Smoker Pot vs Aluminum foil pouch

[Mcdddy]

Hi Everyone- just wondering if people use foil pouch or smoker pot. Here’s a pic of my foil pouch epic fail. It seemed to work in the beginning had nice blue smoke then after 10 min or so a ton of white nasty smoke. I poked several holes on bottom before placing directly on coals (think I’ll stick to 2 holes next time). Also I think I wrapped with single layer of foil - should I be using multiple layers.  I have had probs with foil disintegrating wrapping a heat deflector on Kamado Joe years ago. So I’m not sure if foil just does this. Smoker pot I have used before - not much clearance between top of pot on coals and lower grate. Also had probs with wood chunks blocking holes when transporting pot and placing on coals.

 

[Dono]

I’ve had success using 3-4 layers of “heavy duty” foil and 2 pretty small holes. I’ve got a smoking pot as well but I prefer to use the foil.  It’s more flexible than a pot and it’s a little easier to get it wedged in over the charcoal. Just my preference. 

[tony b]

The fire gets hot enough that putting the AL foil pouch directly on it will cause it to oxidize and get very brittle - as you found out.  Heavy Duty foil will work better, especially double wrapped. 2 Holes is plenty.

That all being said, I'm a smoker pot guy almost all of the time on low & slow cooks. My rare exception is doing jerk chicken - a pouch of pimento wood pieces, leaves and berries (aka - allspice). The cook is too fast for the smoker pot to come up to temp and start producing smoke before the chicken gets done. YMMV

[Mcdddy]

If Using a smoker pot - is it essential to use the flower water mixture and apply to the lid to seal? If so, I’m guessing you would put the smoking wood in and carry to the cooker uncovered and put on coals then put lid on - otherwise as happened to me the wood shifts around and can easily block the holes?

Also, it gets a tad challenging to fit the smoker pot between coals and lower grate.

That being said I think the smoker pot is a better way.

[Tyrus]

I first start with dry seasoned wood, the myth surrounding soaking your wood prior to use for better results for length of burn or better smoke is all a myth. I place my chunks right on the top or just to the side of the glowing embers, let it catch, place my grate on and then my food and close the lid. Nine time out of ten the process is successful, if there's any white smoke it clears away quickly. I also like using this useful tool introduced as a quick alternative to Syzygies burn pot from JeffShoaf I believe, it works every time well. If you notice along the rim I felt after several burns the loosening of the lid may have become problematic for a tight seal so I used a piece of Al foil and reseated the lid similar to Syzygies flour gasket, it can be used several times there after as long as your careful. I've had this pot several years now and obviously take little care with it except to keep it intact as the photo shows for storage.  One other thing, wrapping your wood in foil is also good but you should take care/caution when wrapping to leave no air pockets, a tight wrap with a scratch here or there for passage to release smoke is advantageous. Then you have smoke flavor profiles with the kind of wood your using, however that's another ballgame 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Tyrus

[tony b]

12 hours ago, Mcdddy said:

If Using a smoker pot - is it essential to use the flower water mixture and apply to the lid to seal? If so, I’m guessing you would put the smoking wood in and carry to the cooker uncovered and put on coals then put lid on - otherwise as happened to me the wood shifts around and can easily block the holes?

Also, it gets a tad challenging to fit the smoker pot between coals and lower grate.

That being said I think the smoker pot is a better way.

My normal routine is to check the 3 holes to see that they're not clogged. Place my wood chunks inside. Mix up the flour/water paste in a plastic sandwich bag (I buy the cheapest ones I can find, as this is all that I do with them). The consistency should be like PlayDoh (for folks that can remember playing with that stuff as a kid?) Pipe the mixture around the edge of the lid, smearing it out with a finger to close up any gaps. Place the lid on the pot and smear any mixture that oozes out around the seam to make sure to get a good seal - it's essential for the smoker pot to work properly. I light the coals and place the smoker pot on top of the lit area. Off to the races! 

