Primo Smoke Tips?

scotts1919

scotts1919

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So ive been cooking in my primo for almost 8 months or so and i really love it! The one thing i keep having a hard time with is actual smoke for cooks. Normally what i will do in regards to getting my grill ready for a 250 -300 degree smoke (brisket,pork,etc) is as follows in order:

-load up charcoal in the xl
-bury a torn in half lighter cube in 2 spots of grill, left and right side.
-use a weedburner to light these cubes and let the flame sit a minute until it catches fire
-i let it burn for about 5-8 minutes with the lid open to ensure the flame keeps going etc. *The bottom vent is fully open
-once that time has elapsed i close the lid, ensure all vents are wide open and let it come up to temp for a bit, which usually happens pretty fast
-once i am close to my target i will begin the setup for low and slow. I open the grill, i add 4-6 chunks of wood close to each area i lit, i also add some soaked wood chips to area i lit as well. I then begin to assemble deflector plates and get them in place. By this point i am ready to let it come up to temp again as the plates drop the temp a bit.
-Once i am close to target again i begin to dial down vents, bottom i close and just use daisy wheel to open 1/4 of the way.. Bottom vent is open about a finger width.
-Things are looking great by this point, temp is good, ive got good smoke, so i put meat on.
-This is where things get a little frustrating, the smoke truly only lasts about 30 min - 1hr. It seems the chips get going good but chunks never really smoke to a good level.

A little backstory to this is that i used to smoke on a weber smokey mountain, which i know has better smoking capabilities and i can add more wood and stoke fire as necessary once meat is on. But i was hoping for some better smoke from the primo than i am getting.

Ive also deviated from this method a bit by only lighting one area, and putting the defelctor plates on immediately after i have the lid open for 5-8 minutes and i still have some smoke issues.

Any insight to my technique? Any thoughts in what i can change or that i am doing wrong?
 
I've cooked on ceramic cookers for a number of years now. I do not care for them as smokers. They are amazingly efficient, but that becomes a double edged sword. The negative side of the efficiency starts with the incredibly small fire required to keep the cooker at desired temp. With such a small fire and lack of oxygen...you just are not going to get the chunks to smoke like you did in your WSM. For me personally, when it comes to smoking, I am all about burning splits...and when I don't have time for that, I smoke on my pellet pooper (sometimes with a tube for heavier smoke). Between those 2 smokers, I have found the quality of what I am preparing to be very satisfying :)
 
1) Don't soak the wood chips as that can result in nasty creosote. Scatter them around dry instead or, better yet:
2) Use wood chunks. In my large BGE or Akorn, I like to bury a couple of chunks in the lump away from where I start the fire. After my propane torch finally gave up the ghost, I ditched the propane and went very cheap on my lighting procedure: I take 2 cotton balls soaked in 90% rubbing alcohol (70% doesn't work) buried in opposite sides and light with vents open wide for about 10 minutes. Then set up to cook and usually got the meat on within 15 minutes after that. YMMV with your primo but it works on my kamado cookers (torches are more fun but again, I'm cheap).
As for more smoke, you're probably not going to get it to be like your WSM but 2 chunks should do okay. You already know what a fuel miser your kamado is and the trade-off is a little less pronounced smoke ring and flavor.
 
I try to put chunks of wood at all levels of where the lighter cube starts - bottom, middle and top of lit coals. I get a decent amount of smoke on my Akorn by doing that.

It also depends what I'm cooking. If it's chicken or ribs I know won't be on there for too long I won't use as many chunks than I would if it was a pork butt. I cook around 300 degrees so quite a bit of the lump will be used by the end compared cooking at 225-250.
 
Look up a smoker pot on kamado guru forums. A lot of people have been having pretty good success with them. It's basically a Dutch oven with holes drilled in the bottom there is a lot of information on the other forum about it.
 
What type wood? I've never soaked or used chips. I've only used chunks-those are never soaked as well. I find the Primo XL to be an excellent smoker. Here's my set up.

