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Pellet Grills and Smokers


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Changing the subject slightly (and don’t get me wrong… I want a one of those cast irons to add to the collection). I bought some ribs today and they were bad when I opened (Trader Joe’s, not the best meat source and you win some and lose some) so had to do a quick pivot. Ended up with some mixed sausages and then decided to try whole wings which I’d never done before. Little dry rub of s/p/g/o and on at 200 for an hour and a half. Then a light toss in some buffalo sauce (not Franks + butter, which would have been way better but was going for lighter and less messy and wanted to have some smoky natural flavor). Back on for 15 at 450 and thusly and therefore:

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Does anyone have a Recteq bullseye? Thinking about picking up either a Bullseye or a cheap gas grill for things like burgers and fajitas. Kind of leaning gas grill because I can get one with a side burner for frying fish and the like, but the bullseye is intriguing for the direct heat + wood smoke flavor.  

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On 9/6/2022 at 6:02 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

Does anyone have a Recteq bullseye? Thinking about picking up either a Bullseye or a cheap gas grill for things like burgers and fajitas. Kind of leaning gas grill because I can get one with a side burner for frying fish and the like, but the bullseye is intriguing for the direct heat + wood smoke flavor.  

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On 9/6/2022 at 6:02 PM, Pescado_Rojo said:

Does anyone have a Recteq bullseye? Thinking about picking up either a Bullseye or a cheap gas grill for things like burgers and fajitas. Kind of leaning gas grill because I can get one with a side burner for frying fish and the like, but the bullseye is intriguing for the direct heat + wood smoke flavor.  

I have a recteq 700 and added a bullseye this past year for similar reasons (burgers, fajitas, steak searing).  The addition of the bullseye allowed me to finally let go of the gas grill.

- it will get *damn* hot

- it is not as 'hands off' as the 700.  I'm finding I have to clean out the firepot more frequently to ensure a quick startup/heatup.

- i have a small cast iron sear plate that I use on it for steaks, but I'm strongly considering this replacement: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSB48CH/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_6?smid=A31XRSPLDNVTCO&th=1

Overall, I do love the Bullseye...just have to accept that the higher temp means a little more maintenance (keeping the firepot clean).

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5 hours ago, elnimo said:

Two more questions regarding the 590.  Did ya'll purchase the sear plates?  Can you do a full chicken upright?  Thinking of doing beer can chickens, and want to make sure there is enough clearance.

Thanks!

I’ve used both sides of the sear plates on my 590.  Ribbed side for solid cuts and the flat reverse for smash burgers.

IMO, they actually work better on my Weber gas grill because I can ratchet up the heat and get a bit better crust with minimal flareups.

Never tried upright chicken on the 590.  Spatchcock is my choice.  Let us know if you do it and the results.

Edited by VirginiaLonghorn
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I recently bought a zgrills pellet grill on prime day a month or so ago as it was what i thought a great deal. It came delivered on its side and when I started the assemby, the main drum was badly dented out of the box. Thankfully Amazon support sent a new one which was in undamaged condition. 

So far it has been great. Mostly reliable temperature control.  I love drumsticks so I've made them a lot so far.  My attempt at baby backs didn't go so well (wayyyy too much sugary top that caused it to be really hard to eat when it cooled some). Pulled pork was really good but I would have liked more bark. I tried thighs with skin up and skin down to see how each turned out.  Both were good but I did like the really crispy skin when I cooked skin down.  

Wife said pork butt/shoulder is on sale today at  $.99 LB. So I'll be doing another shoulder tomorrow. 

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2 hours ago, Butch Had Not said:

Ok I did a shoulder today. How the hell you get the bark so perfect? Mine was really juicy today and delicious but couldn't get that perfect color. 20221211_154300.thumb.jpg.b684b6cc77aa9a42d2269f3d9b840b70.jpg

 

 

•Do you use a rub to preseason/dry brine?  I rub with S&P and a little light brown sugar, then wrap in plastic wrap for overnight in the refrigerator.

•Are you peeking to check its progress?  It’s kinda like “a watched pot doesn’t boil.”  I minimize opening the smoker lid once I start.

•I cook @250F to an internal 160F (and I only open the smoker every 1-1 1/2 hours to spritz).

•Do you spritz?  I use Cran-apple or Cran-grape because the juice’s sugar helps browning.

•Do you finish it off wrapped?  I wrap tightly in 2-3 pieces of HD aluminum foil, place in a disposable aluminum pan to catch leaks, and then back into the smoker @250F (or the oven because the “smoking” is basically finished) until it reaches internal 200-205F.

At the end of the day, if it was juicy and tasted good, then you done good, too.

Edited by VirginiaLonghorn
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24 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

 

•Do you use a rub to preseason/dry brine?  I rub with S&P and a little light brown sugar, then wrap in plastic wrap for overnight in the refrigerator.

•Are you peeking to check its progress?  It’s kinda like “a watched pot doesn’t boil.”  I minimize opening the smoker lid once I start.

•I cook @250F to an internal 160F (and I only open the smoker every 1-1 1/2 hours to spritz).

•Do you spritz?  I use Cran-apple or Cran-grape because the juice’s sugar helps browning.

•Do you finish it off wrapped?  I wrap tightly in 2-3 pieces of HD aluminum foil, place in a disposable aluminum pan to catch leaks, and then back into the smoker @250F (or the oven because the “smoking” is basically finished) until it reaches internal 200-205F.

At the end of the day, if it was juicy and tasted good, then you done good, too.

