Thanks mike. It was my first time using the smoker and i used kingsford blue used about 15 lbs of an 18 lb bag. Used the minion method and once i added the hot coals and the fire was going i closed the lid and my temp was really high about 350. After messing with the vents got it to 225-250 and added the butt it was a little over 4 lbs and 2 chunks of hickory. my temps fluctuated Alot and got under 200 maybe once or twice weather was cold and windy. I did close the top vent to get the temp down when it was too high i guess i should always leave the top vent open from now on. Kept the hickory in the whole smoke i pulled it when temp was 166 and it looked great with good bark. I foiled and put back on until temp was 195. Took it off and the bark was gone sort of looked soggy. Let it sit foiled About an hour. Smoke ring looked good to a rookie but butt was a little dried out and kind of bitter. Whole smoke time was about 7 hrs. If u took the time
To read this thank you
Hi Matty. To reduce the levels of smoke flavour you can wrap the brisket in foil after about 3 hours for the remainder of the cook, exposing it again for the last hour if you are looking for a firmer bark.
In cold and gusty weather it is important to use the smoker in a sheltered location, and if this is not possible to place some wind baffles around it or use an insulated cover.
Swings of temperature can also be caused by opening the lid or the door. Was it kept closed for most of the smoke?
If it had reached 350 before you put the meat in you were not controlling the temperature sufficiently or had added too many lit coals to begin with. As soon as you add the coals to the centre of the Minion it is important to put the lid on and let it start to stabilise.
Leave the top and bottom vents fully open and watch the temperature rise. As it approaches 3/4 desired temperature start to close down the bottom vents - half way at first and then progressively more as the temperature increases.
Once it has reached temperature and stabilised it should need little further adjustment - just the odd minor tweak.
I find that in my 18" that about 3.5 Kg of good quality briquettes will give me a good stable 225 F for about 12 hours.
To begin with, as Al says, it is best to keep the top vent fully open. As you get more familiar with the temperature management you may find that once it is up to temperature, by closing the top vent to about 50% you will be able to get finer temperature control using the bottom vents. In cold weather though you will probably need to keep the top vents fully open.
