Snake method in a Kamado! Should you use briquettes & the snake method in a Kamado Joe? Lets try it
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- čas přidán 28. 10. 2020
- To find out if you can use charcoal briquettes in a a ceramic smoker I setup for a low and slow snake method cook on both my Kamado Joe Classic and Big Joe to find out if it would work, how long they would burn for, and if charcoal briquettes might be a fuel source I should use more often in my Kamado.
In today’s video I am responding to your question, can/should we use charcoal briquettes instead of lump charcoal inside of our ceramic smoker. I picked up a 10lbs bag of Jealous Devil briquettes on sale and got to work building two charcoal snakes to find out what we’d learn…. and learn we did.
👉🏼 Did this video help you? Sharing this video with friends, groups, social media etc. helps others find me and is greatly appreciated! 🙏
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#kamadojoe #briquettes #snakemethod - Jak na to + styl
This is becoming the “Sousvide everything” of kamado joe cooking.
amazing channel, thanks
As usual - another GREAT and HELPFUL video! Thank you for your informative videos and keep 'em coming!
Cheers! 👍
I am really liking the videos you are putting out. I am on the fence for a kamado joe but love the different things you are doing. Learning a lot!
Glad you like them! Thanks
Well done. You answered important questions for us Kamado rookies. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
One thing you can do with the snake method is build a head. Basically, it's just a mound of 9-12 briquettes at the beginning to quickly get it to temp. Then the rest of the snake keeps it going steadily.
Good tip Ed
Every time I think of something about bbq, BAM, you upload a video about, love this channel
haha thanks. I appreciate that!
I always enjoy these fun tests! Great job!
Thank you! Cheers!
Very interesting, I never thought of trying it in a Kamado style grill. Great stuff James.
ha thanks captain Ron
This is my type of experiment! Great job James!
ha thanks brother, much appreciated
What a great video I am using an akorn and am cooking my first pork butt I am seeing some of the same points you shared. I am using more briquettes than you my snake isn’t as even as yours and also has wood mixed in. I will return with my results I am hoping for 12-16 hours. After watching this I am already planning to have to add more briquettes
Not first butt just first on akorn
I had never heard of the snake method until now, cool video my friend! Hi Bella!
Thanks for watching! she says “woof” lol
Great video James! That was really interesting!
Thanks for watching
I can personally relate to experiments that start with the premise of "what would happen if we did X" where X is something unconventional or contrary to common knowledge. Great job!
haha thanks
Tilt your charcoal on a diagonal going around for more consistency and a tighter radius. Should look like a curved line of fallen dominoes. I've done many pork shoulders, ribs and brisket using this method on my old akorn without issue. Proper set-up is key to a low slow burn. 2 rows, 2 high with wood chunks spaced a couple inches apart on top of the coals going around always worked for me. Easy to keep at 225 to 250 for 12 plus hours. I just got a big joe and cant wait to try this the right way.
Thanks, very informative !
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you doing this = saves me from ballsing it up myself... Winter approaching here in the UK so time to put my Joe away. Would love to see your recommendations for a `pre storage` clean up
Awesome, but i actually find they do better grilling all year around vs. not using them for the season. nothing a clean hot burn in spring won't sort out though if you do decide to tuck it away safe for the season
I tried the snake method a couple times with my steel Akorn. Never had very good luck either. I like the good old pile with a couple fire starters. Burns a long time and consistent. Works best with larger lump, with smaller mixed in to transfer to new lumps, for long smokes.
Good stuff and 100% agree
Ha Ha! Glad you did this one! I wonder if it would be possible to do a snake method with similar-sized lump? Great job James!
That would be cool!
James, I hope you have found the trick to the GrillGun. If you squeeze the trigger to get the big flame it is easy to lock up. If you just turn up the flame with the knob on top, it is much more reliable. Mine always locks when using the trigger. It has NEVER locked-up when using just the knob.
thanks Jerry, I only use the trigger to ignite it
Nicely done!
Thank you! Cheers!
Can’t wait for the torch video. Kinda sad I only got the sou vide gun and not both.