I use Meat Church Honey bacon BBQ this time.  Applied the night before.  Cooked at 250 and no opening until hour 3 to spritz with apple juice and spritz every hour. Wrapped at 165 degrees in pan with chicken broth in the pan.  Since we were leaving for a few hours, I turned down to 225. When we got home it was right at 205 and super tender. 

I am not disappointed at all with the flavor and texture. Just want to badass color all over which I'll keep tweaking. 

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On 4/29/2022 at 11:18 PM, CooterBrown said:

Last two briskets I’ve done have been great. I start around noon and aim to finish them around 10pm. Unwrap and cool to 160 internal. Wrap in fresh paper and let rest in a countertop electric turkey roaster set at 150. Eat at noon. That ~12 hour rest matters more than anything, IMO.

What size turkey roaster you use?

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anyone have a go to wings recipe for the smoker?

I mean I’ll try because I like ‘em but I hardly assume they’re perfected yet.

I tend to do 225 and just eyeball it on color but about an hour and a half does it (although that might be a little long depending on the size of the wings). Once it seems like they’ve acquired the right smoke, I blast it up to 450 for about 15 minutes.

I usually do a dry seasoning (bbq or lemon pepper) and they turn out great. I also really converted to doing the full wings versus cut up ones.

I do about the same thing for drumsticks all the time but the low cooktime is more like 2.5 hours. I up the heat when they hit about 175 and pull them around 210.
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The meat church guy says to coat the wings in corn starch to get them crispy.  I ordered a rec teq today.  I remember when I used to make fun of pellet grills.

Matt Pittman is wrong. I think saw that recipe and he mentioned Serious Eats. SE suggests baking powder, not cornstarch.

FYI, I’ve been to mining with wings and I’ve landed on 6-7 minutes par boil, then skin side down for about 45 minutes at 225. Then I flip them, crank the heat up to 375, let them go 20-30, flip again to finish them. No overnight drying, baking powder or anything else. I don’t even dry them after boiling.

The par boil idea came from madscientistbbq.
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On 12/17/2022 at 12:32 PM, kevwun said:

The meat church guy says to coat the wings in corn starch to get them crispy.  I ordered a rec teq today.  I remember when I used to make fun of pellet grills.

I’ve used baking powder … dries up moisture to enhance crisping, I guess is the theory.  Yesterday, I smoked a batch, using corn starch per your note.  It worked for me.

Enjoy the RecTeq!

Edited by VirginiaLonghorn
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14 hours ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

I’ve used baking powder … dries up moisture to enhance crisping, I guess is the theory.  Yesterday, I smoked a batch, using corn starch per your note.  It worked for me.

Enjoy the RecTeq!

Kenji has a long article on this and more in his book IIRC but this should be enough:

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven-fried-wings-recipe

 

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23 minutes ago, NoName said:

Kenji has a long article on this and more in his book IIRC but this should be enough:

https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven-fried-wings-recipe

 

Thank-you.  Something to try on my next batch of wings … assuming I can talk the boss into letting me leave uncovered poultry in the refrigerator overnight.

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I basically use the method above.  Baking powder with a little salt and rest on rack in fridge overnight.  Then I smoke them at 250 for about 30 minutes.  I usually finish them in the oven at 425 for 40-50 minutes (but could crank the smoker up to the higher temp as well).  Toss in 1/2 Franks and 1/2 butter.  Serve with blue cheese dip.

I often smoke a bunch of wings and divide into vacuum bags after the initial smoke.  That way, I can pull them out of the freezer and just finish them at the high temp and serve.  They aren't quite as crispy out of the freezer, but its nice to have smoked wings at the ready.

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On 12/12/2022 at 6:10 PM, Your Mom said:

Advice on venison backstrap?  I'm seeing lots of recipes with some basic rub, smoke to medium rare, and a reverse sear.  Anything other than that that you like?

I tried smoking backstrap on my pellet grill and it got drier than I wanted it to.  It was still good, but not elite.  I went back to my old basic method, but tweaked it to the pellet grill.

-Marinate for 2-3 days in a blend of olive oil, vinegar and spices (Italian dressing works great if you don't want to concoct your own mix).

-Hit the marinated meat with a dry rub of your preference.

-Set pellet grill to 350 and wait to put the meat on until it's at temp.

-Sear for no more than 5 minutes a side.  If you've cut into medallions, flip them once they get some char.

Absolute perfection.

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I ended up doing something similar with one section of it.  Basic brisket rub with some oil, smoked at 225 until the internal temp was about 125°.  Set it in a foil tent to cool while I cranked the heat up on the gas grill. Then seared all four sides on a 500° cast iron skillet on the gas grill. That got it to medium rare with a decent crust on the outside. It was delicious, moist, and gone too quick to take pics.  Still have a couple more sections, probably going to chicken fry them for Christmas day.  
I don’t really hunt, but it was my kids first deer.  

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My FIL is a big bow hunter and also does muzzleloader so I get enough meat from him.  Every year I keep telling myself I'll do shotgun season, but it's so close to the end of harvest that I'm never sure if we'll be done or not (we almost always are).

The current back strap in my freezer is road kill.  My in-laws live on a very busy stretch of highway north of Waterloo, and about a month ago my FIL was sitting in the living room having his morning coffee when he saw a deer running across 2 lanes of traffic and get clipped by an SUV before it keeled over in their front yard.  He ran outside and could see that all 4 of the doe's legs were broken but she hadn't taken a hit to the body.  He quickly euthanized it and dressed it out in their garage.

Knowing that the thing was put out of it's misery before it starved to death in a road ditch just to get picked apart by coyotes and eagles will make it taste even better.  No wasting here.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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