Hot & Fast vs Low & Slow Ribs: BBQ 'Rules' BUSTED In Blind Test! 

I'm surprised that the offset did not have the most/best smoke, especially the low and slow. It would be interesting to dig into the "why" of the differences between the L&S v H&F as well as the cookers. My understanding of BBQ and smoke is that the smoke adheres to the meat better at lower temps and moist surfaces. Based on that knowledge I did use the "hybrid" method to maximize smoke while minimizing time. I still prefer low and slow but will do what it takes depending on the situation. BTW the smoke ring does not indicate smoke or smoke flavor. They do look cool though. Great video. Thanks.

Thanks for explaining the Egg double indirect. Totally different than I was doing and much simpler. Lot of fun stuff to try on my next smoke!

Absolutely fantastic video. Well done! I love doing/watching comparisons like these.

What is this strange green thing you`re using??? Will your advice translate to my beloved Kamado Joe?

This was absolutely fascinating! I've used an electric smoker for several years and have never really been too impressed with the results. I bought an oval Kamado a few years later but haven't been very proficient at getting the smoke I want. Recently I had to cook about 25lbs of pork shoulder for a wedding and my electric smoker bit the dust. I pulled out my old Big Chief smoker and gave the meat four hours of cold smoke and then finished them in the oven. It was the best pulled pork I had ever made. Now I am definitely going to explore using my Kamado once I find a wood source!

I admire the effort, but a 150 hold overnight is going to turn everything into “low and slow.” Rendering is just as much a product of time as it is temperature, and even at 150, you are sabotaging the “hot and fast” ribs.

The only problem with the top rack of the BGE expander on the Large is space. It is only 14" so not much space to cook a brisket or multiple racks of ribs.

Is the eggspander needed if you have a conveggtor? Is it worth getting it and then using the spider attachment and using two split moons or should I stick with the conveggtor ?

One takeaway I got, that wasn't mentioned at all, is that there seemed to be NO correlation between smoke ring and smoky taste. I also want to re-watch (in a couple days) to see if there was any correlation between the bark, and the smoky taste.
I've always loved experimenting, but in the 14 years I've had a LBGE I'd been using spares and baby-backs interchangeably, and only recently did I figure out they just cook differently; I'm kinda starting over with my experiments, concentrate on spares at first and BB's after.

You need to change your shirt colour to green and black checks ❤

Would love to be your neighbor.

Lol how does a green egg beat a offset in the flavor department?

Please don’t let the negativity get you down. I have learned so much from you. When I bought a grill, I shopped for a kamado, not a brand. I have owned black metal, green, and now red. All are different and all are the same. I bought red because of the price. Red has become stupid. Like sending me 5 broken soap stones because of poor packaging. Sigh.

In my BJ 3, I cooked ribs with a slightly different variation. We really enjoyed them. I emptied the grill. I placed a couple of handfuls of smaller charcoal in my Amazing Smoker pan (as it hangs above the bottom ceramic), hit it with the Grill Blazer to light it, placed 2 blocks of cherry on top and 1 to the front. I hit it with the Grill Blazer again to get it smoking. I returned the multi level and the X-ring adapter at the lowest setting and placed the defusers over the fire, off setting the second one on top of the first to leave room in the front to add charcoal and wood. I put my grill in the top position with the ribs on it. I opened the top vent all the way with the bottom about a finger width and walked away. The dome thermometer stayed about 155 with white smoke that did not smell bad!

After about an hour, I filled the basket with charcoal, removed what was needed to install it, and hit it with the Blazer. It lit easily with the a burning below. Reinstalled both defusers, the grill, and once the smoke smelled good, the ribs. Aimed for 250, but was 300 by the time I wrapped. Really enjoyed them. Great tasting smoke and tasty.

Thanks for the suggestion and take care.

Were there wood chunks in the MB? I wonder how it would compare with wood splits.

I have 9 smokers and to be honest, I smoke on whatever im feeling or have time for or in the mood for.. I will say my wife prefers my ribs on the Traeger and wrapped because its less smokey and more fall off the bone.. I personally prefer them unwrapped with more bite off my offset, Kamado or kettles. Awesome experiment and as always love the content. If youre ever down in FL we have a BGE competition every year in the fall that we compete in and we would love to see you!

Bro needs a green shirt fast. GoFundMe.
BGE should be the first to donate!

Hi james, terrific video and I think you nailed down the point about there's no one hard fast way, which is very helpful and useful information, I have a kamado Joe classic and I was wondering if you would consider making a video of how to do the cold smoke method on the kamado? Joe, sorry if you've already shown it and somehow I missed it. Keep up the good work. No question. You are the king of the kamado. Your innovations have improved my enjoyment of using my KJ and the food that comes off of it. 🙏🙋

Tanks for putting information as well in metric (Celsius) ! It's useful for us on the other side of the pond.

Thanks James and your friends for doing this very educational video for me. I going to find some spacers and buy another set of half moons to try double indirect without using the spider rack. If you don't have to worry about rust, in your opinion, should defector plates be stone or cast iron or it doesn't? I wished I bought the Ex Large Green Egg now to allow for more room on the top rack.

Very confused on what methods were actually compared on kamado.

On the "low and slow" kamado (1a), did you smoke with only 1 half deflector the whole time until bark was set? (adding fresh chunks of wood every 30 minutes or so?) If so, that would OBVIOUSLY have more smoke than 1b (where you only added wood at the very beginning under the 2 half moon deflectors)

OR did you eventually add more charcoal and a 2nd half moon deflector for 1a?

Hi James, what are the ratios for the black pepper and seasoned salt?

What wood are you using in the egg?

That's a lot of accessories to buy for the BGE. I am sure it was delicious.