I have a 22" one-touch gold, does the minion method using lump charcoal work well in a kettle grill? And if so, given the size difference lump and kingsford how much charcoal should I use? Thanks!

Shelley

You could use the minion method if you were to try to do a low and slow.....but it would take a fair amount of attention to maintain and control temps.

I'm not sure of the second part of the question.

There are different size and density issues with lump. Kind of depends on what brand you are using, how much meat you are attempting to cook, and at what temps are going to be maintained as to whether or not there is an answer to quantity.

I don't know if this helps or not, but try again for sure.

Craig,

Thanks for responding. I plan on smoking 3 racks which I have done on my kettle before using charcoal rails. My results have been good, but it took a ton of monitoring. I've been reading about the minion method and thought it seemed like it needs less attention. Am I incorrect on that assumption?

Also, according to other posts the minion method seems to require briquets - a chimney full of unlit and then 15 lit placed on top of the stack. That's very percise. Lump charcoal with its irregular size may require a different amount -- or am I over thinking this?

No, actually you're not. However, Craig is quite right about the differences in lumps. It is imprecise. As far as using it for a MM in a kettle, I have many times. It can mean less monitoring but it is not like using the MM in a WSM and it takes a while to get used to it. You must use less lit fuel at the beginning and you must restrict the air intake from the lower vents at the outset. With lump I essentially fill the sides then put a few pieces of fully lit on each side, not many. I load the meat in at the same time.

Vent changes can be dramatic. Start with barely opened lower vents. It works but there is a learning curve. Like the WSM: You must be patient. You also need to be prepared to adjust your planned finish time based on the flow of cook temps through the cook--though you can get good at it, don't plan on nailing a 225 temp, say, at the outset and maintaining it for 6 hours. Get it going slowly, watch what's happening temp-wise, and just let it stabilize. Be patient--very patiient. Because of the proximity of vent to fuel to meat you cannot keep messing with the vent. If the temps workable leave it alone, don't chase a temp--not likely to happen. Nothing about doing this is hard but it takes doing it and getting used to it and patience. I recently said in another post: Most people have problems with low/slow on a kettle because they use to much lit and have problems grilling because they don't use enough.

Don't use Cowboy or other cheap chippy lumps.

Shelby,

Here's a thread on the BBQ Baffle. It is designed for the Weber kettle and works pretty darn well.

I did a six hour cook with the Baffle using the Minion Method and Kingsford briquettes. You should get at least that using quality lump (and operational kettle vents).

Jim

Guys, thanks a million for the advice. This weekend I'm gonna try MM in the kettle - it will be a good test of my patience. Besides good ribs are so worth it. Btw, I also ordered the BBQ Baffle - it sounds like a great solution for the future.
s

A question for those with a BBQ baffle: How close does the vertical portion come to the edges of the kettle?

I'm anxiously awaiting the announcement of a version for the 18.5" kettle.

thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Ken Irwin:
A question for those with a BBQ baffle: How close does the vertical portion come to the edges of the kettle?

I'm anxiously awaiting the announcement of a version for the 18.5" kettle.

thanks!

Ken,

The vertical portion has about an inch clearance on each side. But the lower portion (under the charcoal) is pretty long, so you would not have much cooking space if you tried to cut it down.

Have you emailed the company? They are pretty open to suggestions.

Jim

I've been experimenting with doing low and slow on my kettle using lump. Yesterday I tried out the following set-up. I filled up one Weber charcoal basket with unlit lump, and put it on one side of the kettle, with a dry drip pan next to it. I then lit 4 medium-sized pieces of lump in a chimney, and as soon as those were going, I put the lit pieces on top of the basket, and put the lid on. At this point, all of the vents were wide open. As soon as the lid temp got to 300, I closed the bottom vents all the way. From then on, I just adjusted the top vents to keep the temperature in the 250 range. I got about 4.5 hours at 225-300 from this set-up.

Next time I plan on shutting the bottom vents once the lid temp gets to 200 to prevent the temperature from getting too high. I also think I'll add a second charcoal basket full of unlit charcoal to the other side. Once the first basket starts to run out of fuel, I'll transfer a few lit coals to the unlit basket. Theoretically, I should get at least 9 hours out of this set-up. The total charcoal used adds up to about a Weber chimney-worth of lump.

I forgot to mention that I put a small water pan over the charcoal basket.

Jason,

Nice job of regulating the temp. Today I did some ribs using the MM and it worked out well. I got a constant temp of 225-250 for about 5 hours. Most pleased with the result.

Shelby,

That's pretty good temp regulation. I have a hard time keeping the temp down so low. How did you set up the grill? Did you use lump, and did you just dump a full chimney on one side, then put a few lit coals on top? How did you set the vents? Did you have to fiddle with them much?

I had to do a dry run for about an hour to get the hang of using MM with lump charcoal. What I learned is you really got to pack in the lump and try to fill in the empty spaces. Put that on the side and then light about 10 medium pieces of lump and put that on top. Keep the bottom vents closed. I admit that I had to set the alarm to check it every 45min, but that was out of paranoia.

I really didn't fiddle around with it much. Also, it was cool last weekend in NJ and that may have had something to do with maintaining the temp.

Hi, whats the minion method and the bbq baffle?
I'm a new kettle owner.

Minion Method
BBQ Baffle

quote:

Originally posted by John Cloutier:
Hi, whats the minion method and the bbq baffle?
I'm a new kettle owner.

John,

The Minion Method and BBQ Baffle can be used with your kettle to great success. I've gone 6 hours without refueling and was able to control kettle temperature at around 250*F. Pretty good conditions for low & slow cooking.

Jim

I have no idea how this compares to the BBQ baffle, but I put a couple of fire bricks standing on edge as a partition between the coals and the indirect cooking area. I also use one fire brick above the coals as a heat sink. The temps are MUCH more stable this way than without, and much easier to hold a low temp. Yesterday I held at 250 for 8 hours without adding fuel and with very little temp fluctuation except for a spike when the sun hit my kettle.

Cost me about 5 dollars for the fire bricks.

Hey thanks Doug and Jim, This has been very enlightening!
John

i use aluminum foil to cover the coal
grate up to the wire charcoal retainer.
then i make a baffle of doubled foil and
hang it from the top grill down to the
charcoal grill. it shapes easily
to the contour of the kettle. it works
perfectly.

I'm wondering if I've understood the BBQ Baffle's advantages over using the Weber wire charcoal retainers for indirect, low and slow cooking with the Minion method.

• I presume that the baffle prevents more heat from radiating to the meat, thereby being more purely indirect. Thus, George's foil hanging from the grill grate.
  
• It looks as though the area for the charcoal is larger than the usual setup for the wire retainers; although there is some flexibility in placing the wire retainer.
  
• It also looks as though the base of the Baffle prevents small pices of lit coals from falling through the charcoal grate better.
  
• It appears that there is better control of the draft to the coals.
  
• It appears that the Baffle and drip-pan setup affects the flow of the smoke. I am less clear how well the smoke goes under the meat, however.

What I would love to hear is whether I've understood the main points correctly and whether any of the advantages (presuming there are some) would be missed by the arangement George describes:

quote:

i use aluminum foil to cover the coal
grate up to the wire charcoal retainer.
then i make a baffle of doubled foil and
hang it from the top grill down to the
charcoal grill. it shapes easily
to the contour of the kettle. it works
perfectly.