Kamado or pellet grill for Ribs this weekend??

[gifty74]

I have an Akorn kamado and had been getting some good results on ribs with plenty of smoke flavor. I got a pellet grill to handle some cooks in a simpler fashion, less fuss, and it has served very well for that purpose. I have not done ribs on it yet, but did do a pork butt a month or so ago and it just didn't seem to have the same smoke, even using a smoke tube and doing everything that I read to get a comparable smoke. I am doing ribs this weekend and you can't beat the set & forget nature of the pellet grill. My Akorn take quite a bit of fussing over a 5 hr rib cook, so not having to deal with that would be great. But...I want that good smoke flavor I got off the Akorn with some nice wood chunks burning in there over the lump charcoal. So should I attempt the ribs on the pellet grill with smoke tube? Can I be doing something different to ensure a good smoke on the pellet grill? One other difference on the butt I did on the pellet grill was the bark, not nearly as nice a bark as I got off the kamado. I know they are claimed to be similar, if set up correctly, it just seems the kamado is tough to beat at low & slow high smoke cooks.

 

[retfr8flyr]

What temp and what pellets are you using to cook with and what grill do you have? All of these factors will have a major effect on the amount of smoke flavor. I don't have a pellet grill yet, I plan on getting one this spring but I have been doing a lot of research on them. I do have an Akorn and mine is petty much set and forget, as far as temps go. I don't think you will ever get the smoke flavor on a pellet grill that you get from a Kamado grill with lump charcoal. A pellet grill just puts out a different type of flavor, some like and some don't. I'm sure some of the pellet grill owners will jump in and give you some good info.

 

[gifty74]

I have a Camp Chef smoke pro, and use the competition blend pellets from Pit Boss. Maybe I’m just not doing something right on the Akron as I usually end up chasing temps more than I’d like. If I could set and forget I’d be more apt to use it. What do u have your top and bottom set at to hold 230?

 

[retfr8flyr]

It's critical that you star a very small fire initially. I build my fire and only start a very small spot in the center of the pile, about 1/2 fire starter stick. Once the fire is going, I close the lid and set the vents wide open. I watch the temp and when it gets to around 170° I will shut the vents, for 230°, I have the bottom almost closed and the top vent only open about 1/8 inch. I let the grill stabilize for at least 1/2 hour before I make any vent changes but usually these setting work well on my grill. After the 30 minutes the grill is ready and I put whatever I am going to cook on the grill. Don't make any vent changes, after you have put your meat on. Wait at least 30-45 minutes before you make any adjustments. If you have a lot of trouble with temps have you looked into getting a Tip Top Temp Controller https://tiptoptemp.com/products/tip-top-temp They are inexpensive and really do a good job controlling temps on an Akorn. Jest get the little springs accessory and it goes right on top.

 

[gifty74]

Ok. Well, my pellet grill touting buddy convinced me to just go pellet this weekend due to the 'set and forget' benefit, and the target audience not being able to fully appreciate a kamado smoked rack of ribs. Neighborhood party, and most are not as concerned about the amount of smoke as I am. Plus the weather is calling for 'blustery', which will probably require more messing with vents on the kamado than normal. Another benefit is I can smoke on the pellet without needing a rib rack. I have an upper and lower rack in my Camp Chef so I won't have to wrap and/or cut any of them up to fit onto the much smaller Akorn cook surface.

 

[gifty74]

Well, used the pellet grill and ribs came out great! Perceptibly the same as on the kamado. Neighbors loved them. Although, learned something, that you can't rely on the meat pulling back from the ends to signal that they're done. The meat pulled back on the one rack with less total meat, but was overdone at that point. I should've done some bending and prodding, but learned a lesson. Can't wait to try them again and get them even better!