Matto6
Knows what a fatty is.
There's a lot of seemingly contradictory information on the interwebs about the value of insulation in a smoker, and the importance of clean smoke.
A lot of people love their kamados, but many criticism them for being too well insulated and that they don't burn clean smoke. Many kamado gurus advocate smoking at fairly high temps (275-300) to ensure clean smoke, at which point you get a lot of radiant heat from the deflector below.
But then you have Komodo Kamado, which brags about how they are the most insulated kamado in the planet. And by far the most expensive.
And then you have insulated vertical cabinets. People love them and brag about how well insulated they are and how little charcoal they use. I'm failing to see how these are fundamentally different from a kamado. But I haven't seen anyone criticize them for being too well insulated.
The only difference I can see is that with a vertical cabinet you can arrange the coals in a maze to keep a smaller portion of charcoal burning at once, so it's hotter. Similarly a gravity fed forces the burn area to be concentrated. Whereas in a kamado it burns in its own pattern so it's hard to ensure a small hot fire.
Then you have the new masterbuilt 1050 or char griller 980, which are gravity fed but without any insulation. Are they the cleanest burning smokers of all? Do they produce the best food?
I know that a skilled cook can produce good food on any of the above, but I'm trying to understand the role of insulation and it's pros and cons - and why it seems to get both praise and hate depending on which cooker style you are discussing.
A lot of people love their kamados, but many criticism them for being too well insulated and that they don't burn clean smoke. Many kamado gurus advocate smoking at fairly high temps (275-300) to ensure clean smoke, at which point you get a lot of radiant heat from the deflector below.
But then you have Komodo Kamado, which brags about how they are the most insulated kamado in the planet. And by far the most expensive.
And then you have insulated vertical cabinets. People love them and brag about how well insulated they are and how little charcoal they use. I'm failing to see how these are fundamentally different from a kamado. But I haven't seen anyone criticize them for being too well insulated.
The only difference I can see is that with a vertical cabinet you can arrange the coals in a maze to keep a smaller portion of charcoal burning at once, so it's hotter. Similarly a gravity fed forces the burn area to be concentrated. Whereas in a kamado it burns in its own pattern so it's hard to ensure a small hot fire.
Then you have the new masterbuilt 1050 or char griller 980, which are gravity fed but without any insulation. Are they the cleanest burning smokers of all? Do they produce the best food?
I know that a skilled cook can produce good food on any of the above, but I'm trying to understand the role of insulation and it's pros and cons - and why it seems to get both praise and hate depending on which cooker style you are discussing.
Last edited:
