Pellet Grills and Smokers

[Hpara759 1778]

I smoke every cut of meat I do at 225 

[Hpara759 1778]

1 hour ago, TPCJ007 said:

 From what I've read you get less smoke with a higher cooking temp. If you are cooking beef ribs at 300 you wouldn't get as much smoke as if you cooked them at 225. 

you want more smoke? get one of these and throw in there with your ribs

 

[Al_4_ISU 12447]

What temps do y'all smoke at with a pellet? From what I've read you get less smoke with a higher cooking temp. If you are cooking beef ribs at 300 you wouldn't get as much smoke as if you cooked them at 225. Also, the Pit Boss has a setting for "smoke" but it's only 180, that might be good for an hour or so but at some point you've got to crank it up to 225 or 250.

I’m doing that butt at 250.

[Murfdogg21 4412]

I do brisket, beef ribs, and pork ribs at 225 for the whole smoke; crutch it with foil if the smoke is going to be really long. I’ve found that I smoke pork ribs longer on the pellet smoker than I did on my old smoker to get similar (or maybe better) results. I’m doing my first pork butt tomorrow and will probably run at 250. I’ll try a prime rib roast the next time HEB has one and is open. 

[TPCJ007 48]

I picked up the Pit Boss Classic 700 this afternoon. I feel a little ashamed because I've been rolling with a offset stick burner for over 20 years, but I guess I've gotten a little lazy and also willing to see what this new technology can do. I did the first burn in tonight and will do some pig ribs tomorrow. Got post oak pellets and plan to run at 225 or 250.

[AustinMT 952]

1 hour ago, TPCJ007 said:

I picked up the Pit Boss Classic 700 this afternoon. I feel a little ashamed because I've been rolling with a offset stick burner for over 20 years, but I guess I've gotten a little lazy and also willing to see what this new technology can do. I did the first burn in tonight and will do some pig ribs tomorrow. Got post oak pellets and plan to run at 225 or 250.

Been using a Traeger for years.  I like a mix of 50/50 oak and mesquite.  Mesquite adds the smoke you will want

[BearSchlong 8083]

Been using a Traeger for years.  I like a mix of 50/50 oak and mesquite.  Mesquite adds the smoke you will want

You buy that as a premixed or do you do it yourself?

[AustinMT 952]

8 hours ago, BearSchlong said:

18 hours ago, AustinMT said:

Been using a Traeger for years.  I like a mix of 50/50 oak and mesquite.  Mesquite adds the smoke you will want

You buy that as a premixed or do you do it yourself?

Bag of oak, bag of mesquite.  

[Shaddie 1651]

Anybody running the Pit boss vertical pellet smoker? I think I have convinced myself to get one. Seems some people think they have a little more smoke flavor than the grills. Not sure if true or not. 

[TPCJ007 48]

I bought a Pit Boss 700 grill last weekend, did some pig ribs and was very pleased with the amount of smoke. They say these things get more smoke with lower temperatures so I cooked at 225F.

[Mack Tripper 696]

I may throw down $229 on this portable pellet grill/smoker

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/asmoke-portable-applewood-pellet-grill/x/23236168#/

[AustinMT 952]

58 minutes ago, TPCJ007 said:

I bought a Pit Boss 700 grill last weekend, did some pig ribs and was very pleased with the amount of smoke. They say these things get more smoke with lower temperatures so I cooked at 225F.

You do get more smoke on a pellet grill at lower temps.  You’ll see that some of the recipes call for running it on the “Smoke” setting for a certain period of time before cranking it up.  I will typically run a brisket or pork butt on smoke for an hour-ish, turn to 225 then wrap at 165 and turn up the heat to 250 and finish it (occasionally bump to 275 if it stalls too long).

[Gil Bang 25907]

couldn't you accomplish all of this with some liquid smoke and an easy bake oven?

[AustinMT 952]

16 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

couldn't you accomplish all of this with some liquid smoke and an easy bake oven?

