Minion Method and lump charcoal

[olflathead]

Guys I normal use briquettes when doing long, low and slow cooks.But I'm wanting to cook a few turkeys at a higher temp without burning up my fuel to soon. Thus switching to lump. My question is does lump work as good using the minion method as briquettes.

 

[IamMadMan]

Simple answer is yes, you may have to break up large pieces to accommodate the maze.

I think the key is the type of smoker you have. I have an insulated vertical, with briquettes I can barely reach 250 and a full load is about 5 - 6 hours. With lump I can burn hotter if I need to and a load last 12 - 14 hours.

Also note that by wanting higher temperatures you will consume more fuel. So be prepared, you may have to add some more lump charcoal to the cooker as well.

 

[SkinEz]

I use lump all the time with the minion method. Never had a problem here. Does tend to burn hotter, thus burn time may be shorter. However, I always load up my basket. This way i don't need to worry about adding more fuel. Most of my cooks are in the 10-13 hour range and i never have to add fuel. Some times i do have to shake the basket to help with air flow, but amount of fuel is not a problem.

 

[Trunks]

So u guy fill basket and add hot coals randomly or u guys put In middle? I usually spread hot coals over basket randomly

 

[Harbormaster]

So u guy fill basket and add hot coals randomly or u guys put In middle? I usually spread hot coals over basket randomly

In my WSMs, I fill the ring but leave it low in the middle. Dump the lit in the low spot.
Not sure what you're cooking on.

 

[robbq]

Yup, works great. Just spread the lit stuff over the top like usual.

 

[c farmer]

I put the lite stuff at the side of the basket and let it burn across it.

 

[olflathead]

I am using the meadow creek 60'' pig roaster. Works great for low and slow