A Meathead review contradiction? Concerning kamado cookers review

[Grilgrate]

"You can get good smoke from a Komodo. If you carefully read the "contradiction" you will see it doesn’t exist. He doesn’t say it is impossible to get thin blue smoke, just that is harder."

Thanks much for the input, but please read this again-

"Because they are so efficient, you don't need a lot of coals, and in order to keep the heat down, you often have to restrict airflow. That allows the coals to smolder and belch white smoke. It is pretty well established that the best smoke is blue and that comes from small hot fires, hard to achieve on kamados...."

While It's true Meathead did not say it was impossible to get blue smoke in his review, he DID say it was "hard to achieve" which to me kind-of-sort-of imply's impossible, but just for the sake of argument let's say, let's just say you CAN get blue smoke from your Komodo, I'd be willing to bet my last dollar that even IF one does achieve it, it won't be for very long (I'm talking about a 6-10hr. low and slow here with blue smoke the whole time at around 225 degrees F) and that is my point.

So because of that, my contention is one can say that a komodo is a great low-slow oven-fine, or a great hi temp grill- fine, but one can't reasonably call a Komodo a "superb smoker" (if cooking your meat having blue smoke is the goal) at all. In reality, a Weber Smokey Mountain will out-smoke ANY Kamodo all day every day, which is why (in Meathead's own words) you don't see Komodo's winning BBQ contest very often (which again to me sounds like kind-of-sort-of imply's almost never) but with WSM's you do.

Hey I'm not being down on Komodo's I think they are great at what they do, ALL I'M SAYING IS BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY FUNCTION THEY CANNOT BE "SUPERB" SMOKERS as Meathead claimed in his review. That's all.

[Mosca]

You asked the question in the wrong place. If you want specific feedback regarding an article on the website, you can ask it directly to Meathead and the staff by going to the bottom of the article. Meathead will usually get to it within a couple days.

This is the discussion forum. Things posted here get discussed, as you have discovered. Other than moderators, management only checks in occasionally.

[Grilgrate]

Great, thank you!

[Spinaker]

A small hot fire is what we all shoot for when smoking. Kamados especially need this, as a big fire causes them to run way too hot or smolder when the air is restricted.

A small hot fire is exactly what I make in my Kamado. I ran thin-blue to clear smoke for 13 hours this past weekend. Granted, this takes practice, but you can absolutely get clean smoke from a Kamado.

[dajoker]

Ain't that the truth. Every problem cook I have had in my kamado is when I screw up and let the fire get to big at the start and it's battle the entire cook.

[Huskee]

I think the members have tried to address your question pretty well, and they've done a good job at it. One statement isn't contradictory of the other, it's just more detailed. They're excellent devices, but there are better smokers that will run a hotter fire easier for what many consider better smoke if that matters to a person. They're also great grills, but there are better grills that make side to side direct/indirect easier if that matters to you. None of these statements of mine are meant to imply they're not great devices, just stating strengths & weaknesses as compared to other devices. I've forwarded this to Meathead to see if he can help clarify as you've requested.

[Grilgrate]

Thanks Huskee, good to see you again!

[JCBBQ]

"You can get good smoke from a Komodo. If you carefully read the "contradiction" you will see it doesn’t exist. He doesn’t say it is impossible to get thin blue smoke, just that is harder."

Thanks much for the input, but please read this again-

"Because they are so efficient, you don't need a lot of coals, and in order to keep the heat down, you often have to restrict airflow. That allows the coals to smolder and belch white smoke. It is pretty well established that the best smoke is blue and that comes from small hot fires, hard to achieve on kamados...."

While It's true Meathead did not say it was impossible to get blue smoke in his review, he DID say it was "hard to achieve" which to me kind-of-sort-of imply's impossible, but just for the sake of argument let's say, let's just say you CAN get blue smoke from your Komodo, I'd be willing to bet my last dollar that even IF one does achieve it, it won't be for very long (I'm talking about a 6-10hr. low and slow here with blue smoke the whole time at around 225 degrees F) and that is my point.

So because of that, my contention is one can say that a komodo is a great low-slow oven-fine, or a great hi temp grill- fine, but one can't reasonably call a Komodo a "superb smoker" (if cooking your meat having blue smoke is the goal) at all. In reality, a Weber Smokey Mountain will out-smoke ANY Kamodo all day every day, which is why (in Meathead's own words) you don't see Komodo's winning BBQ contest very often (which again to me sounds like kind-of-sort-of imply's almost never) but with WSM's you do.

