Akorn Kamando Kooker $175

[IllinoidRick]

Picked up an Akorn cooker close out display model today at Meijer for $175. Nothing missing. Some minor scratches on top but all parts are intact. Could not pass it up for the price. You cant have enough cookers!!!

Are there some threads to tell me how to cook on this new cooker? I did some searching and came up with nada. Just people on Youtube telling me to soak my chips and choke the fire for thick white smoke.

What should I cook first on an insulated cooker? I have several Weber's of different sizes, a PBC and a cheapo Gasser. I have no experience with a Komando style cooker.

Are there any Mods required to a new Akorn to make it cook good BBQ??

I see they offer a pizza stone. Is this a must have?

How do I start a fire in this type of cooker? Any helpfull hints or directions?

[jbounds286]

soaking chips for thick white smoke sounds great! :crazy:

[ebijack]

Some of the Acorns have a lot of air leaks an are very hard to control low n slow temps. There are quite a few mods that can be done if you'd like to improve it's usage. Quite a few folks are of the camp of just cook with it the way it is. I wasn't. But that's me. Here is a some of the mods I did to the one I used to have. If you decide you want a S.S. grate, let me know.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3134109&posted=1#post3134109

[ButtBurner]

Ebijack's mods are clever and add a lot of versatility to the Akorn. I am going to a few of them

[IllinoidRick]

Ebijack, Thanks for the link. I am used to temp control on Weber kettles of different sizes. I will do a few practice runs with a water pan to see how my new toy works. if its not steady, I will try the mods you posted.

Your bottom vent mod to seal around the vent control and to reduce the inlet size for better control is genius. Looks pretty simple to make.

Your link had lots of good info. That's why I love the Bretheren!

[Decoy205]

That's a great price!! Congrats on the score. I got my Akorn in the spring of this year and have been really enjoying it. So far the only thing missing from the food is a decent smoke ring but the flavor, tenderness and juiciness is great! Amazing for pork chicken pizza. I get a better bark for beef on my mini.

I haven't done the mods but I may. Mine likes to run around 275-300 with no mods. I'm sure with the mods temp control will be much smoother. If you didn't buy a diffuser I recommend grabbing a weber charcoal grate and a walmart pizza pan wrapped in foil.

To season it I sprayed it with Pam and cooked out the cast iron grate for a couple of hours at around 300. Then the next cook did a fatty and some chicken.

My tips are don't open up the cooker too long otherwise you spike up the temp and it's hard to get them back down and put the meat on cold so it takes on a good smoke flavor.

[ButtBurner]

you dont need a water pan with the Akorn. I have never used one and really never have heard of anyone else use one either

first mod I would do is a heat deflector

[Decoy205]

Also everyone seems to have an issue searching for threads. What I do is google the topic I want followed by bbq brethren and I get many links I can look through.

"Akorn BBQ brethren"

[J-Rod]

Great cooker and good score at that price. Plenty of info here about mods etc. While I don't use mine for a smoker I'll say it's an excellent grill/oven and pizza oven. In regards to the pizza stone I've never used the one they sell as I've always had bad luck with store bought stones cracking. For my stone I use a large natural sandstone stepping stone I bought from Home Depot. Works great and hasn't cracked after many uses. I had to trim a corner off to allow clearance for the kamado lid but not a big deal if you have an angle grinder handy.

[ebijack]

My tips are don't open up the cooker too long otherwise you spike up the temp and it's hard to get them back down and put the meat on cold so it takes on a good smoke flavor.

Closing the intake before you open the lid will stop the temp spikes. Problem with the original intake, is setting it back to where your not going to over shoot what temp you wanted. I put visual marker marks that helped a lot with that. Besides having a wider temp adjustment option.