Using the Smokey Joe as a Konro/Shichirin

[ChadRex]

I have been experimenting with Japanese style grilling techniques,
and after adding a Charcoal Basket to my Smokey Joe Silver I was thinking it would make a great set up as
a Shichirin/Konro japanese style Yakitori grill.
 

My questions

Has anyone done this type of High heat Yakitori style grilling with the small Smokey Joe?
Since the primary fuel source of traditional Japanese style Shichirin is Binchotan charcoal ( Oak based long burning) which can be expensive.. I wanted to get thoughts on good lump charcoals since I have never used lump in my Weber I have always used briquettes.

Any recommendations on a lump charcoal that is similar to Binchotan?

If anyone has used this set up on Smokey Joe?

I have read ideas where bricks were stacked directly next to the charcoal basket and placing the grilling level close to the heat source.   I also saw one post where someone placed playground sand under that Lump charcoal. directly in their kettle then placed bricks next to the heat stacking them and cooking over heat on a small screen with skewers.

I have tried this on my 22.5 " Weber  It worked ok but the heat source was too far away and i lost a lot of heat.  I am thinking the Smokey Joe would be better, if I can keep the heat high and keep it lit long enough 2-3 hours

But want to try this style on the Smokey Joe.

Any thoughts or ideas?

[1buckie]

this is about as close as I've got to that type of thing....














The coals are right there.....no screwin' around at all..... start cookin' & don't stop movin' till it's done........


You could build up, with bricks, in a Smokey, then maybe set the hot coals on the bricks,  to get the heat up closer under the cook grate? 
Or, are you going to strech across the bricks & ditch the grate entirely?

The be-all, end-all high heat charcoal, for me, is Wicked Good brand....they've recently begun carrying it at Ace Hardwares in some places & I think you can order into your store without much hassle......it's expensive, but ABSOLUTELY worth it !!!!
Burns long & hot, probably a lot like what you showed ^^^

[Johnpv]

I've had the pleasure of using some Binchotan charcoal, and yes it is expensive but it's also amazing.  It's super hard and dense, and cooks BLAZINGLY hot and for a long time.  You drop into water to put it out and re-use.   It is also REALLY expensive and crazy hard to get lit.   I think we paid 15 bucks for a small little box of it.  That said, I don't really know of any lump that gets quite as hot as Binchotan.  I think you could accomplish similar cooking methods, you might just need MORE of the lump than you would the Binchotan. 

Personally I would recommend the Wicked Good Weekend Warrior lump, it's probably the hottest burning lump I've ever used.  You can find it at Aces I've heard or you can buy it off Wicked Good's website.  (that's what I tend to do as I don't have a source of it here)  I've heard that Real Montana Maple Lump burns REALLY hot but I've never used it.  I tried to order some and I had a really bad ordeal with ordering from them.  My second choice would be Mali's Gourmet Lump Charcoal.  I'm able to find this at Shoprite, and it's pretty good.  It's not as consistent bag to bag as the Wicked Good is, nor does it burn as hot IMHO.  It's still a pretty good lump and it's always my back up stuff.  I've heard Maple Lump in general burns really hot, so if you can find another brand near you maybe try that.  I can't find any brand of Maple lump anywhere near me, or even an affordable online source.

Hope that's some helpful stuff. 

[ChadRex]

this is about as close as I've got to that type of thing....





The coals are right there.....no screwin' around at all..... start cookin' & don't stop movin' till it's done........

You could build up, with bricks, in a Smokey, then maybe set the hot coals on the bricks,  to get the heat up closer under the cook grate? 
Or, are you going to strech across the bricks & ditch the grate entirely? 