Hey I'm not being down on Komodo's I think they are great at what they do, ALL I'M SAYING IS BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY FUNCTION THEY CANNOT BE "SUPERB" SMOKERS as Meathead claimed in his review. That's all.

Grilgrate, I'm not sure what you're after. I think most people figured you were asking a question about kamados so they were giving you the benefit of their experience. But from this post it appears that you have some experience with kamados and really just want to have an argument about semantics regarding the word "superb". Then again, you can't have much experience with kamados bc there isn't a kamado user in here who wouldn't take your bet AND your last dollar because what most folks are trying to tell you in this thread is that YOU CAN achieve blue smoke AND depending on how much wood you load it with, you can absolutely have it for 10 hours. And a lot more time too. You can say kamados are superb or that they suck as smokers, but the fact is they are smokers and function as such. Your whole premise feels very theoretical. I suggest you go out and get yourself one and make up your own mind...

[Grilgrate]

A small hot fire is what we all shoot for when smoking. Kamados especially need this, as a big fire causes them to run way too hot or smolder when the air is restricted.

Great, fine, I'm with ya.

A small hot fire is exactly what I make in my Kamado. I ran thin-blue to clear smoke for 13 hours this past weekend. Granted, this takes practice, but you can absolutely get clean smoke from a Kamado.

Alright, then if it is possible to do, can we just skip the practice part and just tell me how It's done. How much charcoal, placed in what way, how much wood, and what kind placed in what way, vent settings etc.

If all things such as fuels- air, wood, charcoal, ambient air temperature are reasonably equal- then what your able to do with your komodo should be totally repeatable for me with mine should it not?

Thanks for the input.

[Mosca]

There is a great kamado tutorial written by @CeramicChef:

Taming The Savage Kamado

[Spinaker]

I can tell you what to do all day long, but you still need to practice it. Check out the article and advise that Mosca offered up. That has all you need.

[Grilgrate]

Thank you both, I will read Taming The Savage Komodo

[Mosca]

FYI, it took me about 5 cooks to get my BGE to stop yo-yoing the temp: it would go up to 600, then down to 300, then up to 600 again, then down to 350, up, down, up down... if I wanted low and slow, it would go up to 350, down to 200, up, down, up, down. The trick is to get it to cap off right about where you want it to be, and that comes from learning your oven.

Let it get up to a stable temp, which might take 45 minutes as the ceramic heats up. During that time the gray and white smoke will clear. When one of these things hits cruise control, it will stay there until it burns out. Also, you will find that you can juuuuuust tap the upper vent, and drop the temp 2-3*. It's that sensitive.

[Meathead]

For reference here is the article in question
https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...kamado-ceramic

Thanks for the keen eyes Grilgrate. The beauty and curse of websites is that, unlike books, one can constantly revise and edit. I wrote the second sentence long after the first, after having had more hands on experience with a wide range of kamados. I did not notice the contradiction.

I have just changed the first sentence to read "These are fine smokers and superb roasters." In other words, as a category, I think they smoke well enough but there are better smokers out there. But when it comes to roasting meats such turkey, prime rib, etc., and baking pizza, they are among the best things going. And as I explain elsewhere in the article, I think 2 zone setups and reverse searing are CRUCIAL for good grilling for everything from steaks to chicken, and ROUND kamados are harder to set up in 2 zones than oval shaped kamados, so I am not a fan of them as grills.

I respond to this question with great trepidation. Over the years I have learned that Kamado owners are DEVOTED to their cookers, more than any other subset of grill and smoker owners, and anything critical that I say often results in vicious responses. I will go back and read the comments above, but forgive me if I don't get deep into this debate. I have my opinions based on cooking on MANY different devices, and I don't want to start a flame war. And yes, I have a BGE on my deck as we speak.

[SmokeyGator]

That’s called "confirmation bias"

[Meathead]

About crickets. I have discovered that when I weigh in on a topic in the pit it tends to put a damper on conversations. People tend to think "Oh The Big Kahuna Has Come Down From The Mountain And Made A Pronouncement. Conversation Over." So I cruise The Pit about once a week and bite my tongue, trying to not interfere. I count on moderators to send me links to conversations like this where I do need to jump in. I really want The Pit to be YOURS.