[Tyrus]

  The principle is the same for both, I do prefer to slice a piece of Al off the roll on occasion as to making a dough. They both work but far as the race is concerned this pot is out of the gate quicker and producing smoke faster, because minus the dough work the steel at 1/16 in heats up quicker than a cast iron pot absorbing energy and the smoke begins earlier. This pot is quick to set up, fast to produce, lighter and smaller, it's what ease of use is as to simplicity IMHO.  What works for you...works the best.

[Poochie]

I must be the only jackass here that puts smoke wood directly on the coals. If I use a chimney with very little lump in it to start a low and slow, my smoke wood is already in the smoker. I pour that small amount of lit lump in a "corner" and it'll grow to find my pieces of smoke wood. After an hour when my smoker is up to temp, usually 240, I put the meat on and forget about it. I have nice blue smoke by then. I've never had a harsh taste from doing it this way. My bride is very sensitive to it and wouldn't mind letting me know.  I use locally grown hickory, cherry and oak with zero problems.  If I'm doing a hot cook, like chickens, I do the same thing except I light much more lump to get the fire started and going at 375. Whatever works is good. 

[Cheesehead_Griller]

On 10/8/2023 at 5:28 PM, Poochie said:

I must be the only jackass here that puts smoke wood directly on the coals. If I use a chimney with very little lump in it to start a low and slow, my smoke wood is already in the smoker. I pour that small amount of lit lump in a "corner" and it'll grow to find my pieces of smoke wood. After an hour when my smoker is up to temp, usually 240, I put the meat on and forget about it. I have nice blue smoke by then. I've never had a harsh taste from doing it this way. My bride is very sensitive to it and wouldn't mind letting me know.  I use locally grown hickory, cherry and oak with zero problems.  If I'm doing a hot cook, like chickens, I do the same thing except I light much more lump to get the fire started and going at 375. Whatever works is good. 

I do the same. However, I place a few chances of wood in my lump I light in the chimney as well as a few in the lump in the KK. I pour the coals over the entire basket versus the corner. 

[CaptMorg82]

For awhile now I've been just burying the wood chunks unwrapped at spaced intervals in the bottom of the basket. Then putting the lump over the top and in between. I think the smoke I've gotten from that has been pretty clean. Often, I can't really even see much of the smoke. I had wanted to see if the foil approach improved much so I tried wrapping the chunks in a foil pouch for my recent beef short rib smoke, with two holes poked in the foil aimed down at the fire. I thought this method worked well also, but having been the first time doing it (and in a bit of a rush), I put my meat on before the initial onset of white smoke. It was brief though and cleared up to a nice smelling blue smoke. I'll need to try it more to see if it's worth it but for the first time doing it, I didn't notice much difference. Either method seems to work pretty good to me.

I can tell you what though, my first time smoking a pork butt on my PK360 before I got my KK I did not know what I was doing. I white smoked the hell out of that pork butt for hours and it was nasty. I probably shortened my life by 10 years by eating that stuff. Each time I ate it, it went right through me 😬

[Syzygies]

I'm credited with devising the smoke pot. I see it as a matter of personal choice, though my advice would be if you want to make sure it's your choice, don't let your spouse taste the results till you've made up your mind. I must always use a smoke pot if I want to stay married.

A nice neutral analogy would be garlic presses. Carefully mincing garlic with a really sharp knife yields tiny undisturbed bits. The Joseph Joseph Garlic Rocker is a wonderful tool that quickly minces garlic with less damage than a garlic press. The MÄNNKITCHEN garlic press (makers of my favorite pepper grinder) is awesome but mashes the garlic. A microplane, more so. The Toiro Kitchen Suribachi Set is the best set of suribachis I've ever laid hands on, and purees garlic. So what's the difference? Serious Eats makes a careful analysis of the chemistry here: Disturbing garlic creates a chemical reaction that makes garlic more aggressive. I view this as a choice, day by day, like which sherry to cook with. Others have strong opinions.

Same with smoking wood. When wood is allowed to burn, it creates more aggressive flavors. A smoke pot keeps the wood from actually burning. Use more wood, but get a more refined flavor, none of the creosote that open flames can create.

Various of us on the commercial barbecue trail have had our hearts repeatedly broken. This can lead to an obsession with unmistakable smoke. I prefer to use smoke as a spice, but not the only spice, it needs to blend in with the rub and the meat.

