I'm In

I bought a Char-Griller Akorn today, and seasoned it. I'm reading all about it, and smoking. It's pretty exciting.

Sweet! Can't wait to see some pics. What are you cooking first?

Low and slow over a nice smoky fire is the way to go for some serious good eating. :rockin:

Congrats! I'm a relatively new (6 wks) Kamado Joe owner... Love it.

Check out kamadoguru.com as well... Good info and a LOT of Akorn owners too.

Thanks guys!
I have bookmarked KomadoGuru and Smoking-Meat. My youngest son is a butcher, who has been smoking meat for about a year. He suggested ribs first, as they are forgiving. I'm amazed that seasoning the iron grill stayed hot for 4 hours on a modest amount of charcoal.

Pork Butts are really forgiving, though take a while. I have dried out ribs before.

Thanks Jon. I see that advice elsewhere too. I think the biggest influence on my first smoke will be what is in the butcher's case!

Well, my first cook wasn't smoke, it was pizza. Fresh basil and mozzarella, meatballs and olives. My wife liked it.

Your sons a butcher. That's gonna rock.

Right? Keep it in the family.

Inkleg said:

Your sons a butcher. That's gonna rock.

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Indeed. We don't even have butchers anymore here. Everything comes packed from the factories. Except for the halal lamb butchers, but they have to kill them first in England because halal killing is illegal here.

I remember walking into a butcher shop in Greece a few years back. The guy was wearing shorts and sandals, no shirt, bloody all over and just came out of the cooler with a quarter of a cow slung over his shoulder then slammed it down on this huge wooden table. Held up a knife as long as my forearm and asked us what do we want.

There's a visual for you!

My Son the Butcher (Is that from Fiddler on the Roof?) came by last night. He brought horseradish pickles and tried my first smoked ribs. He judged them "pretty good for a first smoke".

Super easy to oversmoke ribs. I second the pork butts. Can't screw them up if you get them to 200F. Get the bone-in butts - I think the bone helps cook them from the inside.

Happy early Father's Day to me! I'm in too.

Want the best ribs, make your dry run, then mix it with mustard, enough for a thick paste, rub on ribs and let sit overnight or up to 2 days wrapped in fridge, smoke as normal. Meat will be super juicy. No mopping needed

#1 rule of grilling over coals: if you're looking, you ain't cooking.

Leave the grill closed. Heat gets out, temps drop, and coals flare up and scorch the food.

Happy Father's Day guys, I'm a little jealous of those eggs.

passedpawn said:

Super easy to oversmoke ribs. I second the pork butts. Can't screw them up if you get them to 200F. Get the bone-in butts - I think the bone helps cook them from the inside.

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Also, it's like having an instant-read thermometer. If you can just wiggle the bone out, it's done!

Great suggestions guys!
Shelly, looking good. Wait til you smoke something.
Since buying the Akorn, I've baked three pizzas, grilled steaks, grilled broccoli (needs work) and smoked ribs twice. Only the broccoli was a failure. The ribs were straight low n slow dry rubs, no foil and no sauce. I did spray them with cider. They were good, but still want improvement. My wife wants me to try something healthier, (?!) so maybe chicken is next. I love this smoker/grill/oven.