[EdF]

And about "crickets" - that's no label to use in order to make friends and influence people. A number of us have been producing Q for 20-30 years or more.

[texastweeter]

Meathead and everyone else about your above comment. All I could think of on your comment of The Big Kahuna is that kids movie "Angry Birds" and Mighty Eagle... lol Great show, even if you don't have kids. lol

[Meathead]

Mosca makes a good point. I do check reader comments on the free website almost every day. The level of expertise there is much less than here and my responses are usually to direct questions aimed at me. Here there are discussions rarely aimed at me. This being a rare exception.

[JeffJ]

Upon re-reading my prior post, I realize I poorly articulated one of my points:

IMHO, the reason certain other cookers produce better results for low/slow than kamados is that a kamado is using a smaller fire to achieve, say 250, than a kettle, Pit Barrel, etc. That smaller fire will produce comparable levels of smoke when a wood chunk is employed, but the bigger fire in the kettle is going to produce more gases from the charcoal than in a kamado. Those gases contribute to the flavor profile just as the smoke itself does.

[Grilgrate]

Spot on, I completely agree.

[Troutman]

[JCBBQ]

Hahahahaha

[Grilgrate]

For reference here is the article in question
https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...kamado-ceramic

Thanks for the keen eyes. The beauty and curse of websites is that, unlike books, one can constantly revise and edit. I wrote the second sentence long after the first, after having had more hands on experience with a wide range of kamados. I did not notice the contradiction.

You are more then welcome sir, thank you for seeing that!

I have just changed the first sentence to read "These are fine smokers and superb roasters." In other words, as a category, I think they smoke well enough but there are better smokers out there.

I believe your correction and attentiveness to what is being said here speaks volumes of your appreciation for openness and critical thinking, now if only I could have it that way with a few of my other professors! Ha,ha,ha

But when it comes to roasting meats such turkey, prime rib, etc., and baking pizza, they are among the best things going. And as I explain elsewhere in the article, I think 2 zone setups and reverse searing are CRUCIAL for good grilling for everything from steaks to chicken, and ROUND kamados are harder to set up in 2 zones than oval shaped kamados, so I am not a fan of them as grills.

I understand and completely agree.

I respond to this question with great trepidation. Over the years I have learned that Kamado owners are DEVOTED to their cookers, more than any other subset of grill and smoker owners, and anything critical that I say often results in vicious responses. I will go back and read the comments above, but forgive me if I don't get deep into this debate. I have my opinions based on cooking on MANY different devices, and I don't want to start a flame war. And yes, I have a BGE on my deck as we speak.

Great trepidation indeed! I had NO idea how let's say -strong willed- Komodo owners were! And I WILL NOT, under ANY circumstances engage in the hem...disagreement between gasheads in the never ending gas vs. charcoal (aka pretend cooking vs. real cooking "debate" ha,ha,ha)

Again, thank you for your time in this matter, Mr. Meathead, It is always great to hear from you!

[Potkettleblack]

Not taking that bait. Nope.

[Grilgrate]

I would not DARE comment on Sues Vide, even IF it IS one of the best cooking methods known to man, nop, not me, you won't hear a PEEP out of me....

[EdF]

"Hallo, my name is Sue! How do you do!

[Mark E.]

So in my world, I just say KJ or BGE and at times "a ceramic" when I get into kamado discussions.The KomOdo kamAdo owners I would guess are as strong willed as any ceramic owner. (I am proud of myself that my parents paid so much for me to write a sentence like that). Won't go into the steel clads.

Cheers,

M.

[Thunder77]

Hey I like my steel clad Akorn! And it does a dang good job.

[Mark E.]

I know. I had one. What a great grill.

[Meathead]

Spinaker pointed out that I am kinda busy. I hate using that as an excuse. Since I left high school I have never met someone who said, "Nah I've got nothing to do today". We are ALL busy. Especially small business owners. Even my retired friends manage to stay busy. So I never use that as an excuse. In fact, I took a day off Sunday to work in my garden. Barely touched my keyboard. First full day off in months! And two weeks ago, on a trip to Bentonville, AR to judge the World Food Championships, I spent a half day at their incredible art museum, Crystal Bridges. If you are in the neighborhood, pay a visit. So I can't be THAT busy!

[Mosca]

You need to talk to me. I got nothing to do right now except post on the internet. For you, that's work. For me, it's the opposite!