Three easy steps for long charcoal burn-times.

Trouble keeping a fire burning at a steady temperature for a long smoking session is one of the most common issues customers ask about at Backyard Bash. If you aren’t having any luck with the traditional method of adding lit charcoal every few hours, or if it just seems like too much work, the Minion Method might be for you.

Developed by Jim Minion on the fly at a barbecue contest, the Minion Method is as follows:

1. Start with a bed of unlit charcoal in your firebox.
2. Using a charcoal chimney, get a small amount of charcoal hot.
3. Pour the lit coals on top of the bed of unlit charcoal.

The lit coals will gradually catch the unlit coals underneath on fire, burning down through the charcoal over a long period of time. And remember, keep your air flow into the firebox low and steady, so that you can maintain a slower burn.

Though the Minion Method was originally developed using briquette charcoal, it works even better with lump charcoal. After finding that the ash from briquette charcoal caused the fire to go out prematurely after four hours or so, Big Dan of HomeBBQ.com found that when he used lump, he “quickly got the fire settled down to 220 and it stayed there – and held – and held – and 8 hours later the temp was still reading 220.” Further, Dan says, it stayed at that temperature for another two hours.

Backyard Bash Owner Jay Mathiesen is a big proponent of using the Minion Method on charcoal smokers. Jay recommends it regularly to customers using Weber Smokey Mountain Bullets, the cooker the method was originally developed for, as well as customers using certain offset cookers and ceramics, like the Primo. Items that he recommends to aid in this process are Weber Rapid Fire Charcoal Chimneys and Weber Lighter Cubes. Placing two lit paraffin Lighter Cubes under your chimney filled with lump charcoal will have your charcoal hot quickly, without the need for lighter fluid or newspaper.

So if you’re planning to smoke for more than a few hours, the Minion Method can take some of the hassle out of maintaining your fire and keep your temperature steady for the duration of your cook. Below, you’ll find links to some helpful articles on the Internet about the Method.

The Virtual Weber Bullet (April 11, 2007), “Firing Up Your Weber Bullet”

Home BBQ (August 15, 2008), “Building a Fire Using the Minion Method in an Offset Smoker”