The Smoke Ninja Challenge

[smoke ninja]

Well they're done.



the verdict: it did well, I'll see later how much fuel I used. As for smoke flavor I had more than enough for me, although I used alot of wood. The ribs were moist, I've heard that as a claim for kamodo style cookers. I'll give it some more use but so far so good

 

[AClarke44]

Did you fight with the temperature all day or did it pretty well stay put?

Ribs look great! :eusa_clap

 

[ebijack]

Looks like you nailed it! Hope it was an easy cook for you without much tending at all. I await your review of your first smoke on the Acorn. :twitch:

 

[Wickedcajun]

This thread was much better to watch then Titanic.... you must be a Master Smoke Ninja!:biggrin1:

 

[Blythewood BBQ'er]

Looks great ninja!

 

[Smoke Dawg]

Something is wrong with that Acorn - it makes your pictures very wide!


Looks like it worked well for you. I'd eat those ribs right now!

 

[smoke ninja]

I went and checked the charcoal basket this morning. It didn't even use a quarter of the load.



Overall I'm impressed. This was the first time I've used a cooker like this. It held temps steady and that's with me opening the lid almost every hour (iI got a tip to close the intake before hand. It needed minor adjustments due to the opening but if I got it settled in I envision this thing running for hours at a consistent temp. I still have to put it through its paces grilling and on a with a longer smoke but so far I like it. It helps that ebijack has done the mods and tweaks. The fire basket, sealing up, and most definitely the modded intake are all additions that improved the performance. As for the smoke flavor it was fine for me. the elusive kamodo smoke ring was there on the fatty and ribs.

I am concerned that it won't preform as well as the weber when cooking multiple things and stuff like reverse sear. On the weber with coals to the side I have multiple heat zones and can jockey food around as needed for searing, indirect, holding, ect, really easily.

 

[AClarke44]

Nice review and overall cook, Ninja. I think the mods did help but you also pointed out some things that I found with mine as well when comparing it to the weber. I think the akorn is a good cooker especially if you want to modify it somewhat. I think my problem is I learned on my weber and I'm partial to it and prejudice to other grills. Having said that I'm still not sure I will keep my akorn or not. It still does a great job searing and, like I mentioned and you noticed also, it sips fuel. I've used it a few times in conjunction with my weber where I reverse sear a tri-tip. I do the low temp cook (250-275) on the weber and when the tip is ready for the sear I toss it on the 500 degree akorn. I've also noticed that when it's cold outside it'll still get up to temp just about as fast as a gasser. All that said though, I could sell it and buy stuff for my weber........like maybe a kettle pizza or a Cajun bandit!

Thanks again for the review! :clap:

 

[toddrhodes]

Looks great ninja!

Agreed, nicely done!

 

[ebijack]

Glad it worked for you! And being your very first smoke on an Acorn! Do you think your Weber could have performed like that in those temps? Once you have more time to use it, you will find you DO have different temps zones. The swing grate runs hotter than the main grate by a few degrees. Also simply lifting out my SS grate and removing the deflector you will have more than enough heat to sear anything you want. Remove/open the slider and you can be grilling at 700+ degrees in just minutes ( Weber can't do those temps). Way faster than most grills. From the photos, it doesn't look like you used much coal at all for the amount of hours you smoked. A few more weeks and you will have mastered the Acorn :biggrin1:

 

[smoke ninja]

^^^ the weber would have used more fuel, it wasnt as windy as advertised and thats what makes it less stable but i see the akorn being more stable overall. I know i can get different heat zones and more or less direct fire with adjustments but with the weber they are basically available at the same time with no adjustments. It will just be a matter of learning the tool. Ive been cooking on webers since i was a teenager, long before i did any BBQing, so im probably a little set in my ways. Ya know when your holding a hammer all you see is nails. Ill continue putting it through its paces, learning how it operates and reporting back on my progress.

 

[Mike Twangzer]

Yes, very nicely done. the challenge is complete and you have gone from Grasshoppa to Master Smoke Ninja !!!

 

[ebijack]

So the challenge was met, beat, slammed and put to bed, and you ended a Winner! :laugh:
Congrats!! :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:

 

[Ron_L]

I am concerned that it won't preform as well as the weber when cooking multiple things and stuff like reverse sear. On the weber with coals to the side I have multiple heat zones and can jockey food around as needed for searing, indirect, holding, ect, really easily.

You can create indirect and direct zones by using a partial heat shield. I use a half-circle pan and a raised grate in my BGE. Or, you can set it up indirect for the first part of the reverse sear cook, take the steak (or whatever) out, remove the heat shield and open the vents to get to searing temp and then do the sear. It works well, but not as convenient as a kettle.

 

[Wolverine]

Great learning thread. Nice job ninja you gave me lots to think about.

 

[smoke ninja]

Steak and potatoes on the akorn.



It came out well (I mean it was a good steak, I cooked it to med rare). The deep charcoal basket heated up hot fast. It put a crust on the steak in no time. I pulled the diffuser for the sear. still will take some getting used to. I may try Rons ideal of a half diffuser to give me more heat zones and access to direct fire and indirect at once. still I am impressed overall.

 

[ebijack]

You might want to try using a piece of expanded metal bent with about a 3 inch side that will fit 1/2 the 17 inch diffuser grate. That allows you to put coals only on 1/2 the grate and will still lower temp cook on the other side if you don't use bricks. I had one somewhere for that Acorn. Might be gone. How hot did you get the Acorn? I hope you able to get the swing grate to swing and remove easily, if not let me know and I'll get it back to working right.

 

[smoke ninja]

Thanks ebi. I plan on a coals divided cook soon, that is a method im most familiar with. Glad to report the swing grate is fully functional and removes just fine. I didnt check the temp for the sear but it was plenty hot, only took about 4 minutes to sear off the steak.