No, but go ahead and try.  See if you get these results:

Edited July 24, 2020 by AustinMT

[Mack Tripper 696]

couldn't you accomplish all of this with some liquid smoke and an easy bake oven?

I was planning on smoking a 12 pound brisket on Saturday but I had a last minute recording session and had to leave town, my wife messed up the recipe but it turned out great, here is what happened:

I brined the 12 pound brisket starting Friday night then left town.
My wife on Saturday night forgot what I told her and took the brisket out of the brine and rinsed it, she then rubbed it with a mixture of ground chipotle pepper, black pepper, chili powder, sugar, $#@!in and cilantro, she then cut it in two (donâ€t ask why) and put each piece in a large freezer bag, put half a bottle of liquid smoke in each bag and put them back in the fridge, on Sunday night she put both pieces into a large metal turkey roasting pan then covered them with a mixture of Stubbs and cattlemanâ€s BBQ sauce, she cooked it at 225 for 5 hours. I was pissed with I got home and while I was yelling about her screwing up my brisket she shoves a piece of the brisket in my mouth, I almost popped a boner, it was the best $#@!ing brisket I have ever tasted outside of a restaurant. My wife is giving me the biggest $#@! eating grin along with a told you so look.

[NateHitch 1282]

No, but go ahead and try.  See if you get these results:

My wife's car can drive and park itself, doesn't make her a good driver

[BearSchlong 8083]

I was planning on smoking a 12 pound brisket on Saturday but I had a last minute recording session and had to leave town, my wife messed up the recipe but it turned out great, here is what happened:

I brined the 12 pound brisket starting Friday night then left town.
My wife on Saturday night forgot what I told her and took the brisket out of the brine and rinsed it, she then rubbed it with a mixture of ground chipotle pepper, black pepper, chili powder, sugar, $#@!in and cilantro, she then cut it in two (donâ€t ask why) and put each piece in a large freezer bag, put half a bottle of liquid smoke in each bag and put them back in the fridge, on Sunday night she put both pieces into a large metal turkey roasting pan then covered them with a mixture of Stubbs and cattlemanâ€s BBQ sauce, she cooked it at 225 for 5 hours. I was pissed with I got home and while I was yelling about her screwing up my brisket she shoves a piece of the brisket in my mouth, I almost popped a boner, it was the best $#@!ing brisket I have ever tasted outside of a restaurant. My wife is giving me the biggest $#@! eating grin along with a told you so look.

Is that story from the old site?

[TPCJ007 48]

So what type of pellets are y'all using? I grabbed a bag of B&B post oak from academy and my ribs turned out pretty good. Anyone tried the competition blend?

[AustinMT 952]

14 hours ago, NateHitch said:

16 hours ago, AustinMT said:

No, but go ahead and try.  See if you get these results:

My wife's car can drive and park itself, doesn't make her a good driver

But I can sleep while it cooks.

[Shaddie 1651]

So just purchased a Pit Boss 5 vertical. 
 

Does anybody empty the pellets after cooks in fear of humidity swelling pellets in auger? I’m in N Texas so does get humid. 

[AustinMT 952]

22 minutes ago, Shaddie said:

So just purchased a Pit Boss 5 vertical. 
 

Does anybody empty the pellets after cooks in fear of humidity swelling pellets in auger? I’m in N Texas so does get humid. 

Live in Austin. Had a Traeger for years and have never had to empty the hopper

[BearSchlong 8083]

Nope, and I'm in Beaumont where we actually have real permanent humidity. I do keep it under a porch roof so it never gets rained on.

[Guadaloopy 10958]

I’ve been holding off until I found something I really liked.  This thing has gravity feed charcoal/wood chunk hopper with temp control by fan.  Bluetooth/WiFi controllable from smartphone.  Lazy man’s smoker with charcoal/wood smoke flavor.  Still doing the initial burn off and seasoning.   Ready to go for the weekend.  

