Minion method - what did I do wrong?

[Monkey Uncle]

I've been turning out good Q for years using my trusty old COS. But I finally got tired of the constant battle that it took to keep the pit temp somewhere between 220 and 270, so I finally broke down and bought a WSM 22.5.

My first cook on it was a hot-and-fast chicken cook, which didn't present any major problems. Yesterday was the first time I tried smoking something low and slow - a couple of chuck roasts for beef tacos and other similar applications. One of the WSM's key selling points for me is the ability to load it up with charcoal at the beginning of the cook and then not have to mess with adding any more fuel. In that respect it worked like a charm. But the meat had a noticeable charcoal flavor to it, which I did not like. You know how when you pour charcoal out of a bag and get a face full of dust? That's what it tasted like. The flavor wasn't overwhelming, but it was noticeable enough to diminish my enjoyment of the meat.


At the risk of losing some people with a really long post, I'm going to go through everything I did so you good folks can help pinpoint where I went wrong:

• I used the WSM like a UDS, with no water pan, diffuser, or anything else but air between the fire and the meat. I wasn't expecting a lot of drippings from two chucks, so why bother with something else that needs to be cleaned up afterward? Plus I like the flavor profile of direct-grilled meat.
• I filled the charcoal ring about 1/2 to 2/3 with unlit KBB, and imbedded one large chunk of white oak in the unlit briquettes.
• I poured a full chimney of lit KBB evenly over the top of the unlit KBB, and added a small chunk of white oak in with the lit briquettes.
• The temp stabilized in a matter of minutes, and I was getting just a hint of smoke from the top vent, so I went ahead a put the chucks on (top rack) a few minutes after I got the fire going.
• I kept the top vent wide open throughout the cook, except for one time when I needed to bring the temp down and I closed it about half way for just a few minutes.
• I fiddled with the intake vents multiple times to tweak the temperature, but mostly they stayed open just a tiny crack, which is what it took to keep the pit temp in the right place.
• Pit temp mostly stayed in the vicinity of 250, with a few brief trips down as low as 230 and as high as 270.
• The outdoor temp was 12 F when I started and went all the way up to 49 F in the afternoon. Remarkably, I didn't really have to struggle to keep the pit temp consistent.
• Some time in the afternoon, I noticed I wasn't getting any smoke at all, so I added another small chunk of white oak.
• I never got large amounts of smoke at any time during the cook. The most smoke was after I added the third chunk, but it was nowhere near as much smoke as I'm used to seeing when I burn sticks in my COS.
• First chuck (about 3.25 lbs) came off after about 9 hours when it probed tender at an IT of 210 F. This one went straight to the vacuum sealer, so I haven't tasted it yet.
• Second chuck (about 4.5 lbs and much thicker than the other one) came off after about 13 hours when it probed tender at an IT of 201 F. Made beef tacos with this one, and got the aforementioned charcoal taste.
• Shut all the air vents and let the fire die overnight.
• When I went out to clean the smoker this morning, I noticed a sparse coating of fine ash on the cooking grate. I'm wondering if this was the source of the flavor.
• I still had between 1/3 and 1/2 a basket of unburned charcoal. Also, all three of the wood chunks were only about half burned.

At various times over the years, I've used briquettes, lump, wood, and combinations of all of those in my COS, and I never got this kind of off flavor. Of course, all of the charcoal that I used in the COS was lit in a chimney before it got dumped into the fire box. So my first instinct is that my problem with the WSM is having all that unlit charcoal slowly lighting off throughout the cook. But I know that many people cook this way and turn out Q that they like, and some people win competitions cooking this way. So what do you think? What did I do wrong?

 

[aerotech11]

I don't know what you did wrong as I am in the same place as you. I've been using a COS for a couple years now with many many modifications I can put out some great BBQ but have been wanting a WSM. I now have the chance to pick one up for a goood price. "Craigslist find". That is if I have the time to make the 3.5 hour drive. Needless to say I'll be watching this post for some "piggyback" advice. Thanks

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Here's my opinion on your situation : 100% it was you using KBB rather than lump charcoal. When using the Minion Method you're getting a slow burn so it's taking longer to burn off those additives used to make the briquettes. This is why you're getting that unpleasant flavor from the KBB charcoal.

In your offset you had a solid fire going the whole time with an enormous amount of airflow, so when those binders in the briquettes burned out it was a quick action. In a WSM the airflow is substantially less than in an offset, and your fire is very small and more than likely just a smolder.

Switch to lump charcoal and you won't have this problem. I never noticed how bad KBB smelled when it was all I used in my kamado, but one day the store was out of everything so I started using lump. After a few months I put my first bag of KBB in my kamado and I got nauseous. The smell from those briquettes smoldering was very unpleasant and I'm betting that's likely the culprit.

 

[Blanton]

I didn’t have to read past point number three. Way to much lit charcoal added. Light 8-12 briquettes. If using a guru, set your temp 50 below your final target. If running manual, start closing down the vents on the way up and and be down to one vent cracked 50 away

 

[dadsr4]

I didn’t have to read past point number three. Way to much lit charcoal added. Light 8-12 briquettes. If using a guru, set your temp 50 below your final target. If running manual, start closing down the vents on the way up and and be down to one vent cracked 50 away

I was just going to post the same. By lighting so many briquettes, and not catching the temps on the way up, you had to choke down on the vents too much, leading to incomplete combustion-dirty smoke. Start closing the lower vents at least 50 degrees before the desired temp. I have used daisy wheel kettles for decades and, starting fewer coals and catching the temp on the way up, never have the exhaust vent anything but wide open.