The be-all, end-all high heat charcoal, for me, is Wicked Good brand....they've recently begun carrying it at Ace Hardwares in some places & I think you can order into your store without much hassle......it's expensive, but ABSOLUTELY worth it !!!!
Burns long & hot, probably a lot like what you showed ^^^

Wow thanks , yeah next time i do this i will ditch the grate entirely and stretch across the bricks,

The Pig cooker looks like a western version of  a Japanese Shichirin style grill.  It has the cook surface very close to heat sources.  you use Lump in that? I will check out the Wicked Goo brand charcoal

I will probably use by mini bank brick on the side of the Coal basket and ditch the grate or use a japanese Mesh style cooking grate over the bricks..

I will post picks of my set-up

[Duke]

What's the idea with using less or more charcoal? I sounds like with Binchotan you don't need much because it burns so hot, so why not just get some oak lump and load up a smokey joe? How would it work differently? By the way, here's an old post on it.

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/off-topic/binchotan-charcoal/msg5114/#msg5114

[1buckie]

ChadRex, this got me thinking about live coals, grateless grilling, roti's & tiny kabobs & large type setups & all......

Check out the other end of the spectrum ~~~>

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=630705&highlight=#630705

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=629943&highlight=#629943

this guy can cook anything, I'm convinced......he's stupendous on a griddle & disco, too !!!!

[kaz]

I like this link on binchotan. I'm not interested in buying it, more how can I make some.

http://www.gpe.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49%3Amaking-of-binchotan-charcoal-used-for-purification-of-water-&catid=12%3Anews&Itemid=4&lang=en

[mwmac]

Here is a source I have found useful for binchotan and konro style grills   http://korin.com/s.nl

[1buckie]

Here is a source I have found useful for binchotan and konro style grills   http://korin.com/s.nl

 Thanks for that, mwmac !!!

Great site, very interesting, esp. the 'Rare & Limited' knives........$7250 for a knife !!

Must be like a Stradivarius or a '57 Stratocaster or one of those 1930's mandolins to the people who really know how to use them.............

[ChadRex]

Well since I am having the hardest time finding a decent lump in my area, I decided to go for the highest quality one can get in Lump Charcoal.  Japanese Binchotan charcoal


(I had gotten in contact with KomodoKamado on their Sustainable KK Coco Lump and they will drop ship minimum 5 boxes at their Carson Warehouse..  = Promising but expensive)

I know the best lump is the Japanese Binchotan...  and I have looked all over the local Japanese and asian markets in my area, I live near a highly Japanese populated area of Los Angeles, County...  even the Japanese markets ( Marukai, Nijiya, Mistuwa) do not have impressive options.

In my search for Japanese grill shichirin..Anzen Hardware came up and I recalled how nice a place it was.
I bought some knives and japanese pull saws from him years ago.. never even knew about binchotan then..

After talking to my wife, we decided to venture to Anzen Hardware ..Privatly owned  by Nori Takatani "Nori-San"  - located in historic Little Tokyo of Los Angeles
I was able to get Japanese Binchotan charcoal .. :cool:



It is quite expensive, however well worth it, can be used multiple cooks if done correctly. Nori's service alone made it worth the cost. he generously hand picked the best pieces even gave 1/4# extra , the quality is top notch and shipped from Japan.
Nori is the most humble generous business owner,  I called him while fighting my way through LA Traffic  and although he was closing at 5:30p he not only waited for me before closing, he had all the things sitting out ready for me when I arrived. He even blocked off a space right in front of his shop for me to park!!! He knew exactly what I wanted and explained the details of how properly to light binchotan and the best way to preserve it after cooking with it.

The Binchotan I bought is very different than lump, it is harder (actually makes a clinging glass like sound when knocking the pieces together.) I cant wait to see how it burns...

I also picked up a takoyaki griddle,
 it was priced higher than what i could get through Amazon, but the service made it well worth supporting small business owners like Nori.

I also looked at Shichirin and Konro  I decided at this time I could use my Weber Smokey Joe mini and get great results and have a larger capacity/coking area.

I will fire the grill up tomorrow night and post picks later.. Cant wait!!!!

[Tim in PA]

Awesome story. I love hearing about great customer service. People like him are a dying breed, sadly.