[Rholl 217]

my pellet grill

[luke duke 6412]

my pellet grill

That’s the best pellet grill that I’ve ever seen.

[luke duke 6412]

my pellet grill

That’s the best pellet grill that I’ve ever seen.

[TPCJ007 48]

How long can your pellet smoker run before the ash builds up in the burn pot and has a "burn out"? I'm using B&B post oak pellets and did a brisket last night at 225 and a little after 12 hours I lost heat and the post mortem inspection reviled the burn pot was overflowing with pellets. Guess the pot couldn't take all of the ash. Good news is the brisket was right at 202 and came out great.

[BearSchlong 8083]

I usually run about 40 lbs of pellets through and then take it all apart and shop vac the unit and fire pit. About once a month during usual use.

I'm amazed at the lack of ash, its amazing how a few bags of pellets ends up with a few cups of ash.

[Paco 1934]

Well yeah, wax and glue doesn't leave much ash.

[AustinMT 952]

21 minutes ago, Paco said:

Well yeah, wax and glue doesn't leave much ash.

Well, except the pellets are made with (1) wood, and (2) very small amounts of soybean oil.  But feel free to muse on things you don’t know anything about.

[Hpara759 1778]

23 hours ago, TPCJ007 said:

How long can your pellet smoker run before the ash builds up in the burn pot and has a "burn out"? I'm using B&B post oak pellets and did a brisket last night at 225 and a little after 12 hours I lost heat and the post mortem inspection reviled the burn pot was overflowing with pellets. Guess the pot couldn't take all of the ash. Good news is the brisket was right at 202 and came out great.

grill brand?

[TPCJ007 48]

Using a Pit Boss 700.

[Gene Parmesan 4002]

On 8/10/2020 at 10:39 PM, Guadaloopy said:

I’ve been holding off until I found something I really liked.  This thing has gravity feed charcoal/wood chunk hopper with temp control by fan.  Bluetooth/WiFi controllable from smartphone.  Lazy man’s smoker with charcoal/wood smoke flavor.  Still doing the initial burn off and seasoning.   Ready to go for the weekend.  

I'm interested in this.  Any cooks yet? 

[Hpara759 1778]

HEB had "dino" ribs packaged a pair...3hrs at 225 then wrapped in foil for 2 more, put some butter in with them when I wrapped. Pretty much just fell off the bone.

[Guadaloopy 10958]

2 hours ago, Gene Parmesan said:

I'm interested in this.  Any cooks yet? 

I did two racks of St Louis ribs and two 4 lb whole chickens two Saturdays ago.  Started the fire at 11:50am and it was up to temp at noon.  Stayed between 225-229 for five hours straight without me touching it.  Chickens only took about three hours.  Bumped it up to 350 (from my sofa using the app on my phone) for the last hour of cook on the ribs.  Rave reviews from the wife and friends.  I was happy because it was the most effortless cook I’ve ever done and the chickens were some of the best I’ve done.  
 

Did a weeknight grill of chicken breasts and in the space of 30 minutes from first match, I had juicy chicken breasts with a little smoke flavor.  Didn’t have to tend at all to avoid charring since it’s indirect heat from the manifold.  
 

I’m very happy with the purchase.  

[Moby Ric 2058]

On 8/10/2020 at 10:39 PM, Guadaloopy said:

I’ve been holding off until I found something I really liked.  This thing has gravity feed charcoal/wood chunk hopper with temp control by fan.  Bluetooth/WiFi controllable from smartphone.  Lazy man’s smoker with charcoal/wood smoke flavor.  Still doing the initial burn off and seasoning.   Ready to go for the weekend.  

You got a model number for that so I can look into this.  This is exactly what I am looking for.

[Guadaloopy 10958]

2 hours ago, Moby Ric said:

You got a model number for that so I can look into this.  This is exactly what I am looking for.

Masterbuilt 1050.  They have a smaller version, the 560.  

