Weber's Take on the Minion Method

[Eapples]

I asked Weber for an opinion regarding the minion method, since I never saw anything about it on the Weber website.  Here's part of the response that I received --

"Thanks for choosing Weber. I would be happy to assist you. Unfortunately Weber does not recommend using this method as for there is a lot of uneven cooking that comes along with it."

I've seen many positive comments about the minion method from many different websites.  I've read many different variations of the minion method, with some good comments and some not-so-good comments, but still positive on balance.

It makes sense to me that it's easier to bring the grill up to temp instead of waiting for the coals to burn out to get the grill down to temp.

I started out using a full chimney starter, per the Weber website, and the grill was screaming at over 600 degrees.  Half a chimney starter gave me around 350-400 degrees.  My next test run will be with just 25-30 briquettes.

I want to do this right.  I'm inclined to rely on the community of avid grillers and cuers who speak from practical hands-on experience.  Still, if the manufacturer says "nyet," who am I to argue?  Now I'm feeling like Tevye...on the other hand...

[jcnaz]

I am just a student also, no expert advice to offer.
But I believe that the value of one "method" over another is what temp you want and for how long. I have had low and slow success with both snake and Minion methods. The snake seemed to require less vent adjustments.

[Chasing_smoke]

What temp are you shooting for and for how long?


 "my kettle is more powerful it will do almost anything."

[pbe gummi bear]

Are you using water in the pan?

Even with ~20 coals I get a huge temp spike with my WSM. It's alot harder to bring the temp down than to bring it up so I recommend the minion method with ~10 coals. I don't know why Weber won't recommend this method as it works well and they even have the small chimney to use for it.

[Troy]

they probably assumed you were using it to grill, not bbq.

in which case, yeah the minion method would suck.

[Thin Blue Smoke]

Well, I am guessing Weber CS does not read their own cookbooks.  In "Weber's Charcoal Grilling", page 86, there is a whole section/recipe dedicated to Jim Minion. Part of the section reads, "His 'Minion Method' eliminates the need to replenish charcoal for as long as twenty hours, which has been a big boon to barbecue competitors who start smoking their briskets on Friday night and like to get some sleep that night before turning in their meat to the judges on Saturday afternoon. It is detailed in the recipe on the following page."

The recipe discusses the prep procedure as, "Using a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker smoker, fill the bottom ring with one chimney starter full of unlit charcoal briquettes. Then light 15 to 20 charcoal briquettes in the chimney starter. When they are burning with flames, pour them carefully over the top of the unlit charcoal. add the wood chunks. Open the bottom vents completely." 

Funny, it is good enough to be put in their cookbook. I know everyone has a little variation on the process but I just wanted to point out that at least at one point in time Weber endorsed this method enough to put it in their book. YMMV of course.

[G$]

"Thanks for choosing Weber. I would be happy to assist you. Unfortunately Weber does not recommend using this method as for there is a lot of uneven cooking that comes along with it."

This response from Weber is absurd.

There are dozens of methods one can use to achieve many different results.  There are therfore hundreds of permutations of how to get there. Successfully.

Be specific with your goals and folks here will be specific with various options and solutions. But...

More importantly, try them out yourself.  You sound like an analytical type, so,let me put it in those terms:  consider them experiments, but go cook some stuff. The benefit is you get to eat the data!

[Eapples]

What temp are you shooting for and for how long?


I was doing ribs on my gas grill between 250 and 300 degrees.  Those were the temp readings I was getting with just one burner on low.  I did beer can chicken on the gas grill at 350, either with one burner on high, or two burners on low, depending on the weather conditions.  So, I guess that I want to start at the low end.  As far as time, I was doing my ribs for two hours, and they came out primo.  I want to mimic the same thing on the charcoal grill.  At the high end I did a pork butt in the oven, Mixon's recipe, 350 degrees for six hours.  I want to do that on the charcoal grill.  That's my game plan for now.  AND "thank you" for your help.

[Eapples]

Are you using water in the pan?

Even with ~20 coals I get a huge temp spike with my WSM. It's alot harder to bring the temp down than to bring it up so I recommend the minion method with ~10 coals. I don't know why Weber won't recommend this method as it works well and they even have the small chimney to use for it.

When I did ribs on the gas grill I just used an aluminum pan with wood chips, no water pan.  I did my ribs for two hours on low, with one burner on low.  I want to try that on the charcoal grill for starters.  Also, I did Mixon's recipe for port butt in the oven, six hours at 350 degrees.  I want to try that on the charcoal grill.

[Eapples]

Well, I am guessing Weber CS does not read their own cookbooks.  In "Weber's Charcoal Grilling", page 86, there is a whole section/recipe dedicated to Jim Minion. Part of the section reads, "His 'Minion Method' eliminates the need to replenish charcoal for as long as twenty hours, which has been a big boon to barbecue competitors who start smoking their briskets on Friday night and like to get some sleep that night before turning in their meat to the judges on Saturday afternoon. It is detailed in the recipe on the following page."

The recipe discusses the prep procedure as, "Using a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker smoker, fill the bottom ring with one chimney starter full of unlit charcoal briquettes. Then light 15 to 20 charcoal briquettes in the chimney starter. When they are burning with flames, pour them carefully over the top of the unlit charcoal. add the wood chunks. Open the bottom vents completely." 

Funny, it is good enough to be put in their cookbook. I know everyone has a little variation on the process but I just wanted to point out that at least at one point in time Weber endorsed this method enough to put it in their book. YMMV of course.

I HAVE THAT BOOK!  I should read it again.  I just took a look at it, and I don't remember reading it the first time around.  I bought that book years ago when I first started thinking about getting a charcoal grill.  Thank you for the reminder.  I AM GOING TO READ THAT BOOK AGAIN.

