i reverse sear almost every time - burgers / steak / etc

6/16/2017 10:42:46 PM

me too. except i don't really grill burgers now. i would much rather cook them in a cast iron pan.

6/16/2017 10:49:35 PM

https://i.imgur.com/JjR7bUx.gifv

6/17/2017 11:54:31 AM

haha

6/17/2017 1:51:36 PM

holy shit this youtube guy. thank you for this.


smoking with pecan a full pork shoulder tomorrow for fathers day.

6/17/2017 7:26:43 PM

are you doing charcoal with pecan chunks mixed in or are you cooking on a stickburner?

i did some thighs on the akorn with some pieces of pecan wood this evening. i usually don't bother deboning, but i did this time. i think i'll debone from now on.

[Edited on June 17, 2017 at 7:46 PM. Reason : dsa]

6/17/2017 7:45:15 PM

dude stuffs some newspaper and a big pile of wood chunks in the akorn and gets a big fire going. dumps some wet wood chips on top of that. proceeds to stick a 13 lb packer brisket on the flaming hot grill. a few hours later he brags about how steady the grill is at 250 deg, but he's going by the dome thermometer, which everyone knows is junk on the akorn. he has the bottom vent wide ass open and the top vent open a decent crack. in my experience, he was cooking at 400-450 deg. 4 hours into the cook and his digital meat probe is saying it's almost done. opens the grill to find a burned up brisket. pulls it off and cuts into this dried out monstrosity and tells us it tastes delicious.



[Edited on June 17, 2017 at 9:03 PM. Reason : i]

6/17/2017 9:02:41 PM

This might be on his YouTube too but he was on a sort of "shark tank" type show..

https://vid.me/IHoJ/crying-with-jack-on-the-west-texas-investors-clu

Also, what should I use if my thermometer isn't any good in the top of the akorn? Not trying to buy something that's super expensive. I do have a wireless meat thermometer for a long cook

6/17/2017 9:56:43 PM

plenty of cheap digital grill thermometers with a probe on a cord. get one with a grate clip. <$20.

6/17/2017 10:01:15 PM

I take back what I said about my blackstone. Def made dinner Akron and blackstone tonight and damn

6/18/2017 12:13:53 AM

apparently there were plenty of after dinner drinks as well

6/18/2017 12:31:23 AM

^^someone got into the daddy juice

[Edited on June 18, 2017 at 8:56 AM. Reason : s]

6/18/2017 8:56:31 AM

Anybody ever made potato bombs? I just saw them on YouTube after watching all of that idiots videos, they could be good. It's just russet potatos cored, stuffed with different seasonings, cheeses and meats then plugged with a piece of the core, wrapped in bacon then cooked. The ones I saw, the guys wrapped in aluminum foil but I think I would do them at about 400 indirect on the akorn, unwrapped. I might try something like this today

[Edited on June 18, 2017 at 9:41 AM. Reason : Meats not meets ]

6/18/2017 9:40:42 AM

i can't think of any combination of taters, meat, cheese, and bacon that doesn't sound tasty

6/18/2017 9:58:02 AM

got a controller to do some crock pot sous vide

6/19/2017 8:40:47 PM

What does the circulatin'?

6/19/2017 9:06:39 PM

nothing besides natural convection. it's not really necessary.

6/19/2017 9:12:41 PM

Did a beer-can-chicken last night (I feel like there was talk on this thread about it, but I did a quick skim and didn't find anything). I've read about them before and I feel like the beer is unnecessary, but the wife was all about it...so I wasted half of one of my favorite local beers..

For the future...could you just fill up an empty beer can with water and get the same effect?

As for the chicken...it was delicious. I made my own rub. Brown sugar, dry mustard, paprika, cumin, cayenne, oregano, onion & garlic powder, and salt & pepper. It was delicious. I had some issues with the Akorn again with my fire going out. With my last long smoke (pork butt), I figured the wet wood chunks were mostly to blame. On this one...I'm thinking all of my coals weren't fully lit. I let the heat creep up to 400 (target was 375, but I'd rather over shoot it and let it go down with the cook).... and then put my chicken on. When I shut the grill I had the bottom and top vent about half closed and the temp was in the mid 380s. And then it just slowly started creeping down a degree at a time. When it got to 370 I opened both vents completely and it just kept going down. Once it got below 360 I threw some lite newspaper through the bottom vent to hopefully re-light it and all it did was raise the internal temp to 400 until it went down again. Did that a couple more times...basically until the cook was over anyways at about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Good news is the chicken came out amazing. Skin was nice and crispy...little sweetness with the brown sugar and nice kick with the cayenne. I pulled it off in the low 180s...breast meat was juicy and tender. Here are the pics:

6/20/2017 10:55:36 AM

Try spatchcocking the bird next time. Easier, faster, and all around better imo.

