The Minion Method Explained

Step by step

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

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?

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.

Common Minion method mistakes

• Letting it overshoot. Start closing the bottom vents at -5°C (25°F) below 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.

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.