[Macanudo 12975]

Has anyone done a turkey (whole thing, not just a breast) on a pellet grill?   I've done our T-Day one for several years on my BGE knockoff and it's been the best turkey I've ever had.   

 

 

 

[Teamdirtyleg 1060]

1 hour ago, Macanudo said:

Has anyone done a turkey (whole thing, not just a breast) on a pellet grill?   I've done our T-Day one for several years on my BGE knockoff and it's been the best turkey I've ever had.   

 

 

 

I have.  Turns out good.  I used to smoke them in the little electric bullet smokers that look like R2D2.  They have water pan in them.  Those always turned out great.  Really moist meat.  However, the skin was rubbery.  

[luke duke 6412]

Poultry skin does not like low temps.

[Al_4_ISU 12447]

Poultry skin does not like low temps.

This is my experience as well

[AustinMT 952]

6 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

This is my experience as well

Done several turkeys on my Traeger.  I set it on smoke setting for a bit, then crank it to 350.  Turns out great.

[Al_4_ISU 12447]

Done several turkeys on my Traeger.  I set it on smoke setting for a bit, then crank it to 350.  Turns out great.

I’ve only done chicken hindquarters before, but I’ll definitely try this out

[AustinMT 952]

53 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

I’ve only done chicken hindquarters before, but I’ll definitely try this out

I brine it overnight, and then place it on a wire rack in a cheap aluminum roasting pan, with chicken stock and aromatics in the bottom.  Tent it with foil if it it starts looking crispy.

[Macanudo 12975]

I finally started researching pellet grills and boy is there a rabbit hole to go down.   I am mostly a weekend warrior cooker but do throw burgers and chicken on during the week days, especially right now that I am home every day.   When I do cook all day(ish), I usually do ribs (and like to do 2-3 slabs minimum), pork butt (usually in the 12-14 lb range, and an occasional brisket.   Also like to put planked salmon on the grill.   Brisket is my weak spot because adding charcoal to an Egg during long cooks was a pain in the ass.  

I kind of zeroed in on Camp Chef, Pit Boss, Green Mountain and Traeger.   Z Grills look promising but they still look too "upstart" even though they made grills for other people before launching their own line a few years back.  I am replacing something with 314 sq inches of cooking surface (618 if I double racked but rarely did.)  I want to go bigger mainly because when I did ribs or something like a turkey it was a really tight squeeze.

Everything I'm looking at is in the 450-575 sq inch (Green Mountain Daniel Boone and Traeger Pro 575) up to 800 sq inch range (Camp Chef Woodwind, Traeger Pro 34, Pit Boss 820.)  I also really like the Green Mountain Jim Bowie (658 sq inch)   Everything has it's lovers and haters.   Most of the issues seem to be either items that were delivered as damaged or it broke within the first few days/weeks.   While I am looking for bang for the buck, overall quality is important.   Trying to keep the overall price under or near $750 but for quality, I would go higher if it was right.   

Is WiFi enabled really worth it?   I can see it being one of those things that I'd love if I had it but I've been cooking for 30 years without it so....   

A place here in Houston has both the GM Daniel Boone (458 sq inch) and Jim Bowie (658 sq inch) with and without WiFi.   The ones sans WiFi are $499 and $599 but with WiFi it goes up to $699 and $899.  The Camp Chef Woodwind 24 with WiFi is bigger (797 sq inch) and cheaper ($799).   The Traeger 575 slides in at the price too but is smaller than the JB and the Woodwind.   Unless I missed something Pitt Boss and Z Grills do not seem to have any WiFi enabled cookers.   So back to that WiFi question....  Worth it?

Anyone have a model (or something similar) that I have mentioned here?

 

[AustinMT 952]

3 hours ago, Macanudo said:

I finally started researching pellet grills and boy is there a rabbit hole to go down.   I am mostly a weekend warrior cooker but do throw burgers and chicken on during the week days, especially right now that I am home every day.   When I do cook all day(ish), I usually do ribs (and like to do 2-3 slabs minimum), pork butt (usually in the 12-14 lb range, and an occasional brisket.   Also like to put planked salmon on the grill.   Brisket is my weak spot because adding charcoal to an Egg during long cooks was a pain in the ass.  

