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Let’s
Make Fire!
Okay so ... you’ve got a
smoker, meat, fuel and wood not you need to make a fire! It’s easier than you might think if you have
the right tools. I suggest you get a charcoal chimney. You can get them from
just about any place that sell grills or smokers – Ace Hardware, Wal-Mart,
Lowe’s and Home Depot come to mind. We’re going to use what’s been dubbed as
the Minion Method. It’s called that because it was first published by a
gentleman named Jim Minion.
Making Fire
What’s a chimney? A chimney is an open ended can similar to a large
coffee can with a small shelf in it and a handle to hold coals and newspaper.
There are several pictures from various angles below.
To start your coals;
First take two sheets of newspaper, roll it loosely the long way
and place it in the bottom of the chimney can. Leave the center open!
Next fill the can with coals. I use about 10 or 12 of them. It’s
good to keep track of how many you used so you can easily duplicate the process
for you perfect smoke!
Finally light the newspaper from the holes in the bottom of the
chimney in several places. Once it’s lit it’ll burn hot and fast so Set the chimney on something that won’t catch fire and wait.
When all the coals start to turn gray all over they’re ready. This will take
about 10 minutes!
While you wait for the coals to get hot, add some fresh coals to
your smoker about 15 of them and mix in some wood chips or chunks. When the
coals I the chimney are all gray dump it on top of the unlit coals in your
smoker.
That’s it your ready to smoke some
food! When the coal
burn down and your temperature starts dropping just add more fresh coals.
Again make a note of how many you used and this will make it real easy next time!
In my Brinkmann All-In-One it seems to
work out to about a 10ºF increase in temperature for each briquette added to
the fire. That’s a good starting point but your results may vary depending on
the type of smoker you use, outside temperatures, winds and things like that.
They all affect temperature!
If you are using a propane or electric smoker you may not need
charcoal at all or may just want a few of them. I find the charcoal adds to the
smoke ring and helps to keep the wood smoldering. It also reduces the amount of
fuel needed to cook you meal.
Wind Breaks
At this point I think it would be wise to talk about wind
breaks. A wind break is just a shelter to block the wind. I can be constructed
from anything – preferably non-flammable! Even if you live in an area where the
temperature don’t get bitterly cold you could benefit
from a wind break. We all suffer with high winds and rain from time to time and
with so little time available for our long slow smokes we don’t want it ruined
by the weather do we?
Some people get very creative with their wind breaks and build
fancy shelters that blend in with their landscapes. Mine is simply several
pieces of Styrofoam board held together with pencils to shield the smokers from
the wind and snow.
If you have a garage you might want to consider a temporary wind
break that you can tear down at the end of a long smoke, if not you may want to
consider something more permanent to protect you investment.
I don’t have a garage so this serves as my wind break and my
storage shed all year round. It saves me a bundle on fuel as it its constructed
out of 4 inch thick Styrofoam board and it’s temporary because it’s held
together with pencils so I can move it around at will by just pulling a pencil!
It faces my kitchen doors so the front in pretty well protected from the wind
and being temporary I don’t need a permit from the town to build it or get an
increase in my taxes!
I have to rebuild my structure somewhat to house the three
smokers I have now in there and protect me a bit from the weather but for now
it works and has for over a year four years .
ENjoy!
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