First time poster - 9LB Pork Shoulder

[Jasong165]

Hello all,

First time poster here. I've been lurking on this site for quite a while and enjoy reading the suggestions and drooling over all the delicious Q pictures y'all post.

I'm somewhat new to the smoke scene, I've only been doing it a few times a year. Previous to this year I was using a home built offset smoker made out of old air tanks. It was a project we did for my buddies bachelor party to use to smoke a small whole hog. It works ok but over the years it's become rusted and it takes bags and bags of lump to maintain temp.

This year I decided to purchase the Char Griller Akorn as a replacement and have been pretty happy thus far. It's pretty amateur level I know but I needed a grill replacement as well so I went for dual purpose. So far I've done a few racks of ribs and tried my first brisket ever a month ago and was pleased with the results.

Today I decided to do some pulled pork for the Birds game. Bought a 9lb shoulder at Wegmans and didn't do anything fancy. Coated the outside with some canola oil and put a coat of Sweet Rub of Mine on it. I threw it on the Akorn using Royal Oak lump and some hunks of hickory and apple at 3am with a target temp of 225-240. To say I missed my mark would be an understatement. Temps started out at 230 but kept going up to about 265 about 2hrs in. They were holding steady so I took some cat naps. About 4 hrs in, temp climbed up to 295 before falling back to 265 at the 6 hr mark. Right at 6 hrs, internal temp hit 203 and I pulled it. I didn't grab any prep pics but threw one of the finished product on here.

I have yet to have a successful time keeping the Akorn steady below 250. Maybe I'm using too much lump? Maybe I'm not shutting it down early enough? Thankfully with shoulders you can cheat a bit but I would love to learn to dial this thing in at 225 for once.

Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Stlsportster]

Looks great to me! Pork butt is very forgiving. Not only will it handle temps up and down like you had...but you can cook it at 300 the whole time and it still turns out great!

I'm not an Akorn guy so I can't help with the temp variance, but my Pit Barrel does work on charcoal and chunks so I would assume the principle is the same. Control the air intake...the amount of lump you light can effect the temp throughout the cook. Also, not sure if you opened the lid during the cook, but in my Barrel, if I leave it open too long the temps can shoot up.

Lots of people here will tell you.....don't fight the cooker. Learn where it likes to run and don't fight it. As long as you are under 350 you're still making good BBQ.

 

[pjtexas1]

Butt looks good. :thumb: you can try starting with less lit lump and/or closing intakes sooner but I would just let it run at 275 or whatever it likes. You'll get done quicker and it'll be just as good.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[smoke ninja]

First. Save money in your offset by using wood splits instead of charcoal or lump.

Why 225? Is it for timing? Choking a cooker down is a recipe for dirty smoke.

With the akorn if you open the lid the temp can spike. It can also be tricky to dial in the intake, the smallest adjustment can swing things in opposite directions. A friend modded up a new intake that resolves this

 

[ronbrad62]

Nice butt (in a bbq kind of way). I agree with the consensus that it may be the air intake affecting your temp swings. I like the Akorn, mainly because it is lighter and more durable than a ceramic cooker (I have a tendency to drop things), so it would be my first choice for a kamado. When I was researching them, I learned that there are several mods to make to be sure that YOU control all of the air intake and the temps don't spike on you, so if you want total control, you may want to do those yourself and see if that helps you get those results.

 

[Cook]

Half of your cooking worries will go away once you figure out where your pit likes to run & then force yourself to let it go at that temp. If it settles in at 260, then let it. If it settles in at 295, then let it.

Don't try to move the temp if it doesn't want to budge. Just let it work...it will mean one less thing for you to worry about.

It's funny how we all strive for different ways to reach the same goal. I would absolutely die if I had to cook at 225 (on most occasions).

 

[CeramicChef]

Jasong - welcome aboard! That's a nice looking butt.

Some tips for you Akorn Kamado are in order. First, always fill your firebox full. You're never going to have too much lump as you put it. Lump is like gasoline in your car's tank. You don't go faster because you have a full tank. You and you alone control the speed. So too with the temp in your Akorn. It's the airflow through your Akorn that determines temp. Light only one small spot in your lump pile and control your temps with your vents. The bottom vent controls gross temp ranges, i.e. 200-300°F, 300-400°F, etc. you use your top bent to fine tune temp, i.e. 225°, 275°, or 350°.

Second, Akorns are notorious for poor manufacturing, especially with respect to their vents. They just don't seal very well and are known to leak quite a bit.m to see if your Akorn is cursed with leaks around the vent, light a fire and get it well established. Put a single piece of smoke wood in the. Middle of that fire. Make certain that smoke is rolling out of your top vent. Now close both the top and bottom vent. Examine all around your Akorn for leaks around the top vent, bottom vent, and where the lid meets the body. Mark those spots. Get a tube of high tep silicone sealant and after the Akorn is completely cool, seal up the troublesome spots.

Forget this nonsense of where your Akorn wants to run. That's nothing but bull butter. You control your Akorn, the airflow, the temps, etc. Your Akorn DOES NOT CONTROL YOU! If you want to cook at 225°, your Akorn once sealed will accommodate your quite well. This nonsense of where your Akorn is foisted upon you by guys who let their cookers control them. the whole idea behind a Kamado is to control air flow, reduce temperature swings, and thus produce better cooks.

Finally learn the vent setting on your Akorn that produce specific temps, i.e. 225°, 250°, 275°, etc. make Carmel note of those settings as for your Akorn, those setting won't change. Make certain that you know those specific setting because once you do, all you'll do is light the fire, set your vents, let the Akorn heat soak for about 30 minutes while you do final prep of your cook, and then put the cook on the grate. Yes, when you open the Akorn temps will dip. Don't give in and open your vents trying to get temps back up. That's called chasing temps and it never works. Temps will yoyo as you futilely try and zero in on a temp. Rather, because you know what vent settings yield which temp, you close the lid, latch things up, and in 20-30 minutes your Akorn stabilizes exactly where it was before you put the cook on the grate. Just trust your Akorn to behave itself and to do so at your command. You are in charge, not your Akorn.

That's a good looking butt and is just the first in a long line of cooks that will put great food on your table. Congrats and kudos to you. All you have to do is take control and there will be no more frustrations.

Enjoy!

 

[BillN]

Looks like some good eats coming your way.

 

[BRBBQ]

Looking good to me

 

[Cat797]

The butt looks good to me from here!:grin:

Solid advice from CeramicChef and SmokeNinja....Best of all you learned that it's hard to **** up a pork shoulder.

Kamado types are easy to overshoot temp so the only advice I offer is start a smaller fire from the beginning and shut it down sooner before you get to target temp to maintain. The guys I know trying to keep 225 or so have about a credit card's width opening in the intake. SmokeNinja's mod is a good one and gives you forgiveness. Above all, learn your cooker!