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!