Shop Big Poppa Smokers

Minion Method Problems

DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
Ok gang. Every time I try to use briquettes for the minion method, I cannot get rid of the thick white smoke. It does not matter if I put the coals on the top of the pile (lit that is) or on the side. It just seems to smoke as the new coals light off.

See the video.

Any advice or help?

 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
I will also add that this fire has been going for almost two hours. I normally leave the bung hole covered, but I wanted that smoke out.

Charcoal is stubbs, and the wood chunks had been removed, so that is straight coals. The Stubbs was just opened when I put it in the nest.
 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
As I feared, the bacon wrapped fattie I made came out tasting like the smoke smelled. Just like black charcoal. Looks like I'm sticking to Frontier lump, but any ideas would be appreciated. I would like to be able to utilize both.
 
S

swamprb

New member
That looks normal to me. One thing I don't use any "natural" briqs like Stubb's, Rancher or Trader Joes when cooking direct. Fats dripping on the coals stir up ash and get on your meats.

Why do you have the bung cap off and the vents fully open? What are your intakes set at and what temp you cooking at?
 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
I had the bung cap off because I was trying to ventilate the smoke out more. I never do that, but this smoke was so heavy in the drum that I was desperate to get the smoke out. It would bellow thick gray at times. My intake vents were set to give me 275 inside. About 1 hole each side. (due to the bung hole cap being off)
 
G

gettinbasted

New member
Clean your drum really well (crank it wide open until the smoke runs clear and then scrape it out, 500+ degrees). If the smoke never runs clear, change charcoal and run a high quality lump.
 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
Thanks for the replies guys. Just a quick question for gettinbasted. When I took the lid off, I could clearly see the smoke coming straight from the nest. There was none (that I could see) coming from the sides of the drum. Would a dirty drum be the cause of that? I will clean it as you recommend, but I don't want to go chasing my tail here.
 
G

gettinbasted

New member
You know what you are seeing, I'm just throwing out potential gotchas. A dirty drum will smoke from the sides. I like to burn my drums out periodically either way. Was all of this charcoal new? You can also get dirty coals. When I compete, I start with a fresh basket of coals every time. It isn't a big deal at home, but for a competition I don't want last week's grease seasoning this week's pork, if you know what I mean.

It sounds like you have zeroed in on the briquettes as the source of your problem so why continue to use them? Find a high quality lump charcoal and go from there. An up to temperature, clean drum with no food on it should run clear. Add wood for flavor.

Why do you want to use briquettes?
 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
I just don't want to be locked into any one thing. If I have briquettes on hand, I want to be able to use them. I'm don't want to use them exclusively. I guess it was just bothering me that the majority of people use briquettes in their UDS. I was looking for an error in my method that prevented me from getting satisfactory results. I asked more for education reasons than anything.
 
S

smokeasaurus

New member
I am thinking of using a single layer of briqs in the basket and then poor the lump in to keep the small pcs from falling through.........
 
G

gettinbasted

New member
No worries. Just trying to help. I would dispute that most people use briquettes in their drums. Think about your environment. If you have a big stick burner it is breathing and moving tons of air. So it can take more of everything. The inherent efficiency of a drum means we aren't pulling as much flow through our cookers. Each flavor, good and bad, is magnified. This makes a clean running charcoal crucial to the final product. Big Poppa can probably agree with me on this, we are both panicking that our beloved Ozark Oak/Hasty Bake is no longer being produced so finding a good lump is tops on the list!

By all means, experiment with different products. Just understand those results will be compounded in a drum! If you are seeing a dirty burn, move on.
 
B

Big Poppa

Administrator
all charcoal is not the same. You need to burn good fuel in your drum.....I just about never burn briquettes...lump is my choice.

Yes I m searching high and low for the ozark oak/hasty bake replacement.
 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
Yep. I had a great cook with lump the other week. I will just stick with that and save myself a lot of head scratching. Thanks everybody for the input.
 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
Just an update to anyone following this. I am cooking a butt today and picked up a bag of Frontier at Sam's for it. Good price there. $10 for a 20 lb bag. Lowe's has the same bag for $14.

Anyway, I have attached a video to show the clean burn I was getting from the Minion method. The only thing I changed was the charcoal for this cook. It shows the smoke from just the lump charcoal after 1 hour and a steady temp of 250 on the gauge, and a 275 temp at center. I placed about 8 smaller pieces of lump in the chimney, got them going, and then dumped in the side of the nest opposite the intakes. Drastic Difference.

 
DrumDumb

DrumDumb

New member
This next video shows the smoke from a steady 250 degree temp with cherry chunks added, and the butt dripping onto the coals.


It smells awesome, and its holding great. In my case, lump works way better, and the Minion method gives great endurance. If anyone is not getting good results, switch to lump like the others said. Thanks everybody. I'll throw some picks of my butt up later. :confused:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom