Char-Griller Akorn jr. - Temperature Control Vent Settings

[@amateurarcheology]

I can’t tell you helpful this video has been! I’ve been struggling with maintaining heat on the Akorn. Thank you!

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

I think the heat deflector really helps maintain temperatures. I use an 11 inch grill and a 9 inch pizza stone. Glad this helped!

[@TheMrbeasely]

Just follow the directions that came with the grill. The directions tell you exactly how to control the temperature.

[@DaleLadDaz]

I am a complete newb to bbq, got one of these akorn jr's in the uk about 3 years ago, used it about 3 times...no prior experience of bbq and tbh I am not really into being an amazing bbq cook either, just want to throw some meat on it on a sunny day and enjoy some food. I really want to say though, I am over the moon with this kamado, you can get this to sit at 100c all day long. Lie i say, I have no clue generally and certainly not with any comparison to other grills but other than size, there is nothing that would make me want to buy another kamado. Temp control has been a revelation to me...just open the bottom temp about 0.5 and same again with top and it will hold a really low temp for as long as there is fuel to burn...really impressed with mine...

[@ramfanweber632]

Thanks for the video, tried last night perfect!

[@thedogefather]

do you double check yours with a digital thermometer? The thermometers that come with these are off by as much as 75degrees in my experience so far. If mine is reading 250 it means i am at any temperature between 295 and 350 degrees. I always use digital probe now.

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Yes, others have mentioned the same issues with the built-in thermometer. Mine seems pretty accurate for now. I have used my digital temp probe a couple of times to verify.

[@DaleLadDaz]

the supplied temp gauge measures at the top of the dome...a probe inside the meat is what is needed

[@swatz22]

I have multiple probes set up. I'll have 1 at grate level measuring temps same level as the food and another 1 measuring internal temps of the food

[@seasonings2taste115]

Amazon has a heat deflector. It’s metal and sits deep in the firebox, far from the grate. I light mine w/ a jj george torch, kind of in the middle. About 15 seconds or so for low n slow. Hot n fast I light more places. Add my deflector, grate, thermpro (I have the exact same one!) and vents 100 open. At 150 I close the bottom vent to 1/4 inch open and the top to 1/5 open. At 200 close the bottom vent and barely tap it. I close the top vent and open it for just a sliver. Then I set my range for 200-225 and set a timer to see how long it takes to get to temp. If it takes 5-10 minutes, awesome. I have it dialed in and may even need to open the vents a bit. If it takes a few seconds I have a 🔥. These things are leaky AF but with a probe thermometer you can adjust for that and produce food as good as a BGE for a fraction of the price

[@dr.ayannabryanphd9839]

This video is super helpful! Thank you!

[@leviclarke1091]

AWESOME!! Super helpful. I might try this exact procedure right now.

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Glad to hear, hope you have great success!

[@jenniferwalsh4725]

How'd it go?

[@leviclarke1091]

@@jenniferwalsh4725 I got it dialed in eventually and then I bought a flame boss :)

[@buckman82]

Thanks!! This was great I was struggling with this one lol attempting first brisket tomorrow!!

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Thanks for the comment! Hope it turns out great!

[@frygottobe652]

How’d it turn out lol 3 years later technology has us asking about a brisket you cooked back in Covid times. Crazy times we live in… but yeah how that go😂

[@buckman82]

@@frygottobe652 lol all Good appreciate you asking! The first one I burnt to a hockey puck size 😂 set it and forget it was a bad idea. I have played with it a bit but am still not at good on this one as I am the homemade one in a 55 gallon drum 🤦‍♂️.

[@PoorGuyOutdoor]

Hey! Just ordered one from Amazon. I’m wondering why lump charcoal only? TnNk you!

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Some might argue on this one.....but lump is all natural, produces more smoke flavor, and produces less ash which leads to air flow problems while cooking, as opposed to briquettes which are usually made from compressed sawdust.

[@PoorGuyOutdoor]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 ok cool! Appreciate you!

[@tranfam6149]

Thanks mate. Just wonder why my Akorn jr temp keeps reducing after adjusting 2 valves at the positions suggested.

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Not sure...are you using lump charcoal? (a.k.a. hardwood charcoal as opposed to briquettes?) Briquettes tend to burn hotter but require more air flow to generate the heat. Lump is best for low and slow.

[@tranfam6149]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 yes hardwood lump charcoal. Should i open above or below for more air?

[@greatdividehunting7887]

Thanks a million for sharing this .. I'm struggling to get mine below 150c .. will try this method 👌

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Do you have a heat deflector below the grill? You will need one.

[@greatdividehunting7887]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 yes have a stone .. issue I've realised is I've been getting the fire/coals too established and thus too much heat and unable to obviously lower the heat from there .. starting off slower and in a more controlled manner is helping but still earlier days .. appreciate your reply

[@jenniferwalsh4725]

Bought one of these tiny acorns in the autumn of 2019 and then the 'pandemic' happened. Hoping to get it going soon.❤

[@mdedina]

You said the temperature gauge is C but are you sure it’s not F?

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Yes, my mistake. It's F.

[@leviclarke1091]

Used this method to do a Pork Butt over the weekend and it worked great. Thanks again for making this video.

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Awesome to hear, Levi! Anytime. Looking into make a pizza on it soon! - Jay

[@viniciusramos9316]

Need more people so spread this video more

[@rbslammed6163]

Notice your clip at the bottom is not closed

[@granalol]

do you find the paper affects the taste of the meat?

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

No, 'cause I usually let the coals get so hot it eliminates any paper left behind. The paper is only to get the coals going.

