Englander Pellet Grill arrives!!

[jtakeman]

Mike, Me thought you were in charge of all field testing. Didn't that include the grills too? We need spy photo's of the tasty grub you have tested the grill with! Come on don't be holding out on us!!

I'll gladly add food grade pellet testing if someone wants to donate one of them there pellet cooker/smokers!

 

[Clay H]

The website says
One of a kind - The ONLY pellet grill design (patented) that allows for direct AND indirect cooking of your food
Look at the Fast Eddy PG1000 pellet pit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NKfIV0fviSE

Ah, This IS a Fast Eddy design.
http://www.carid.com/2003-ford-excu...?cagpspn=pla&gclid=CNmAv4zzxbYCFQgHnQod0DQA7g

 

[Clay H]

Ah, This IS a Fast Eddy design.
http://www.carid.com/2003-ford-excu...?cagpspn=pla&gclid=CNmAv4zzxbYCFQgHnQod0DQA7g

Which makes me want it even more.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

ok guys, D-Day, i brought one home yesterday (was a bear getting it off da silverado and onto the deck alone but im a big boy so it happened without incident).

did the "preburn yesterday evening and tonight im going to christen her with my "beer butt" chicken. i am shooting pictures and will post before during and after shots later as we go. one thing i like is that i can do the chicken indirect and roast corn on the cob on the direct side when im ready, used to have to do them separately with the egg, not enough cooking surface and no "combination of direct and indirect at the same time so i had to do the corn after the chicken which was a pain.

will post later with pic's i promise

edit: i forgot to mention, its currently raining here, the grill is sitting outside in the rain no overhead cover holding 350 on the dot. i intend to wring this thing out and see what she can take he-he.

 

[raybonz]

ok guys, D-Day, i brought one home yesterday (was a bear getting it off da silverado and onto the deck alone but im a big boy so it happened without incident).

did the "preburn yesterday evening and tonight im going to christen her with my "beer butt" chicken. i am shooting pictures and will post before during and after shots later as we go. one thing i like is that i can do the chicken indirect and roast corn on the cob on the direct side when im ready, used to have to do them separately with the egg, not enough cooking surface and no "combination of direct and indirect at the same time so i had to do the corn after the chicken which was a pain.

will post later with pic's i promise

edit: i forgot to mention, its currently raining here, the grill is sitting outside in the rain no overhead cover holding 350 on the dot. i intend to wring this thing out and see what she can take he-he.

You may want to read this about beer can chicken..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/beer-can-chicken_b_1634001.html
The article makes sense as the beer NEVER boils.. I now just use a rack with a drip pan with a little water between the heat and the chicken.. Of course I do smoke with hickory, apple, mesquite or cherry

Ray

 

[stoveguy2esw]

You may want to read this about beer can chicken..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/beer-can-chicken_b_1634001.html
The article makes sense as the beer NEVER boils.. I now just use a rack with a drip pan with a little water between the heat and the chicken.. Of course I do smoke with hickory, apple, mesquite or cherry

Ray

oh i know, ive actually tried it with an empty rack before, didn't like it as much i suspect evaporation of the liquid helps add moisture inside when i did it with an empty rack it was a bit dryer. heck you could just use water if ya wanted, biggest thing is to not just down half a beer and immediately shove it up in the chicken and put it on the grill, always start with a can at room temp or higher,( open it early drink the top half then, set it on the counter and open another to enjoy )

on the egg when i do it i supplement the charcoal with cuttings i save when i limb my crabapple trees, in season i actually add ripe crabapples to the charcoal right before i put the chicken in the egg. if you have a crabapple tree handy, try leaving a few ripe ones on the grill surface as you cook with the egg or smoker, they are quite tasty when they have been cooked a bit.

 

[raybonz]

oh i know, ive actually tried it with an empty rack before, didn't like it as much i suspect evaporation of the liquid helps add moisture inside when i did it with an empty rack it was a bit dryer. heck you could just use water if ya wanted, biggest thing is to not just down half a beer and immediately shove it up in the chicken and put it on the grill, always start with a can at room temp or higher,( open it early drink the top half then, set it on the counter and open another to enjoy )

on the egg when i do it i supplement the charcoal with cuttings i save when i limb my crabapple trees, in season i actually add ripe crabapples to the charcoal right before i put the chicken in the egg. if you have a crabapple tree handy, try leaving a few ripe ones on the grill surface as you cook with the egg or smoker, they are quite tasty when they have been cooked a bit.

