Post: #1

I own a Kamado grill and have really been enjoying it. I finally got the cajones to attempt to use it as a smoker.

I've been looking at recipes and techniques for smoked pork ribs. It seems everyone has a different technique out there.

My own questions:

1. I have two sets of charcoal. A more expensive mesquite lump wooded charcoal and some conventional briquettes. I've both exclusively, but I'm wondering if it would be possible to do a 50/50 or even 75/25 split (cheap to expensive charcoal) to achieve the mesquite taste.

2. Yellow mustard or an oil?

3. For smoked ribs, is misting with apple juice once every 20 minutes or once every hour (with a half cup apple juice bath around hour 4) ideal?

4. I have a dry rub that I like, but i'm always willing to experiment.

Any tips are welcomed and appreciated.

Post: #2

I'm a kamado owner as well. I don't eat ribs, and have never smoked them. I do smoke fish and stuff in there.

I don't think you want to use any of the cheap stuff for low temp smoking. The chemicals will seep into the grill. Hot cooking they burn away.

Aloha!

Post: #3

(11-05-2017 10:16 PM)Kona Wrote:  I'm a kamado owner as well. I don't eat ribs, and have never smoked them.

You telling me you've never done this before?



I kid, what charcoal do you use?

Post: #4

If Veloce doesn’t check in then for now your best bet is MEATHEAD
http://amazingribs.com

Everything I learned about smoking is from that site, just keep trying new techniques and you’ll find a sweet spot.

Don’t use briquettes you should only use lump or hardwood

Post: #5

(11-05-2017 11:02 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

(11-05-2017 10:16 PM)Kona Wrote:  I'm a kamado owner as well. I don't eat ribs, and have never smoked them.

You telling me you've never done this before?



I kid, what charcoal do you use?

I cook the pig, I just don't eat it. No swine.



That's the stuff I use. Usually at Loewe's. Turns out leave means mesquite.

Aloha!

Post: #6

Here's a useful infographic:



Next week when I make my run to Sam's Club, i'll stop into Lowes and pick up some hickory wood and some lump charcoal.

Post: #7

Don't overlook the lumber department. I get great totally untreated oak scraps from the big ones and the ace's around Oahu.

Aloha!

Post: #8

OP, you've got a lot of valid questions, so I think it's important for you to start with the basics of smoking. Once you have the basics down, you can vary your technique depending on your own preference (using rubs, mustard, misting with apple juice or cider vinegar)

By far, the most important thing about smoking is ensuring that you do not develop creosote. I detect creosote in a lot of home-smoked foods and it amazes me that home and professional cooks don't seem to realize that it's in their food and that it's undesirable.

Creosote creates a tongue-numbing effect and is extremely acrid, not to mention cancerous and harmful to various organs. Anyone can detect it in large concentrations, but their sensitivity to it seems to diminish in smaller amounts. I can detect it a mile away and I won't eat food that's been exposed to it. The problem, I suspect, is people don't want food to go to waste, which is understandable, so if they get a little creosote buildup on their food they probably just think, "Eh, it's okay, a little won't hurt." But it does, and it's a nasty flavor that lingers in your mouth.

You need to do 2 things to avoid creosote:
1) clean your grill/smoker. Best way to do this is build a ripping hot fire which self cleans your ceramic grill. At 600F+ pretty much anything in your grill will turn to ash. If you've got scale on the sides of your grill, that needs to come off. You can use any combination of scrubbers, brushes, soapy water, whatever you gotta do, but keep your grill as clean as possible, and clean out dirty ashes after each cook.

2) build a hot fire. This is where it gets tricky with Kamodo or ceramic grills. It is VERY hard to build a hot fire that produces high quality smoke, and then control the oxygen intake to reduce the temperature to smoking temperatures. With a ceramic grill, you basically have to let your fuel cook for 15 minutes to avoid creosote, and then suffocate your fire to bring the temp down to 225F or so and also keep a stone plate between the fire and your food so it doesn't get direct heat.

Remember, smoking is an indirect heat method. Grilling is direct. While smoking with ceramic grills is possible, I don't recommend it and it's a pain in the ass. That said, I've made some kickass bacon in mine. The trick is to keep the temperature of your grill nice and low while making sure your fuel is burning cleanly. You'll hear people talk about "Thin blue smoke" and this is 100% true, you almost shouldn't see any smoke coming out of your grill at all. If you see white or grey billowing smoke, that's creosote, and it will ruin your food.

So all that said, if I was doing ribs, I know they're gonna take about 3 hours to get them to the tenderness I want them. I'd rub them and let them sit for a few hours, I like just salt and pepper honestly. I'd get a hot fire going, bring my grill way up to clean it, and then work on the air intake to bring it down to 250F or so. I'd get the ribs on and keep them in that environment for 3 hours and wind up with some tender, smoky ribs. It's easier said than done and requires some babysitting, which is true for all barbecue but especially with ceramic grills.

Using barbecue sauce, apple spray, mustard, spice rubs are all a matter of personal taste and regional traditions. Like I said I like my pork ribs plain because there's nothing better than high quality meat, high quality smoke, and just some basic seasoning to bring those flavors out.

Post: #9

Part 2:

Now if you're really serious about home smoking, I highly recommend an offset smoker.



