What time is dinner? And if the butts are still on sale, I might need to head over - or did you clean them out?
I am not a fan of the thermometer and usually find that it reads cooler than what the temp actually is for me. For most grilling it is perfectly fine and I just use it as a reference and now that I am used to it I don't really have an issue. I will say this when I am doing low and slow smokes I use a maverick 733 digital thermometer and I have found that once the grill is steady for thirty minutes or more the dome thermometer and the maverick will read within 15-20 degrees of each other but it seems to take a long time for the dome thermometer to read close to correctly.
Gotta get it put together first. Did you get any meat? I told my neighbors, and when they went there weren't any, but she went back later and there was a bunch out.
I got it put together. I did put the BGE gasket on the ash pan and the air slider. I could see a little light in one spot as the ash pan gasket didn't really compress at all. The lid seems to seal pretty good, so I didn't mess with it. I lit a few hickory chunks, since I forgot to pick up a bag of lump on the way home from work, to season the grate and burn any nasty stuff off. It's making a lot of smoke right now, but I can close it up tight and I only see a few wisps from the top vent Not having any luck with pics from my new iPhone.
That's great to hear! I really think you will like it once you get through a little learning curve. For the price youbpay for one and what you get I think it is a good value for sure.
I was thinking I would do some baby backs tomorrow, but I think I'll do a couple more dry runs with some charcoal. Hate to ruin anything.
In doubt you will ruin anything just remember the key to it is light only a small amounts until of charcoal and bring the temp up slowly. That being said I would reccomend at least doing something lime smoking a whole chicken or maybe some thighs during your trial rums and that will let you see how easy it is to control while cooking something that is pretty forgiving. As you start using it to cook and smoke with it will start to do what I call gunking up which helps seal up little leaks and makes it more air tight.
Ribs were pretty awesome. I lit it about 11 and played with it for a while. Put two racks on about 130, and they were falling apart by 6. Temp held 240-260 with very little input from me. Best part was that I never touched them. I never opened the lid until about 5 to check. At 6 I picked one up in the middle and it broke into two pieces. Still very moist, no basting, no mop sauce. Not at all like any other smoker I've used. And lots of charcoal left at the end. Sealing it up let me shut it right down tight, so I'll be using the leftover coal next time. Very pleased so far. And sorry, still no pics.
Rumor has it, Target has been dumping Akorns for $90-150 the last few days. brickseek.com shows none around me, but if I found them for that price, I would most certainly buy 2-3 more
After a good long low/slow cook, I generally have enough fuel left for a long time. The komado is used here 3-4 times a week summer and at least once a week all winter. Before a low/slow is when I really empty the cooker and vac all the ash out good. This is so I can build a good charcoal base with good airflow. It may be overkill but that's OK. There have been time when I have said heck with it and just piled on more charcoal for a low/slow and have had good luck too. So experiment and find what you are comfortable with.
Sealing it up was a good call, I think. I'm about ready for a 20 hour shoulder. Did a spatchcocked chicken the other day. The amazing part to me is that nothing dries out. I took the chicken off onto a baking sheet, and by the time I got to eating it it was in a pool of its own juices. In fact, the steam kinda burned when I opened the lid.
Important tip-always "burp" the cooker by opening the lid an inch or so first. This was steam-if you are doing a high heat grilling with no platesetter, it can be a fire ball from the rush of air-its the same as a backdraft for a firefighter. Ive had it happen once or twice when forgetting but they have been on the milder side and it got my attention fast. This is really more for higher heat cooks, but you got a mild taste of what it can be.
I think I need three more- two here and one more at home. Not enough space when trying to cook for large parties.
Ah, the power of the Egg.....it will never fail to impress. Wait till you try searing ribeyes, pizzas, brisket, burgers, wings....oh dang, I gotta cook something on the Egg!
It's a fleet of Akorns. My neighbor walked over the other day and said they had one at Walmart for $199. I had to go to work, so I stopped in today on the way home and it was gone. They told me I missed it by about 30 minutes. Sooo, when I get home he walks over and says 'I got something for ya' And he got them to take another 10% off. This one will be going north in a couple weeks. After I fix the Walmart assembly job.
