Wood in kettle, carne asada?

[jjdbike]

Hello brethren,

Since moving to SoCal I have been inspired to learn some basic Mexican & SW cuisine. I want to take my first swing at carne asada. I've read several recipes. Many say it sous be smokey, spicy and sweet, crisp char on outside and tender and juicy inside. Sounds amazing to me and like quite a balancing act. Any tips for that?

Anyway, to the smokey part. I watched a video on YouTube of a Mexican woman making carne asada. She cooked it on what looked like a Weber 22" using post oak splits for fuel. I've never seen that. Has anyone here ever tried that? I don't know if I'd want all wood, but it might add some complexity to add a couple mini splits to the hot coals till they star to burn clean then add the wood.

Your thoughts and advice?

Thanks in advance,
JD

[CHNeal]

I use a combo of wood and charcoal quite a bit and only cook in Weber kettles. Ive used all wood ( oak splits) many many times. Its all good in the worlds finest kettle!

[jjdbike]

I use a combo of wood and charcoal quite a bit and only cook in Weber kettles. Ive used all wood ( oak splits) many many times. Its all good in the worlds finest kettle!

Thanks,
Any tips or advice?
JD

[lostclusters]

jjdbike it sounds like you got Carne asada and carnitas mixed up. Carne asada (beef) should not be sweet. Carnitas (pork) should be.

[fzxdoc]

Calling Richard Chrz


K.

[Attjack]

Go for it.

[CHNeal]

My next accessory either for the Weber or my fire pit!

[jjdbike]

Hello again Attack,
I ordered one. I'll post another thread on these attachments.
I'll report back on my results for the carne asada.
Thanks everyone.
JD

[Attjack]

jjdbike Nice, I think you'll enjoy it because it's a lot of fun. Keep it out of the elements. I cover mine between cooks and store it inside for the winter.

[jjdbike]

Go for it.

Cool,
so you turned your weber kettle into a Santa Maria cooker.
I like it.
Is that commercial available or is it a home made piece?
JD

[Attjack]

Yes, I did and I regret nothing! I bought it from Titan Outdoors. They are much more affordable than the similar Gabby Grills attachment. But Gabby carries several sizes.

[Bob's BBQ]

All wood cooks in a kettle are great. Do some test burns to learn to control temps. In my experience you don't need a lot of wood to get to a smoker temp, but you do need to add wood often(ish) to maintain the temp. Have a nice pile of small splits. (8" long, 1 1/2" dia.) For hot and fast, just let'er rip. I'll let the wood coal over before I throw the meat on (for hot and fast).

[jjdbike]

All wood cooks in a kettle are great. Do some test burns to learn to control temps. In my experience you don't need a lot of wood to get to a smoker temp, but you do need to add wood often(ish) to maintain the temp. Have a nice pile of small splits. (8" long, 1 1/2" dia.) For hot and fast, just let'er rip. I'll let the wood coal over before I throw the meat on (for hot and fast).

Thanks Bob, Attijack & friends,

I just added a Santa Maria attachment for my kettle to my must get list. Unfortunately I will not have it by this weekend.

Bob, you said you let the wood coal over before adding meat. Do you meant when the wood turns black like charcoal or ash grey? Is this so smoke is cleaner? Is it to limit chance of flame flair up?

I've used chucks on charcoal before with mixed results. I've had it turn out great and have had it turn out tasting acrid like creosote. I'm not sure what made the difference. Do you folks have any ideas?

JD

[Attjack]

Make sure you're using a good hardwood. Softwoods are no good.

[Bob's BBQ]

Yes - I'll let it get black before I put a steak over the top of it. It prevents tall flames and burns off whatever impurities that might be on the surface of the wood. If you have nice, DRY, clean hardwood, you can cook over that right away as long as you manage the flames.

[Attjack]

@jjdbike You will end up with 2 levels if you use the regular grate too.

[jjdbike]

Cool!
I love idea of baby taters too.

[Richard Chrz]

How much love does this require in oiling etc? I don’t believe I have room to store one, but like barelfly your photos always make me want this.

[Attjack]

Richard Chrz It will rust if you're not careful. I keep it oiled, and covered if there's any hint of moisture. At the end of the season I store mine inside.

[Richard Chrz]

I cook most of my shorter cooks, (Steaks, burgers, flatbread pizzas, etc) with wood splits in my kettles, charcoal for starting.

[Finster]

The 22" I presume?

[Richard Chrz]

Finster, yes this was in my 22, but I also do wood splits in my 26 and the bottom of my 22wsm. Heck I’ve had small wood fires in my Smokey joe, fire is just more fun.

[Santamarina]

Nothing beats a live wood fire.