6/20/2017 11:49:13 AM

Quote :

" I had some issues with the Akorn again with my fire going out."

Yea something is not right here. I've never had a fire go out at all. I just did a 8 hour cook at 250 on Sunday and didn't have a issue.

you shouldn't be snuffing out at all even more so if you have the vents half open.

6/20/2017 1:45:51 PM

Are you using lump or briquettes? it shouldn't matter, but maybe try the other to see if you can control one better

6/20/2017 1:47:53 PM

How are you lighting the grill? How longer after lighting it are you closing the lid? How much charcoal are you putting in the grill?

6/20/2017 2:05:54 PM

I used all lump for this. And I used a pretty small amount. I mean, the sizes are different, but maybe two handfuls? It was enough to get the temp up to 400 steadily.

I do think my issue is with how I'm lighting. We had these leftover firewood sticks that we used when we had a fire pit and I'm just trying to get rid of them. They work perfectly fine for my quick grills. They light quickly, I normally pile some of the already used lumps on top of them to get it started and I never shut the lid until all the of the lumps have a good burn on them.

However, I think for this cook that the lumps on the top weren't burning well enough and maybe got snuffed out. That's my reasoning at least.

6/20/2017 2:20:03 PM

Avoid doing the beer can method and always spatchcock

6/20/2017 3:11:07 PM

Try using a lot more lump. I usually have my firebox almost full, and just light a little bit of it then it burns what it needs to in order to keep your temp. You aren't wasting it, when you're done cooking just snuff it and you can reuse what's left next time.

6/20/2017 3:25:31 PM

Need more charcoal. Fill it to a couple inches below the diffuser tabs. You don't light all the charcoal. You light a little and let the fire spread and light more as it needs to.

That's why your temps were low with the vents so far open. Halfway open on both vents would get me over 500 degrees.

[Edited on June 20, 2017 at 4:15 PM. Reason : Bd]

I'll do a 1 hour cook at 350-400 and there will be a lot of coal in there that never even lit.

[Edited on June 20, 2017 at 4:17 PM. Reason : Db]

Kamado temp is controlled by air flow, not the amount of coal you load in it. I load the firebox the same whether I'm doing a low and slow or cooking pizzas. Doesn't matter.

[Edited on June 20, 2017 at 4:18 PM. Reason : Hd]

6/20/2017 4:14:00 PM

Think I misunderstood in the beginning when I was talking about how much I used when I smoked on my old grill and I got all of these responses:

Quote :

"Plus, you shouldnt be using a shit ton of anything"

Quote :

"Light a smaller fire."

Think I confused "small fire" with an overall small amount of charcoal.

6/20/2017 4:46:23 PM

you weren't going by the dome thermometer that comes with the akorn, were you?

just do the cotton ball with alcohol thing. put one right in the middle nestled amongst some lump and let it burn with the bottom vent fully open and lid open for 5-10 minutes. then close the lid and close the vents halfway. step the vents closer and closer to being closed as you approach your target temp. you'll get a feel for it. just remember that lowering temp in a kamado is difficult and often results in snuffing the fire. it's easy to raise temps, but the grill responds much slower than a regular uninsulated grill because air flow is relatively low.

[Edited on June 20, 2017 at 4:54 PM. Reason : and ease up on the rub]

[Edited on June 20, 2017 at 5:00 PM. Reason : i see your grate temp probe now]

6/20/2017 4:53:42 PM

^this exact method works great. You can't get ahead of yourself or rush with time. Its still going to take a few minutes light. Have another beer and relax

If you are using a chimney go ahead and fill that fucker full. layer at least the bottom 1/4 with lump.

That chicken looks great but yes ease on the rub. Beer can is a long con.

Spatchcock if you can.

[Edited on June 20, 2017 at 6:13 PM. Reason : z]

6/20/2017 6:11:57 PM

I've got a redi-check thermometer that works pretty well.

I messed up a bit with the rub and put it on and let the chicken sit for a bit (after I already padded it dry). The juices came back out and everything clumped up. I'm pretty anal about having everything with a nice coating so I tossed some more on. Other than a small area on top, it coated and crisped up really well. And I really like the rub, so I'm happy with over-doing it rather than under doing it.

6/20/2017 7:08:20 PM

Quote :

"Try spatchcocking the bird next time. Easier, faster, and all around better imo."

I did this last time and will be doing it every time moving forward. Made for a MUCH better cook on the smoker.