I have done beer can chicken several times and with room temperature beer and kamado temp at 400 degrees and the beer doesn't evaporate.. Then I read that article and it made sense.. I just use a rack or the beer can holder with a tray beneath the chicken with a little water to add moisture and catch drippings.. The key is to use indirect heat and the chicken will not be dry.. Oh adding rubs are great on the chicken

Ray

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I have done beer can chicken several times and with room temperature beer and kamado temp at 400 degrees and the beer doesn't evaporate.. Then I read that article and it made sense.. I just use a rack or the beer can holder with a tray beneath the chicken with a little water to add moisture and catch drippings.. The key is to use indirect heat and the chicken will not be dry.. Oh adding rubs are great on the chicken

Ray

on the egg i use my platesetter which provides the indirect, you don't "lose" a lot of moisture and the chicken juices from the top end up in the can as well. as for rubs, i use em, both store bought and some of my own creation, actually have done a "tequila/lime" beer can chicken a few times, its slammin good. as for the one tonight was basically italian dressing and a few spices, going simple.

BTW 400 is a bit hot for BCC, i run about 350 for about an hour and fifteen minutes to an hours 45 depending on the size of the bird. the one im cooking tonite is 5.6 lbs

 

[raybonz]

on the egg i use my platesetter which provides the indirect, you don't "lose" a lot of moisture and the chicken juices from the top end up in the can as well. as for rubs, i use em, both store bought and some of my own creation, actually have done a "tequila/lime" beer can chicken a few times, its slammin good. as for the one tonight was basically italian dressing and a few spices, going simple.

I hear ya I have accumulated quite a few rub and food recipes.. I look forward to your findings with the pellet grill.. Do you use pellets like hickory for smoking as well?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I hear ya I have accumulated quite a few rub and food recipes.. I look forward to your findings with the pellet grill.. Do you use pellets like hickory for smoking as well?

the ones im using now are the ones we market they are a hickory pellet, we had them private labeled for our grills. for some stupid reason to get an UL listing you must "specify" what pellets may be used by name (retarded) anyway our manual states you must use only our pellets, this is not factual, but a necessity for the listing. personally i'd love some mesquite pellets for beef (love mesquite charcoal (lump) in my egg for steaks)


i gotta tell ya, im psyched about the grill, wish we would have been able to do it years ago. if it does as well as im expecting hopefully we can build into a line of them, i think a smaller one could be done (im already burning a few brain cells on it)


BY THE WAY WE INCLUDE A 20LB BAG OF THESE PELLETS WITH THE GRILL

 

[raybonz]

the ones im using now are the ones we market they are a hickory pellet, we had them private labeled for our grills. for some stupid reason to get an UL listing you must "specify" what pellets may be used by name (retarded) anyway our manual states you must use only our pellets, this is not factual, but a necessity for the listing. personally i'd love some mesquite pellets for beef (love mesquite charcoal (lump) in my egg for steaks)


i gotta tell ya, im psyched about the grill, wish we would have been able to do it years ago. if it does as well as im expecting hopefully we can build into a line of them, i think a smaller one could be done (im already burning a few brain cells on it)

Pretty strange you have to specify fuel brand to use.. Doesn't make any sense to me! Lots of my smoking wood comes from my wood pile.. Have loads of cherry, some hickory, some apple and a bag of Walmart mesquite chunks..

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Pretty strange you have to specify fuel brand to use.. Doesn't make any sense to me! Lots of my smoking wood comes from my wood pile.. Have loads of cherry, some hickory, some apple and a bag of Walmart mesquite chunks..

i know , its exceedingly dumb, but it is what it is. im expecting calls on it to my service center where we will likely have to explain this<sigh> heck i think BGE at one point said to only use their charcoal but ive used several brands (cheaper) over the last 7 years with no issues on it

 

[StihlHead]

Interesting. Very interesting. I like the design from the looks of it. I am a bigger fan of oven style smokers than barrel type smokers. Boxes make better ovens than barrels, in my experience, and I like the double door design. It looks like a good design for smoking meats in.

BBQ is very addictive stuff. I have an older model Traeger Lil Tex and an original large barrel type Brinkmann offset wood smoker. My brother bought my Traeger Texas and he also has a smaller Brinkmann pellet smoker that HD sells. They are all controlled with an Ortech controller. The temp controllers are not that great on the Brinkmann or the Traegers, and the temps vary quite a bit even on the digital controller models. The outside temp has a big impact on the grill temps, and that is a big problem with these types of grills in my experience. Also they do not have good temp control at lower temps, where I like to smoke (between 100 and 180 degrees). The lowest temp setting on the newer Ortech is 180, below that you have to mess with the P setting timer (smoke mode switch) and that is variable with the wood being used and on outside temps. Also the barrel shape limits the amount of food that you can smoke on these grills.

