4486 di BBQness, su Flick

I use 14 light briqs to start. It gives to me up 13 h of smoking T around 225 F with water in (2 gal). The start point is just in front of the vent and it gives to me a great control. Last time I did the tin can method from the center and it did not give to me the same control and duration.
That is 22.5 WSM.

For the 26.75 OTG I use only the snake method and It lasted up to 18 h


IMG_3323 di BBQness, su Flickr
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Enrico, both of your methods look like they'd work really well for light meat loads. Have you tried just pouring half a chimney of lit in a center depression in your 22" WSM?
 
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