Let's Talk BBQ
Outdoor Cooking Equipment => Grills & Smokers => Kamado Style Cookers => Topic started by: pmillen on July 18, 2021, 02:07:29 PM
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In several posts, Harry Soo has advised his readers to put wood chunks in the bottom of the fire box, put the charcoal on top of the wood and to light the charcoal on top. I’ve not found a statement of his reasoning.
I have my own opinion on wood chunk placement. What’s your advice and why?
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In several posts, Harry Soo has advised his readers to put wood chunks in the bottom of the fire box, put the charcoal on top of the wood and to light the charcoal on top. I’ve not found a statement of his reasoning.
I have my own opinion on wood chunk placement. What’s your advice and why?
I’ve done both. Seems like it burns up quicker on top.
Not scientific by any means.
I start small fire in the middle for smoking. Place wood chunks on the outside bottom.
I’d be cure what others have found as well.
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I mix them in around the center of the pile of lump and right before putting the meat on I'll put some small pieces right on top. Have a hard time getting enough smoke flavor and very seldom a smoke ring in my kamado.
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If any of you guys have pictures of the layouts, that would be great for us learning about the Kamado and BGE.
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I have arrived at a conclusion as to why the smoking wood should be buried in the charcoal.
I think that the sweetest smoke is produced by a fire that’s burning freely and not being smothered by a lack of oxygen. That’s a pellet pit or a stick burner. But a stick burner has a giant fire-tending learning curve. The less-than-experts have to throttle back on their stick burners’ air flow to choke down the fire when their stick burner fires get too hot. Doing so creates at least a bit of smoldering and smoke that’s a bit tainted by undesirable components. Controlling the temperature by choking down the air flow to the fire, thereby producing tainted smoke, is the weak spot for my smoking efforts on my Pit Barrel Smoker, kamado, Masterbuilt Gravity Series, and any pit that chokes the fire.
But—if I bury the smoking wood with charcoal then the smoke must travel through the burning charcoal before it reaches the food. The burning charcoal burns off the undesirable smoke components leaving sweet smoke to properly flavor the meat.
This is much the same way my Karubecue C-60 operates. It's a stick burner that allows the smoke wood to burn freely into the atmosphere. It maintains pit temperature and flavoring smoke by drawing in the heat and pure smoke only when the pit is below its set point. Sometimes it draws it in through the burning coals and sometimes in draws it in untreated. It's my choice.
BTW, the C-60 is by far my favorite smoker. For most of us backyard smokers, it produces the purest smoked goods, but it’s not at all automatic or set and forget. It requires attention every 20 minutes or so.
(https://chi01pap001files.storage.live.com/y4mFUT82UekqblUa6p9h5BJSTqRMDDBW7TQCogqoJWPhdFrb8O03MhyPUjP1BvuD-rByFMbNcGLgBt8umQlbixC0p2-Bv4qYDwYQ1KrqM17zgK8omYbhuIILPF8320kCvCg53XsINvCpETuQwIXe7BlLEnXQgbSuJloAZ-4ouR4eLUlUwg--7rnhgQkdENC81gJ?width=66&height=43&cropmode=none)
Just my 2¢
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I was watching Harry Soo this week as he was starting his kamado. He put in lots of lump, cleared a spot at the bottom to uncover the holes in the grate so it could get good air flow. Then he started a small fire at the base of the lump and let it get going pretty good. Then he stirred the lump to spread some of the lit coals. It was then that he put two big chunks of wood right onto the hottest coals at the bottom and blew on them to be sure the chunks ignited good before closing his grill.
I believe he said that when the chunks ignite, they burn clean smoke. You could see a little coming out of the chimney. If the wood is just smoldering, it is not putting off "righteous" smoke, but the dirtier stuff.
When I cook in the Gravity 980, I always add wood to the chute where it will be fed by the fan and burn clean. I found that the wood I put in the ash catcher, it doesn't seem to get hot enough to ignite, but rather just smolders along - not tasty.
That's it from me...keep in mind I'm just a backyard jack.
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I believe that if you'll watch this video it will help you a lot...
https://youtu.be/3czUlCntWTo