I kind of zeroed in on Camp Chef, Pit Boss, Green Mountain and Traeger.   Z Grills look promising but they still look too "upstart" even though they made grills for other people before launching their own line a few years back.  I am replacing something with 314 sq inches of cooking surface (618 if I double racked but rarely did.)  I want to go bigger mainly because when I did ribs or something like a turkey it was a really tight squeeze.

Everything I'm looking at is in the 450-575 sq inch (Green Mountain Daniel Boone and Traeger Pro 575) up to 800 sq inch range (Camp Chef Woodwind, Traeger Pro 34, Pit Boss 820.)  I also really like the Green Mountain Jim Bowie (658 sq inch)   Everything has it's lovers and haters.   Most of the issues seem to be either items that were delivered as damaged or it broke within the first few days/weeks.   While I am looking for bang for the buck, overall quality is important.   Trying to keep the overall price under or near $750 but for quality, I would go higher if it was right.   

Is WiFi enabled really worth it?   I can see it being one of those things that I'd love if I had it but I've been cooking for 30 years without it so....   

A place here in Houston has both the GM Daniel Boone (458 sq inch) and Jim Bowie (658 sq inch) with and without WiFi.   The ones sans WiFi are $499 and $599 but with WiFi it goes up to $699 and $899.  The Camp Chef Woodwind 24 with WiFi is bigger (797 sq inch) and cheaper ($799).   The Traeger 575 slides in at the price too but is smaller than the JB and the Woodwind.   Unless I missed something Pitt Boss and Z Grills do not seem to have any WiFi enabled cookers.   So back to that WiFi question....  Worth it?

Anyone have a model (or something similar) that I have mentioned here?

 

I’ve had my Traeger also the 8 years.  It gets a lot of use.  In that time:

   1.   The electric controller failed within the first 2 months.  They sent a new one immediately, and it worked fine.  I replaced it by my own choice with a newer/upgraded model a few years ago, but it was working fine.  Newer model just had been temperature control.

    2.  I replaced the fan once.

    3.  I replaced the hotpot earlier this year.  The old one had finally burned through in spots.  I did discover that the ones they make for Traeger on the  secondary market have thicker steel.   A cheap upgrade.

Apart from this, no issues.  Looking at a newer model just for more features. 

[burns_312 353]

Team Traeger here. Been using one over 15 years. Ironwood 885 currently. I’ve been very happy with it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NoName 16350]

14 hours ago, Macanudo said:

I finally started researching pellet grills and boy is there a rabbit hole to go down.   I am mostly a weekend warrior cooker but do throw burgers and chicken on during the week days, especially right now that I am home every day.   When I do cook all day(ish), I usually do ribs (and like to do 2-3 slabs minimum), pork butt (usually in the 12-14 lb range, and an occasional brisket.   Also like to put planked salmon on the grill.   Brisket is my weak spot because adding charcoal to an Egg during long cooks was a pain in the ass.  

I kind of zeroed in on Camp Chef, Pit Boss, Green Mountain and Traeger.   Z Grills look promising but they still look too "upstart" even though they made grills for other people before launching their own line a few years back.  I am replacing something with 314 sq inches of cooking surface (618 if I double racked but rarely did.)  I want to go bigger mainly because when I did ribs or something like a turkey it was a really tight squeeze.

Everything I'm looking at is in the 450-575 sq inch (Green Mountain Daniel Boone and Traeger Pro 575) up to 800 sq inch range (Camp Chef Woodwind, Traeger Pro 34, Pit Boss 820.)  I also really like the Green Mountain Jim Bowie (658 sq inch)   Everything has it's lovers and haters.   Most of the issues seem to be either items that were delivered as damaged or it broke within the first few days/weeks.   While I am looking for bang for the buck, overall quality is important.   Trying to keep the overall price under or near $750 but for quality, I would go higher if it was right.   

