Fill the charcoal ring or basket with unlit briquettes, bury wood chunks a third and two thirds of the way down, then pour 10 to 20 fully lit coals into a well in the centre or across the top. Set the bottom vents to roughly a quarter and it will hold 105°C (225°F) to 135°C (275°F) for 10 to 14 hours.
Step by step
Fill the ring with unlit charcoal
Load the charcoal ring or basket to the top with unlit briquettes. Do not compact them. This is the entire fuel load for the cook and it needs air gaps to burn through predictably.
Bury the wood chunks
Push three or four chunks of wood into the pile: some near the top, some a third of the way down. As the fire burns downward it reaches each one in turn, so smoke is delivered across the first several hours rather than all at once. Our guide to the best wood for smoking covers which wood suits which meat.
Make a well, or do not
Two variants work. Either scoop a well in the centre and pour the lit coals into it, so the fire burns outward and down, or simply pour the lit coals across the top and let it burn straight down. The well gives a slightly slower start; the top pour comes up to temperature faster.
Light 10 to 20 coals and add them
Light them in a chimney until fully ashed. More lit coals means a faster climb to a higher running temperature: use around 10 for 105°C (225°F), around 20 for 135°C (275°F). This ratio is your main temperature control.
Fill the water pan and assemble
Hot water in the pan, middle section on, grates in, food on, lid on. Using hot water rather than cold saves the cooker an hour of climbing back to temperature.
Set vents and creep up to target
Bottom vents about a quarter open, top vent wide. Let the cooker climb slowly to target and start closing the bottom vents as it approaches. Never let it overshoot: a bullet smoker that has run away to 175°C (350°F) takes a very long time to come back down.
What is the Minion method?
The Minion method is a way of lighting charcoal for long, low smoking cooks. Instead of lighting all the fuel at once, you fill the smoker's charcoal ring with unlit briquettes and put a small number of lit coals on top. The lit coals slowly light the ones underneath them, so only a small part of the pile is burning at any time. One load of charcoal can then hold a steady 105°C (225°F) to 135°C (275°F) for most of a day without topping up.
Why it works
Charcoal burns where there is fire and air, and nowhere else. A pile of unlit briquettes with a small fire on top is a fuel store with a slow burn front travelling through it. The rate the front moves is set by airflow, which you control with the bottom vents. That is the whole mechanism.
It was popularised by Jim Minion on Weber Smokey Mountain forums in the 1990s and it is now the standard way to run any bullet smoker or drum. It is the same principle as the snake method, arranged vertically instead of horizontally.
How many lit coals for what temperature?
| Lit coals added | Approximate running temperature | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| 8 to 12 | 105 to 115°C (225 to 240°F) | Brisket, pork shoulder, overnight cooks |
| 15 to 20 | 120 to 135°C (250 to 275°F) | Ribs, beef short ribs, most barbecue |
| 25 to 30 | 135 to 150°C (275 to 300°F) | Poultry, anything with skin to render |
| Full chimney | 165°C (325°F)+ | Hot and fast, or roasting |
These are starting points for an 18 inch bullet smoker in mild weather. Cold, wind and a full load of cold meat all pull the number down, so add a few more coals when any of those apply. Our charcoal grill temperature guide explains what each heat band is for.
How long does a Minion method fire last?
In an 18 inch bullet smoker with a full ring of briquettes, expect 10 to 14 hours at 105°C (225°F) to 135°C (275°F). A 22 inch smoker holds more fuel and runs longer. The things that shorten it are the same things that make it run hot: a bottom vent left too open, wind blowing into the vents, and a lid that does not seal. If the temperature keeps creeping up, read why your charcoal grill runs too hot.
At the end of a long cook you can top up by adding unlit briquettes around the edge of the remaining fire. They will catch from the coals already burning.
The Minion method on a kettle grill
You can run a Minion fire in a kettle, but the round, shallow bowl needs something to hold the fuel in a deep pile. A charcoal basket, a Slow 'N Sear or a ring of steel mesh pushed to one side of the charcoal grate all work. Fill it with unlit briquettes, put 10 to 15 lit coals on top, and cook the food on the other side of the grate with the lid vent over it, the same layout as a two-zone fire. A small foil tray of water beside the coals helps hold the temperature steady.
