Apple crumble on the kamado in a dutch oven

Prep

20 min

Cook

40 min

Servings

6 servings

Temperature

190 °C

Ingredients

• tart apples, reineta or Granny Smith (about 6-7 medium), peeled and cut into wedges1.2 kg
• lemon (zest and juice)1 ud
• ground cinnamon (1 for the apples, 1 for the crumble)2 cdita
• brown sugar (90 for the apples, 60 for the crumble)150 g
• plain wheat flour150 g
• rolled oats100 g
• cold unsalted butter, diced (plus a knob to grease the cocotte)130 g
• flaked or chopped almonds (optional, adds a Mediterranean crunch)40 g
• fine salt (lifts the caramel and the butter)1 pizca
• apple-wood chips soaked 20 min (for the gentle smoke)1 puñado
• good vanilla ice cream (to serve)6 bolas

Method

1. 01

   Macerate the apples

   Peel and core the apples and cut them into finger-thick wedges — not thin slices (they collapse) nor huge chunks (they stay raw). Toss them in a bowl with the lemon zest and juice, 90 g of brown sugar and one teaspoon of cinnamon. The lemon slows oxidation and brings acidity that balances the sweetness. Leave them 10 minutes while you set up the kamado.

2. 02

   Rub the crumble by hand

   In another bowl combine the flour, oats, 60 g of brown sugar, one teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Add the cold diced butter and rub it in with your fingertips to a coarse-crumb texture with pea-sized lumps. The butter must stay cold: if it melts, the crumble clumps and never turns crisp. Fold in the almonds at the end.

3. 03

   Set the deflector and stabilise 190°C

   Light the charcoal, set the deflector for indirect cooking and stabilise the kamado at 190°C. It takes 15-20 minutes. Do not load the crumble until the chamber temperature holds steady for 10 minutes. Direct heat scorches sugar and butter; the deflector is non-negotiable for any dessert.

4. 04

   Fill the cocotte

   Grease the cast-iron cocotte with a knob of butter. Drain the excess liquid from the apples and spread them over the base in an even layer. Cover the whole surface with the loose crumble, without pressing — the air between the crumbs is what crisps them. Leave a finger of clear rim so the filling can bubble without overflowing.

5. 05

   Add the apple wood and load the kamado

   Drain the soaked apple-wood chips and scatter a handful over the coals, beside one edge of the deflector. Set the uncovered cocotte in the centre of the grate and close the lid. The smoke should be a thin blue wisp, never a thick white cloud — that would turn the dessert bitter.

6. 06

   Bake for 40 minutes

   Bake at 190°C indirect for about 40 minutes. At the 25-minute mark take a quick look: if the topping is colouring too fast on one side, turn the cocotte 180°. It is ready when the crumble is an even golden brown and the filling bubbles visibly at the edges. A skewer into an apple should meet no resistance.

7. 07

   Rest and serve with ice cream

   Lift the cocotte out with gloves and let it rest 10 minutes: the filling is boiling hot and will burn, and that rest thickens it to a jammy texture. Serve straight from the cocotte at the table, still hot, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream per portion. The hot-cold contrast and the ice cream melting over the crisp crumble is the whole point of the dish.

About this recipe

Editor's tips

• If your kamado is small (a MiniMax or a Joe Jr), the cocotte sits very close to the deflector and the base cooks faster. In that case, lift the cocotte on an extra grate or three balls of foil to create an air gap — those 2-3 cm stop the bottom toasting ahead of the top.
• Cold butter, no exceptions. It is the number-one crumble mistake: if the butter softens while you set up the kamado, put the crumble bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. Cold butter melting inside the heat is what creates crisp crumbs; soft butter makes a paste that bakes gummy.
• Get ahead: you can keep the macerated apples and the rubbed crumble in the fridge, separately, up to 6 hours ahead. Only assemble the cocotte just before baking so the crumble does not go soggy with the apple juice. It is the perfect dessert for when the kamado is already hot from the main course.

Gear for this recipe

• Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven 2.84 L (Red)

  €78

• Big Green Egg ConvEGGtor plate setter (Large)

  €85

• Weber apple wood smoking chips 700 g

  €9

FAQ

• Can you make desserts on a kamado, and how do I control the heat?+

  Yes, and they come out as well as in an oven, because a kamado is essentially a thick-walled ceramic oven. The key is to set the deflector for indirect cooking and stabilise the temperature before loading anything: you manage the heat with the dampers — open to raise, close to lower — and wait until the chamber holds 190°C for 10 minutes. Once steady, the ceramic keeps that temperature with very little swing, far better than a home oven that bleeds heat every time the door opens. A reliable chamber thermometer is your best ally.

• Why does the crumble need indirect cooking with a deflector?+

  Because sugar and butter scorch over direct heat in a matter of seconds. Over the coals the sugary apple base caramelises too far and turns bitter, and the oat topping goes from golden to black with no margin to react. The deflector sits between the flame and the cocotte, turning direct heat into enveloping radiant heat: it browns the topping above while the apples soften beneath, exactly like an oven. Without a deflector no crumble survives — indirect cooking is not an option here, it is the only way the dessert comes out golden instead of charred.

• Which apple holds up best in the oven without falling apart?+

  Tart, firm apples. The reineta is the Spanish queen for baking: acidic, aromatic and it holds its structure in the heat without turning to mush. Granny Smith is the easiest alternative to find and works just as well — its acidity also balances the sweetness of the crumble. Avoid Golden and Royal Gala: they are eating apples, too sweet and soft-fleshed, and they collapse into compote within 20 minutes. A trick I use: mix two-thirds reineta with one-third of a softer variety, so you get whole wedges and a creamy sauce at once.

• How do I get the smoky note without it turning the sweet dish bitter?+

  With very little smoke, and only at the start. Sugar absorbs smoke compounds greedily, so a dessert needs a fraction of what you would use on meat. Add a handful of apple-wood chips — never large chunks — soaked for 20 minutes so they smoulder slowly rather than flaring, and only for the first 10-15 minutes of the bake. Aim for a thin wisp of blue smoke; a thick white cloud means you used too much and it will turn bitter. Apple wood is also the mildest, fruitiest of the woods, ideal for not burying the sweetness. After those minutes the chips burn out and the rest of the bake runs clean.

• Can I use other seasonal fruit (pear, plum, berries)?+

  Absolutely, and here on the Costa Blanca I work with whatever each month brings. Firm pears like conference behave almost exactly like apple, they just need 5 minutes less. Plum brings acidity and a gorgeous colour but releases more juice: add a tablespoon of cornflour to the filling so it does not go watery. Berries are perfect mixed with apple — one part raspberry or blueberry to three of apple — but on their own they turn too liquid. A combination I love in autumn is pear and quince. Adjust the sugar to the fruit's acidity and keep the rest of the recipe identical: deflector, 190°C indirect and the same crumble topping.