Pellet Grills To Replace Gas Grills?

[TrickyDick]

Gorilla,

I have the Kutas book as well, plus the charcuterie book and salumi. I also have the Marianski book on meat and the fermented sausage book by same author. The Marianski book is far better than the Kutas book in my opinion! thought perhaps the Kutas recipes are better, couldn't say. I highly recommend the Marianski book as an addition to your library, much less reading between the lines so to speak.

At any rate, my biggest issue now is cross contamination of huge brewery with the dry cure fermentation bugs. Would need separate space for the dry cue chamber. I have a Bradley smoke generator that I can use for cold smoke, and a humidity controller and humidifier and a temp controller. All I need is a fridge and some smoke sticks and a rack and some time. I have some old PC fans. Was thinking about trying to connect a raspberry pi or old PC to try and control everything.

Probably need to put this all on hold for a few years since kids are growing up and little to no time for yet another hobby.

Still, and to get back on track, the pellet grill sort of bridged a gap between cooking BBQ and getting into sausage making, and smoking etc. I really want to try and make my own salumi some day.

Anyways, the pellet grill is great. The convenience of propane (to an extent), and the flavor of charcoal. Plus, you can set the cook temp like an oven, for precise grilling,roasting,baking, and also can cook slow and low with smoke for BBQ favorites like pulled pork shoulder, ribs, brisket, etc.

TD

 

[Coffee_Creek]

I bought the Yoder YS640 Pellet Smoker last spring and love it. It's built like a army tank and does a great putting smoke flavor with a great smoke ring on the meat. Makes as good Brisket, Ribs, Chicken and Pulled Pork as my stick burner but have to baby sit it, just set it and forget it for up to 18 hours. I can put a large Brisket or Bosto Butt on, go to bed and sleep for 8hours easy.
You can tell which people at BBQ compititions are using Pellets Smokers, they're the ones that look RESTED while holding the trophy.

 

[gwapogorilla]

Gorilla,

I have the Kutas book as well, plus the charcuterie book and salumi. I also have the Marianski book on meat and the fermented sausage book by same author. The Marianski book is far better than the Kutas book in my opinion! thought perhaps the Kutas recipes are better, couldn't say. I highly recommend the Marianski book as an addition to your library, much less reading between the lines so to speak.

At any rate, my biggest issue now is cross contamination of huge brewery with the dry cure fermentation bugs. Would need separate space for the dry cue chamber. I have a Bradley smoke generator that I can use for cold smoke, and a humidity controller and humidifier and a temp controller. All I need is a fridge and some smoke sticks and a rack and some time. I have some old PC fans. Was thinking about trying to connect a raspberry pi or old PC to try and control everything.

Probably need to put this all on hold for a few years since kids are growing up and little to no time for yet another hobby.

Still, and to get back on track, the pellet grill sort of bridged a gap between cooking BBQ and getting into sausage making, and smoking etc. I really want to try and make my own salumi some day.

Anyways, the pellet grill is great. The convenience of propane (to an extent), and the flavor of charcoal. Plus, you can set the cook temp like an oven, for precise grilling,roasting,baking, and also can cook slow and low with smoke for BBQ favorites like pulled pork shoulder, ribs, brisket, etc.

TD

I will have to look for that Marianski book at Amazon...thanks good buddy! I am always looking for a good addition to the library.
Don't feel bad, I have the whole kids/braces/glasses/allergy shots/sporting events/ when does dad get time for himself thing going too. It's a hobby...cheaper than a boat but still costly by itself.

I bought the Yoder YS640 Pellet Smoker last spring and love it. It's built like a army tank and does a great putting smoke flavor with a great smoke ring on the meat. Makes as good Brisket, Ribs, Chicken and Pulled Pork as my stick burner but have to baby sit it, just set it and forget it for up to 18 hours. I can put a large Brisket or Bosto Butt on, go to bed and sleep for 8hours easy.
You can tell which people at BBQ compititions are using Pellets Smokers, they're the ones that look RESTED while holding the trophy.

Yep, I really like mine too. I have done everything from ribs to cheesecake on mine. Yes, cheesecake. Turned out great. But, can't do the summer sausages, hams or bacon on it. So, gonna keep my old smoker to use in conjunction to the grill.

 

[TrickyDick]

I will have to look for that Marianski book at Amazon...thanks good buddy! I am always looking for a good addition to the library. Don't feel bad, I have the whole kids/braces/glasses/allergy shots/sporting events/ when does dad get time for himself thing going too. It's a hobby...cheaper than a boat but still costly by itself. Yep, I really like mine too. I have done everything from ribs to cheesecake on mine. Yes, cheesecake. Turned out great. But, can't do the summer sausages, hams or bacon on it. So, gonna keep my old smoker to use in conjunction to the grill.

You'll like the Marianski book I think.