[Eapples]

"Thanks for choosing Weber. I would be happy to assist you. Unfortunately Weber does not recommend using this method as for there is a lot of uneven cooking that comes along with it."

This response from Weber is absurd.

There are dozens of methods one can use to achieve many different results.  There are therfore hundreds of permutations of how to get there. Successfully.

Be specific with your goals and folks here will be specific with various options and solutions. But...

More importantly, try them out yourself.  You sound like an analytical type, so,let me put it in those terms:  consider them experiments, but go cook some stuff. The benefit is you get to eat the data!

My wife tells me sometimes that I think too much.  Some of my acquaintances laugh occasionally at the level of my focus on this issue.  But your advice -- I guess that sometimes the obvious isn't always obvious.  Thanks for the encouragement.

[Johnpv]

So you'll have to change things up a bit since you're using charcoal instead of gas.  Which makes for a different cooking environment.  I'm a big fan of the snake method personally.  Though I'm doing my bbqing in a kettle and not a WSM so that's probably why.   There's a lot of different ways to do this stuff out there, and I don't think there's any ONE right way to do it.  As some one whose still learning and experimenting I would recommend checking out some youtube links and checking out the amazingribs.com website, which has a lot of awesome info. 

For me when it comes to ribs, for my tastes, I find the 3-2-1 method makes awesome ribs.  I set up a snake in my kettle, with 2 bottom rows of briquettes (usually 15 in each row) and 1 - 2 rows ontop (same amount of briquettes), to this I also place like 4 - 5 chunks of Apple wood.  I also use a water pan, which helps regulate the temp inside the kettle.  Water absorbs a LOT of thermal energy to raise it's temperature, and uses even more when it goes through a phase change and turns into steam.  I get that settled in at 225, and then I put my ribs, and let them cook in that for 3 hours, then I take them and wrap them in foil with some liquids, and put them back on for another 2 hours, I then take them out of the foil and let them go another 30 - 60 minutes.   You'll find a much better explanation of this method on amazingribs.com. That said though I some times also do a different take on them.  I found this asian rib sauce recipe that some times I'll braise the ribs in an oven at 350 degrees (in the asian rib sauce) for 2 hours, then take them out and smoke them on the grill at 300 for like an hour and a half.  During this time I take some of the rib sauce I saved off to the side which I reduced down so it's nice and think and glaze the ribs with it.   Ohhh I'll also smoke them with tea bags instead of hard wood during this method.  Both styles come out super tasty and tender, and they represent a myriad array of ways to make them. 

I say just start making ribs and see what you like.  Don't forget to post pics for all of us to see! Ohhh I'd also recommend getting a digital thermometer, they're much more accurate than the bi-metal ones you find as oven thermometers or like you find inside of grills.  My Maverick is right on, while the thermometer built in on my kettle will be anywhere from a few degrees away to +/- 20 to 30 degrees from the Maverick.  They're also usually slower to react than the digital ones. 

I may have rambled and not answered any of your questions there, if so sorry, but I do hope I gave some help. 

[Eapples]

So you'll have to change things up a bit since you're using charcoal instead of gas.  Which makes for a different cooking environment.  I'm a big fan of the snake method personally.  Though I'm doing my bbqing in a kettle and not a WSM so that's probably why.   There's a lot of different ways to do this stuff out there, and I don't think there's any ONE right way to do it.  As some one whose still learning and experimenting I would recommend checking out some youtube links and checking out the amazingribs.com website, which has a lot of awesome info. 

For me when it comes to ribs, for my tastes, I find the 3-2-1 method makes awesome ribs.  I set up a snake in my kettle, with 2 bottom rows of briquettes (usually 15 in each row) and 1 - 2 rows ontop (same amount of briquettes), to this I also place like 4 - 5 chunks of Apple wood.  I also use a water pan, which helps regulate the temp inside the kettle.  Water absorbs a LOT of thermal energy to raise it's temperature, and uses even more when it goes through a phase change and turns into steam.  I get that settled in at 225, and then I put my ribs, and let them cook in that for 3 hours, then I take them and wrap them in foil with some liquids, and put them back on for another 2 hours, I then take them out of the foil and let them go another 30 - 60 minutes.   You'll find a much better explanation of this method on amazingribs.com. That said though I some times also do a different take on them.  I found this asian rib sauce recipe that some times I'll braise the ribs in an oven at 350 degrees (in the asian rib sauce) for 2 hours, then take them out and smoke them on the grill at 300 for like an hour and a half.  During this time I take some of the rib sauce I saved off to the side which I reduced down so it's nice and think and glaze the ribs with it.   Ohhh I'll also smoke them with tea bags instead of hard wood during this method.  Both styles come out super tasty and tender, and they represent a myriad array of ways to make them. 

I say just start making ribs and see what you like.  Don't forget to post pics for all of us to see! Ohhh I'd also recommend getting a digital thermometer, they're much more accurate than the bi-metal ones you find as oven thermometers or like you find inside of grills.  My Maverick is right on, while the thermometer built in on my kettle will be anywhere from a few degrees away to +/- 20 to 30 degrees from the Maverick.  They're also usually slower to react than the digital ones. 

I may have rambled and not answered any of your questions there, if so sorry, but I do hope I gave some help.

YES, you did answer most, if not all the questions, even the ones I didn't ask but was thinking about asking.  I, too, found the disparity between the dome thermometer and the digital (Maverick), as well as the old style ones that just sit on the grate.  So far, I worked through a bag of Kingsford doing basically dry runs.  I did try ribs and a brisket.  I wasn't satisfied with either, although my wife thought the ribs were fine but the brisket was on the dry side.  Now that I have a better handle on temp control, I'll give 'em another try, and I will post pics.  Thanks again.