Turkey PRON from new Akorn

It's always a good time for BBQ pron even if it's turkey for Thanksgiving Day!

I picked up an Akorn smoker at an incredible and ridiculous price to replace my beloved keg that was lost to an unfortunate accident. I got a great deal on it.

Anyway, here are three turkey breasts I barbecued on it today. One is for a friend, one is to be split between two of my kids and the other is for me to make smoked turkey sammies!

I have to say, I am very impressed by the Akorn. It's the first smoker I have ever bought that didn't need 1 single modification before it worked flawlessly. It's the best bang for the buck I have ever spent on a smoker and that includes my beloved Jambo as it required a couple of small mods. Seriously, the Akorn is one fine smoker/grill for the money.


Back to the turkey.

I dry brined the turkey breasts overnight using a Cajun style seasoning I mixed up. I put the Cajun seasoning under the skin and just put salt and pepper on the skin. I let them sit in the fridge over night. Before going on the smoker, I patted the skin dry with paper towels, touched up the salt and pepper, gave them a good spray with veggie oil and put them in the smoker at 300F with hickory chunks for smoke.

After about 2 hours, they reached a minimum temp of 165F internal before I removed them from the smoker and let them rest for two hours.

I cooked two first, then cooked the third one after I finished the first two.

Here is an in progress of the first two -



Here is the finished 3rd turkey breast



Here is the new smoker just after assembly -

landarc said:

Great looking breasts man

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My eyes are up here, Landarc!

I assume some are having trouble keeping the akorn temps low?

The first thing I recommend for that is patience. Barbecue smokers don't usually change temps fast, especially going down in temp. So, expect any adjustment to take tens of minutes at a minimum.

Second, are you using a basket or bowl to hold your fuel? I use a grill basket as a charcoal basket.

Are you closing the vents at least 25 degrees BEFORE the akorn reaches the desired temp? You can expect temps to continue to rise even after closing the vents. So, reducing the air getting to the fire before you reach the desired temp is important.

The way I start a fire in the akorn is:

1.) I light the charcoal with my weed burner while it is sitting in the basket that is sitting on top of a weber charcoal chimney.

2.) I transfer the charcoal basket to the akorn using pliers to pick up the basket.

3.) I put the diffuser in the smoker and the grill.

4.) I leave the lid open (the lid not just the top vent) and the bottom vent open all the way until there is clear smoke or only little puffs of blue smoker.

5.) I close the lid with the bottom and top vents wide open.

6.) When the temp reaches 250F, I close the top vent to where only the "tear drops" in it are open. I close the bottom vent with only about 3/4" to 1" open.

7.) I watch it and make sure the temp stabilizes at 275F making adjustments to the top vent as necessary.

Now, if the akorn over heats I do the following:

1.) Close all vents completely.

2.) Wait until the temp begins to drop.

3.) I slightly open the lid to let in a little air. I do this to prevent the possibility of a flare up.

4.) I open the lid all the way for about 10 seconds, then close it.

5.) I watch the thermometer to make sure the temp is still dropping. I open the lid again if needed.

6.) When the temp drops back to where I want it to be, I open the bottom and top vents again. If I'm having trouble after that, I close the bottom vent to about 1/2" and leave the "tear drops" open in the top vent. The idea is, just keep reducing the amount of air getting to the fire.

Now, keep in mind, if you are opening the lid during the cook and leaving it open for minutes at a time you are just feeding the fire and that in and of itself could be helping to overheat the cooker.

One other thing, when you first start a fire in the akorn and it produces a lot of smoke, what do you see when you close both vents and the lid? Do you see smoke leaking out anywhere? If so, you have an air leak. You will need to seal it up or temps will rise on you.

One other thing, have you tried reducing the amount of fuel you use? Perhaps you are putting in too much fuel at a time.

SPRfree said:

Do you think the third breast could have fit on the removable, second grill rack?

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Nope, I tried. The lid is a little too shallow for that.