I've done bacon in my MAK. I used the amazin smoker and then I used some hot smoke. I forget what my final IT was though. I want to say 153°' but it was quite a long time ago that I can't be certain. I know some people who do summer sausages on theirs, and even a fast fermented pepperoni sticks.

TD

 

[gwapogorilla]

You'll like the Marianski book I think.

I've done bacon in my MAK. I used the amazin smoker and then I used some hot smoke. I forget what my final IT was though. I want to say 153°' but it was quite a long time ago that I can't be certain. I know some people who do summer sausages on theirs, and even a fast fermented pepperoni sticks.

TD

And the lowest the Mak goes is 150-180*? Starting meats off at that temp usually cooks the outside of the meats waaay too fast. Giving them a crust or maybe a thick, tough rind if you will. Not to mention limited smoke penetration.
But, you have to work with what you have.
How'd it turn out?

 

[TrickyDick]

And the lowest the Mak goes is 150-180*? Starting meats off at that temp usually cooks the outside of the meats waaay too fast. Giving them a crust or maybe a thick, tough rind if you will. Not to mention limited smoke penetration.
But, you have to work with what you have.
How'd it turn out?

I've never done temp logging. I'll say that temp is probably an average temp of the two thermocouples at the vents which are just above primary grill level but honesty not sure how it reads out. I can put racks at varying heights above grill level but fans do create a sort of convection effect.

I can position a grid probe and program it to maintain set temp at that level but dunno what the lowest it can go.

With the MAK 2 and cold smoker box it'll go to lower temps but again not sure.

Also don't forget that food danger zone from cooking uncured food at such a low temp. Could be the lawyers at work. Again not sure.

If I want to cold smoke on my gear, I need the amazin tube smoker loaded with pellets. It will maintain my grill between 98-120, but I could probably go lower by setting it on the bottom deck at the firepot level.

You do get great smoke flavor and a nice smoke ring on foods when hot smoking at 180

 

[gwapogorilla]

Ohhhhh, I see. Your using the heat from the smoke tube to elevate the temp in the unit.
I have tried the cold smoke thing, but it was with my smoke daddy. Yuck! Man, it kicks out a butt load of thick grey smoke. Which can be bad in a lot of applications. It works great on my big electric unit. I have it attached to the door, so I can smoke for 1 minute all of the way up to infinity. Plus I don't have to open the door to refill pellets, which is great cuz' I don't lose all of the heat in the cabinet that way.

Also, I have tried the smoking of cured meats on the pellet grill. Like I said...150* was tooo hot. It worked, to an extent. Results were varied and undesirable.
This is the time of year when I start my smoking hobby. It is difficult to smoke a ham at 85*, when the ambient temp is 93* plus humidity.

 

[headbanger]

Here's a helpful thread about cold smoking on the 500. She is using the grill in this instance but has since switched to the tube smoker and abondoned the ice trays, but, if you are concerned about elevated temps then the ice trays are certainly a good solution. I'm sure you could use a similar process on either the Mak or Yoder, or mabe even a big enough gas grill or komado.

 

[JeepDiver]

Got my pg500 delivered earlier today and doing the burn in now. Wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow due to the fact it was supposed to be snowing today so nothing going on it tonight.

 

[gwapogorilla]

That's a nice looking unit! What brand of pellets did you decide on?

 

[TrickyDick]

More importantly, where's the BACON!!!

TD

 

[JeepDiver]

That's a nice looking unit! What brand of pellets did you decide on?

It came with 40 lbs of cookshack hickory, 20 lbs of bear mountain cherry and 20 pounds of pecan, name wasnt in big print and haven't looked close yet

 

[gwapogorilla]

It came with 40 lbs of cookshack hickory, 20 lbs of bear mountain cherry and 20 pounds of pecan, name wasnt in big print and haven't looked close yet

Okay, the cookshack and the pecan pellets are from "Lumberjack"...a damn good pellet. The hickory is 60% red oak and 40% hickory...pecan is 60% red oak and 40% pecan. The bear mountain is 75% alder and 25% cherry.
I see your in Colorado, that is a bit far to order pellets from Lumberjack directly. I'm in Iowa(Lumberjack is in Wisconsin) and buy by the pallet. I get GOOD pellets dirt cheap.

 

[headbanger]

Fast Eddy's Rib Rub
Ingredients

½ cup white sugar
¼ cup Hungarian paprika
¼ cup Lawry’s seasoning salt
2 tablespoons garlic salt
1 tablespoons allspice
1 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoons onion salt
1 tablespoons fresh coarse ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of celery seed
3 slabs baby back ribs
1 cup brown sugar Rib Glaze
18-oz bottle of KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce
1/2 cup of honey
1 cup of purified water

Instructions

Peel the membrane off the back side of the ribs.

Rub the slabs with brown sugar and refrigerate overnight.

Mix all the rub ingredients together in a mixing bowl and then rub ribs 30 minutes before smoking.

