Pellet Fan
All Things Considered => General Discussion--Food Related => Topic started by: Xring01 on October 15, 2017, 04:30:13 PM
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Living in SoCal has a few benefits, weather being the best benefit. There are also alot of pretty bright people also.
Background on me. Born and raised in Texas, spent 8 years in the military, the last 20 plus years in SoCal. When it come to BBQ. I am Texan, very particular. I do not like Super Sweet, or vinegar, or most of the stuff that comes out of the South. Keep it simple, let meat speak for itself.
For those of you who love that stuff, you cant help, its the way you were raised. You have ever right to like it and make, Texans, make it different.
Living in SoCal, there truly is not alot of good BBQ places like Texas. Pretty much every place where two roads cross. There is guy with a BBQ trailer, selling brisket.
So many years ago, being frustrated with not being able get good BBQ, I decided to build a offset BBQ. So flipping thru Craigslist one day, looking for a welder and materials to make one, I found a nice Pitts/Spitts offset for a SMOKIN Deal.. SO I bought it. Thats pretty much what I have used for the majority of my smoking. But I also have Weber WSM, Weber Ranch, Weber Kettle and other stuff.
Therefore you can see my reluctance to get into Pellet smokers. My neighors have the Green Mountains, and Traegers. Frankly I was never impressed with what they produced. Just not the same as offset. Frankly, just no smoke flavor. I am Texan, I like mesquite, and I like heavy smoke flavor.
Flipping thru Craigslist the other day, I found a Jenn U Wine Jerry Junior Proto Type for sale at a very good price. This design allow you to put wood chunks on top of the fire deflector plate, creating alot more smoke than a regulat pellet grill. It basically has the Pellet Pro Hopper/Controller, with 5 racks in a vertical design.
I do not have alot of experience with it yet, and messed around with it a few times. Today, I put small batch of Hot Wings, and some Chicken Qtrs on it. Ran it at about 300 degrees with a few chunks of Almond wood and Traeger Hickory pellets.
Wings, turned out amazing. Awesome, great wood flavor, crispy enough skin.
The chicken qtrs, cooked to 165, flavor was really good, great smoke flavor. The skin wasnt as crispy as I prefer... But that was my fault. Lesson learned.. run it at 325 degrees next time.
So, Like the fact that I do not have to tend a fire every couple of hours. I am not a truly converted to Pellet yet... need to get a brisket or two under my belt with it, then I can give final judgement.
But its a chicken cooking machine..
The other night. I put a couple of Ribeyes on it, for smoke mode.. but I finished them on my gas grill at 650 degrees... That was very convenient. Kinda a reverse sear. And a xxxx good steak.
I will update this when I get a more experience with it.
Overall I am pretty happy with the Jenn U Wine Jerry. Take a look at his stuff. Pretty simple idea, and works.
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Gonna be honest with you from the start...Your 1st post, name of a company in title, last sentence a plug for the company...looks like an ad to me! Guess we will see where it and you go from here!
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Its my first post, cause its the first time I am using a Pellet Smoker..
Wow, some senical people on this site...
I have absolutely no affliation with any BBQ Manufacturer...
Now I do make my own seasoning that many people have told me to sell, but I have yet to find the time to do it.
Cause my full time job pay my bills nicely, but takes up alot of my time.
Hopefully that puts the above comment to bed.
First comment on it, because no one else on the site had mentioned them, and its a slightly differenct take on a traditional Pellet Smoker... Which I thought you guys would find interesting..
I am willing to bet several others figured out how to do the same thing on there smokers.
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As senical, or cynical as they get...and the owner to boot. The best of both worlds!
Wow, some senical people on this site...
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Search my username on Smokering,
You will see I have been on that site, and a contributor for many many years..
Never sold a thing there..
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If so, we look forward to your contributions on this site!
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I’ve always thought that was a weird mod to a Pellet smoker. Takes away from the convenience if I have to keep adding wood to it.
Would love to know more about how it works.
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The convenience is still there. On this design..
I can add wood just by opening up the rear hatch, obviously I will need to take some pics..
But I dont have to open the hatch..
A 3" cube of almond wood, lasted about 4-5 hours. There is a bit left, but its 90% gone. I was informed to used larger chunks of wood, when I bought it... But I had this, and wanted to try it.
I was Told that a 4" x 8" chunk of wood will last 10 hours or more... In addition, I was warned not to put to much wood on it.
What I can tell you, is that a thin blue haze of smoke was steady once it came up to temp.
I am not say it will do this at 225-250... what I am saying is it did it at 300...
I have not done a low temp smoke yet... YET.. Stating that, so the mods know I am not a rubber stamp of approval.
I have not proved this smoker to my satisfaction with a brisket YET>>>>
Thats gonna be awhile, because I have a cubed up brisket in the freezer for my next poker night.. Yes, that brisket was cooked on my offset smoker.. gotta use it up, before I do another.
