Sous vide inspired smoking?

[Dono]

Just to add more to the conversation, I used some oak that I cut and allowed to season myself.  I got an ample amount of smoke on my cook.  And I used the same charcoal I’ve been using. So I’m thinking no more kiln dried post oak or any wood for me. I am going to stop using it and use only seasoned cut wood.  See what differences there are. I was very pleased with the smoke flavor on this cook.  I used a couple of smallish pieces that were about 6” long. I buried them at the bottom of the charcoal basket and positioned them running front to back.  I placed one piece a 1/4 of the way in from the left side of the basket and another piece 3/4 of the way in from the left side of the basket.  So there was basically half the charcoal between the 2 pieces and a quarter on each side.  And I started my charcoal in the middle.  It gave the charcoal ample room to heat soak my KK before it got into the wood.  The flavor was substantial but not in your face.  

[jeffshoaf]

18 hours ago, Dono said:

Just to add more to the conversation, I used some oak that I cut and allowed to season myself.  I got an ample amount of smoke on my cook.  And I used the same charcoal I’ve been using. So I’m thinking no more kiln dried post oak or any wood for me. I am going to stop using it and use only seasoned cut wood.  See what differences there are. I was very pleased with the smoke flavor on this cook.  I used a couple of smallish pieces that were about 6” long. I buried them at the bottom of the charcoal basket and positioned them running front to back.  I placed one piece a 1/4 of the way in from the left side of the basket and another piece 3/4 of the way in from the left side of the basket.  So there was basically half the charcoal between the 2 pieces and a quarter on each side.  And I started my charcoal in the middle.  It gave the charcoal ample room to heat soak my KK before it got into the wood.  The flavor was substantial but not in your face.  

What were you cooking and how long was the cook? I've only had this issue with low and slow pork butts;  I've been happy with the smoke flavor on pretty much everything else I've smoked on the KK, but since butts are the only thing I do low and slow for 8 hours or more, I don't know if it's the lengthy cook in the 225* range or the meat or some combination. I'm planning on doing a 9.5 lb butt tomorrow at 350* or so and see how it goes. I already have the charcoal loaded in the KK with a small smoke pot filled with B&B hickory pellets buried and will also use the same pellets in the cold smoker.

As a side note, the only seasoned oak I could find this spring when my Santa Maria grill was delivered was kiln dried. I grilled two 1-1/2" pork chops on the Santa Maria with that wood (no charcoal)  last week and had more smoke flavor in those chops than I've been getting on my butts that are bathed in smoke for hours on the KK. That oak had been outside partially covered since I got it so it's probably picked up at least some moisture though.

[Poochie]

The chops have a lot of surface area to total weight getting smoke. The butts have the surface area but the majority of the butt is getting zero smoke. Peel the outer layer off and you have a ton of meat not getting smoke. One trick I've seen tried is cutting the money muscle out and smoking it along side the rest of the butt. You now have much more surface area getting smoke. Making pulled pork gets a bit more smoke flavor since you're chopping up the smoky exterior and mixing it with the interior. Good luck guys. 

[LK BBQ]

I would add that a wood log fired Santa Maria grill clearly should produce much more wood smoke than a KK with the typical amount of wood chunks.  If you lit the same amount of wood fuel in a KK (which Dennis clearly states you SHOULD NOT DO), I'd imagine there would be plenty of smoke for the equivalent size and shape of meat.  

Also note that Amazingribs.com has said in the past that the amount of smoke that binds to the meat is affected by the temperature and moisture of the surface of what you are cooking.  I think they recommended putting your meat in the freezer for a few minutes before you cook so that more smoke will bind to the outermost layer of your meat.  

 

[Poochie]

I have a poor man's Santa Maria grill...the Kudu. They recommended an 80/20 mix with 20 being wood and 80 charcoal. Of course I broke the rule and usually make a 100% wood fire on it to cook chicken wings, burgers and whatever else I've cooked on the thing. You'd think the smoke flavor would be "in your face" but it isn't. There's no restriction to the amount of air burning the splits I used and they burn very clean. Also, the smoke is not contained like in a KK...it's scattered everywhere. The flavor is good, but not deep down smoky flavor like a smokehouse. The KK can't take this amount of wood simply because there isn't enough to air in it to keep the wood burning. It would smolder and create bad smoke.

In the Komodo Kamado, for longish smokes like ribs, butts or brisket, I've always filled the coal basket and "cleaned out" a space on the side or back or it to dump X number of hot coals...a fairly small amount. Picture a bundt cake pan and dropping the hot coals in the center hole. But I move that hole over to one side. A modified Minion method. Now I place wood chunks from the hot coals to the other side of the basket. You'll generate a good amount of smoke for the duration of the cook as the lump slowly catches fire and burns the wood chunks along with it. The size wood pieces I use are about half a bar of soap. 

 

What's so great about cooking or BBQing is that there's no hard and fast rules to create good food. It's a constant experiment. If there's was one way,  we'd all place first in BBQ competitions. 

[tony b]

On the longer cooks, lightly spritzing the meat with a liquid (apple juice, cider vinegar, water, wine, bourbon, etc.) periodically (hourly) will help promote a bit more smoke adherence, as the moisture will attract smoke and the evaporation process will cool the surface of the meat and help, as well. Just be careful not to overdo it and wash off your bark. 

[Dono]

On 11/17/2021 at 3:16 PM, jeffshoaf said:

What were you cooking and how long was the cook? I've only had this issue with low and slow pork butts;  I've been happy with the smoke flavor on pretty much everything else I've smoked on the KK, but since butts are the only thing I do low and slow for 8 hours or more, I don't know if it's the lengthy cook in the 225* range or the meat or some combination. I'm planning on doing a 9.5 lb butt tomorrow at 350* or so and see how it goes. I already have the charcoal loaded in the KK with a small smoke pot filled with B&B hickory pellets buried and will also use the same pellets in the cold smoker.

As a side note, the only seasoned oak I could find this spring when my Santa Maria grill was delivered was kiln dried. I grilled two 1-1/2" pork chops on the Santa Maria with that wood (no charcoal)  last week and had more smoke flavor in those chops than I've been getting on my butts that are bathed in smoke for hours on the KK. That oak had been outside partially covered since I got it so it's probably picked up at least some moisture though.

I was cooking 2 bone-in turkey breasts @jeffshoaf.  This is the first cook like this using something other than the kiln dried wood chunks (post oak, cherry, apple, and hickory).  This cook was significantly different than the many previous cooks of the same meat.  Much more flavorful and a nice pronounced smoke flavor.  Definitely more like the results I got with my retired off-set smoker.  I maintained 350 for approximately 2 hours give or take.  Good luck with your cook!

[Poochie]

Poultry in general will take on more smoke. But glad they came out good. That's all that really matters.

[jeffshoaf]

I did my hot and fast cook yesterday;  I'll post the result in the original "lack of smoke flavor" thread since it's a bit of-topic in this thread.

Edited November 19, 2021 by jeffshoaf