It i imagine will work just as well
2nd verse a lot like the first 🤙😎 definitely an interesting experiment for sure. Never had luck using the snake method on my Kamado but can use central minion method.
Thanks Matt, agree I won't be rushing to do this again lol
I started using kingsford competition briquettes for short cooks like burgers and steaks. With a chimney gets the briquettes started quickly and then put in the basket with a few more handfuls! Still can't beat the large lump charcoal for long low and slow cooks!
i only buy lump these days
That’s funny bc it’s the exact opposite of how the pros do it. They use lump for quick burns bc they get up to heat quicker and are way hotter and use briquettes for long slow because way more consistent and when done correctly burns longer and easier to adjust. They also burn much much lower heat wise which again helps the longevity when loaded correctly
Very educational, what torch are you using? Did not see it in yyour equipment list. Keep up the useful videos.
thanks. that was the grill blazer grill gun which I have a video coming out Thursday comparing it to others
Another great video! I look forward to you video comparing the different lighting techniques. Unrelated to the video, but after having the ikamand vent installed over the original vent on your classic, so you find the double vent to be a long term solution? Do the two vent doors stacked perform well or does it feel like it’s being forced to fit?
thanks so much, the lighters one is a week today. i don't mind it, it sticks a tiny bit more vs. sliding with the lightest touch but performance wise its just as good and i don't have to worry about installing and removing the plastic vent cover cap in-between using the iKammand
James, the snake needs a head. You needed more briquettes in the beginning of the chain to help you raise your internal temperature, especially with ceramic grills. Plus you won't be waiting that long to add your meat. You can add few extra bricks halfway point to give an extra bump, especially with long cooks, this helps with any temperature drop offs. This method can be used during the winter up here in Canada.
thanks, some good tips on a better snake build
That is very nice and informative video. Thanks for sharing and god bless you🙏🏻😊162👍
Thanks for visiting
Great video!! Any chance you might experiment with some more 'exotic' charcoals? I am really curious about the coconut shell charcoals.
i would give that a try, will look around and see what i can source
Great video as ever James - it looks like your top vent on the classic 3 also comes loose when it’s opened fully, I think because of the weight of the top cap and the not so snug fit. Have I seen that right?! If so mine also does the same thing, any suggestions on how to fix it?
Yes it does, i need to get some more gasket material to help secure it
Great video. Always wondered if you could use charcoal
Thanks Steven
Have successfully and repeatedly used the snake method on my big joe using prosmoke briquettes from barbeques galore and I get 10 hr cooks
that’s awesome. the big Joe ran 56hrs on a full basket for me when I tested it last summer, the efficiency, smoke and value I have stuck with lump charcoal since discovering that
For a recc: maybe cooking complete meals on 1 kamado timing to be done at the same time??
just an idea, and love the channel!
Thanks for the idea! Will do
@@SmokingDadBBQ Looking forward to this - my Classic 3 is en route!
I have a Webber 57cm kettle and have been moving more towards charcoal than briquettes. They burn out quickly and burn unpredictability (in my experience). I can get a half basket of lump to do a cook of burgers or a chicken. I don’t do brisket, not that adventurous…. But briquettes seem to burn out in 60-90 mins, lump can last 3-4 hours! ( a pain when you want to cover up the bbq and watch tv 🤣) … just my 2 cents…
Yeah, I would imagine the heat soak required to get the ceramic going would just be too much to ask for out of a snake method. Interesting experiment though!
Exactly! thanks Tom
Cool experiment. I love lump coal!
Thank you! Cheers!
Great video James !!! Have you ever heard of a ASADO bbq ceramic grill ??? There are two up for auction at Bryan’s Auction in Trenton , Ontario .. If so, what are your thoughts and if they are any good ??
I haven’t seen one in the wild or used it to be able to fairly comment. I think the key things are warranty, and accessory support. if they have both of that then it’s all about the right price
Where do you put the wood for the smoke?
Great video. I am not a fan of briquettes. I like lump and real wood. I use my real wood in the Santa Maria style, and my offset stick burner. I don't even use briquettes in my weber kettle.
