Where is the smoke ?

[EGGARY]

I am wondering where is the smoke. I put in the Lump Charcoal and place 2 chunks of Apple, I light the charcoal with the Mapp Torch. At the KK is getting up to temp the nice smoke from the Chuck is there. At the same time the vents are wide open to get it up to temp. As I close down the vents the smoke disappears. So when I put the meat on the grill, where is the smoke ? With the vents closed so much to get it to 250, is there enough air to smoke ?

Does this sound crazy ? Or am I doing something wrong ?

[5698k]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I always wait untill my fire is up to temp before adding wood. On a low and slo, you never know exactly where the fire is going to go. Get your grill to temp, find the hot spot, then add your wood.

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[mk1]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I always wait untill my fire is up to temp before adding wood. On a low and slo, you never know exactly where the fire is going to go. Get your grill to temp, find the hot spot, then add your wood.

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Very good advice....

[Smokydave]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I struggle wih this as well. I try adding wood after the KK is up to temp. The problem with this is that I like to heat soak the deflector and grate, so raising the grate flap thing and dropping the wood and hoping that it falls onto lit coals is iffy at best. I tried embedding chunks in the coals hoping they will catch at some point early also doesn't seem to work for me. I would kill to have a small door in the side to add wood! Anyways, if someone has a suggestion or two let me know. I just completed my 19th consecutive weekend cook with my KK and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

[mk1]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I typically don't heat soak with my grates in for a low and slow....just the heat deflector. Then it is relatively easy to tip it up to strategically place the wood chunks. The mass of the metal grates gets up to temp relatively quickly.

[Syzygies]

Smoke pots

Warning: Any tentative experiments with this approach must take place while the women are out of town. There's a "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" aspect to smoke. Men have been on the road their whole lives searching for great 'cue, and like love itself, all too often to be disappointed. The usual tipoff? The smoke, or lack thereof. We learn to seek out intense smoke. Women have a more refined palate, and are open to smoke as one more seasoning, to balance in a great dish. They break down and let us buy a yard oven (oh the lucky few of us that get to be indoor dogs, they keep the rest of us out in the yard and the garage and the shop, better than letting us have any designs on the house itself), only to then wonder if dinner is going to taste like a forest fire for the rest of their lives. Smoke has many components, good and bad. When a chunk of wood burns out in the open, one gets all of these, good and bad. Creosote in particular is rather nasty, though a faint tinge does reassure us menfolk that there was smoke. One needs to read up on classic barbecue technique, as used at scale by dedicated professionals. Smoke comes from wood as a fuel source, but that wood is burned down to embers in a separate fire, then transferred to the cooking pit. How are we to replicate this? My approach, after many experiments, is to drill three 1/8" holes into the bottom of a two quart cast iron Dutch oven, fill it with wood chunks and chips, seal on the top with flour water paste, and nestle this smoke pot into the charcoal. Light the charcoal under the smoke pot with a weed burner propane torch, and let the fire come up to the desired cooking temperature. The smoke pot itself will get going in the same interval. Easiest to mix and apply the flour paste in a ziplock bag with the corner nicked (poor man's piping bag, as for filling ravioli). Many indigenous cultures use flour paste to improve the fit on rickety cookware, this is not a new idea. Here, we want absolutely no convection through the Dutch oven, even if the lid gets knocked. Others have improved the idea of a "smoke pot" to a "smoke bomb": A piece of stainless steel pipe with screw on end caps, and a few holes in the middle. Pricey, but no flour paste. Avoid other metals that aren't appropriate around fire and food. This approach is like distillation. Armagnac tastes better than moonshine in part because only some components are allowed through in the distillation process. Here, the wood releases gases, some of which burn, but the wood never actually catches fire. Note the substantial quantity of smoking wood involved; unless burned down to embers, one never uses that much wood out in the open. In any case, Laurie actually bought me our Komodo Kamado (and I do get the occasional say inside the house), but the rest of this parable holds true. I do not have permission to generate smoke any other way, ever again. She can taste the difference, and so can everyone else.

[tony b]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I need to ask, why the holes in the bottom of the dutch oven and not the top?

[MadMedik]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

The pot looks as big as the fire basket...just how much charcoal can you actually use? It would seem the duration of the cooks would be short??

[Firemonkey]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I need to ask' date=' why the holes in the bottom of the dutch oven and not the top?[/quote']

Positioning the holes in the bottom, and the reason for sealing the lid airtight with flour paste, is to force all the smoke back down into the fire. This will further refine the smoke by burning off more of the volatiles as it leaves the vessel.

I know this method sounds crazy, but I built a pot exactly as szygies described and gave it a try. It's definitely different - it's a smoother, milder, smoke flavor. It is especially noticeable when you use a cleaner charcoal, like the extruded coconut.

I don't know why, but I don't use the pot as much anymore. Probably because I'm just lazy, and toss wood in the fire. But on special occasions, when I want something with a distinct fruitwood profile, without overpowering smoke (think Thanksgiving turkey) I will break out the smoke pot.

One nice bonus; when you open up the pot, you have some nice fruitwood lump charcoal in there to use for your next cook.

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[Firemonkey]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

The pot looks as big as the fire basket...just how much charcoal can you actually use? It would seem the duration of the cooks would be short??

I also thought a 2qt pot sounded huge, but it's really about the smallest you would want to go to be able to fit enough wood in it. It's actually not that big. You dont put it down inside the charcoal basket, I just nestle it on top of the lump after i fill thrbasket as usual. Occasionally, the HD might rest on top of the little handle on the lid for a while, but as the fire burns it sinks down onto the basket handles where it belongs.

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[Syzygies]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

The pot looks as big as the fire basket...just how much charcoal can you actually use? It would seem the duration of the cooks would be short??

Yes, I only use this with coconut extruded charcoal from Komodo Kamado. I've never come remotely close to running out of fuel on a 24 hour cook.

My idea of a "24 hour" cook gets shorter with experience, I may not have fallen into the "quick brisket" camp but they have a point one should understand, and my longest cooks revolve around the question of serving time, and how late I'm willing to stay up before putting the meat on. "18 hour" cook may be more like it.

[MadMedik]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I came across this a few months ago. I have not tried it. But now may be a good time to share it. It is a smoker tube of sorts:

http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=12

Interesting !?

[Syzygies]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

It is a smoker tube of sorts:

That is very interesting. I'm torn, I believe it has too many holes to prevent convection burning the wood. But might be intermediate in effect between open chunks and a smoke pot?

I priced stainless steel tubes and couldn't figure a way that wasn't $200 with the caps.

[carriesanaxe]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

No deflection stone with smoke pot?

[Firemonkey]

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I don't think the tube thing is made to use in the fire, like we are talking about with the pot. The flat maze shaped device just allows a channel of sawdust to smolder and burn. It sits on a grate on the grill. I think the tube is made to work similarly; full it with pellets/sawdust and light one end. The contents burn to produce smoke, but it is full combustion, and it happens outside of the fire basket. Otherwise, it would all burn at once.