Yoder YS640s vs Komodo Big Bad 32: The Real Test
Pellet Grill vs Kamado Brisket, Blind Vote
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Introduction
My Best Pellet Grill vs My Best Kamado
What's up BBQ fans! Recently I did a brisket battle with my Yoder YS640s against my offset, with a blind taste test. You gave me two big pieces of feedback: there were no women tasting, and the tasters could hear each other's picks. So this time we fixed both. It's the Yoder against the Komodo Kamado Big Bad 32, with an all-women panel voting silently on paper.
The Briskets
Two Snake River Farms Wagyu black briskets, 16.3 and 16.5 lb. They ship frozen, and after 3 days in the fridge they still weren't fully thawed.
The Rub
Fresh cracked pepper from the Pepper Cannon (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%), about 12 tablespoons at roughly 16 mesh
4 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt
That's a little over 3 to 1 pepper to salt by volume. For black Texas-style bark, pepper is your friend: at least 2 to 1 or 3 to 1. For a redder brisket, use less.
A light coat of seasoned salt first, kept separate so I control the salt.
No binder. The briskets were still wet enough, and I rarely use one anymore.
Shake the rub from high up to get an even coat. Both briskets were seasoned the same way.
The Trim
Pro tip: put your briskets in the freezer for 30 to 40 minutes before trimming. Firm fat is so much easier to cut. I could feel the difference as the second brisket softened on the counter. The knife grabs soft fat and you can't get as clean a cut.
Open the package with scissors, not your knife. Cutting plastic dulls your knife fast.
Glove on your off hand, and keep your knife hand bare for control.
Trim with the grain. Clear the hard fat and the deckle off the bottom so it sits flat, fat cap up, with no low spots for fat to pool.
Trim the fat cap to about ¼ inch. In my opinion, it's better to over-trim than under-trim. Too much fat isn't a great bite.
No sharp edges. It's not as critical on a kamado or pellet grill as on an offset, but it's a good habit. Rub your hand over it to find high spots.
Save the good scraps to grind and the clean fat to render into tallow.
The Yoder Setup
Bear Mountain Oak pellets, plus two smoke tubes of oak pellets over the cook for extra smoke.
200°F for 2 hours, 225°F for 3 hours, 250°F for 2 hours, then 275°F to finish.
Done in about 11 hours 15 minutes.
The Komodo Kamado Setup
I wanted to give the kamado every bit of love the Yoder got, so I treated it almost like an offset.
Fuel: a big piece of white oak from my offset woodpile across the bottom, just 4 pieces of Komodo Kamado Coco Char (dense coconut-shell lump that burns long and slow) and a couple of wood chunks on top.
Lit it with the GrillGun (use code: RUMANDCOOK to save 10%) and ran a small wood fire with the bottom vents open for the first couple of hours.
Half grate up top. On the Big Bad 32, a 16 lb brisket fits on one side with no problem.
Temps: it spiked to 275°F early, which is the challenge of live wood fire in a kamado since it isn't designed for it. Then I brought it down to about 225°F for most of the cook and bumped it to 275°F for the last 4 hours.
Done in about 12 hours.
Pull and Hold
I pulled both around 195°F and held them in my warming oven at 150°F for about 14 hours. Some tallow leaked out, so I gave them a little bath in it before slicing.
If you didn't know, you probably couldn't tell these two apart. The kamado brisket was a little tougher on one side where the fire got away from me early, so we didn't serve that piece.
The Blind Taste Test
Four tasters, all women this time, trying point to point and flat to flat.
Brisket A and Brisket B. Nobody knew which was which.
Votes on paper in a bowl, no talking.
Every taster said both were very good, and most said one stood out only a little bit. The count: 2 for A, 2 for B. A tie!
My wife broke the tie with a quick taste of the flat. She picked A, the Yoder.
Final Thoughts
The Yoder got the edge, but it was very, very close. I would have expected the pellet grill to crush the kamado. My brisket on the Yoder is hands down some of the best I've made. But building a little wood fire in the Komodo Kamado took it a long way. If you have a kamado, try starting a brisket with real wood for the first couple of hours.
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Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
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