Thanks for sharing! 100% agreed
Hi James, nice shirt! Thanks for putting temperature in Celsius too, for your viewers across the pond. Quick question - is there a good time to buy a Kamado Joe? Do they do Black Friday deals? Do their prices go up before the season starts? Have you heard of any reputable dealers in the UK? Perhaps an idea for another video
Good idea, not sure about all markets but in general big consumer spending moments like Black Friday tend to a good time for deals
I got mine from Birstall garden centre and they were great. Very knowledgeable and put together a really good deal for me.
Can you test out the kings Ford briquettes that are marketed to be used in kamados? I purchased two bag set from Costco but have not used it. It’s my snowbound emergency supply. Although I don’t get much snow. lol
I found this test cost nearly 3x as much per hour at 250f than a bag of lump, the ash was crazy, the temps were lower and less stable, and the peak output was reduced.... I am not going to be rushing out to buy any more briquettes for the foreseeable future lol 😂
i do love the experiment vids, they are cool. But to do a snake and also close the vents for low n slow? That is starving the fuel. Love your channel man!
thanks, based on what happened in the classic i never closed the vents in the big joe and the classic after boosting it back i also never closed the vents again as I learned they don't do as well with the same amount of air as lump
@@SmokingDadBBQ sorry mate, I meant to do the snake and also close the vents the same way as it you were cooking it low n slow. Seems like it is double downing on the oxygen. I might need to watch it again. I'm loving the content though, really enjoying the vids.
James, I'm going to need you to leverage your way to a kettle joe.... please and thanks.
Oh I can't wait to try that one
I do this method on my vintage kamado, no thermometers and 2rows of briquettes. Check it every 3hrs and has worked lovely on a full brisket. You not reaching 200 sounds perfect
Thanks
great for making jerky!
right on
Another superior video comparison - I hope this was done in line with your regular scheduled deep clean! 😊 Would you consider showing how to use the slo-roller then reverse sear a filet mignon?
Great suggestion!
I’ve housed briquettes frequently in both my kamados. If you clean it, it works fine for shorter cooks (chicken, turkey, ribs) haven’t tried with pork shoulder. Maybe I will?
right on... i found this test cost almost 2x per hour at the same temp as lump but it does definitely work
@@SmokingDadBBQ is the lump cheaper because it burns more efficiently than briquettes?
Also I didn't know you could use briquettes in a kamodo grill. I thought all briquettes had lighter fluid on them or other additives that aren't good for kamodo grills
Interesting. Lots of energy seem to be used to heat-up the ceramic. So it could be efficient in an already hot ceramic. Adding a little charcoal pile in the middle of the grill and attach it the snake. Firing the snake from the middle pile, may heatup the ceramic and extend the effective cooking time. To be test , if like me two weeks ago, you are out of lump charcoal and not able to find a store near you having them in stock.
I do agree the method needed something to help address the heating the joe vs. the method itself
Just dump and light done it hundreds of times it gets hard to find lump in my area in winter
right on 🔥
A fun video could also be Chunks vs Chips!
Good idea, will do
Do you use your heat deflectors on the bottom for any cooks vs in the middle setting?
I like the middle as it reduces the risk for dropping them into place which can crack them
@@SmokingDadBBQ agreed. I have only done a few low cooks since getting my Joe and one always gets dropped in if using the lower level unless you lift the whole unit out to put them in.
Why snake method I load up my UDS basket with briquettes adjust my vents and it works just like my Komado Joe but of course won’t go as long because it’s not insulated like my Joe classic but can do a pork butt no problem and to be honest I like the taste better vs lump
Thank-you! Cheers
I wouldnt do this but I am curious, you usually mention heat goes towards back of joe why did you not align brickets the opposite way?
as it goes around the circle it comes back towards the back.... with a giant air gap in the middle and a forced burn pattern I didn't think this consideration would matter too much
I picture this would work well in an akorn jr no? maybe another video
😉
Maybe, I am not in a rush to buy another bag lol
The ash will be the same, but do you think the temp issues are more due to the “snake” method or to the briquettes? When I read on the Jealous Devil Briquettes they use the same wood as in their XL, but also have some kind of a plant based starch to hold it together. What do you use in the Joe Jr? Thought maybe the briquettes would work well for the joe jr due to their size.
they just don't seem to have the performance or staying power as lump so i have not purchased them again. JD chunkx work well in the jr but the XL fits pretty well most times too. maybe need to break one or two large pieces per bag
@@SmokingDadBBQ how do you store your lump charcoal? Just in the bags they come in or do you have storage containers for the lump charcoal and if so, what do you use?
