Syzygies' Smoking Pot

[Aussie Ora]

Thanks for all the advice.  I thought of buying chunks but I have eight packs of the small chips so I persevered and arranged the chips so that they would not block the holes.

I then sealed the pot and heated it in one KK and then transferred it to the lower temp KK for smoking.  That worked. The chips were burned and the meat came out nice.  Don't think I will go to the trouble of lighting two KKs in the future unless I need to.  Will try heating up with a torch next time.
 
 
 
 
 

The smoking pot does the job and it's an awesome concept .but I need to get the cold smoker

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

[tekobo]

5 minutes ago, Aussie Ora said:

The smoking pot does the job and it's an awesome concept .but I need to get the cold smoker

I am the start of my smoking journey.  May end up with a cold smoker but am also wondering about going the other way - smoking without a pot.  I may find I actually like the overpowering smoke flavours!

[Aussie Ora]

I am the start of my smoking journey.  May end up with a cold smoker but am also wondering about going the other way - smoking without a pot.  I may find I actually like the overpowering smoke flavours!

I vary smoke pot straight depends on the mood I'm in ie can I be bothered setting up the pot lol .I don't worry about heat soaking Ora .for a low n slow cook i just load the basket light two spots open the vents and add both grates .when it gets to 350/200 .I pull them out add wood chunks and foil the bottom grate close the lid and it settles around 250 adjust vents and I'm off . This is a great technique because your Q is not heat soaked in that first hour it's so easily adjustable like an oven. That you can do a forward sear just the way you would do on a pan and finish in an oven 

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

 

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Pearson]

Nice to know Aussie

[Eddie mac]

On 1/17/2018 at 6:11 AM, Aussie Ora said:

I vary smoke pot straight depends on the mood I'm in ie can I be bothered setting up the pot lol .I don't worry about heat soaking Ora .for a low n slow cook i just load the basket light two spots open the vents and add both grates .when it gets to 350/200 .I pull them out add wood chunks and foil the bottom grate close the lid and it settles around 250 adjust vents and I'm off . This is a great technique because your Q is not heat soaked in that first hour it's so easily adjustable like an oven. That you can do a forward sear just the way you would do on a pan and finish in an oven 

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

 

 

 

 

 

I agree Aussie layer wood chunks in basket just did a brisket with burn pot not impressed at all 

[Eddie mac]

I guess I am old school lol

[Adam Ag 98]

Can someone direct me to the instructions for the pot? I have a 21". 

Pot size suggestions, rules for filling it, what is the paste others refer to, etc. I've been combing the boards and see a lot of references to syzergie's pot but no directions.

Thanks!

[tony b]

They are pretty much here in this thread if you go back to the beginning. 

Most folks use a 2 quart cast iron Dutch oven. Get the cheapest one that you can find. Drill several small holes in the bottom. Mine are 3/32", some folks went with 1/8". I wouldn't go much larger than that and don't drill anymore than 3 or 4 holes max. Space them around the bottom of the pot so that you don't risk all of them getting clogged if they were clustered too close together in the center. The idea is to starve the wood chunks/chips of oxygen to make them smolder and not burn. Putting the holes in the bottom forces the smoke back into the fire where some of the nastier volatile components will burn off and produce cleaner smoke. This is why this pot works so well. The cool part is when you open it back up after it's cooled down, you'll have made charcoal out of the wood! 

The amount of the wood is not super critical. Obviously, the more wood, the longer the smoke will be generated. For shorter cooks, use less to avoid wasting your wood chunks/chips. Longer cooks, add more. The production rate of smoke is fairly fixed by the 3 small holes - only so much oxygen can get in and smoke get out. Remember, smoke is only absorbed by meat until it reaches about 140F on the surface. So, you don't need to produce smoke for the entire cook. That's why the old BBQ'ers trick of spritzing the meat with some sort of liquid works, it causes evaporative cooling on the meat surface and lowers the temperature, prolonging the smoke absorption.

It is essential that the lid be airtight to make the smoker pot work. Remember we're trying to limit the amount of oxygen inside. The easiest way to achieve that is to make a simple flour and water paste in a plastic sandwich bag. The consistency should be like Playdoh. Takes some practice to get the water to flour ratio right, but if it's too wet, add more flour; too dry, add water. Also make sure that you mix it together thoroughly to not have dry flour pockets. Twist up the top of the bag, cut off a lower corner and pipe the paste onto the rim of the lid. Make sure to get a good amount completely around the lid. Then put your wood chunks in the bottom and carefully place the lid on, making sure to seal the outside all the way around with the paste that oozes out. 

