I originally posted this as a comment on the 2-zone setup page, and I'd like to throw it to a wider audience:
I've been getting great results with 2-Zone cooking, but a recent trip to Jamaica made me start to wonder if I might be missing out on something.
I had jerk chicken and pork just about every day, at places all over the northern coast, and every time I approached a jerk hut my mouth was set to watering by the wonderful aroma of the cooking meat. I don't really get that aroma at home; I only smell the smoke. The wonderful, wonderful smoke. Anyway, I began to ponder why. In jerk cooking, the meat is placed on green pimento wood sticks which are laid about six inches above the coals, shielding it from direct heat and flare-ups but allowing the juices to drip through. Obviously, the aroma comes from the juices dropping directly onto the hot coals and burning.
What I'm wondering is, how much of that aroma then goes back into the meat? Is the outcome likely to be significantly different with the 2-Zone method vs. what I've taken to calling the Permeable Heat Shield method? Or am I worrying too much?
I'm making about 25 pounds of pork shoulder this weekend, and I think that's more than my Weber/Smokenator combo can handle; therefore, I'll be using my frankensmoker. It's the barrel from an electric Brinkmann set on the grill of my Weber, with aluminum foil around the sides. Go ahead and laugh, but it's been working pretty well for when I'm cooking more than will fit in the Weber. I've preferred the Smokenator because the temperature control is so much easier, but in pondering all this I've realized that an adjustable heat shield may be just what the frankensmoker needs. I'm thinking I'll make "sticks" out of crumpled aluminum foil and lay them on the lowest level of the frankensmoker. As the burn goes on, I can remove sticks to allow more heat through and add them back when I add more coals.
Anyone have any thoughts? Am I insane? Am I going to a lot of effort for very little result?
I've been getting great results with 2-Zone cooking, but a recent trip to Jamaica made me start to wonder if I might be missing out on something.
I had jerk chicken and pork just about every day, at places all over the northern coast, and every time I approached a jerk hut my mouth was set to watering by the wonderful aroma of the cooking meat. I don't really get that aroma at home; I only smell the smoke. The wonderful, wonderful smoke. Anyway, I began to ponder why. In jerk cooking, the meat is placed on green pimento wood sticks which are laid about six inches above the coals, shielding it from direct heat and flare-ups but allowing the juices to drip through. Obviously, the aroma comes from the juices dropping directly onto the hot coals and burning.
What I'm wondering is, how much of that aroma then goes back into the meat? Is the outcome likely to be significantly different with the 2-Zone method vs. what I've taken to calling the Permeable Heat Shield method? Or am I worrying too much?
I'm making about 25 pounds of pork shoulder this weekend, and I think that's more than my Weber/Smokenator combo can handle; therefore, I'll be using my frankensmoker. It's the barrel from an electric Brinkmann set on the grill of my Weber, with aluminum foil around the sides. Go ahead and laugh, but it's been working pretty well for when I'm cooking more than will fit in the Weber. I've preferred the Smokenator because the temperature control is so much easier, but in pondering all this I've realized that an adjustable heat shield may be just what the frankensmoker needs. I'm thinking I'll make "sticks" out of crumpled aluminum foil and lay them on the lowest level of the frankensmoker. As the burn goes on, I can remove sticks to allow more heat through and add them back when I add more coals.
Anyone have any thoughts? Am I insane? Am I going to a lot of effort for very little result?
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