Cookie Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Ok, so I had a POS Kamado for about 10 years, and now the much superior KK....I'm no rookie; HOWEVER, I want to hear the thoughts of others on a very basic principle....low and slow using lump. Generally, for low slow, I fill the basket with extruded coconut, light in a couple of places, and use a smoke pot with my choice of smoking wood. This method works great. I've been running low on extruded and decided to try using lump for low and slow. Here in Singapore, I found a supplier of "mangrove" lump, which a lot of the restaurants use, and is supposed to be pretty good stuff. In fact, It is fantastic for direct grilling and high temp stuff...great flavor. My concern using the lump: I fill the basket full of the lump, light with a propane torch in a few places, let it come up to 220ish before adding meat, still use the smoke pot, etc.; HOWEVER, I feel that I'm getting a lot of the white / billowy / acrid smoke, not just when starting up, but also as more of the lump lights throughout the low and slow cook...the flavor just isn't coming out right, and my smoking wood flavor is lost due to the overwhelming smoke flavor from the lump. So, who goes low and slow with lump, how do you avoid this problem, or do you not consider it a problem? I've thought about just firing up less lump in a chimney starter, letting it all ignite and burning off the white smoke, but then I'd have to keep refueling, which kind of defeats the purpose of the KK and I'm lazy...I like a set it and forget it method -- which is what I have down to a science using extruded. Thoughts? Cookie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Low and Slow With Lump Question I use Royal Oak lump which is hardwood and likely unavailable in Singapore. No trouble with the smoke on a low and slow. You will just have to source any and all types of lump available to you in your part of the world and try them until you hit on the one that works best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcnich Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Low and Slow With Lump Question I just did a low and slow pork butts using Frontier Lump, I filled the basket, lit it in the middle using a parafin starter block (made by Weber) let it come up to 235 took about 1.5 hrs, put on meat and it ran at 235 to 239 all night, a total of 12 hrs and i still have some left to burn. I am thinking if may be the lump you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddysurf Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Low and Slow With Lump Question For low-and-slow I light my lump as Dennis recommended to me when I purchased: fully pack the basket, filling in the big gaps with medium chunks and the small gaps with small pieces. Then I light a tennis ball size in the middle (I use a weed burner flame-thrower for about 90 seconds ... love that thing!), blow the hot spot with a cheap hair dryer for about a minute, and close the KK with the vent and cap wide open. If I'm in a hurry I pull the vent (or both vents) open rather than just spin the dial to wide-open ... gotta' watch the temp though because it can heat up fast. I begin to close the air down as the temp gets to within about 25[sup:nk9i305g]o[/sup:nk9i305g] of my goal temp. I use a smoke pot with my wood of choice but I have to admit that I have a hard time distinguishing between various woods (except mesquite, which dominates). Perhaps my smoke palate is unrefined but I suspect the issue is the lump smoke (oak) overwhelms the smoke pot wood. I'm looking forward to using the extruded coconut that Dennis is teasing us with at the moment ! You may want to check into that as a potential source of fuel if your issue is sourcing fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboy Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 Re: Low and Slow With Lump Question Hello Cookie. Been awhile, hope all is well. I'd try a different lump. Sounds like the mangrove lump you're using may not be quite 100% carbonized yet. Hopefully Nakedwhiz with all his expertise will pop in here with some insight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookie Posted August 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 Re: Low and Slow With Lump Question Thanks everyone for the thoughts, you have all kind of confirmed a suspicion I had....the lump may not be that good (fully carbonized)... It has been years since I tried to do a low and slow with anything other than the extruded coconut, I didn't think I remembered lump giving me too many problems. I'll see what else I can source here in Singapore...wish I had access to what you guys in the States, and probably even the Aussies, have access to... Fortunately, I still have a couple of boxes of the extruded coconut left from a previous order....one of which is going to good use today on a 9 pound pork shoulder / pork butt. Its gonna be samich time tonight... Cookie P.S. I wonder if I sent some of this Mangrove stuff to the Whiz if he'd test it? It is crazy good for high temp cooks, awesome flavor. I wonder how much I'd have to send...Can't be shipping an entire bag from Singapore.... P.S.S. JohnnyBoy, the cover still looks and works like new in a very harsh Singapore environment (Hot, Humid, Salty, Air). Great product. P.S.S.S. If you have lit your lump with a MAPP Torch, you haven't lived. The best (sorry Dennis) accessory one could have for the KK. One bottle lasts a long long time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