Place the smoker pot directly on top of the burning charcoal to ensure that the internal temperature comes up to smoldering as quickly as possible. Remember you want as much smoke as possible on the meat before it reaches 140F on the surface. 

 

[Adam Ag 98]

1 hour ago, tony b said:

They are pretty much here in this thread if you go back to the beginning. 

Most folks use a 2 quart cast iron Dutch oven. Get the cheapest one that you can find. Drill several small holes in the bottom. Mine are 3/32", some folks went with 1/8". I wouldn't go much larger than that and don't drill anymore than 3 or 4 holes max. Space them around the bottom of the pot so that you don't risk all of them getting clogged if they were clustered too close together in the center. The idea is to starve the wood chunks/chips of oxygen to make them smolder and not burn. Putting the holes in the bottom forces the smoke back into the fire where some of the nastier volatile components will burn off and produce cleaner smoke. This is why this pot works so well. The cool part is when you open it back up after it's cooled down, you'll have made charcoal out of the wood! 

The amount of the wood is not super critical. Obviously, the more wood, the longer the smoke will be generated. For shorter cooks, use less to avoid wasting your wood chunks/chips. Longer cooks, add more. The production rate of smoke is fairly fixed by the 3 small holes - only so much oxygen can get in and smoke get out. Remember, smoke is only absorbed by meat until it reaches about 140F on the surface. So, you don't need to produce smoke for the entire cook. That's why the old BBQ'ers trick of spritzing the meat with some sort of liquid works, it causes evaporative cooling on the meat surface and lowers the temperature, prolonging the smoke absorption.

It is essential that the lid be airtight to make the smoker pot work. Remember we're trying to limit the amount of oxygen inside. The easiest way to achieve that is to make a simple flour and water paste in a plastic sandwich bag. The consistency should be like Playdoh. Takes some practice to get the water to flour ratio right, but if it's too wet, add more flour; too dry, add water. Also make sure that you mix it together thoroughly to not have dry flour pockets. Twist up the top of the bag, cut off a lower corner and pipe the paste onto the rim of the lid. Make sure to get a good amount completely around the lid. Then put your wood chunks in the bottom and carefully place the lid on, making sure to seal the outside all the way around with the paste that oozes out. 

Place the smoker pot directly on top of the burning charcoal to ensure that the internal temperature comes up to smoldering as quickly as possible. Remember you want as much smoke as possible on the meat before it reaches 140F on the surface. 

 

Thank you very much! I'll look @2qt and slightly smaller due to the slightly smaller 21 vs the 23 and up. Aside from the pipe trick I'll be interested to see if I can find a much smaller to that would fit in the 1/2 basket configuration as well.

[tony b]

Happy hunting! 

[Tomatillo]

On 7/23/2016 at 4:48 PM, Syzygies said:

I use a two quart Dutch oven, with three 1/8" holes drilled in the bottom.

One hole might do, but I want to hedge my bets on a hole getting blocked, and the lid blowing loose.

Similarly, not everyone feels the need to glue the lid on with flour paste. The paste reminds me of Morocco, and one really doesn't want the lid to come loose.

Syzygies, thank you so much for the tip with the Dutch oven smoking!  Please tell me, what is that flame thrower and where can I get one?  Also, I have been using a chimney to light my charcoal.  It's a bit messy.  Do you start your charcoal that way, versus a chimney?  Clearly here, yes, but is that the way to go?  Thank you!

[Syzygies]

2 hours ago, Tomatillo said:

what is that flame thrower and where can I get one?

BernzOmatic Lawn and Garden Torch

Affectionately known as a weed burner. Anything in the category will work. Many of us use these to start our fires. It's particularly useful for dense charcoals such as KK extruded coconut, and for aiming where the fire starts, such as under a smoke pot.

I first saw something like this used by @jiarby in a 2003 cooking competition (the judges refused to decide whether his chili or my gumbo was better). He had a more substantial flame thrower, more like something Arnold Schwarzenegger would use in Commando.

An innovation I'd recommend is to add a hose clamp somewhere on the neck of the flame thrower. Then it can rest on the lip of the KK, leaning also against the top grate of the charcoal basket. Now you can step away to refill your wine.

When the igniter fails, keep the old one so you have two at once.