6/21/2017 10:38:53 AM

^plus it's fun to tell people that you spatchcocked something.

6/21/2017 3:50:24 PM

Would the cotton ball method be good for starting the ugly drum smoker? I have seen folks start about 1/4 of a chimney load and dump it right in the middle of the coal in the fire basket. Seems like the cotton ball method might give a better starting point for timing the vent closing/throttling activities.

I just started building mine. It's all burned out and I'm collecting hardware now. Should be a big improvement over the gourmet brinkman!

6/22/2017 1:17:24 AM

I don't think so. It would take forever to get enough coal lit for the UDS. I would go with the partial chimney minion method or a weedburner to light a small portion of the coals.

6/22/2017 8:47:16 AM

FYI, Earthfare has Choice whole brisket for $3/lb this weekend.

6/24/2017 3:40:11 PM

Been wanting to try a kamado, good guides for brisket or pork butt?

What kind of charcoal do you use?

[Edited on June 24, 2017 at 6:13 PM. Reason : a]

6/24/2017 6:03:33 PM

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwqOJHMO3_c6WllDWjhHNFk3THM

What's wrong with my grill? Flame seems weak and even at full gas it makes a pulsing/sucking sound. It gets up to 350 with the lid closed easily but takes a lot longer to get to 500. Is this normal or something wrong?

Tank is full, I've disconnected the regulator and let it sit for a while too.

6/26/2017 9:07:57 PM

orifice on that center burner may have some debris in it

how long have you had it? has it always done that or is this a new development?

[Edited on June 26, 2017 at 9:13 PM. Reason : adfs]

[Edited on June 26, 2017 at 9:16 PM. Reason : maybe try a new regulator if it's an older grill]

6/26/2017 9:10:28 PM

Grill is about 3 years old, I think it's always done this, but being the first grill I personally owned I only recently started questioning it when my cousins Spirit 200 (two burner version of this grill) seemed to heat up a lot faster.

6/26/2017 9:33:49 PM

i wouldn't worry about it

6/26/2017 9:42:27 PM

how long does it take to hit 500 and how are you measuring the temp? i've got a 3 burner genesis that takes 10 or 15 mins to read 500 on the lid thermometer. i'm more concerned with the temp at the grate where the food is, not 10" or more away. these grills suck for high temp searing anyway.

6/26/2017 9:53:10 PM

Using the lid thermo. 15 mins is about what I see too, that's good to know

Thanks !

6/26/2017 10:13:06 PM

Sometimes when I open my propane tank valve too quickly, the grill won't heat properly. I think there is a new type of safety valve on tanks. I have to make sure I open the tank valve very slowwwly.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

6/27/2017 8:20:28 AM

^ https://www.cuisinartbbqs.com/en/regulator_flow_limiting_device.php

6/27/2017 10:36:14 AM

I smoked another chuck roast at the beach for my family. Those are awesome and so versatile. We pulled it that night and made BBQ but then had it like 3 more nights in different ways, one night in nachos, one night in stuffed bell peppers and one night in tacos.

7/1/2017 4:54:59 PM

finally trying my crock pot sous vide setup tonight. cheap ribeyes.

7/1/2017 5:01:15 PM

turned out really good. about as good as you can ask $8/lb 3/4" thick ribeyes to be. the crock pot sous vide will do the job just fine. i seared them over top of the vortex filled with kingsford and as hot as i could get it. i would prefer thicker steaks and i'll try to get some for the next attempt.

also did some melted vidalia onions, baked taters, and corn on the cob on the genesis.

here's a pic, but the flash from my phone makes the steak look crappy: https://goo.gl/photos/mfZVVYLeQYeQ2GDv6

[Edited on July 1, 2017 at 7:49 PM. Reason : dsf]

7/1/2017 7:47:22 PM

i think maybe next time i'll set my cast iron pan over top of the vortex and get it scorching hot and do my sear that way. i think that will result in a better crust.

7/1/2017 10:54:54 PM

I use a cast iron pan exclusively for searing steaks. I recently tried searing right over a chimney of lit charcoal and it was too hot and caused some burning. Need to find the right balance of charcoal but it worked pretty well if the steak isn't too wide.

7/2/2017 7:14:56 AM

did a couple racks of spare ribs today. i put some jalapeno powder under my usual rub and then used butter and brown sugar during the wrap. finished them off with some Puckett's sauce that my sister brought me back from Nashville. came out with an excellent balance of sweet and heat.

https://goo.gl/photos/pQGo5dknTVvAdDzh7

7/2/2017 8:30:00 PM