Transform ordinary popcorn into a delectable treat with the Chef Tom's delicious smoked butter recipe! Learn how to cold-smoke butter on the Kamado Joe Kettle Joe and discover the amazing possibilities of beef tallow popcorn!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Cold-smoking butter over ice, not heat: Keeping a pan of ice beneath the butter while the tube smoker burns lets smoke flavor build for 2-3 hours without ever melting the butter, something a direct-heat smoke would ruin almost immediately.
- Removing the top cap for maximum airflow during the smoke: Opening up ventilation keeps the smoke moving past the butter instead of pooling and turning acrid, giving a cleaner smoke flavor over the long cold-smoke session.
- Melting tallow before adding the kernels: Letting the beef tallow fully melt in the Dutch oven first means every kernel gets coated evenly with fat as it's added, instead of some kernels sitting on unmelted solid tallow.
- Melting the smoked butter separately, then drizzling it on at the end: Warming the smoked butter in its own small container and adding it after the popcorn finishes lets you control exactly how much coats the popcorn, rather than trying to melt butter directly into the popping kernels.
Beef Tallow Popcorn with Smoked Butter
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
2
Prep Time
3 hours 2 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 3 minutes
Calories
680
Chef Tom walks us through the process of cold smoking butter on the Kamado Joe Kettle Joe, then makes Beef Tallow Popcorn smothered in Smoked Butter.
Ingredients
-
1/4 cup beef tallow
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 4-6 tbsp cold smoked butter
- 1-2 tbsp seasoning (Plowboy’s BBQ Bovine Bold or Kosmo’s Q Buffalo Wing Dust)
Directions
- To cold smoke butter in the Kamado Joe Kettle Joe, first fill an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker with the pellets of your choice. Slide the removable ash drawer out of the bottom door of the grill. Slide the tube into that space, then light the pellets with a torch. Blow out the flame and let the pellets burn back to create smoke.
- Place one of the half moon grill grates on the lower setting. Fill a half-sized foil pan with ice and place the pan on the lower grate. Place the other grate directly over the ice.
- Place your butter on a small sheet of parchment paper on the top grill grate.
- Remove the cap from the top of the grill to allow for maximum airflow.
- (Note: you can use the hyperbolic insert and deflector plate for this process, but for the popcorn recipe, we will need direct high heat grilling capabilities, so we chose not to use the insert in this specific situation. ALSO, smoke as many sticks of butter as you like. Cold smoked butter can be used in a variety of ways.)
- Smoke the butter for 2-3 hours. Remove from the grill. Place in a vacuum sealed bag (or zip-top bag), and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- For the Beef Tallow Popcorn, remove the smoke tube from the bottom of the grill. Fill the ceramic fire box with lump charcoal and ignite a couple of Kamado Joe Fire Starters nestled into the charcoal. The airflow should be wide open at the bottom. You may leave the top cap off, or place it back on and open in all the way.
- When the charcoal is hot, place the grill grates on the lower level inside the grill. Place a Finex Dutch Oven on the grates to preheat for a few minutes.
- Add the beef tallow to the dutch oven. When the tallow is melted, add the popcorn kernels. Place a lid on the dutch oven. Using leather grilling gloves, grab ahold of the sides of the dutch oven and give it a shake to help coat the kernels in the tallow.
- Dice your smoked butter and place in a small oven-proof container (we used a small mason jar). Place on the grill to melt the butter. Remove when the butter is melted.
Add the kernels begin to pop, repeat the process of shaking the dutch oven to keep the popcorn from scorching on bottom.
- Keep cooking until the popping slows to one pop every 4-5 seconds, then remove from the grill.
- Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl. Drizzle the melted smoked butter over the popcorn and toss to coat. Sprinkle your seasoning of choice over the popcorn and serve immediately.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why smoke the butter over a pan of ice instead of just placing it in the smoker?
Keeping ice underneath the butter lets it absorb smoke flavor for 2-3 hours without melting. Smoking it directly over heat would melt the butter almost immediately, long before it picked up meaningful smoke flavor.
Why remove the top cap from the grill during the cold-smoking stage?
Opening up ventilation keeps the smoke actively moving past the butter instead of pooling inside the grill, which helps prevent the smoke from turning acrid over such a long session.
Why melt the tallow completely before adding the popcorn kernels?
Letting the tallow fully melt first means every kernel gets coated evenly with fat as it goes in, instead of some kernels landing on unmelted solid tallow and popping unevenly.
Why melt the smoked butter separately instead of adding butter directly to the popping corn?
Warming the butter in its own small container and drizzling it on afterward gives you control over exactly how much coats the popcorn, rather than trying to melt butter directly among the popping kernels, where it could scorch.
Why shake the Dutch oven periodically while the popcorn pops?
Shaking redistributes the kernels so they don't scorch sitting in one spot on the bottom of the hot pan — the same reason a stovetop popcorn pot gets shaken periodically too.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — the popcorn itself pops just as well in a Dutch oven on the stovetop; only the cold-smoked butter step genuinely requires an outdoor smoker setup.
Recipe Highlights
Ice-cooled cold smoke: Infuses butter with smoke flavor without melting it.
Open-vent smoking: Keeps smoke moving for a cleaner flavor over a long session.
Fully melted tallow: Ensures even kernel coating before popping begins.
Separately melted butter: Gives precise control over how much coats the popcorn.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 4.66 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 680
- Carbs
- 60 grams
- Protein
- 8 grams
- Fat
- 52 grams
- Sodium
- 164 milligrams
