Loading ...How To: Fire Up Your WSM Using The Minion Method
So you finally received a well-deserved Weber Smokey Mountain (a.k.a “The Bullet”) for Father’s Day this year, you’ve purchased your first Pork Butts (never smoke just one), and now you’re wondering how the hell you’re going to maintain a burning pile of charcoal at a temperature between 225-250 degrees for 8-12 hours. Don’t worry, you can assure your wife you won’t have to stay up all night drinking with your friends and neighbors…okay, so you’ll probably still want to stay up all night drinking with your friends and neighbors…but at least you can focus on your drinking and not your temperature regulation if you follow a simple process known as the “Minion Method”.
In order to fully comprehend the genius of the Minion Method, you’ll need a quick history lesson. Prior to 1998, only the “Standard Method” was used to start coals for smoking in a WSM (per the manufacturer’s instructions). Simply put, the Standard Method requires you to bring all of your coals up to a temperature that leaves them burning in a gray ash before you start the cook (350 degrees or so). What’s the problem with this you might ask? Starting your cook at this temperature will leave you battling your vents all night because it’s not optimal for low and slow BBQing at 225-250 degrees - hence the need for drinking, friends, and neighbors. Thanks to Jim Minion, that all changed one Sunday afternoon about 10 years ago when he decided to light only a portion of the charcoal briquettes and then spread them over the remaining pile of unlit coals. By doing so, he maintained a steady temperature of 225 degrees throughout the duration of his cook with minimal intervention, which is ideal for BBQ…and for drinking with your friends and neighbors.
Manovation Hall-O-Famer: Jim Minion
There have been many variations of the concept developed over time since Jim’s original posting of his brilliant idea on The BBQ Forum, so here is my version of the process I have consistently used with much success:
Step 1 - Fill the charcoal chamber about 1/3 of the way up with a layer of briquettes and top off with 3 pieces/strips of wood (your choice - I like Hickory).
Step 2 - Pour another layer of briquettes on top to fill the charcoal chamber ~2/3 of the way full and top off with 3 more pieces/strips of wood.
Step 3 - Start a Charcoal Chimney with enough briquettes to fill the remaining space in the charcoal chamber. When they’re ready to go, dump them on top of the briquettes and wood already placed in Steps 1 & 2. Make sure to spread them out evenly and use tongs to grab and re-place any of the hot coals that may have fallen outside of the charcoal chamber during the dump.
Step 4 - Assemble the cooker as you normally would, filling the water pan and leaving all the vents wide open until you reach a temperature between 225-250 degrees. At this point you can crack the vents and let your Maverick RediCheck Remote Thermometer do the rest. Be assured, there won’t be much for it to do because this method in combination with the WSM is so efficient, I rarely have to make even one adjustment to the vents over the course of the cook.
The pros to this method are numerous:
- Designed for cooking sessions lasting between 6-18 hours
- Perfect for overnight cooking
- Start cooking in only 15-30 minutes
- No need to add fuel during the cooking process
- Long, consistent burn times over many hours
- Less chance of the cooker running hotter than desired
- Less time spent regulating vents and temperature (more time spent drinking)
The only con that has been documented is the fact that some people with “sensitive” palates claim they taste an off-flavor in the food related to the briquettes lighting continuously over many hours…but then again, those people probably wear gardening hats and drink apple martinis.
Be A Man.
- The Founding Father
