KBB - minion vs adding coals

[austin87]

I've seen a lot of folks on here say that they NEVER add unlit KBB to burning fuel and will instead use lump or sometimes coshell, but that others (and I'm not sure these are the same folks) will start a minion with 8-10 lit coals on top of a bed of unlit.

@Troy specifically in your post on low/med/hi indirect heat

Keep in mind, adding unlit kingsford to an already hot bed of coals will produce a funky white chemical smoke.
Many people don't mind this, but it drives me nuts.
I like to keep a few different brands of charcoal on hand just for this.
I use kingsford in my smoker, but I NEVER add unlit kingsford to it. I'll add lump or coshell instead.

What's the difference? If you place lit coals on top of a bed of unlit for minion method and place food on, isn't that pretty much the same as throwing unlit KBB on top of lit coals to extend the burn time? If people are concerned with the additives in KBB that burn off at the start, wouldn't the only application for them be using fully lit coals from a chimney?

Maybe I'm missing something... I'm just confused at how the minion method with lit coals igniting unlit coals with food on the grill or smoker is any different that adding unlit on top of burning fuel. Basically, either way you will have unlit KBB igniting during the cooking process, and it seems like that is what folks want to avoid by adding lump instead of KBB.

My grandfather has smoked a turkey on the Weber at Thanksgiving  (I'm 28 and he's never missed a year since I've been alive... my mom thinks he's been doing it for at least 40 years)... and his method is exactly what is stated in Weber manual  for the indirect method on a 22.5" - 25 coals per side, adding 8 per side per hour. He's always used KBB and just dropped unlit coals on top of the already burning. Eventually, I'll take over the turkey and want to get everything straight!

[Troy]

You are right, technically it is the same.
When you minion with KBB, wait until the white smoke is gone before adding your food.

The chemicals seem to burn off within 30 minutes.
I'm not completely sure if the burn off time actually burns off the chemicals, or if simply warming up the coals prevents the white smoke.
Either way, there's a big taste difference in my opinion.

[austin87]

I think you nailed it... once everything is preheated it makes a ton of sense that there would be less smoke. Similar to sticking wood chunks on top of the kettle before throwing onto the coals to achieve thin blue rather than thick white

[1buckie]

See the post with the pics here:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/indirect-cooking-low-medium-high/


I warm wood before adding....same concept, generally.....

With the charcoal, if it's lit on top of unlit, right at the burn point or area is pretty hot.....right about to catch fire......that heating helps to kill at least some of the excess nasties that are a part of everyday Blue K's life.....

Same general logic applies using a snake / chain......as the fire burns along, it heats up the unlit stuff it's getting near.......might not take it all away, but it helps.....
And, as far as wood chunks in that situation, they are heated to near the burn point as the fire comes up to them......just about like pre-heating splits on the top of an offset firebox.....

[austin87]

Thanks Ken - a snake is another application of the same thing I didn't think about, and pre-heating seems to be the way to take care of the nasties.

Thanks both of you for answering my silly question!

[1buckie]

That's actually a pretty serious question if it makes your food come out tasting markedly better.....

[Troy]

alright, someone needs to put a bowl of KBB on the top shelf of their smoker and heat it to 300ish.
then let it cool down, then burn it and see if it produces the white smoke

[THUNDERDOME]

I run a UDS in comps, and get a much cleaner smoke when i let my smoker run for 2 hours prior to putting meat on. After about an hour, the pit starts running clean. This sort of sounds like what Troy's talkin about w/ the preheat of the unlit coals.   I usually start the UDS (22.5/50 gal) w/ a half chimney thats burned down to a quarter chimney of red hot coals

Maybe its all in my head, but i feel those first 2 hours have enough heat (around 250-275) to burn out the KBB nastiness of the unlit coals.

[Troy]

I run a UDS in comps, and get a much cleaner smoke when i let my smoker run for 2 hours prior to putting meat on. After about an hour, the pit starts running clean. This sort of sounds like what Troy's talkin about w/ the preheat of the unlit coals.   I usually start the UDS (22.5/50 gal) w/ a half chimney thats burned down to a quarter chimney of red hot coals

Maybe its all in my head, but i feel those first 2 hours have enough heat (around 250-275) to burn out the KBB nastiness of the unlit coals.

that sounds legit.
i usually let mine burn for 30 minutes to an hour, sometimes longer. I just watch for the thin blue

[THUNDERDOME]

Could that "smell" be the remaining moisture from binding? If so the preheating remedies that.

I mentioned 250-275 but of thats at grate level

[Troy]

I suppose it could be.
We need a freaking chemist

[austin87]

I really love this place.... I felt like I was asking a dumb question and have seen meaningful discussion, and after monitoring threads and posting fairly regularly over the last 3-4 months I've never seen anyone be dismissive of any question, no matter how basic or elementary. It's cool to get advice from hands on folks and be able to share knowledge. I've learned a ton since my first post and WKC truly is an awesome community. Much thanks all.

[Troy]

I really love this place.... I felt like I was asking a dumb question and have seen meaningful discussion, and after monitoring threads and posting fairly regularly over the last 3-4 months I've never seen anyone be dismissive of any question, no matter how basic or elementary. It's cool to get advice from hands on folks and be able to share knowledge. I've learned a ton since my first post and WKC truly is an awesome community. Much thanks all.

Thank you for pointing that out!
I think that's really one of the reasons we started WKC. We were sick of toxic mentalities that exist in so many other forums (and even in our daily society of life).
I personally do my absolute best to question everything and reject anything that falls into the realm of conventional wisdom. Sometimes that means I'm a pain in the ass to deal with though =D

[addicted-to-smoke]

When I light lump or good charcoal, I walk away to not be near the black smoke and carbon monoxide.

When I light Kingsford blue, I GO INSIDE to avoid the Noxious Fumes of Mystery.

[ClubChapin]

Is K Comp like KBB?  It seems to start the same. I was hoping it had significantly less binder.