Kamado vs Offset

[JoeDorn]

I am a long time off-set user, well over twenty yeas. I recently bought a Vision Kamado for smaller cooks and I am still in the learning stage. I may not be doing it right but the Kamado does not produce the smokiness that I prefer. It makes good food and it is fun to play with but just not the same.

I will continue to use for smaller cooks (just two of us) because it uses much less wood and requires less attention. For family events I will still fire off the off-set, my true love.

BTW, I have an almost unlimited supply of oak and mesquite on our well wooded 250 acres so the cost of wood is not involved. I am using purchased charcoal in the Kamado along with home grown oak chunks...

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Agree

I do not have a Kamado BUT I do love my off-set!
She can be a little temperamental but, I love her anyway!

I use my Santa Maria for different things and it compliments (not competes) with the off-set

[JoeDorn]

I also have a pretty good selection of outside cooking devices (see my intro) and nothing replaces anything unless the anything is rusted or burned out. Each has a speciality that it does better than the others.

[Mosca]

I don’t have an offset, but comparing my cooks to (good) restaurant bbq, I agree that lump charcoal cookers give a different smoke profile from wood burners. Meathead writes about it here.

[Panhead John]

I agree, multiple types of cookers can usually compliment each other and not compete with each other, to a certain degree. My OKJ Bronco can grill as well as smoke, but I use my kettle for all my grilling because it’s easier, a little quicker to set up, and I have more room. There’s usually some kind of trade off between the different styles of cookers. In your case, the offset has better smoke flavor but requires more work. Kamado is easier and uses less wood, but doesn’t give you quite as much smoke flavor. It’s good to have both of em!

[Meathead]

The issue is efficiency. Kamados are so well insulated and efficient that they burn cleaner and produce less flavorful smoke. They never win on the circuit. Pellets are als clean burns. Offsets burn a bit dirtier, meaning more impurities, that many folks, especially Texans love.

[Meathead]

I poke around but, like so many members, there is soooo much I get lost. But I have to be careful. If I jump into a debate it tends to kill the discussion since the almighty Oz has spoken. Sigh. So here's a secret. I have another identity that I use sometimes. And no, I am not @panheadjohn

[mrichie1229]

It would be a plot twist if Meathead was Panhead John.

[Panhead John]

Wouldn’t that be a kicker!…..😂

[LA Pork Butt]

I cook on a Big Green Egg and here is how I do long cooks (12 Hours +) at 225.
I put down a layer of large lump charcoal. Next I start to fill in the gaps with medium charcoal and continue until I have a layer of medium. Then I fill in with small until I have completely filled the fire box. I take a starter square and bury it on edge in the middle of the charcoal lighting both exposed corners. Once the fire is going and the lighter square has burned out I put a fist size chunk of hardwood on the fire, the diffuser in, close the dome and regulate the temperature before putting the meat on. Since you want stronger smoke I would recommend mesquite although some folks think it is too strong. I have gone as long as 22 hours on one load of charcoal.

[JoeDorn]

When I got my first offset I decided that I was going to use nothing but green mesquite since we have mesquites on our place. There was a restaurant in Austin that bragged about green mesquite so it sounded good to me. After about the sixth burn the meat had a very bitter oily taste and it was not good. I took my propane torch and gave the inside of the smoker a de-creosoting and have only used mesquite a couple of times since.

[LA Pork Butt]

JoeDorn when I suggest a fist size chunk of wood I was thinking dry rather than green. Over time dry pecan tends to get worms.

[JCBBQ]

For better smoke on your kamado cook at 275 rather than 225. As per Meathead above, they’re too efficient to produce a ton of smoke flavor but I find higher temps are a definite improvement.