CHILI.. Smoked Brisket Chili. owe yeah. Chili, Poker, Bourbon, Cigars.. Gonna be a good night with my buddys.
Did I mention I know a guy who makes home made bourbon.. wink wink. That dude can make some seriously good stuff.
Its hard for me to understand. In CA its legal to buy 420/weed, but illegal to make bourbon, shine.. Does that make any sense at all?
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If I really wanted to... it would be trivial to add a plate above my direct grilling area on my PG500 that would allow me to make wood smolder/smoke. It would be REALLY easy in fact.... Generally speaking, there's just not much need to add more smoke , than what the PG500 already produces at moderate temperatures... In most cases, the PG500 smokes really well , up to about 275F, sometimes at temps bellow 200F, it can get too much smoke.
If I were to do something on the PG500, I'd probably try to design in something that allowed me to raise, or lower the metal plate... The height would possibly need to be adjusted to keep it from getting too hot, causing the wood to burn to quickly... But anyway. I see my PG500 as a offset, a vertical smoker, and a grill all rolled into one, providing me a great deal of versatility.
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Generally speaking, there's just not much need to add more smoke , than what the PG500 already produces at moderate temperatures... In most cases, the PG500 smokes really well , up to about 275F, sometimes at temps bellow 200F, it can get too much smoke.
Xring wrote that, like some pellet pit users, he likes heavy smoke flavor and doesn't find enough in the food produced on his neighbors' GMG and Traegers. He'd probably like what you and I think of as too much smoke.
I don't want readers to think that I find fault in that. It's not wrong. It's just different from my preference.
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That's some pretty serious cashola right there.
I'm having a hard time justifying that output for an unoriginal idea that would work on most pits already out there.
My Jr has a heat deflector, so why not add a hunk-o-wood on top? What wood happen if that hunk decided to catch on fire? :o
No thank you.
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"For those of you who love that stuff, you cant help, its the way you were raised. You have ever right to like it and make, Texans, make it different."
No disrespect meant Xring01, but ALL Texans don't like a heavy smoke profile! But your are correct, you have that right!
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I have a cousin in TX that makes stick burners. 18' long/24" diameter ones that you tow behind your truck.
I love him till the end, but will never tell him he's missing out. "Bless your heart" comes to mind... You do know what that means.
When I was young, Dad had a Little Chief electric smoker (came with directions and everything). He'd take us out smelt dipping, and we'd come home with pails full of those vile creatures. The only way to make them edible was to smoke them until they were drier than jerky, and had the creosote taste that only that little smoker could apply.
Mind you, he makes some fantastic deer back strap jerky. It's just not for me. A couple bites is ok tho. My ex used to put salt on ham. :puke:
I quit smoking cigs over a year ago. Prior to that, I quit using salt in most everything. There's a LOT of rubs out there I've only tried once because of all the salt they contain.
My point? We're all raised in different manners. Some never get over it. Many do. What's left is another dimension in flavor.
I no longer care for heavy smoke because I can now taste the meat. I no longer care for excessive salt because I can now taste the other spices.
:2cents:
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That's some pretty serious cashola right there.
I'm having a hard time justifying that output for an unoriginal idea that would work on most pits already out there.
My Jr has a heat deflector, so why not add a hunk-o-wood on top? What wood happen if that hunk decided to catch on fire? :o
No thank you.
Bob, I bought it used and paid less than a new Traeger Texas sells for. I was about to buy a Pellet Pro Hopper to build a small cabinet smoker.. I found this one CL.. It came with the Pellet Pro hopper..
I am quite sure I can sell if for what I paid for it...
The cost of the Green Mountains/Traegers, is to high in my opinion. Especially when you see how thin the metal is and how light weight they are made..
Again, thats my opinion.
Another thing, you mentioned you do not like much salt. I agree, I make my own rubs/seasonings that has a small amount of salt. I do this so you can put alot on, get the Onion/Garlic/Pepper flavors. Rather than just tasting salt.
PM me your address, I will send you a little care package...
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I can assure you the GMG DB/JB is anything but light weight, I have been competing for the last 5 years and put hundreds of miles, numerous competitions and more than there fair share of abuse including recently when the JB tipped over on blacktop and sustained no damage other than some scuff marks, are they a FEC's or MAK's no, but they are not delicate either.
The cost of the Green Mountains/Traegers is to high in my opinion. Especially when you see how thin the metal is and how light weight they are made..
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I can assure you the GMG DB/JB is anything but light weight, I have been competing for the last 5 years and put hundreds of miles, numerous competitions and more than there fair share of abuse including recently when the JB tipped over on blacktop and sustained no damage other than some scuff marks, are they a FEC's or MAK's no, but they are not delicate either.