Is WiFi enabled really worth it?   I can see it being one of those things that I'd love if I had it but I've been cooking for 30 years without it so....   

A place here in Houston has both the GM Daniel Boone (458 sq inch) and Jim Bowie (658 sq inch) with and without WiFi.   The ones sans WiFi are $499 and $599 but with WiFi it goes up to $699 and $899.  The Camp Chef Woodwind 24 with WiFi is bigger (797 sq inch) and cheaper ($799).   The Traeger 575 slides in at the price too but is smaller than the JB and the Woodwind.   Unless I missed something Pitt Boss and Z Grills do not seem to have any WiFi enabled cookers.   So back to that WiFi question....  Worth it?

Anyone have a model (or something similar) that I have mentioned here?

 

if you aren't in a hurry to buy it go set a slickdeals alert for whatever you end up choosing - can save you some serious $ if you are willing to wait a bit.

[Rip76 4924]

Thinking about pulling the trigger.

Always used a smoker/wood/charcoal.

Thoughts on this model Treager?  Perfect size for me.  But none of the cool blue-toothy features.

https://www.traegergrills.com/pellet-grills/pro/34-bronze

 

[Al_4_ISU 12447]

19 hours ago, Macanudo said:

I finally started researching pellet grills and boy is there a rabbit hole to go down.   I am mostly a weekend warrior cooker but do throw burgers and chicken on during the week days, especially right now that I am home every day.   When I do cook all day(ish), I usually do ribs (and like to do 2-3 slabs minimum), pork butt (usually in the 12-14 lb range, and an occasional brisket.   Also like to put planked salmon on the grill.   Brisket is my weak spot because adding charcoal to an Egg during long cooks was a pain in the ass.  

I kind of zeroed in on Camp Chef, Pit Boss, Green Mountain and Traeger.   Z Grills look promising but they still look too "upstart" even though they made grills for other people before launching their own line a few years back.  I am replacing something with 314 sq inches of cooking surface (618 if I double racked but rarely did.)  I want to go bigger mainly because when I did ribs or something like a turkey it was a really tight squeeze.

Everything I'm looking at is in the 450-575 sq inch (Green Mountain Daniel Boone and Traeger Pro 575) up to 800 sq inch range (Camp Chef Woodwind, Traeger Pro 34, Pit Boss 820.)  I also really like the Green Mountain Jim Bowie (658 sq inch)   Everything has it's lovers and haters.   Most of the issues seem to be either items that were delivered as damaged or it broke within the first few days/weeks.   While I am looking for bang for the buck, overall quality is important.   Trying to keep the overall price under or near $750 but for quality, I would go higher if it was right.   

Is WiFi enabled really worth it?   I can see it being one of those things that I'd love if I had it but I've been cooking for 30 years without it so....   

A place here in Houston has both the GM Daniel Boone (458 sq inch) and Jim Bowie (658 sq inch) with and without WiFi.   The ones sans WiFi are $499 and $599 but with WiFi it goes up to $699 and $899.  The Camp Chef Woodwind 24 with WiFi is bigger (797 sq inch) and cheaper ($799).   The Traeger 575 slides in at the price too but is smaller than the JB and the Woodwind.   Unless I missed something Pitt Boss and Z Grills do not seem to have any WiFi enabled cookers.   So back to that WiFi question....  Worth it?

Anyone have a model (or something similar) that I have mentioned here?

 

Pit Boss 820 checking in here.  Zero complaints.  I think we got a hell of a deal for the price.  It's not wifi enabled, but I guess I don't really care.  I'm pretty sure that's the trade-off they make to keep the price down (ours was like $450).  On days where we're doing long cooks, either me or my wife will be within a few blocks of home throughout the process so I just don't feel the need to have it.

I'm definitely glad I didn't get a smaller grill with more gadgetry.

Edited September 24, 2020 by Al_4_ISU