I have an Akorn Jr and I've found the following things: 1. Pork ribs seem to cook better (stay moister) if you have a water pan in with them, otherwise they dry out especially if they are cut lean (in Australia this is often the case). On the Jr, space is a premium, but I get away with using a really small (about a 1/2 metric cup) stainless steel bowl with water in it. About 3 to 4 inch diameter. 2. Use a deflector plate to prevent the direct heat hitting the ribs. I bought a $5 aluminium pizza tray and cut it to sit in where the deflector plate goes. Saves $45. 3. To do a low and slow on these babies, set the top vent to a maximum of "1". Setting it at "1" will get you to about 120C (240-250F?) setting it to "2" will get you to about 220-240C (445F). Anything over that is ridiculous - you aren't cooking you're burning. The bottom can be opened to 5 while you're lighting the coals, but then set it down to 3 or less while cooking. 4. I don't know how true this is, but I put my chunk of timber on the grill as the coal bed is coming up to temperature so it warms up. Allegedly it makes the smoke blue and not white. So you: light coal bed, stoke with a blower, put grill in, put timber on top, close lid, set vents and allow to come to cook temp, open, remove grill, put warmed timber in, put deflector plate in, put grill in, put meat in, smoke and cook. These Jr cookers are really efficient on fuel. I can get a 12 hour cook out of mine if I use a smartfire bbq controller to maintain and control the pit temp, and the coals wont be fully consumed either. The pit will fail and snuff prematurely. Best run I've gotten was 12 hours. Pretty easy to get 8 hours at 100C from it if you have a smartfire. Still working on getting longer.
Good video. I'd suggest to wait for the white smoke to go away and it becoming blue. The cleaner the smoke, the better the taste. Also when it comes to smoke, less is more.
You're not going to get blue smoke from wood that can't burn clean and is forced to smolder through the cook. This is also with WSM's and UDS's. Stick burners are the only smokers that offer wood the chance to fully burn with the result of a light blue smoke.
@illiniwood What you say makes sense, but I have gotten clean blue smoke with my Akorn. If you use solid chunks (not chips) and bury them inside the pile of charcoal they will burn with the charcoal and you will never see that thick white smoke.
really good looking ribs. try adding some whisky into the tin foil when you do the 2nd stage of cooking. and also i found that sometimes if i do this stage a few days after the 1st "sear" then it end up tasting amazing. its all about time
Yeah they all looked dry AF. I know he wasn't doing a competition smoke, but I don't think those would have been good for a simple old backyard cookout. Need them ribs moist! He should have certainly used a water pan underneath them.
Bro you have to give your fire more oxygen. Idk how you eat that meat with all that thick white smoke. Ribs may be ok but a shoulder or brisket, no way. Just a tip from a guy who's fucked up a lot of bbq lol
You're absolutely right, I have noticed some bitterness on some smokes. Any tips on getting that thinner, better smoke? I was doing research and most sources said to let the fire burn until the smoke thins out as well as leaving the vents open for longer. Appreciate the comment!
@@foundationsofcooking9316 It's easier to manage on pits that you can access your fire. With these ceramic grills just try to guess the amount of charcoal you'll need for the length of the cook. 1. Never wet your wood (ha) you want it really dry. On a grill like this I would not use wood at all. It'll just burn out before you get your meat on. Maybe try the coals with wood in them? 2. Never put the meat on until the smoke is either clear or blue. Keep the vents as open as possible. You'll have to play w coal amount. 3. When you're ready to step it up get an offset or vertical smoker and keep the acorn for hi heat grilling 🤙
@@foundationsofcooking9316 - you started out with way too much fuel (wood) for starters. Go easier on the fuel and use lump charcoal, which burns much cleaner. Only add a small amount of pecan or oak or whatever wood you want to use as your smoke flavor (small chunks, as chips will burn too quick). And for the love of all that is holy, do *NOT* put your protein on that grate until the thick white smoke has gone. That makes your cook taste acrid (the bitterness you're getting). Also, as you already likely surmised, use a water pan - your ribs were way too dry.
Cutting a full rack of ribs in half is aesthetically frustrating for those of us with BBQ OCD. I have to follow with a stick burner video just to cleanse my eyes of such culinary tragedy.