[@MuscleAKAOzzy]

I just picked this Akon jr last night 😍 I would love some help on how to roast a full chicken on charcoal to get acquainted with this griller l don't really want to smoke more charcoal grill it a y help would be appreciated ✌

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

For any slow cook, such as a whole chicken, the best thing to do is get a heat deflector and a digital temperature gauge. I have other videos which might help. Check for my beer can chicken video, it should be helpful. Also, I made a video on how to control temperature with the vents. A heat deflector is required, IMHO, to be able to cook properly on this little BBQ.

[@denmarksoul1184]

Can I use Wood instead of charcoal?

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

I use nothing but lump hardwood charcoal in it when grilling, which is basically charred wood, so I don't see why not. I've put wood in it to use as an outdoor fireplace, I guess you could let the wood burn down into coals and use it for cooking.

[@denmarksoul1184]

@The Canadian Grill thank you very much for answering! I'm new to all of this. Lump charcoal is wood based?

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

@@denmarksoul1184 Yes, lump is all natural wood, where as briquettes are usually made of sawdust and some sort of binder (like glue or something)....lol.

[@MarkimVieira1201]

You said lump charcoal only because you were using lump charcoal or because you should only use lump charcoal on the Akron? I recently bought one and I been using briquettes

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

I believe it's recommended that natural lump charcoal be used in Kamado style grills due to it's tight sealing capabilities. I've read that briquettes will cause more ash and extinguish the fire when cooking on lower temps. Also, I prefer lump over briquettes due to chemicals in briquettes.

[@jimilove7773]

Thanks! Great channel!

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Thank you!!

[@juliankirby9880]

Could you do a review/opinion video if this grill? I didn’t see one in your uploaded videos.

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Hey Julian! For sure, the next video will be a review of the grill and my opinions!

[@juliankirby9880]

The Canadian Grill thank you very much!

[@foxhound5702]

I'm currently using briquettes but everyones saying lump charcoal is much better to use. what do you guys recommend? does lump burn alot longer and efficiently? sorry for the noob questions im new to smoking. got my akorn jr only a few days ago

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Lump is all natural with no chemicals and burns a lot cleaner than briquettes, meaning very little ash left over. Briquettes may burn longer, but lump burns hotter which means grilling will be easier. I've only used lump for both grilling and smoking with my akorn jr. and have had pretty good results every time.

[@foxhound5702]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 Thanks for the reply. and yes i have read that some of these briquettes can be a bit toxic and it can affect the taste of the food. I haven't noticed it in the couple of things i've smoked so far so maybe i've got a good brand of briquettes but literally EVERYONE online seems to be saying lump is far better in general due to its ridiculously long burning time and the fact that its chemical free. another question? does lump literally burn all day if you let it or does it only last a couple hours?

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

@@foxhound5702 I've been able to keep a steady 250 deg. F for over six hours with lump charcoal in my akorn jr. without having to add more. In a Kamado style grill, being so efficient, it will burn all day as long as you can dial it in with the venting.

[@foxhound5702]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 Yeah that's the trick. maintaining the temp is the trickiest part of smoking. I'm getting better at it though, i think ill go ahead and make the switch to lump =P

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

@@foxhound5702 Good stuff! Once you get the hang of it, I'll bet you'll be looking for new things to smoke everyday like m e! :)

[@thenerd9884]

250 Celsius isn't low and slow. It is Fahrenheit

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Lol...my mistake, I'm Canadian so we use Celsius often here. You're right though, the gauge is in Fahrenheit. I put a correction in the description.

[@hauoliakua]

Thanks for this. I've been struggling with my temp control. But I want pork. So I'm trying again!

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

For low temperatures, you must have a heat deflector. I use an 11 inch grate with a 9 inch pizza stone.

[@hauoliakua]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 Affirmative. I picked up the smoking stone. I've just been too twitchy on the dampers. This weekend, I'll have pork! Worst case...I'll just have a 12 pack.

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

@@hauoliakua I just barely crack them open, but I think another thing that helps is good quality lump wood charcoal, not briquettes. Hope your cook goes well this time! :)

[@jenniferwalsh4725]

@@thecanadiangrill1715 how'd you figure that out, trial and error? I don't know yet, we haven't even opened it 2022.😥

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

@@jenniferwalsh4725 Yes it was trial and error, but what I think really helps with maintaining consistent low temps is having the pizza stone in there.

[@leviclarke1091]

Hey man just curious you ran out of battery but how long did it hold temp for with that load of coal?

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

Hi! So, in that video it held 230-250 for 2 hours and I closed off the vents to shut it down, but the bowl is still half full. That load was left over from my last cook, where I had smoked a pork loin for 2 hours (Canadian Bacon Video). In one of my other videos, I smoked two full racks of back ribs and was able to maintain 250 for around 5 hours without adding coal and still had lots left over. I'm thinking you should get at least 8 hours out of a small load of lump charcoal.

[@olivercolman3276]

Cheers bud this helped

[@sproket168]

Can you smoke in these little ones

[@nsuinteger-au]

yes

[@Zacq768]

whoa, 250c for low and slow? oh, saw the edit

[@Shroomania]

that heat deflector is carcinogenic mate... clean the bloody drible too

[@thecanadiangrill1715]

You're right....I should really give this thing a once over! Thanks mate! Will do!

[@FrenchieFrench1555]

Compared with me digital one, my Akron thermometer is over 100F off ( lower) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@arnoldcollingham3802]

So is mine, but I have been doing this for very long time and never, never trust the supplied gauge. If you want to turn out the best products at the right temperature use a digital at grate.