A kettle Minion fire burns for less time than one in a bullet smoker, because a basket holds much less fuel than a full charcoal ring. For a long cook on a kettle, the snake method usually lasts longer.
Can you use lump charcoal for the Minion method?
Yes, and plenty of people do, especially in kamados, which are always run on lump. Lump comes in uneven pieces, so it packs with bigger air gaps and the burn rate is less even than with briquettes. It also lights faster and burns hotter. If you use lump, start with fewer lit coals than the table suggests, put the larger pieces at the bottom, and close the bottom vent sooner. Our guide to lump charcoal vs briquettes goes through the differences.
Minion method vs the snake method
| Minion method | Snake method | |
|---|---|---|
| Best in | Bullet smokers, drums, kamados | Kettle grills |
| Fuel layout | A deep pile in a ring or basket | A line around the edge of the bowl |
| Burns | Downward through the pile | Along the line |
| Typical run time | 10 to 14 hours in an 18 inch bullet | 8 to 12 hours in a 22 inch kettle |
| Temperature range | 105 to 150°C (225 to 300°F) | 105 to 135°C (225 to 275°F) |
Both work for the same reason, and both go wrong in the same way when too much of the fuel catches at once. Choose by the cooker you own rather than by which method sounds better.
Which smokers is the Minion method for?
It was worked out on the Weber Smokey Mountain, and any bullet smoker with a charcoal ring works the same way. Drum smokers and kamados use the same principle with lump or briquettes. We compare the options in the best charcoal smokers, and our guide to cooking low and slow takes you through a first pork shoulder.
Common Minion method mistakes
- Letting it overshoot. Start closing the bottom vents about 14°C (25°F) below your target, not when you reach it. Coming down is far harder than going up.
- Chasing the temperature. Every vent change takes fifteen to twenty minutes to show. Adjust, wait, then judge.
- Cold water in the pan, which can cost an hour of warm-up.
- Too much wood. Four chunks is plenty. A basket packed with wood produces bitter, sooty smoke rather than more flavour.
- Opening the lid to look. Each opening costs roughly fifteen minutes of cook time and there is nothing to see.
At the end of a cook, close every vent completely. The fire suffocates and the unburnt charcoal is left intact. Sieve the ash out and that charcoal is perfectly good for the next cook, which over a season is a meaningful saving.
Common questions
Minion method on a kettle?
It works, but the snake is better suited to a kettle's shallow round bowl. Minion is designed for the deep charcoal ring of a bullet smoker or drum, where there is real vertical depth for the fire to burn down through.
Can I use lump for the Minion method?
Better than for the snake, but briquettes are still preferable. Lump's irregular sizing makes the burn rate less predictable, and it tends to run hotter than you intended.
How do I stop it running away to 175°C (350°F)?
Close the bottom vents almost completely and leave the top vent open. If it is already climbing hard, that means too much of the pile is alight, and the only real fix is to choke the air right down and wait. Prevention is the only good cure.
How long does the Minion method last?
About 10 to 14 hours from a full ring of briquettes in an 18 inch bullet smoker, and less in a kettle, where the pile is smaller.
Do I need a water pan for the Minion method?
No, but it helps. The water soaks up heat and evens out swings in temperature, which makes a long cook easier to manage. Start it with hot water.
Why is it called the Minion method?
It is named after Jim Minion, who described it on Weber Smokey Mountain forums in the 1990s.
Related guides
TechniqueHow to Light Charcoal Without Lighter Fluid
There is one right way to light charcoal, it costs about twenty five dollars, and it takes fifteen minutes.
TechniqueHow to Set Up a Two-Zone Fire on a Charcoal Grill
A two-zone fire puts all the lit charcoal on one side of the grill and leaves the other side empty. You get a hot side for searing and a cooler side where thick food can cook through without burning, and it is the setup we use for most things.
TechniqueThe Snake Method: Low and Slow on a Kettle
A line of unlit briquettes, lit at one end, burning along at about an inch an hour. It is the cheapest smoker you will ever build and it is already inside your kettle.