Cooker quandary

[smokeasaurus]

I have cooked on the Akorn every night since we got it built. I am sold on Kamado cooking    I know the natural progression is to start with the Akorn and then go to a ceramic......but why??  The Akorn kills it.....cook steaks at 650 degrees or go lo and slo at 250 for hours. I had left over lump after yesterdays smoke to grill up some patties tonight for patty melts....just outrageous 

[RG]

I have cooked on the Akorn every night since we got it built. I am sold on Kamado cooking    I know the natural progression is to start with the Akorn and then go to a ceramic......but why??  The Akorn kills it.....cook steaks at 650 degrees or go lo and slo at 250 for hours. I had left over lump after yesterdays smoke to grill up some patties tonight for patty melts....just outrageous 

The only reason to go up from the Akorn is for a better built, more insulated or larger kamado. The Keg offers 2 of those features, the Primo the other. I say rock out that little Akorn for as long as you can, no need to change cookers IMHO, you'll be just as happy with that Akorn as you said! Welcome to the world of Kamados! They really are versatile cookers, we love ours.

[bamabob]

I have cooked on the Akorn every night since we got it built. I am sold on Kamado cooking    I know the natural progression is to start with the Akorn and then go to a ceramic......but why??  The Akorn kills it.....cook steaks at 650 degrees or go lo and slo at 250 for hours. I had left over lump after yesterdays smoke to grill up some patties tonight for patty melts....just outrageous 

Good point, Kamados are fuel misers, probably have the lowest fuel bill of any cooker.  I did chicken wings for a late lunch/early supper.  Shut it down around 3 and fired it back up around 7 for an all-nighter 10 pound pork but.  Added a little new lump to the leftover lump, lit it up and set for low & slow, I like using left over lump for low & slows.  Been holding steady at 232* for a couple of hours now as I've watched Alabama destroy Southern Cal.  Should finish up tomorrow morning, wrap & cambro for a couple of hours, pull & have a classic Sunday lunch.
For baking breads & casseroles or desserts, I clean and wipe everything out of the firebox, load with fresh lump, I use Royal Oak, light and let it settle in at 350-400 whatever the cook calls for.  Let it ride for awhile until it burns clean.  When I tell people I made bread, casserole or desserts on the keg they laugh and say they've never heard of a smoked bread or dessert.  Hard to explain how clean it burns the lump, no smoke flavor at all, just that wood fired flavor, which also keeps things moist.

[Hub]

I'm an unabashed pellet promoter and have been for a long time.  A good pellet cooker will induce lots and lots of smoke but you have to know how to use it.  Most dissatisfied pellet cooker owners never bother to make the transition to the fuel.  It is a process that requires some adaptation of recipes and approaches but then pays off in convenience and cooking temperature range availability.  Several really good and capable pellet machines fall into your budget range, but first you need to know how they work and how to use them:

http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=2641.0
http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=2647.0

Hub

[smokeasaurus]

I'm an unabashed pellet promoter and have been for a long time.  A good pellet cooker will induce lots and lots of smoke but you have to know how to use it.  Most dissatisfied pellet cooker owners never bother to make the transition to the fuel.  It is a process that requires some adaptation of recipes and approaches but then pays off in convenience and cooking temperature range availability.  Several really good and capable pellet machines fall into your budget range, but first you need to know how they work and how to use them:

http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=2641.0
http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=2647.0

Hub

I think a bunch of new pellet grill owners come from pits where they get a heavy smoke profile (sometimes probably oversmoked) and when they taste grub off a clean burning wood fire they are let down..........

[mikeharold]

Forgot to update this thread. Pulled the trigger on a MAK 1star! Should be here in a little over a week. Decided to go the pellet route and try that out, I like new adventures! It was a decision of ease of use, versatility, and capacity. Also decided that if I was going to do it that I wanted to buy the "best" cooker I could with the $ I had in an effort to get the best results and longevity from the machine. Tired of the disposable mentality that is so rampant these days.

I do want a camodo for sure, and an offset, and a...........I want them all! This will all come with time though. They all have a place and do something unique that the others can't do or don't do as well. I'm a building contractor and I have more than one saw. Why? Because one does something the other can't or doesn't do well and gives a better result. BBQ is the same way, many tools to do the job depending on what you're doing.

HUB, thanks for those links. I had read them before but just gave em another read through and feel they are a good guide and heads up going into pellets.

Now the hurry up and wait game!

[bamabob]

Congrats on your purchase Mike, looking forward to your feedback and seeing some cooks.
A pellet is still on my list, had been wanting the RecTec, after learning about the MAK grills on this forum........hmmmmm

[smokeasaurus]

Money wisely spent. I have never heard of anyone regretting getting a Mak.

[Pappymn]

Money wisely spent. I have never heard of anyone regretting getting a Mak.

X2

[RG]

My next go at a pellet grill (if the time ever comes for that) will be with a Memphis Elite Drop In. That's the thought as of now anyway! Mike, be sure to show off that purty Mak when it comes in Can't wait to see it! Congrats!!!