diff --git a/elements/baremetal/README.md b/elements/baremetal/README.md
index 9c648245..bfbbb2d9 100644
--- a/elements/baremetal/README.md
+++ b/elements/baremetal/README.md
@@ -3,3 +3,11 @@ This is the baremetal (IE: real hardware) element.
 Does the following:
 
  * extracts the kernel and initial ramdisk of the built image.
+
+Optional parameters:
+
+ * DIB_BAREMETAL_KERNEL_PATTERN and DIB_BAREMETAL_INITRD_PATTERN
+   may be supplied to specify which kernel files are preferred; this
+   can be of use when using custom kernels that don't fit the
+   standard naming patterns. Both variables must be provided in
+   order for them to have any effect.
diff --git a/elements/baremetal/cleanup.d/99-extract-kernel-and-ramdisk b/elements/baremetal/cleanup.d/99-extract-kernel-and-ramdisk
index 6c136577..21cfb0a1 100755
--- a/elements/baremetal/cleanup.d/99-extract-kernel-and-ramdisk
+++ b/elements/baremetal/cleanup.d/99-extract-kernel-and-ramdisk
@@ -23,7 +23,10 @@ set -o pipefail
 BOOTDIR="$TARGET_ROOT/boot"
 KERNEL=
 RAMDISK=
-if [ -f $TARGET_ROOT/etc/redhat-release ]; then
+if [ -n "${DIB_BAREMETAL_KERNEL_PATTERN:-}" -a -n "${DIB_BAREMETAL_INITRD_PATTERN:-}" ]; then
+    KERNEL=$(basename `eval ls -1rv "$BOOTDIR/${DIB_BAREMETAL_KERNEL_PATTERN}" | head -1`)
+    RAMDISK=$(basename `eval ls -1rv "$BOOTDIR/${DIB_BAREMETAL_INITRD_PATTERN}" | head -1`)
+elif [ -f $TARGET_ROOT/etc/redhat-release ]; then
 
     # Prioritize PAE if present
     KERNEL=$(ls -1rv $BOOTDIR/vmlinuz*  | grep PAE | grep -v debug | head -1 || echo "")