The cost of the Green Mountains/Traegers is to high in my opinion. Especially when you see how thin the metal is and how light weight they are made..
I would agree. My Daniel Boone is no Yoder, but at 155lbs, it is close in size and weight to the Memphis Advantage at 161lbs....and $2000 less.
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The smoker I bought is over 300lbs..
Took me and 3 buddys to offload it. I am seriously consideirng upgrading the 3" caster wheels it has, to say 8" inch wheels. Make it a bit more mobile.
Its made of at least 1/8 plate steel and and 1" Square Tubing for the base.
Based on the Price / Pound Math.. if a 155lb smoker cost $900, then a 300lb smoker should be at least worth $1600 or more... This one is well over 300lbs, and close to 2000 sq inchs of cooking capacity.
I have looked at the Memphis, and thought about them a bit.. They are pretty pricey.. I would have to be able to get rid of all my other smokers... meaning the Memphis can do it all, before I could get close to spending that much coin on them. The biggest Memphis they make, is just not enough capacity for my larger cooks. So I would still have to keep my other smokers if I bought one.
The fact they can cook at high heat did interest me.
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Glad I don't have to move it...I will take mobility over useless weight any day!
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Glad I don't have to move it...I will take mobility over useless weight any day!
I am not a competition guy, so I really wont move it much at all. Now that its on the back patio, it probably wont move for a year or two, unless my wife decides to buy different outdoor furniture.
I have a new Miller welder, always looking for an excuse to play with it.. this one might get bigger wheels, it might just be a pipe dream.
Competitions have intrigued me, but I do not think I am capable of trying to cook something just to satisfy the judge's (super sweet or vinegar).. Because I wouldnt be happy with it. I cook things they way I want it, or the way my wife/kids want it. Again, my job, would prevent me from having the time for a competitions anyway.
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Interesting idea, but for me, not really my thing.
I'm at the stage of life where it's all about convenience factor.
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Is it a MIG with a tank? I have the cheap Harbor Freight with the flux core. Have never used a gas MIG or TIG, sure would like to, just to see if that splatter is really reduced.
This is the way I have always cooked in Competitions, maybe that is why I have never done well!
I have a new Miller welder, always looking for an excuse to play with it..
Competitions have intrigued me, but I do not think I am capable of trying to cook something just to satisfy the judge's (super sweet or vinegar).. Because I wouldnt be happy with it. I cook things they way I want it...
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Is it a MIG with a tank? I have the cheap Harbor Freight with the flux core. Have never used a gas MIG or TIG, sure would like to, just to see if that splatter is really reduced.
This is the way I have always cooked in Competitions, maybe that is why I have never done well!
I have a new Miller welder, always looking for an excuse to play with it..
Competitions have intrigued me, but I do not think I am capable of trying to cook something just to satisfy the judge's (super sweet or vinegar).. Because I wouldnt be happy with it. I cook things they way I want it...
I bought a new Miller 211 Dual Voltage Mig welder almost a year ago, using Argon Mix. My old welder was a very old Hobart 110 or 120 that was wore out. Needed alot new parts to get it running correctly. When I priced out all the parts, it was just better to get a new one, and sell the old one.
What I can say about the new Miller Mig. Now my welds look almost professional. In the past, the Hobart welds looked pretty bad, because it didn't feed consistently. Please note, it needed a new gun and other parts.
Basically what I am saying its pretty hard to make a worn out welder work good. I have learned alot since I got the new welder. I have alot of fun messing around with it.
I made a bunch of mods to my older Pitts & Spitts offset. Made two fire boxs (one for snake charcoal) (one for logs), rack holders to prevent them from falling out and hold 3 briskets while extended, fire poker sticks, tuning plates. I even made a cart for my Weber 22" Grill, it looks like a cart that is on the new Weber Ranch grills. Recently picked up a Spool Gun for aluminum.. It was priced pretty good on Ebay, used twice.. practically stole that thing. Looking forward to learning how to do Aluminum, (need to buy a straight Argon Bottle for Al).
I would like to have a Tig welder, but those are pretty pricey. Considering I am doing this for fun, its pretty hard to justify another welder, on something I really do not need.
Welders come in handy. Solve alot of problems, its fun in my opinion.
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OK, I am doing a low and slow brisket on Jenn U Wine...
Using Traeger Mesquite Pellets, and Hickory Chunks.. they are the largest chunks of wood I have at the moment.
Here are the pics that show you guys what this thing is.. Again, this is the First Proto Type, made of this design. Its not the prettiest thing, the welds pretty much suck, but its not going to fall apart. ONE MORE TIME, I bought it used, well used....
I have no idea why the pics are straight on my computer but sideways on the post.. Sorry about that.. Hope I figure it out for next time???
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I am about an Hour and Half into the cook..
Right now, I think I will be happy with the end result. Good amount of Blue smoke, If I had to guess, about the same as my offset when I use straight wood.