Speaking of "only spice", in college I bought "pumpkin pie spice" so I could make my Mom's pumpkin bread recipe. The women in my dorm staged an intervention, gently letting me know that one could buy the individual spices. While I now make pilgrimages to Kalustyan's, at the time I was horrified. "Have you seen what those spices cost? That's a semester's pot!" Which is another good analogy: Smoking a joint is a different experience from using a vaporizer, and reasonable people differ on which provides a better flavor experience. If you know which way you lean on that question, I've got a good guess which way you'll lean on a smoke pot.

As the first photo reveals, getting a smoke pot going takes some practice. I like to light the charcoal under the pot while I heat the pot, with a pair of weed burners positioned using hose clamps.

(This pork butt was for an "intimate" wedding rehearsal dinner for my stepdaughter.)

Edited October 12, 2023 by Syzygies

[David Chang]

i don't even think i can use a smoking pot, there's no clearance for this in the 19..

 

[PVPAUL]

I tried the cast iron smoking pot with no success. I’ve had success with this same concept using the camping MSR stainless steel pot. For inside the pot I’ve used a stainless steel sink strainer that fits nicely into the 475ml pot. I drilled 3 each 1/8” holes in the bottom. I used this in both a 19” and 32” kk. The only drawback is the smoke only last about 2 hours. I also use this in conjunction with cold smoker attachment.

good luck,

[tony b]

2 hours of good smoke should be a nice kiss of smoke. Once the external surface of the meat dries and hits around 140F, it stops absorbing smoke. If you want more smoke beyond that, that's why you spritz with some liquid to both lightly wet the surface and lower the temperature (evaporative cooling). But even this only works for a while. 

[Firemonkey]

On 10/12/2023 at 1:03 AM, David Chang said:

i don't even think i can use a smoking pot, there's no clearance for this in the 19..

 

In my smaller grills I’ve had good results putting the wood underneath the fire basket.    The distance to the fire is close enough to burn the wood, and the smoke burns cleaner since  it has to travel through the entirety of the basket.    It’s not quite the same as using the pot, but it’s definitely better than mixing it in the basket.   And you can add more through the vent door if you need to, which is handy.  

[johnnymnemonic]

On 10/8/2023 at 6:28 PM, Poochie said:

I must be the only jackass here that puts smoke wood directly on the coals. If I use a chimney with very little lump in it to start a low and slow, my smoke wood is already in the smoker. I pour that small amount of lit lump in a "corner" and it'll grow to find my pieces of smoke wood. After an hour when my smoker is up to temp, usually 240, I put the meat on and forget about it. I have nice blue smoke by then. I've never had a harsh taste from doing it this way. My bride is very sensitive to it and wouldn't mind letting me know.  I use locally grown hickory, cherry and oak with zero problems.  If I'm doing a hot cook, like chickens, I do the same thing except I light much more lump to get the fire started and going at 375. Whatever works is good. 

I do the same except I use that "Harry Soo" charcoal method and put the wood at the bottom of the charcoal basket (always chunks). No complaints.  

I won't lie, every now and then I use the cold smoker attachment if I'm worried. But especially for huge chunks of meat like Pork Butts and Brisket, the wood is in the fire.  The 2 things I use in the cold smoker are wood chips from my own yard when I got a hickory tree cut down (tree company gave me a huge bag of chips that seems to last forever), or I use some high quality pellets - got several different ones.  I don't use it often, but usually when I do it is for that cusseta chicken or al pastor or shwarma or something smaller than a massive piece of pork or beef.  I find that big stuff still tastes great with wood in the fire.  Smaller or more delicate dishes, I control it more finely using the cold smoker (or with no wood at all) - charcoal tends to have all the flavor I need.

I think my aversion to smoke pot is only the extra effort.  One day I might give it a try.  I won't deny that the idea is good.  And I'm sure the results are good - "it's a KK after all".  Now I have the disney song "it's a small world" stuck in my head.  

It's a KK after all
It's a KK after all
It's a KK after all
your barbecueeee roooooocks!

Edited October 27, 2023 by johnnymnemonic