your opinion on the minion burn

[martyleach]

Minion has worked great in my UDS for a long time. I have used Kingsford Blue and Stubbs. I prefer Kingsford. No problem!

[CustomBBQ]

I started out always lighting all my coals then adding at first, in a uds. Then I tried the minion method and haven't gone back since. I poor on the hot coals and let it get going for at least a half hour or so, till the smoke looks clean. I haven't had any wierd flavors except for when I oversmoked......oooops, haha.

[swamprb]

Jim Minion uses a weed torch.

[gtr]

Minion method works great for me.

[LT72884]

interesting.. thanks for all the input on this. i use RO made in georgia USA. i make sure it is the kind from the USA and not other places.

im wondering if i dont have enough wood, so by the time it gets to thin blue, its pretty much burnt up. so i dont get enough of the smoke from the thin blue. that could be it. maybe i should upgrade to 5 chunks of wood instead of 2 or 3 small sizes.

ill give it a shot.

thanks

[mbshop]

i use it all the time and have no issues.

[VoodoChild]

Minion Here ...Works Fine For me !

[LT72884]

oh, drip pan doesnt have anything in it. just a disposable pan.

here is the size of chunks i use.



found this on google images and thats exactly the size i use. I use 2 of them or 3 of them at once.

[Bludawg]

A Chunk is the size of a mans Fist,What you have in your hand would qualify as 1 chunk, however being small pieces like that they will burn up PDQ so I give that about a 1/2 chunks worth. I use 5-6 man sized chunks in my UDS buried in the lump.

[funugy]

Them are some pretty small wood chunks. The wood chunks I use are roughly the size of a half-fist to full-fist if that makes sense, and depending on what I am cooking, I use anywhere between 2-5 chunks.

Oh, and by the way, nothing but minion in my uds.

[caseydog]

When you look at the physics involved (yes, I'm an art major but I got all As in physics), no matter what method you use, you want to have your fuel pre-heated and burning as quickly as possible. Cold fuel creates a lot of bad smoke as it tries to get burning. The same s true for any carbon-based fuel.

The whole idea behind the Minion Method is not stretching out your fuel supply, IMO, but keeping a steady supply of lit fuel, supplied by super heated unlit fuel.

Think about a 1967 Chevy small block with a carburetor on a cold morning. To start that engine, you are going to have to pump the gas and pull the choke. It is going to burn a whole lot of gas, very badly, until it gets up to operating temperature.

When I dump my lit coals onto my Minion method setup, I know it is going to be like starting up that 67 chevy small block. It will need time to start burning efficiently. Once it gets going, it keeps going better than any other method I have used.

The only deviation I use is to add small chunks of smoke wood to the fire if I stop smelling wood smoke too early in the cook.

CD

[LT72884]

ok, im willing to bet thats my problem. gonna use 5 chunks burried in me lump and use a minion burn and pre heat for 45 minutes until it looks blue or not to thick.

that actually might solve my problem. they burn up way to fast only giving off the initial smoke from ignition which can be not so tasty. i dont get enough of the true blue to compensate for the other smoke

thanks much guys

[LT72884]

Originally Posted by caseydog

When you look at the physics involved (yes, I'm an art major but I got all As in physics), no matter what method you use, you want to have your fuel pre-heated and burning as quickly as possible. Cold fuel creates a lot of bad smoke as it tries to get burning. The same s true for any carbon-based fuel.

The whole idea behind the Minion Method is not stretching out your fuel supply, IMO, but keeping a steady supply of lit fuel, supplied by super heated unlit fuel.

Think about a 1967 Chevy small block with a carburetor on a cold morning. To start that engine, you are going to have to pump the gas and pull the choke. It is going to burn a whole lot of gas, very badly, until it gets up to operating temperature.

When I dump my lit coals onto my Minion method setup, I know it is going to be like starting up that 67 chevy small block. It will need time to start burning efficiently. Once it gets going, it keeps going better than any other method I have used.

The only deviation I use is to add small chunks of smoke wood to the fire if I stop smelling wood smoke too early in the cook.

CD

our 1941 414 chevy is that way.. puff puff bang bang boom purr. takes about 10 minutes for it to get going. ill have to remember that. I dont take physics untill next semester. im in calc 2 right now and then ill take physics 1 and 2. hopefully they will go over this or at least i can ask them. haha