Smokeless BBQs

[GPR]

I was wondering what people thought about a barbeque that tries to limit the amount of smoke produced by allowing more oxygen to get to the charcoal so it can burn more cleanly . I would love any feedback on this idea and it would be amazing if people could contribute thoughts on what to include/general design.
Thanks so much

 

[Przemek]

To be honest, for me the smoke is an integral part of grilling, and I cannot imagine having a barbecue without it. How about you?

 

[GPR]

Yeah, I think it is too! I more meant cutting down the smoke made when trying to heat up the coals and making them ash over, because it would allow them to heat up quicker and stop all the unnecessary gases. Then when I actually cooked the meat, I would allow them to smoke away and keep that flavour. (Btw I’d also want it to be portable which is why I don’t want it to be gas cos 1. It stops the flavour and 2. It would have a tiny tank that you’d have to fill it up all the time.)
Sorry that the original post was so vague

 

[bitpushr]

I'm curious about this would work. The way I see it, there are actually 3 sources of smoke from a typical "smoker" bbq:

1. Smoke from the burnoff of the fuel source,
2. Smoke from the wood chips or other source of "smoke"
3. Smoke from the juices of the meat dripping onto the fuel source, or otherwise getting above the "flash point" where it catches on fire.

A typical/traditional smoker uses a flame to cause the wood chips to smoke, but is actually a very low temperature of the meat (at 220 deg F or so). If you have a natural gas smoker, there is almost no smoke from the gas. If you use wood pellets, there will be some smoke from the fuel source.

Since the meat is cooked at 220 deg F, not that much smoke comes from the actual meat. In a water smoker, the grease generally drips onto the water so there is no direct contact to the heat source.

That means in a traditional smoker, the smoke is almost all generated from the wood chips, and is indeed the way that the meat gets its natural barbecue flavor.

But, if you are talking about non-traditional smokers, like just a charcol grill, there is always going to be some smoke that is put out, that gives the meat its flavor. It isn't the heat itself giving the flavor to the meat.

The closest thing I could find to a "smokeless" grill that gives you natural flavor would be the Solo stove: https://www.solostove.com/campfire-gear-kit/

That thing, from what I hear, gives off minimal smoke.

Otherwise, there is "artificial" smoke which is basically just smoke flavoring you can add to the meat.

 

[GPR]

I get there is alway going to be some smoke put out by charcoal/wood chips, but I think with enough airflow you can get most of the CO eliminated. The way I would do it would be to burn all the C as cleanly as possible, to get a good heat source, and then the organic compounds that give it its flavour would still be released if you want to stop burning it cleanly.

 

[Halena]

I was wondering what people thought about a barbeque that tries to limit the amount of smoke produced by allowing more oxygen to get to the charcoal so it can burn more cleanly . I would love any feedback on this idea and it would be amazing if people could contribute thoughts on what to include/general design.
Thanks so much

Oh! Barbecue without smoke? I actually love the barbecue because of its smoke factor. I love burgers cooked over the coals. That's ground meat patty turns out so juicy and smoky.