 

[pjtexas1]

I don't care for kbb and that may be the issue with how you ran the cooker. It came up to temp too quickly and most of the unlit charcoal didn't have time to preheat and let off the bad chemicals.

I'm also with blanton on lighting fewer coals so you can keep the intakes open more. It will come up to temp slower but the bad stuff will have time to burn off before the food goes on.

What I like to do is not judge the fire by how the exhaust looks. Run your fingers thru the exhaust fumes and smell them. Does it smell like an ash tray or like BBQ? If it's a bad smell try again in a few minutes.

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[smoke ninja]

Agree with above comments as well ill say i dont care for minion burn especially compared to burning sticks

 

[Monkey Uncle]

Thanks, everyone. I've got one vote for switching to lump and several votes for using less lit charcoal at the beginning so the temp will come up more slowly. I'm about out of KBB, so I'll need to decide if my next purchase is going to switch to lump or try again with briquettes.

You folks who do Minion with lump, do you also start with a very small amount of lit charcoal and bring the temp up slowly?

 

[Islandchanel]

I think you should use your water pan empty and wrapped in foil for easy clean up. I use kbb and only cook on a wsm. In my experience I only light maybe 10 lit briquettes and let the temp come up slowly with all vents open. When I’m about 10-15 degrees from target temp I’ll close two of the three bottom vents and keep the top one wide open. Since it’s the first cook maybe some of the chemicals being burnt off . I would assume the grease dripping down directly on the fire may have contributed to some of the off flavor. Check out the tvwbb.com. Great bunch of guys with tons of tips

 

[Cook]

You folks who do Minion with lump, do you also start with a very small amount of lit charcoal and bring the temp up slowly?

Always.

 

[MeatyOakerSmoker]

I have never had any off flavors using KBB and the minion method. I think you choked the fire. Also seeing smoke is not necessary. Next time embed the few chunks you need in the charcoal but there is no need to add more when you don’t see smoke. I always run my WSM with a pan but water is optional. I wrap the pan with foil to avoid messy clean ups. Also as mentioned too much charcoal to start with.

 

[Cook]

I packed my pan with a few paver bricks...as many as fit below the rim...then covered with foil. I don't mind water, it's just more trouble than I care to deal with in such a simple smoker. The bricks are a decent heat sink. I do cook a bit without the pan as well...gets me closer to the North Carolina style without having to cook a whole hog or use a brick/block/pig cooker pit.

 

[Dweverett]

Don't have one but from what I've read and seen in videos I'd use less lit charcoal.

One broader perspective, I think that charcoal smokers do tend towards a heavier smoke profile and some folks (me included) can also taste the charcoal itself. While we all know that pellet grills are light on smoke, a well run offset can be too -- at least when compared to a WSM. There have been a number of posts recently from folks going the other direction and being disappointed with the light smoke they are getting from the offset vs what they were used to with a UDS or WSM.

In both my old kamado and now kettle I have to be careful how I run it to minimize the charcoal flavor -- something that I'm not found of.

 

[LloydQ]

The WSM is pretty much all I have ever used. I don't do minion at all. I start with a full basket and put (GASP) lighter fluid on it. I don't let it soak in, no more than 5 minutes or so before i toss in a match. I let it burn until the crummy white smoke thins out, then put in the water pan ( with or without liquid, but better results with ) and add the meat. I have never had a problem with temps out of control. By the time the cold meat comes to cooking temp, the fire has stabilized.
Seems to me that your biggest issue with the cook was leaving out the water pan, not the lighting method. The WSM is designed to have it in place.

 

[KevinJ]

I like to start with a full Weber Compact Chimney of ashed over coals which is about 25 briquettes, unless you're using Weber briquettes, they're quite large.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Thanks, everyone. I've got one vote for switching to lump and several votes for using less lit charcoal at the beginning so the temp will come up more slowly. I'm about out of KBB, so I'll need to decide if my next purchase is going to switch to lump or try again with briquettes.

You folks who do Minion with lump, do you also start with a very small amount of lit charcoal and bring the temp up slowly?

Absolutely... I use a chimney and light off just enough to cover the bottom of the chimney.

 

[el luchador]

Thanks, everyone. I've got one vote for switching to lump and several votes for using less lit charcoal at the beginning so the temp will come up more slowly. I'm about out of KBB, so I'll need to decide if my next purchase is going to switch to lump or try again with briquettes.

You folks who do Minion with lump, do you also start with a very small amount of lit charcoal and bring the temp up slowly?

I also vote switching to lump

 

[Beentown]

I have done numerous comparison cooks and not one person could tell the difference between lump and briquettes when using the same/amount of wood chunks.

It was smoldering and you were getting bad smoke, IMHO.

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[kevinstaggs]

I’ve done tons of WSM 22.5 and KBB smokes and I’m a +1 on the smoldering fire diagnosis. I the Soo’s doughnut variation of the minion. Which I thinks help start w a smaller fire and have good luck. Don’t give up on the WSM yet - there a great bang-for-the-buck smoker.


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[dalelovelace]

Totally agree that you put too much lit charcoal in to start, and your fire was smothered from shutting down the vents. Also by not using the water pan filled you didn't have a heatsink that would have absorbed a lot of that heat, which also would let you open the vents up for more airflow.

I've used a WSM a lot, and always use KBB. I've tried lump, can't tell a bit of difference in taste, and can't get the fire to go long enough to do brisket or pork shoulder, so I stick with KBB. I do anywhere from 15-50 bricks in the chimney to start depending on the temperature outside, and the temperature I'm shooting for.