All-Wood BBQ Smoking on a Kamado Grill

Conventional wisdom says to smoke with a few wood chunks and a lot of charcoal when using a Kamado for BBQ. With this technique, you can use nothing but wood splits to manage a fire between 225-270 Fahrenheit with absolutely clean smoke.
#bbq #kamadojoe #smokingmeat

[@CharlesBurnsPrime]

Clever and simple. Thank you for sharing your idea with the world.

[@SouthernsBBQ]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@re7206]

Dont mind the bs people. They get full of themselves somebtimes🤣. Smart all wood idea. I do this with my wsm sometimes. Even though i have an offset. Had wsm first. Still use it occasionally for nearly set and forget. Thanks

[@SouthernsBBQ]

That's awesome! Right as I figured this out, my buddy bought a 350 gallon offset. I mostly cook with him on that now. What kind of offset do you have?

[@jlaw3255]

Take it the next step and as a 4 foot stack on top of your kamado using a 6" hvac pipe. Aaron Franklin has done this. Helps with draw.

[@SouthernsBBQ]

I saw that in his most recent book, Franklin Smoke. It’s not in the video, but I put my charcoal chimney over the top of my Kamado in lieu of HVAC pipe.

[@jlaw3255]

@SouthernsBBQ ohhhh interesting, good idea. So did you find the smoke flavour was different? I tend to burn a pretty small fire in my kamado when I'm doing low and slow and add wood chunks hourly or so. Burns nice and clean instead of smoldering. But I wonder if a stack would make a difference. I'll try my charcoal chimney next time.

[@SouthernsBBQ]

@@jlaw3255 The smoke flavor was exactly what I've been hoping for from my Kamado. With the fire in the bottom, the upside down ash can, two layers of ceramics, a water pan, and the chimney on top, the smoke rivals what we get on our offset. But it's a lot of work for very little food by comparison to its 350 gallon companion.

[@jlaw3255]

@SouthernsBBQ haha a lot of work indeed. At least I have a Big Joe!

[@SouthernsBBQ]

@@jlaw3255 Amen. Mine is a Classic II, so I can't fit more than one or two proteins comfortably.

[@jerryspringer4953]

Wont the base crack?

[@SouthernsBBQ]

Good question. It hasn’t shown any signs of cracking yet.

[@detroyt232323]

Idk man, why not just lump and wood chunks the way it was designed? The whole beauty of the KJ is it's ability to hold temps for long periods of time WITHOUT having to mess with it. Also, your grill is dirty as shit man 🤣

[@SouthernsBBQ]

You know, I have a balcony to work on. If I had a yard, I'd just buy an offset smoker. So, while I'm cooking on my balcony, I do this. When I'm at my buddy's place, we cook on his 350 gallon offset.

[@detroyt232323]

@@SouthernsBBQ no excuse for a dirty Q!