Have you tried Prime 6 hardwood charcoal and if you have, what are your thought?
no i haven't seen it for sale locally and haven't tried it
@@SmokingDadBBQ Thanks for replying, it's available in big box stores like Lowe and also through their own website and Amazon. It looked very interesting due to the very low ash remains and no chemicals.
What happens if you just dumped a full basket of briquettes and ran it?
Isn’t the snake method used for bbqs that are not airtight and is therefore designed to burn slowly and not get out of control because of the extra air. Therefore I would assume filling up with briquettes as you would with lump should work better and use the vents to manage the airflow.
maybe ... but the cost per hour for the weight I burned at 250f worked out to more than double the cost per hour as lump. so while I am sure it could be improved i don’t see it becoming my preferred method
Will firing up the KJ in below freezing temperatures damage it?
no. I use mine year round
Curious...it took an hour to get to temp using snake/briquettes. How long does it take to get to temp using lump charcoal?
I also use the torch on lump but it catches quicker. easily 1/3 the time with that much torch
@@SmokingDadBBQ thanks. Time to temp is one of those things Gas has over charcoal/Kamado, but flavor always wins with charcoal. And I value flavor over speed any day.
There is no need to use this method in the kamado grills. It' s used for better temperature maintenance and controll in the classic metal grill, while slow cooking. Since the kamados have the ability to acumulate heat much better, there is no point to care about some special fuel setup. This experiment is a great example.
absolutely
Total noob question: isn’t the beginning of combustion when the new white “bad” smoke comes on? So why isn’t it an issue throughout the cook in this method? Same with low and slow when you light one side of the charcoal for it to work its way over? Is it just because the new combustion is so small compared to when you light a whole pile?
yes exactly. throwing one piece of charcoal into a raging fire is different than coals just starting to burn. as the heat rises it warms and then eventually ignites nearby coals one by one and doesn’t produce the same white smoke as when starting
But what's the point? Just using a full bowl of lump will hold temperate just as long in a kamado.
Where do you get your jealous devil charcoal? Lump and brickettes alike?
Dickson bbq as there is reasonable shipping to my door
What about the flavor? All that unlit charcoal catching slowly would cause the meat to taste like lighter fluid - especially with briquettes ? I can’t stand anything unlit in my Joe before the meat goes on. I’ll take wood instead!
these ones are chemical free so there was no bad smell. Charcoal is always spreading to new un ignited charcoal nearby over time so there was no worse smell or taste
Hi Pal, I thought you were only supposed to only use lump charcoal ?
you can use them so long as they are chemical free as these ones are
@@SmokingDadBBQ cool, good to know .
Thank you,
Brad .
Big waste of money in a traditional kamado setup. I bought a bag of Jealous Devil briquettes just to use in the Slow N Sear mode, but only because some of the Jealous Devil XL lump is so huge I think it makes efficiently filling the Slow N Sear difficult. One reverse sear steak used most of the bag (maybe 1 full chimney or slightly more; it's not burned down of course, but it's 'dirty' charcoal now), so I won't be doing that again lol.
i won't be doing it again lol
I feel as if you are talking apples and oranges when you say that the briquettes didn't last as long as the full basket of lump on the big joe. Well duh? Also, if you need more heat, all you need do is put more layers of charcoal into your snake. I have another kamado cooker that requires you to only get a small amount of fuel burning at one time. I have been forced to use aggressive fire management techniques to keep that thing from running away. Thanks for putting it out there.
thanks Don, the comment was more in line with a cost per run time than a volume statement. Briquettes cost $1.6 per hour vs. lump $0.58 per hour
For this type of experiment, I'm just going to go ahead and assume you have been working from home and this was a random weekday :)
all my cool shirts are reserved for evenings and weekends lol
@@SmokingDadBBQ I don't know if they deliver these up there, but this site has amazing funny button-downs. They are a very high quality material, and comfortable. Never need to iron them, and they never lose their shape. I think I am up to about 15 now after a few years of collecting them. :) www.rsvlts.com/collections/button-down-shirts
I was under the impression that briquettes aren’t suitable because they use a binding agent that can contaminate the ceramics ?