Place ribs in an indirect smoker at 275 degrees for about 3 hrs.

Mix ingredients of glaze together and put in a foil pan and place in smoker for 3 hrs.

Cook ribs till the meat starts to separate when picked up in the middle of the rack.

Brush glaze on both sides of ribs and allow to set in smoker for another 10 minutes.

Plate them and watch them vanish.

 

[headbanger]

It came with 40 lbs of cookshack hickory, 20 lbs of bear mountain cherry and 20 pounds of pecan, name wasnt in big print and haven't looked close yet

Hey JD, did your new 500 come with the new SS grate in zone 1 or the cast iron one?

 

[JeepDiver]

Hey JD, did your new 500 come with the new SS grate in zone 1 or the cast iron one?

Cast iron. My understanding is the SS is being done by Fast Eddie Himself and is aftermarket only. I'm seasoning mine with flaxseed oil and going to do a few coatings before putting it on the grill and see how it holds up, bit have a feeling I will be ordering a SS one.
I think the grill gets hot enough to run any seasoning that you do

 

[TrickyDick]

Cast iron. My understanding is the SS is being done by Fast Eddie Himself and is aftermarket only. I'm seasoning mine with flaxseed oil and going to do a few coatings before putting it on the grill and see how it holds up, bit have a feeling I will be ordering a SS one. I think the grill gets hot enough to run any seasoning that you do

I seasoned a skillet with flax seed a few years ago. It took two tries (with multiple coats) before I got it right. Hardest part was removing the old seasoning. With a new part you won't have that problem. Anyway, the stuff is fantastic, I simply can't believe. Two years and going strong, even with rough metal utensil use.

Cooks illustrated has a good write up of how to do it, leaving out a few minor details that I can longer recall.

TD

 

[headbanger]

Cast iron. My understanding is the SS is being done by Fast Eddie Himself and is aftermarket only. I'm seasoning mine with flaxseed oil and going to do a few coatings before putting it on the grill and see how it holds up, bit have a feeling I will be ordering a SS one.
I think the grill gets hot enough to run any seasoning that you do

Yeah, I really didn't start noticing any rust on mine until I started cooking pizzas pretty often and maxing out the temp. If I had it to do over I'd leave the grate out unless I wanted to grill burgers or steaks. I'll be ordering the SS grate pretty soon I think at this point.

 

[TrickyDick]

Made some ribs yesterday before starting night call week. Just what I needed to get me through.
Can get a decent smoke ring on these pellet cookers for sure. These done at 275 for 2 hours before foiling, finished with sauce and 15-25 more minutes of smoke love

 

[JeepDiver]

Been a week from hell here, just geting my first cook in on the 500. Did a batch of pig candy and got some chicken thighs on now

 

[JeepDiver]

Thighs turned out great. Did some brats that were good. Did some steaks a few nights ago that while a little over desired doneness were really good. Once I get timing figured out I have no problems saying stakes will be great on the 500. Did pork steaks tonight and once again over cooked slightly though most wouldn't notice.

May try to do some ribs next weekend to try low and slow but going out of town for Thanksgiving so might have to wait until Dec to try smoking.

Did notice some pork belly at the meat market this week so may have to do some cold smoked bacon for Xmas morning

 

[JeepDiver]

Man I am loving my PG500. Did some wings earlier today, also threw on a chuckie for tacos. Thich bone in pork chops yesterday, and the best stakes I have ever cooked. Been through 30+ lbs of pellets since Nov. Got my amazing tube smoker I got for Christmas burning off now so probably doing chesese next weekend

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[headbanger]

Man I am loving my PG500. Did some wings earlier today, also threw on a chuckie for tacos. Thich bone in pork chops yesterday, and the best stakes I have ever cooked. Been through 30+ lbs of pellets since Nov. Got my amazing tube smoker I got for Christmas burning off now so probably doing chesese next weekend

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Home Brew mobile app

It never gets old or ceases to impress.

 

[TrickyDick]

Glad to hear it!

I finally gave my MAK a thorough cleaning over the weekend. Took me a good 5 hours to clean all the grates, the lid, the hood, the backsplash, the innards, etc. now its shiny and new looking!

I'd post a photo, but SWMBO screwed up my photo steam by setting up her iPad on my apple account...

Grrr!

TD

 

[headbanger]

Glad to hear it!

I finally gave my MAK a thorough cleaning over the weekend. Took me a good 5 hours to clean all the grates, the lid, the hood, the backsplash, the innards, etc. now its shiny and new looking!

I'd post a photo, but SWMBO screwed up my photo steam by setting up her iPad on my apple account...

Grrr!

TD

Mine is well past due for a good cleaning!

 

[JeepDiver]

Been a while since this was bumped. Still loving the PG500. Best grill I have ever owned. Best smoker too. I have used better smokers but nothing easier that gives near the same results