Pellet Grill

Mikey081057

As mentioned in another thread I decided to pull the trigger on a Traeger pellet grill... Anybody using a Traeger (or like product) and what are your experiences... I am going to start off with 3 different woods...apple, hickory and pecan pellets. I like apple for chicken, pecan for almost anything and hickory is to me traditional for beef, chicken or pork.... I have seen and tasted some interesting blends too....

Probably going to do a small turkey or a big chicken this weekend for starters...

Mouth is watering

Mikey081057

Thinking of a rib roast for Christmas....

maxward

Have fun with your Traeger. Friends of mine love their pellet grills. I agree with your choice of woods. Apple is great with poultry. A pellet grill might be my next one.

pitdogg2

Try some cherry wood. I personally will be looking next spring for one that does not use pellets. I like the option of charcoal and or chunk wood. All of the pellet grills in my area didn't seem to be able to use charcoal or chunk wood from what I seen.

JayCee

I have a RecTec and love it. Pic borrowed from net:

Son has a Traeger. My pellet preferences are Red (not white) Oak, Pecan and Hickory. I buy the 3 and blend 50% Oak, 25% ea Pecan and Hickory. I found there was a bit of a learning curve for small cuts of meat. First time out of the gate I did pork chops and they came out like ham. Fail. Not bad, mind you, but not what I expected.

Recently been doing Tri-Tip to great results. Simple Kosher salt, garlic powder and pepper. Santa Maria style I was raised on and must be 100% Red Oak to be authentic. Smoke @ 210F until 120-125 internal temp and then pull and tent with foil. Stoke grill to 375 or higher and reverse sear using the flat side of Grill Grates to render the fat and produce a nice crust. https://www.grillgrate.com/shop-grillgrates/standard-grillgrates/pellet-grills/
Continue to watch the internal temp and not shoot past your preferred target (mooing/rare/med rare, etc).

I spatchcock poultry and start at the lowest temp setting (max smoke) for 20-30 min's, or more, depending on desired smoke taste. Wife and I prefer light to medium vs. heavy smoke. Raise temp to 350-375 and cook until done. One thing w/smokers is you won't get crispy skin unless you use high temp. I like the skin but don't indulge to save calories. Also, very low temps on chicken and the meat tends to come out rubbery.

Lean meats can dry out so buy a small spray bottle and spritz w/your choice of juice or other liquid every 1/2 or on the hour. I use 100% apple for taste and bit of sweetness. Usually do this on pork cuts and ribs. Pic of my recent sauced and rubbed babyback's mid-smoke...

Papa Murphy's pizza, low setting to smoke, and then in the oven to finish off. Yummm!

Son follows the Traeger recipes and claims to have good results. He's in another state, so haven't had the opportunity to try it, but trust his raised on Q by me judgement.

Get a Bucket Head to clean out the ash from your smoker. Cheap, $24.97 @ Home Depot (+bucket), and will make quick work of it plus save your nice shop vac from getting trashed. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-Gal-1-75-Peak-HP-Wet-Dry-Vac-BH0100/202017218
Haven't done any large cuts/really long smokes, yet, but have my sights on doing a whole suckling pig when I do. For Christmas, thinking about doing goose.

Still getting my learn on. Congrats and happy smoking!

Mikey081057

Good stuff.... Thanks!

soupbone

I just purchased a pellet grill in early fall. A Pit Boss Tailgater. Pellet grills are as stated "Pellet Grills"

I like smoked ribs. Couldn't wait to taste the ribs and enjoy the ease of use that pellet grills have to offer. It sure is easier but doesn't even come close to the results that I get from offset smoking using charcoal and wood chuncks on my Weber kettle grill...not even close!

txcoastal1

Please no pecan on beef
For beef, your oaks as a base and add flavor with your mesquite, hickory etc at the end
Just my HO

Mikey081057

I am not a big mesquite fan but would probably go with hickory or a blend of hickory/oak. I got tired of mesquite back in the day when they did mesquite everything.

