Pellet Grill

[jimlj]

I got a new Camp Chef pellet grill. I have no idea how to use it other than the typical grilling of steaks and burgers (and the occasional dead yard buzzard).
So far I've assembled it and heated it to 350* to burn off the manufacturing oil.
I would like some suggestions on what to cook other than the above.
What brand of pellets do you like/dislike? I have used Camp Chef hickory and apple pellets to cold smoke some cheese with an A-MAZE-N tube smoker, and will start out with what I have left of those bags of pellets. I assume both of these are blends of wood, are 100% better?

[jonp]

do you have a temp probe and bluetooth on it? From what I've read and heard on podcasts there is little you can't do with one. We were just at Lowes looking around and I told the better half that the next grill we got would be one.

[Taylor]

I got a Pit Boss pellet smoker for Christmas. I'm still at the "looking at it" stage.

[Crowley]

New smoker? You have GOT to smoke some prime rib! A tender meat cooked even more tenderer and with a bit of smoke on the crust. Mmmmmmm! Was the first thing i smoked in mine. (Along with a pork butt). Family still talks about (and requested repeats of) that one.

[Pipefitter]

Well you can turn pork belly into bacon, pork loin into Canadian bacon, pork butts into pulled pork. These will require lower temperatures for longer cooks. Beef brisket, prime rib, smoked salmon, whole turkey are also a few of the things that come to mind. a search on youtube will keep you busy looking (and drooling) for hours.

[super6]

I bought a treager last spring and love it. Pork butts, ribs, and whole chickens so far. I have only used the treager pellets so far @ about $1.00 a pound and does not go far..It is an expensive way to smoke meat but the pellets are 100% wood. Best smoked meat I ever ate! I use the hickory.

[MaryB]

Lumberjack pellets, I use the all hickory instead of a blend. Half the price and good quality pellets.

Spare ribs are fairly forgiving... 275, coat with your favorite rub after removing the membrane from the back, toss on and cook for an hour then flip and mop with 50/50 olive oil/apple cider vinegar, cook another hour and flip/mop. Start checking every half hour at this point, when you pick the slab up in the center and the meat starts tearing they are tender but not falling apart, if you prefer falling apart cook a little longer at that point.

[Finster101]

I know that I want one.

[Hickory]

How does the pellet grill compare to a charcoal grill?
Ease of cooking.
Taste.
Cook time.
Convenience.

[RedlegEd]

How does the pellet grill compare to a charcoal grill?
Ease of cooking.
Taste.
Cook time.
Convenience.

Hi Hickory,
I have a Rec Tec pellet grill/smoker and to me there is no comparison. To your points:
Ease of cooking - Set the temperature, whether smoking or grilling and the PID controller keeps it there. Then it's just like cooking on a charcoal grill if you're grilling or smoking on a good two box smoker without the hassle of tending the fire.
Taste - depending on the type pellets you use, you'll get an outstanding smokey grilled taste. I use a hardwood mix cut with 20% pure mesquite pellets.
Cook time - Depends on whether you're smoking or grilling. If you are grilling and run the the grill up to a high temperature, your cook time should be the same as a charcoal grill. If you are smoking, cook time depends on the recipe, cut of meat, and special techniques (i.e. Texas crutch, etc.)
Convenience - this is where a pellet grill shines. Fill the hopper with pellets, set the temperature you want, and start cooking/smoking. Mine has a wireless interface so I can check on the status of the grill temperature and/or internal temperature of two probes. I can even change the set temperature of the grill on the fly without having to be there. Try doing that with a charcoal grill. Clean up is relatively easy, and you only have to clean the fire pot once every few sessions...more often if you want, less if you're lazy and it still works great.
I use mine for smoking brisket, sausage, pork butts & tenderloins, Ribeye Roasts, and anything else that requires low & slow cooking. I've also made pizza on it as well as grilled burgers, steaks, chicken, etc. After owning one, I would never buy another gas or charcoal grill again. Hope this helps.
Ed

[rockrat]

Easy cooking, great taste, cook time the same, convenient. Easy to start. About 10 min from start to cooking. Traegar pellets overpriced in my book. Buy a lot of other brand pellets from wallyworld, but can't this time of year, so gotta stock up. Doesn't work as well when it gets cold out, to me. Pain if you run out of pellets. I use apple for pork and have tried a combination of oak, mesquite, and hickory on steaks, which is pretty good. Was at Cabelas yesterday and picked up a bag of roasted garlic and beer pellets. Could be interesting. Need to get some Pecan and try. I go thru a lot of Apple.

I have grilled chicken for about 15 min, put in a pan, season a bit more and cover and let cook for 40 min more. Good flavor and real tender.
Pork butt on pellet grills-----MMMMMMM

[jimlj]

do you have a temp probe and bluetooth on it? From what I've read and heard on podcasts there is little you can't do with one. We were just at Lowes looking around and I told the better half that the next grill we got would be one.

It has both internal temp and a meat probe, but no wifi.

I'm going to take it on its maiden voyage tomorrow with some salmon.

[jimlj]

How does the pellet grill compare to a charcoal grill?
Ease of cooking.
Taste.
Cook time.
Convenience.

I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like it will be easier than charcoal or gas grills. Mine, and I assume anything built in the last several years lights itself, and you can set the temperature and walk away.

[Hickory]

My charcoal grill is 11 years old, and has seen better days and I'm looking for a new grill.
The pellet grill sounds like something I need.

[762 shooter]

My son has a Rec Tec and does most of his cooking using his phone to monitor and control his cooks from the den couch.

762

[jonp]

Any place that sells woodstoves should have some in stock as well as the hardware store. Can't you use the same pellets you use for a pellet stove?

[PB234]

Have had a MAK grill for a few years. Great ribs, pulled pork, chicken, turkey, goose, but not yet brisket. You can easily produce better results than when is served in a restaurant. A good pellet grill will relieve you of having to monitor the grill closely for many hours.

Many grills have the ability to regulate temperature; however the temperature sensing equipment can easily be not holding the grill temperature where you think it is. Take temperatures with a separate device and learn how much off the grill is and alter your settings and timing to correct for this. People who are really into this keep journals to keep track of atmospheric conditions etc. and how it changes the process.

I am going to be inviting friends over to sit around and drink root beer while the smoker/grill works its magic. Brisket is an all night event. Pull pork is also a get up early to make. Goose was about 3.6 hours. Turkey is an all day project. Ribs are fairly fast in comparison - just hours and hours. Try www.amazingribs.com for more info.

If you get a smoker/grill and don't know what a foiler is ask. It will save you lots of clean up effort.

Almost forgot to mention beef ribs. Try to get some that have some meat left on the bones and are not what is called shiners.

Almost forgot that today I have to clean the grill. Empty unused pellets from hopper (they can't be allowed to get wet or too damp from humidity as they will jam the grill), remove and replace foil, and clean up some grease.

Also look at how the smoker you look at deals with grease that runs off the meat.

[DougGuy]

Any place that sells woodstoves should have some in stock as well as the hardware store. Can't you use the same pellets you use for a pellet stove?

Has to be food grade pellets. Heating pellets have stuff in them to keep the pellet together afaik..

I have used a Traeger for 10+yrs and love it! I use straight hickory when it's cooler out as it burns hotter. I use the perfect mix from cookinpellets.com mixed 50/50 with hickory most other times. I usually buy a 40lb bag of each and mix as I please. Ace hardware sells Traeger pellets in several different flavors.

My favorite rub: Equal parts Cayenne, Curry Powder, Cinnamon. That's it! Most commercial rubs are too salty for me, this rub makes for a sweet, sticky, spicy southern style BBQ, which I cook the meat until done, then slather liberally (LOL I know I know...) with Sweet Baby Rays original BBQ sauce.

My secret ingredient? African Blue Basil. Get this stuff from a nursery or greenhouse from a cutting as it doesn't grow well from seed, grow it all summer then just before the first freeze, pull it up and hang it to dry. Strip the leaves off and store them like any other dry spice, to use, simply crush in your hands and sprinkle liberally (there he goes again with that "L" word!) on raw meat, then cover meat with the rub listed above. This makes a sweet basil-y flavor that won't be over shadowed with your aromatic wood, won't be stepped on by rub or other spices, once you try it, you'll be hooked! Plus, in the garden it's the last flowering plant the bees have to go to before winter comes and it will draw them by the thousands, many species of bees love this stuff. If heavy rains split the plant at the base, never fear, it will just bush out and grow even more! You don't have to pick the flowers off like you do sweet basil to keep it from becoming bitter. To winter over your plant, take a few cuttings and start them in bedding pots with potting soil and a bit of rooting hormone. They will take root and grow indoors and be ready for planting in the spring.

[Wayne Smith]

Smoke and Spice by the Jamison's is a good cookbook to start with. It will give you lots of ideas.
I have a rack so that I can smoke a turkey like a beer can chicken. It allows me to do a turkey in six hours. This is in a traditional wood fired smoker. Look up grilling veggies - eggplant and carrots and corn and summer squash are all common on the grill. Get a jalapeno rack and stuff them with cheese and grill.

[rockrat]

I think you can buy cooking probes that will give you a remote so you can watch temps.
I did have the smallest traegar but wife bought me the next size up as just needed a bit more room. Gave the smaller one to the SIL, and they just love it!!