Wanted: KBQ owner feedback

[DSiewert]

I've been running a vertical smoker for a while with good results. But I have a nagging question running through my head. Units like mine, as well as most charcoal burners, tend to maintain temp via smoldering fires with wood chunks added for flavor. I'm starting to think that the raving I've heard for so long about the virtues about one wood species versus another, is actually less about the smoke and more about the flavor of the creosote produced by the wood. For instance, I've heard people say you shouldn't use mesquite for long smokes because it's too bitter. However, I hear that Texas pitmasters can use that wood in their stick-burners for long burns with excellent results.

I'm afraid my life is too short to want to master traditional stick burners. My hats off to everyone that has mastered that skill. But the KBQ smoker seems like a possible solution to my end goals. And I'm wondering if some of the KBQ users might comment about their usage. In particular, would anyone be able to post either some pictures, or maybe comment on what the KBQ looks like inside after a long smoke.

Vertical smokers tend to turn black from the creosote that deposits initially when the pit is cold. And it is hard to judge whether it continues to build up through the duration of the cook. I'm curious whether the KBQ has any creosote build up in either the clean or dirty settings.

Thanks much.

[Drbearsec]

I've posted a few pictures in threads.... I love mine. Best smoker I have ever had. You will not regret!

[Drbearsec]

[DSiewert]

Thanks for the pics. I'm wondering if this unit does away with the creosote coating that ends up inside most smokers. Your pictures of the food you cooked are lacking the dark color that comes from condensation of creosote. Does the unit stay pretty clean through a long cook?

[(Stephen)]

I took this one and only pic when I tried mine for the first , and so far only time. As you can see the meat is not nearly as dark as it is in my fec100. I really had not even thought about this until you asked the question. Too bad I have so much left over from this weekends BBQ, or I'd do my second cook this weekend. I need more people to show up to help clean me out when I cook. I can never seem to go small.

[DSiewert]

That's exactly what I wanted to see. I'm going to have to put in my order.

Are those beef ribs you show cooking? How long of a cook did you do with them and how'd you like them? They look good.

[Max Good]

Read my review of the Karubecue and our articles on wood and smoking.

The brilliant design of Karubecue enables anyone to produce perfect smoke first time, everytime from start to finish. You have to clean the racks and the bottom, but very little gunk builds up on the walls. I didn't notice creosote at all during my tests. The smoke is very clean with little impurity. I've avoided mesquite as it can create a bitter flavor, but this is a non-issue for pitmasters with good equipment and the skill to use it. Karubecue lets you leap into that catagory without the looooong learning curve.

[Beefchop]

So many smokers, so little money to try them all!

[DSiewert]

Thanks for your comments. I've read everything I can find about the KBQ units, including your high praise, but think the final proof is how the inside of the cookbox looks when the cooking is finished.

It might seem like I'm a bit obsessive about the whole creosote issue. Years ago when I first started grilling, my wife, a nurse with public health, would point out that cultures with higher rates of eating grilled food have higher rates of stomach cancer, among other ailments. When I got a vertical smoker, I no longer heard this warning because she was too busy eating. None-the-less, I've remembered her warnings and want to avoid unhealthy practises. I think the KBQ cooker is a step in the right direction.

[Ernest]

DSiewert I do remember seeing your question about the KBQ inside after a long cook. I posted the photos here https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...s-landed/page4
The smoke quality is way too clean to produce any creosote. It cleans quite easily with just a soapy sponge.

[Ernest]

Max Good I have cooked a brisket point (unwrapped) and chicken with all mesquite on the KBQ. Let's just say that I'll never fear mesquite again. I went out and got more mesquite wood.

[Max Good]

I stayed away from mesquite with other smokers because, even though I like lots of smoke flavor, mesquite tends to impart bitterness. Karubecue burns away all the impurity making mesquite sweet as 21 year old Macallan Scotch!

[Ernest]

You think Macallan is sweet, try Laphroaig!!!!

[(Stephen)]

I can't say that I noticed a bitterness with mesquite. There have been times when the flavor was just overpowering, but not in most cases with my offset burners. The kbq reminds me more of my fec100 pellet smoker, that the wood favors are much more muted than my offsets have been.

[Spinaker]

Ernest is our resident KBQ maniac. He started a great thread on documenting the amazingness of the KBQ.