JayCee

Not a big mesquite fan, either. Personal preference.

Lived in north Texas for a few years and we had pecan orchards nearby. Hills and hills of shells given away by the gunny sack. Never used it until I was on a Dallas area Q pilgrimage. "D" (for Dallas) magazine did a top 10 or 12 bbq joint list and my goal was to try all their pics. Hit about 7 of them and "Off the Bone" on Mansfield Hwy, Forest Hill, was my favorite. First time I went there they were completely sold out for the day. Anyway, spoke with the owner, very nice guy, and his woods of choice were a mix of oak and pecan. Took me around back and pulled off several ribs that were smoking for the next day. Gracious guy and gave them to me for free.

@txcoastal1, just curious, what's the "beef" with pecan on beef?

maxward

@JayCee How do you like the Rec Tec grill? Is that the 590 model? Any other pellet grill owners here who are happy with their brand of grill please share. Meathead at AmazingRibs likes Mak grills, but even their small model is too much for my budget at $1800.

JayCee

maxward wrote: »

@JayCee How do you like the Rec Tec grill? Is that the 590 model?

Yes, it's the RT-590 "Stampede". Sits in the middle of their 3 standard smokers. No disrespect to Traeger or anyone that owns one, but I attended a Costco/Traeger roadshow and was disappointed in the sheet metal gauge. Kind of like a basic speaker cabinet, tap on it and you get an indication of how substantial (or not) it might be.

Got my read on and liked the fact that RecTec is stainless steel and solidly built, to include the smoke pot. Also liked that it wasn't painted and prone to peeling. The door is coated w/black enamel but all indications were that it's durable. RecTec owners are very brand loyal and tout the customer service if problems occur...even if out of warranty. Kind of like longtime Polk owners.

Bottom line is I'm a*n*a*l in that I like to take care of things and make them last. My previous grill was a charbroil that I picked up on sale from Walmart 17 years ago. I babied it and rebuilt the guts every 2-3 years.

RecTec isn't the cheapest (or most expensive) smoker on the market but my experience, after 1 1/2 years, is that it is a good long term investment. A few other's that I compared were Grilla, Green Mountain and Camp Chef. Ultimately, they all accomplish the same goal...smoke meat to good results, but it was build longevity and potential customer support that sold me.

maxward

Thanks. Both Traeger and Mak Grills are local to me (western Oregon). When Traeger got popular, they moved production overseas. Two friends love their Traegers, but both have have a few problems. Another has a Green Mountain and so far has been pleased. I’m looking for the long term. Glad to hear about your experience.

cmy330go

Outdoor cooking is one of my favorite hobbies currently. I've gotten pretty wrapped up in it, and have a variety of grills, including a Traeger Timberline 1300. Despite currently being my most expensive cooker, I have to say it is also my least favorite. IMO pellet grills are kind of the all-season tire of grills. They do most everything ok, but nothing truly great. That being said, they totally have their place. For those that don't want all the work of cooking over charcoal or wood, but still want more flavor than a gas cooker, they're virtually impossible to beat. Also Traeger has a huge catalog of pretty tried and true recipes, that are pretty hard to screw up. They're also a great starting point for those interested in smoking, and grilling as they're easy to use, and if you decide it's not for you, they hold their value quite well on the used market. Anyway...Enjoy!

Oh also try some beef jerky on it. That's probably my favorite thing to cook on the Traeger, as it's mindless to hold 160-170 for 4hrs, and it doesn't produce so much smoke that it makes the meat bitter.

Mikey081057

So my Traeger got delivered by ACE today... They assembled it at their shop and we wheeled it on to the Lanai this afternoon. I seasoned it as per instructions and have a big 5lb chicken on it now. I am using the Traeger app and the cooking probe to get it to 165* internal temp. It's at 140 now and seems to be doing well with a grill temp of 225. The lid is shut and we'll see in a little while.

Seems to be pretty simple and the temp controls are pretty accurate.

I chose the smaller/compact model thinking that I don't cool for 12 people and that it would conserve pellets a bit.

