I have the Arbor Fabricating coal basket/minion starter. It is a pretty great product. I used to use just the minion method-spread a lit chimney over the coals in the wsm ring. The minion basket gives a longer burn time since the lit coals are concentrated in the center burning outward if that makes sense:
This makes total sense to me. I don't have to have total precision with a WSM type setup, but I hate the idea of just haphazardly dumping a bunch of lit coals on top of the unlit ones. I have toyed with the idea of just cutting both ends out of a large can and placing that in the center, dumping the lit coals in that, and then removing the can. But now I see that this thing exists and I kind of want one. And the Arbor Fab charcoal ring.
Last edited by Steve R.; April 10, 2021, 09:04 AM.
Steve R. that is what I wanted to do with the can, but I couldn't find a large enough metal coffee can, and I didn't want to but a huge can of green beans or pork and beans. Would have been cheaper, but hey, I am an AR member. We don't do cheap lol
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
Steve R. You can do the donut method without the kit from Arbor or a can. It’s the only way I light my WSM. Fill the charcoal ring. Then pull out 25 briquettes to light. Form a hole in the center. Dump your lit briquettes in the hole. Of course, getting some gear to make it easier/getter will help with your MCS a bit. :-)
It's cleaning up nicely. It had that rust colored build-up and mold on the inside and grates were pretty gnarly. I used a brush, and elbow grease to get most of it. I'm burning it hit right now and it got up to 412°. I pulled the lid and scraped the food grate, again, oiled it heavily, flipped the grate, and let 'er go.
I filled the charcoal ring with a mix of lump and KBB to nearly overflowing. Fired it up 2 1/2 hrs ago. Temp is down to 375 with all vents open. I'm glad that I'm doing this, so I can gauge how long that it will hold higher temps, when the cook warrants.
This is a rabbit-hole that I'm already enjoying.
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