Dennis notes that once a fire starts, it needs more oxygen, not more heat. He used to recommend a hairdryer until I posted that I loved the Milwaukee cordless M18™ Compact Blower.

To be clear, this blower is anemic for any other purpose. My favorite cordless blower uses my lawnmower battery. This blower is however worth the price just for starting fires, particularly if you already have Milwaukee cordless tools.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Syzygies

[MacKenzie]

I agree, it is pretty anemic for most other purposes but it does a great job of cleaning the old shells out of my covered tray bird feeder which is mounted on a pole off the deck.

 

[tony b]

I use this gadget. It works very well. Uses 3 AAA batteries. They last for quite a number of cooks.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D5FS7HA

But, unfortunately, Amazon says that it's not available right now. No luck on Ebay either. 😢

[johnnymnemonic]

This is strange to me as I have not received my KK yet.  In a standard Kamado (I have a large BGE and have been cooking bbq on it for well over a decade), for a long low and slow cook I just add wood chunks to the firebox and try to mix them in very randomly so that as the fire continues to burn down there's always a little bit of new wood to burn. I can make pretty even smoke for hours with my BGE.  What is different about the KK that makes you want to make a special pot to sit on top of the fire?  I would think this completely unnecessary once you get the hang of how many chunks to put directly in the firebox.

[5698k]

The point of the pot is to get “clean” smoke. When you put your chunks directly into the fire, there’s the period of time that you get “dirty” smoke.


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[jeffshoaf]

26 minutes ago, johnnymnemonic said:

 What is different about the KK that makes you want to make a special pot to sit on top of the fire?  I would think this completely unnecessary once you get the hang of how many chunks to put directly in the firebox.

It's less about the amount of smoke as it is the type of smoke - acrid white smoke vs, "clean" blue smoke. If you're happy with the smoke flavor you're getting now, you can use the same technique with your pending KK and get similar results, only with better moisture retention and less fuel consumption - but if you try the smoke pot, you'll probably not go back to your old method. Your food will have a good smoke flavor without a harsh flavor tone you get from the white smoke. Of course, some folks like that harsh "bite".

Dennis has provided a good test method - if you get the smoked in your eyes and your eyes burn, that's the harsh white smoke. If your eyes don't burn, that's the clean blue smoke.

Traditional smoking (for flavor instead of preservation) has you letting the wood burn down to embers before adding the food so that the harsh smoke and the steam has burnt off. The amount of wood used is limited to keep the temps down so for long cooks; this initial burn is often done in a separate area or burn barrel and the embers shoveled under the food. Of course, this is a lot of work and requires constant vigilance to maintain the desired cooking temperature.

 Offset smokers were developed to make this a bit easier; by separating the fuel from the food and throttling the amount of heat that transfers across, the wood can be burnt at a higher temperature so that all the nasty stuff gets burnt out of the smoke before the smoke touched the food. While requiring less work than burning the wood down to embers before moving to the cook, this method does require more fuel and vigilance to keep the fire fueled.

Kamados are a different creature - fuel efficient and and to maintain low temps without on-going vigilance, but the fire isn't big or hot enough to burn off the nasty stuff from the resulting smoke. I believe that they're  traditionally fueled with just charcoal in the far East where they were originally developed but we're trying to get the smoked flavor we love so much. The smoke pot allows us to get that clean smoke with small fires by burning the wood and forcing the resulting smoke down into the hotter fire to burn off the nasty stuff.

I've been more wordy in this post than i usually am but I've been thinking a lot about this recently. I have a new Santa Maria grill and have been cooking with wood instead of charcoal and have tried cooking over the wood before it's burned down to embers and after it's burned down; while this open cooking produces less of a smoke flavor than i get with the closed kk environment, the difference is so pretty obvious.
 

[johnnymnemonic]

Perfect explanation, thank you @jeffshoaf for the time and detail.

[David Chang]

will this work as a smoking bento box or am i dellusional? 

the red caulk is high temp silicon

there is a divider in the box to keep the pellets from covering the holes. the divider does not hit the ceiling of the lid.

there are two 1/8” holes on the empty side

[Tyrus]

Whatever floats your boat David...light years ahead of those perforated cylinders that they place in pellet and gas grills. It checks the boxes, so is it reusable and how does the gasket hold up? What's up with the empty side?  Longevity looks to be a concern, would it remain dimensional stable under heat and retain it's shape under a number of cooks? 

Edited April 22 by Tyrus