On my weber, u use a lot less briquettes and gain a lot more heat... so I’m guessing airflow is the main problem here.
many brands have this risk, the ones i used in the video are safe as they have no chemicals
@@SmokingDadBBQ I’ll just stick to charcoal to be on the safe side 😁
Don't they permanently affect the smell of the Kamado with the petrochemicals used?
these and some others are chemical free
@SmokingDadBBQ coming back to this yes you are right. The little tumbleweed ones are great!
Why didn’t you put all the coals in the middle? And possibly why didn’t you use a chimney starter then dump them in the middle?
only because we were wanting to test the minion / snake method which is laid out this way vs just dumped in the middle. didn’t work so well in a Kamado
What about match light coals? lol J/K. Please don't ruin your joes.
haha no lighter fluid here
Just say no. When I was running briquettes in my old WSM, I played with it. Yes, you could do it, but it's a lot of unnecessary precision placement. You just don't need it to control the fire. How you start the fire makes all the difference. And in a Kamado...hard pass. I've had zero problems maintaining a low temp for long periods with good lump charcoal and not nearly that much work at placement.
ya i won't be doing this again lol, waste of ~$25 lol
Before I bought my Slow n Sear I read forums of "just use the snake method and save your money". It's just too tedious and a hassle.
Sorry to be critical but I think this video is conflating two things and causing a bit of confusion: (1) the difference between lump and briquettes, (2) the use of the snake method to control a long cook. Some of your results (the long start times, the inability to recover heat) seem to relate to (2) but you attribute them to (1). To properly explore (1) you should do a test cook where you start with half-basket of briquettes and then just do your usual thing. I'm guessing that the responsiveness you talk about is related to the total cubic volume that is actively burning and that a half-basket of burning briquettes will respond more or less the same as a half-basket of burning lump.
i think you're right, thanks for the comments
The snake method is better for “direct” cooking you maybe should’ve left the plate setters out
that makes sense, not that i want to try again lol
err-ly
thanks for watching
And briquettes makes food taste weird.
not a lot of positives going for them lol.
Yea not a good idea James good test but not practical
one and done lol
So James when you get done with a cook on the soapstone what do you to make it ready for another cook
@@brianbelliveau5551 I just scrape it or if I forget I flip it next time
Briquettes are total rubbish. I've tried several different brands and none of them work properly. I only ever use lump, whether it's in my Akorn or my kettle. Briquettes just take forever to come to temp and are too difficult to keep the temp going consistently as you found out 👍
waste of $25 bucks lol 😂... but now we know lol
Perhaps in a kamado. The rest of the world has been using briquettes in grills since the beginning of time without issue. I personally have been using the snake method in my weber kettle for a decade for l&s cooks with much success.
@@sithlord7922 If you've never tried lump for a low and slow in your Weber kettle, give it a try. Temperature response is so quick and easy, there's very little ash and you definitely get a better taste. There's plenty of ways to successfully use lump for all cooking in a kettle. Just have a play around with different set ups. If you've only used briquettes, try lump, you might have even more success!
I thought you where never supposed to use briquettes in a komado, flavour tainting ect
i dont like them for lots of reasons so this is just another reason not to. i picked JD ones that are not made with chemicals for that reason
Briquettes are made of lump that is ground up and then chemicals are added to bond them together. Ceramic is porous and can absorb these chemicals. Same reason lighter fluid can ruin your kamado.
Please do not do this again.
These are Jealous Devil Briquettes which are 100% natural and contain no chemicals or toxic ingredients. - jealousdevil.com/product/maxxx-xl-briquets-2pack/