BlueFox

Hope it is okay since this was your 6,666 post.

Mikey081057

The chicken is having a bad day in smokey hell

Mike Reeter

Good friend has a Treager Smoker and loves it, set it and go. I still use a Webber Bullet Smoker with a different variety of Kingsford Flavored Charcoal.





Webber also has a new Pellet Smoker coming out in Jan. 2020

https://www.weber.com/US/en/grills/wood-pellet-grills/smokefire-series/

cmy330go

Oh yea. One quick tip. Wait until you've done at least a few (preferably a half dozen) cooks of either pork, beef, or poultry before doing any fish. For some reason a fish cook too early on has a tendency to linger, and slightly taint following cooks.

marvda1

here's one from a big name manufacturer.
http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=302999#p302999

afterburnt

I have been lazy and have only used my electric Master Built for the longest. I am curious to try some pellets for the smoke since there are a wide variety but I don't need a dog food sizes sack of pellets. Hell, I don't even know how pellets would work in that thing. I use cherry for almost everything but oak for the rare times I cook beef.

Mikey081057

Got it goin on today....

Ribs

Plenty of smoke.... means we are going to have some good ribs or a new pope!

Mike Reeter

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Got it goin on today....

Ribs

Plenty of smoke.... means we are going to have some good ribs or a new pope!

Smells Good

halen

I looked into pellet grills for over a year now. Back then I wanted to get the Green Mountain over Traeger.

Pellet smokers smoke at lower temps only. Higher temps you get heat. So all pellet smokers come with an accessory..... a smoke tube with real wood chips.

Who would have known? A pellet smoker that must use smoke tubes to have the smoke taste. Don’t get me wrong I still want to try pellet smokers. Such is a mid life crisis.

By the way. That Marvin fella.. he could seriously smoke meats.

Halen

voltz

halen wrote: »

I looked into pellet grills for over a year now. Back then I wanted to get the Green Mountain over Traeger.

Pellet smokers smoke at lower temps only. Higher temps you get heat. So all pellet smokers come with an accessory..... a smoke tube with real wood chips.

Who would have known? A pellet smoker that must use smoke tubes to have the smoke taste. Don’t get me wrong I still want to try pellet smokers. Such is a mid life crisis.

By the way. That Marvin fella.. he could seriously smoke meats.

Halen

I sort of disagree that I need a smoke tube with my pellet grill (a cheapo Walmart Pit Boss) I paid $380 for this pit boss and have not use my Weber Smokey mountain for over 2 years now because it so simple to use. gives plenty of smoke on the upper rack (which heat rises and everything cooks faster up there!

Pork Tenderloins (not pork loins) on the top rack at 250 degrees gets done in like 1 1/2 hour so I don't use a rub and prefer only salt & pepper on it! has a nice smoke ring and is super juicy

For ribs I do 3 hours naked then wrap tightly in foil and in about 45 minutes you can pull the bones out

for "Boston buts/Pork Shoulder/picnic's give it 6 hours naked and 2 hours in foil and I bet it should read 210 and fall apart with a simple fork.

for my Yoder (amish) meat market steaks I cook indirectly at about 350 degrees until it hits 90 degrees then I flip them and when it hits 115 I open the sear window and crank it to 450 degrees and give it about 1/2 a minute per side till it hit 128 and then wrap/rest in foil for 5 minutes and you have a teak almost pink form edge to edge and the best steak you ever ate!

P.s> the Rib's i cooked on my old Weber smokey Mountain were always a touch better the then the pellet grill..but not enough better to make me go back to the Weber.

soupbone

I also own a Pit Boss like voltz. He is correct: ease of use, convenient, fall off the bone tender, super juicy, smoke ring, etc. BUT really lacking in that great smoke flavor that can be achieved when I offset smoke on my Weber kettle...It's not even close!

audioluvr

I like my GF' s Traeger for some things but we get tired of everything being smoked and the increased cooking times but if you have access to both that and a regular grill you get the best of both worlds.