Let me say I've been cooking on a ceramic grill for years now, and it's great. I've tried smoking many things many times, and if I was doing it at home I wouldn't waste my time smoking with a ceramic grill anymore and I'd shell out $250 at walmart for one of these puppies. You'll find that many dudes who are serious about cooking food over coal/wood the way God intended have multiple tools to do so. With an offset smoker/grill, you can produce competition level results that, technically you can achieve with a ceramic grill but it is SO much more of a pain in the ass. With an offset, just get a hot ass fire going and control the air intake to maintain your smoking chamber at the desired temp, crack open a few cold ones and enjoy your afternoon knowing that there is ZERO risk of getting direct heat. Whereas with a ceramic grill you can walk away for 5 minutes to take a piss and come back to a situation on your hands.

There are other methods and cheats to impart smoke into your food. In restaurants we use what are called hotel pans, they're basically deep pans for food storage and cooking. When I want to smoke something quickly in 15 minutes, I fill a deeper hotel pan with wood chips/dust and put a more shallow perforated pan on top of that. I put whatever fish or vegetables I want to smoke in the shallow perforated pan and then cover the top with a lid or even plastic wrap. I put the pan over a burner and the wood chips/dust burn so quickly and cleanly they never produce creosote. In a few minutes I get food that is infused with high quality smoke and from there I can do whatever. This is good with cold smoked foods, but you could smoke a piece of fish like this and then transfer it to a platter in the oven to finish cooking it through. To get a visual of what I'm talking about look at this:



That's a disposable catering pan, a very quick and cheap method for smoking foods, and effective.



These are those hotel pans I was talking about. You can buy cheap pans like these at restaurant supply stores and they're very useful.

I don't want to talk anyone out of something they've set their heart on, I've just had a lot of experience with ceramic grills and these days, I just stick to grilling with mine, not smoking. It's too much work and stress.

Post: #10

I got two turkeys. Both right about 19.5 lbs. I want to smoke them.

Should I fuck with the Kamado or should I just go get the offset deal from Walmart?

Please advise and share turkey tips.

Aloha!

Post: #11

The best results I've had for ribs were variations on the 3-2-1 method. The key is cooking them a long time but not letting them dry out.

Post: #12

Thanks for this thread, you've reminded me that I can DIY bacon.

The bacon here in Spain is shit, so I'm going to make my own. I'll be using my Weber kettle and a dry cure.

I'll post pics and let you guys know how it goes.

Post: #13

(11-22-2017 02:09 AM)Kona Wrote:  I got two turkeys. Both right about 19.5 lbs. I want to smoke them.

Should I fuck with the Kamado or should I just go get the offset deal from Walmart?

Please advise and share turkey tips.

Aloha!

Apologies for not posting back.

I did in fact smoke my ribs and they turned out GREAT. So great infact i'll be smoking more things on my kamado. They weren't dry and had a nice sear to them. My dry rub that I made was exquisite. Next time, i'll opt to buy some pre made and adulterate it. I used a ton of my own spices in the process.

As for smoked turkey, You'll only be able to cook one turkey at a time on your kamado. You'll also need some accessories to block out the direct heat (assuming you have them).

Here's a youtube video on how to do it, take a watch. I definitely recommend always brining a turkey regardless of how you cook it.

If you can hide the offset grill under the tray in your cart and not pay for it, do that

Post: #14

Yes we have the brining going on now. I hosed the diesel out of some buckets, but I think the residue will give them a little extra kick. There is a pretty intense spices blend in there too.

I also got a indirect smoker from ace hardware. I also got cherrywood chucks that look so good they could be used for fine home furnishings.

Most kkely I've bitten off more than chewable. The smoking is a 13.333333 hour process, so weizh me luck.

Aloha!

Post: #15

(11-22-2017 09:17 PM)Kona Wrote:  Yes we have the brining going on now. I hosed the diesel out of some buckets, but I think the residue will give them a little extra kick. There is a pretty intense spices blend in there too.

I also got a indirect smoker from ace hardware. I also got cherrywood chucks that look so good they could be used for fine home furnishings.

Most kkely I've bitten off more than chewable. The smoking is a 13.333333 hour process, so weizh me luck.

Aloha!

Party's starting early in Oahu I see

Post: #16

Just ran across this little link while browsing the interwebs:

https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-a...dont-do-it

Post: #17

(11-22-2017 09:51 PM)The Beast1 Wrote:  

(11-22-2017 09:17 PM)Kona Wrote:  Yes we have the brining going on now. I hosed the diesel out of some buckets, but I think the residue will give them a little extra kick. There is a pretty intense spices blend in there too.

I also got a indirect smoker from ace hardware. I also got cherrywood chucks that look so good they could be used for fine home furnishings.

Most kkely I've bitten off more than chewable. The smoking is a 13.333333 hour process, so weizh me luck.

Aloha!

Party's starting early in Oahu I see

I was really slurring my typing there...

But six hours in, and I think these things are coming along the way they are supposed to. This takes a lot of wood and charcoal. And the smoker produces a lot more smoke than I imagined. Smells good though.

Aloha!

Post: #18

I wish I could tell you the secret, but these turkeys are fantastic. And I don't really eat meat.

I say the offset smoker Trump's the Kamado.

Aloha!