Quality fresh lump
Cared for wood chunks-hickory-mesquite-oak-Pecan-maple-apple
I have recently been blending hickory-mesquite-oak,but use others too
No chips
I never soak chunks or chips
I've got the divider but don't use it much
Stack lump one side-still half full but slopes down to middle
Light one starter cube against the wall half way down.
Snuggle wood chunks 3-4 inches around lit coals
Place both deflector plates
When temp gets above 200 place meat opposite side of coals
Bottom vent open one inch Top vent 75% open
Usually settles 250-280 for a long time.
 
I get these from my local ace hardware. I use about a two inch piece to start the fire. At the suggestion from the Primo rep, I make a bit of a hole in the lump close to the bottom vent. That's the only place I start a fire, and it heats just fine. The idea is that the fire will spread even through the chamber from there. Adams pretty much covered everything you need to do. I put dry wood chunks over the burn area and over the whole lump pile. As the fire spreads during the cook, it will get smoke from the additional wood. I agree the flavor isn't the same profile as a stick burner, but you still should get great smoke flavor. I also believe that even if you don't see smoke, you are still getting good flavors from both the lump and the wood chunks.
 

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The Guy said:
Look up a smoker pot on kamado guru forums. A lot of people have been having pretty good success with them. It's basically a Dutch oven with holes drilled in the bottom there is a lot of information on the other forum about it.
Click to expand...


Agreed. I just started using this method, works well, i use the smoker pot in my Primo, WSM and PK. Will never smoke without out unless Im using a stick burner.
 
The Guy said:
Look up a smoker pot on kamado guru forums. A lot of people have been having pretty good success with them. It's basically a Dutch oven with holes drilled in the bottom there is a lot of information on the other forum about it.
Click to expand...

This is the method I have just started to use.

Prior I would light my spot or two. Wait 5-10 min, place my chunks and set up deflectors etc and let warm up.
 
scotts1919 said:
Thanks for all the info guys, appreciate it!
Click to expand...

My Primo XL developed an expansion crack in the fire bowl. It has not grown. Does not impact the cook (I need a new gasket)

I've always stacked the coals to one side. Try it and use two chunks each of three wood chunks that have been stored in a climate controlled environment. Use good top shelf lump that you buy inside a store. Not stacked 12 deep under a tarp in the outside garden area. Store smoking chunks in waterproof shed or garage-- not stacked outside in rain or stored on the damp ground.

Good coals-good wood chunks-good meat cooked near 275* (+- 25*) equal success in a Primo XL. You can go hotter or slower but trust me on the coals, dry wood chunks and meat.
 
The only thing I'd disagree with you on is the soaked wood chips - the rest, how to start the fire, when to set plates, etc is just personal preference to me.

Soaking the wood doesn't do anything to help you - the water doesn't penetrate far into the wood and just has to steam off before anything else happens.

Once my fire is going good and I'm about to set up heat deflectors, place the meat, etc. I look at the fire. I place a wood chunk or two on the fire where it's going to catch immediately. I also place a two or three other good sized chunks where the fire will take a while to get to them. It's really just one of those 'do it a few times' things to get the feel for how much wood and where to put it in the firebox. You should be able to get just as good a result as with the WSM.

That's for when you're using all the grill space. One of the great advantages of the Primo Oval XL is being able to use grates on just one side with a fire on the other side for indirect. Set up this way, you can still easily get to the fire to add wood if you want. Do some cooks this way (you can still get a good bit of food on the Primo, especially if you have the extended grates too) and get a feel for how the fire burns and how much smoke you get from a chunk of wood.

I moved from a WSM to the Primo Oval XL several years ago and prefer the Primo in every way. My only complaint is I want more grill space.
 
On long cooks over 3 hours the chunks do burn up. If you use a good lump you still get some smoke flavor. Simply add more chunks if you need that much smoke. You can add small chunks through the vent and below the pot Just let the hot coals drop on them they will smoke.

Like most I do prefer my offset for most cooks but the Primo is great for most every think else.
 
Yesterday's Primo Brisket
 
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