When I use Charcoal and wood chunks on the offset, it I get white ish/blue smoke...
Also I took a pic of the two wood chunks, showing what they look like after hour and a half ish...
It appears to be maintaining 225 pretty good on the top rack... but that temp is being read by 3 Thermometers. The guage on the front and two thermometers on the top rack. The digital setting on the controller is set at 255 to maintain that temp. The thermocouple for it is in the middle of the smoker. It gets more direct heat traveling up the sides of the drip pan, which is why it measures higher... But I can move it if I want, just need to figure out where I want it... hummm
Later on, I will plug in my I grill with several probes reading the pit temp and the meat temp. Way to early to do that now.
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The access is very interesting. I see that you can open the top door while leaving the bottom closed, can you open the bottom while leaving the top closed?
Looks like you could retain heat in the bottom while tending to items on the top.
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Just ran errands for 1.5 hours... and checked on the smoker.
The guage was still at 227 degrees. About 50% of the two wood chunks are left.
Not much blue smoke now... but the brisket looks good.
Put my Igrill on., Brisket is at 151 degrees right now..
At 160, I will foil it, and bump the temps up to 275 ish... To finish it...
Decided to add another small chunk of wood to it.. see if it get more blue smoke...
To answer the above question. Yes it has two doors, you can open the top and leave the bottom door closed, or open it up. The upper door has a 1" overhand to hold the bottom door closed.
Another thing I failed to mention.. I put a foil pan on the bottom grate, and put about 1 in of water in it.. Add some moisture to the cook.. I do that on my offset. It also helps keep the temps a bit more stable when you are opening up the smoker... Hoping it works the same on the Pellet Grill
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I foiled it, and cranked up the temp to 275ish..
Took a few pics.. It appears to me that the brisket has black look to it... Is that typical of Pellet Grill?
My past briskets on offset, were more of a dark burgandy brown, I wouldnt say black..
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Well, you aren't really cooking solely on a pellet pit so hard to say what the brisket color is caused by -- I would guess it has something to do with the chucks of wood you have smoldering in there. We have never had that color on any brisket cooked on any of our 4 different types of pellet pits.
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The wood is pretty much gone,
And the foil has alot of black residue on it...
I am using Traeger Pellets... Do pellets leave any residue when they burn?
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Not in any of the 5 I have owned!
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I cooked this to the same temps/consistancy/preperation like I have done in the past. Using Mesquite pellets and hickory chunks.
My thoughts... Not enough smoke flavor for a Brisket..
It has a great smoke ring, just very light smoke flavor. I will post pics tomorrow when I have time.
On my offset, I use charcoal with Mesquite Chunks, which is the flavor I am trying to duplicate with the Pellet..
So next time I try a brisket on the Pellet. I will use alot of big chunks of mequite. and Mesquite Pellets.
I need to figure out why it has a different darker color with the pellet grill than the offset???
I really like the fact that I did not have to tend a fire every couple of hours. If I can figure out how to get more smoke flavor, this one will be up for sale in the near future.
Maybe I need to smoke at lower temps for longer time to get more smoke flavor... hummm thinking about that now... 200 for until it hits 160 ish then bump the temp up after... ??? That might work
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You are never going to get that heavy smoke flavor with a pellet pit, so if that is what you are after, save yourself a lot of time and just go back to your stick burner.
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You have hunks of wood burning very inefficiently...I would start there!
I need to figure out why it has a different darker color with the pellet grill than the offset???
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I would agree with the others. You will not replicate the heavy smoke taste with a pellet grill. And, the smoldering chunks are probably burning inefficiently and throwing off some creosote. I think you either like the flavor of pellet grill smoke without accessories or you don't. I don't think there is an in between.
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No offense X, but it seems yer trying to equate pellet smoking to stick burning. That's not a bad thing, but they both have their own attributes.
Clearly, you prefer the stick burning method and the heavy smoke flavor it imparts. I think where you got sideways is adding wood chunks to the burner plate. It's just not the same as tossing a new hunk of wood on a bed of red hot coals. Will it burn? Most likely. Will it be an efficient burn? Never. Your attempt and the concurring pics spell that out. You wound up with a pc of meat with less than desirable results.
Personally, I find the claims made by the manufacturer in the process a bit unenlightened. It sounds great, but in practice it's a tad lacking in the 'proof' dept. Your posts wood verify that outcome.
Still looks to be a great smoker tho... IF you can get used to using it pellet only and wean yerself off of the heavy smoke.
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To each their own. Placing chunks of wood on the flame deflector seems no different than using the amazing tube smoker or the soup can though a strainer creating a ring for pellets to smolder. That some use for extra smoke flavor, For me its to much, tastes to much like creosote. Defeats the purpose of the pellet smoker. IMHO :2cents: