Grilling

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

I’ve never used one, but I’m interested. Hassle free smoking sounds good.

I’ve seen some guys cook REAL low for the first 2-3 hours (like 185) and then kick it up. I assume that’s to increase the smoke flavor. Have you toyed around with that at all?

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i used to do that with ribs when i had my charcoal/wood burner. gotta be really careful not to let your fire go out if you do it that way but it comes out nice. too much work fiddling with it to maintain the temperature though.

with the pellet grill, i program it to stay low (like 205-215) for the first few hours with a big brisket so that i can start it before i go to bed and it's ready for supper the next day. for me it's definitely worth a little extra money to get one you can program and monitor remotely (just don't forget to keep the hopper full).

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Originally Posted by RowdyDawg

Alright! My wife got me an early Christmas present last night in a Pit Boss Pellet Grill (PB600PS1) from Lowes. Interesting thing was the price. The sticker said $349, but the register rang it up as $249. They said that was correct after doublechecking. This is my first pellet grill, so I'm looking forward to trying new stuff.

I'm coming from a charcoal grill/stick smoker. Does anyone have pointers or tips? Things to avoid with this pellet grill?

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Have had a PB for about a year and a half now with no complaints other than sometimes the pellets don't feed down into the auger well when the hopper gets low. Keep foil on the drip pan unless you're opening it up for searing, clean all of the ashes out with a shop-vac after a few cooks or each time after a long cook, and wipe the temp probe off regularly. Also, be sure to let it adjust under the Smoke setting for 15 minutes or so and regulate with the P setting (if needed) if you're going to be cooking under 300 degrees or else you'll have a hard time maintaining the set temperature. This explains it in a bit more detail: https://smokeslikeaboss.com/pages/pit-boss-p-setting-explanation

I love being able to start a brisket at around 10pm and sleep all night without worrying about it. Smoke tubes are great for adding additional smoke to things that don't cook as long, and also for cold smoking. Well worth the $15-20.

Just picked up a smoker tube and some pecan wood chips for maw in law. Going to smoke some turkey breasts and a chuck roast for family Christmas. Will report back the findings at the conclusion of the experiment.

Every turkey I did turned out perfect. However, I tried a poor man’s brisket yesterday and it flopped. I have heard that chuck roasts on a smoker are awesome. Every time I try a large cut of beef it comes out dry and tough. Doesn’t matter if I pull it off at 190 degrees or 200. Cooking at 230 or at 270. It’s too expensive for trial and error. I need to know how you guys get it right so I quit wasting money.

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Originally Posted by techman05

Every turkey I did turned out perfect. However, I tried a poor man’s brisket yesterday and it flopped. I have heard that chuck roasts on a smoker are awesome. Every time I try a large cut of beef it comes out dry and tough. Doesn’t matter if I pull it off at 190 degrees or 200. Cooking at 230 or at 270. It’s too expensive for trial and error. I need to know how you guys get it right so I quit wasting money.

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It’s obvious you are not drinking enough beer while cooking.:)

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Originally Posted by eagle2180

It’s obvious you are not drinking enough beer while cooking.:)

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So, zero isn’t the magic number? I’ll have to invite over a friend to consume the beer while I BBQ. I have non alcoholic fatty liver.

My son did a chuck roast on smoker for Christmas. Flavor was good but it was a little tough and dry too.

I think I will try pulling the meat off the smoker a little earlier and let it carry over cook and rest a little longer.

A long rest (at least an hour) has been impactful for me when cooking big hunks of meat (chuck roasts, brisket, or pork shoulder). If it’s dry, I’d start with spritzing every hour or so. An aluminum foil wrap is usually helpful too if your meat is too dry. I take all those cuts to 205.

One thing I’ve never been able to cook around is select grade beef. I hate paying more, but I can’t get select beef to get tender.

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Originally Posted by johnnylightnin

A long rest (at least an hour) has been impactful for me when cooking big hunks of meat (chuck roasts, brisket, or pork shoulder). If it’s dry, I’d start with spritzing every hour or so. An aluminum foil wrap is usually helpful too if your meat is too dry. I take all those cuts to 205.

One thing I’ve never been able to cook around is select grade beef. I hate paying more, but I can’t get select beef to get tender.

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Gonna have to splurge and get premium meat. And probably spritz every hour so it doesn’t dry out

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Originally Posted by techman05

Gonna have to splurge and get premium meat. And probably spritz every hour so it doesn’t dry out

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I find Certified Angus to be a good value. Prime is great, but I don’t have issues with choice.

May go choice first. Not a huge difference to bump to Prime though.

my wife got a rib roast for next to nothing in a sale at h-e-b last week (select grade). i cooked it at 250 until it got up to 120, then bumped it up to 450 until it got to 130. after a 45 minute rest it still had some tough spots as you would expect with select grade, but it was surprisingly tender and juicy for the most part.

of course a rib roast is hard to mess up unless you overcook it. chuck and brisket are a little more tricky. johnny is partly right, though. let it get hotter and let it rest a while. i don't know about this spritzing business. i say keep the lid closed as much as possible. also, there's a feel to it. if it wobbles like jello at 195, go ahead and take it off. otherwise, leave it in a while longer.

Yeah…if you don’t wanna spritz, wrap it up with some beef stock or red wine.

Going for a pre-trimmed brisket this afternoon. Gonna check moisture level way more often. Wrapping in butcher paper after it hits 160. Watching this one much more closely to make sure we don’t have major swings in conditions.