So my question is how is the Englander pellet grill temp controlled?

 

[StihlHead]

As for BBQ pellets, you should only use hardwood (HW) pellets in pellet grill smokers. Softwoods (SW) create soot and can actually add toxins to the food you smoke. Also most of the SW pellets made for heating in the PNW are made form sawdust remnants from saw and plywood mills, and they have binders and glues in them, as well as other 'stuff'. Read: not good. Some people use HW pellets made for pellet stoves but you have to watch out for added binders in them.

HW smoking and grilling pellets are popping up all over the place here as pellet grills are catching on fast. I use Bear Mountain pellets which are mostly blends of alder and other HW like pecan and maple. I also use Gourmet BBQ (made by Pacific) pellets which are 100% competition grade apple, maple and cherry pellets. I do not use Traeger pellets, as they are more expensive, I think they are inferior quality, and my Traeger is well out of its warranty period anyway. I also have oak and mesquite pellets, but I only use them for beef and they can both add bitter flavors to BBQ. I prefer more subtle woods in my BBQ. I also have a stash of alder, maple and cherry firewood for my offset wood smoker.

I do not buy store brand BBQ sauces any more, as they all seem to have added smoke flavor (usually hickory). I have smokers to add the smoke flavor, so I make my own BBQ sauces. I also make my own rubs, as I do not want MSG in my food, and many pre-made rubs have smoke flavor added as well. I have a huge collection of herbs and spices. Oh, and probably the best secret of all the rubs... powdered Worcestershire. Beware! BBQ made on pellet grills is highly addictive! It gets in your blood, and you start to smell BBQ a mile away. You start to differentiate between woods that your neighbors are burning and cooking with. You also tend to gain weight eating this stuff, and you will soon run out of room in your freezer and need to buy a separate freezer.

 

[Lousyweather]

oh i know, ive actually tried it with an empty rack before, didn't like it as much i suspect evaporation of the liquid helps add moisture inside when i did it with an empty rack it was a bit dryer. heck you could just use water if ya wanted, biggest thing is to not just down half a beer and immediately shove it up in the chicken and put it on the grill, always start with a can at room temp or higher,( open it early drink the top half then, set it on the counter and open another to enjoy )

on the egg when i do it i supplement the charcoal with cuttings i save when i limb my crabapple trees, in season i actually add ripe crabapples to the charcoal right before i put the chicken in the egg. if you have a crabapple tree handy, try leaving a few ripe ones on the grill surface as you cook with the egg or smoker, they are quite tasty when they have been cooked a bit.

I use a MAK 2 star, and keeping the meat moist isn't a big deal....usually you smoke the meat at around 180 degrees, till the meat temp hits about 145 degrees, after which point it wont take a smoke anymore....then you foil the meat (keeps the juices in- some folks even add a bit of cider in the foil).....cook tightly wrapped in foil till the temp gets to the desired point (temp varies per taste and meat cooked), then, unwrap and cook uncovered for 5-20 mins, to "firm up" the bark.......

Ive been smoking in my pellet grill/smoker for 2 years, and lemme tell ya, its a learned thing.....takes practice.......and patience. good luck!

 

[gbreda]

.
Ive been smoking in my pellet grill/smoker for 2 years, and lemme tell ya, its a learned thing.....takes practice.......and patience. good luck!

Amen brother ! Not a better way than I can think of to learn patience

Mike, keep posting (pics please ) , very interested on this

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Interesting. Very interesting. I like the design from the looks of it. I am a bigger fan of oven style smokers than barrel type smokers. Boxes make better ovens than barrels, in my experience, and I like the double door design. It looks like a good design for smoking meats in.

BBQ is very addictive stuff. I have an older model Traeger Lil Tex and an original large barrel type Brinkmann offset wood smoker. My brother bought my Traeger Texas and he also has a smaller Brinkmann pellet smoker that HD sells. They are all controlled with an Ortech controller. The temp controllers are not that great on the Brinkmann or the Traegers, and the temps vary quite a bit even on the digital controller models. The outside temp has a big impact on the grill temps, and that is a big problem with these types of grills in my experience. Also they do not have good temp control at lower temps, where I like to smoke (between 100 and 180 degrees). The lowest temp setting on the newer Ortech is 180, below that you have to mess with the P setting timer (smoke mode switch) and that is variable with the wood being used and on outside temps. Also the barrel shape limits the amount of food that you can smoke on these grills.

So my question is how is the Englander pellet grill temp controlled?

yeah it is, i think the temp loss thing isnt going to be as big a thing as the firebox does have some mass to it, mine seems to hold heat pretty well (though its 78 outside right now) running some spare ribs with a concoction i use in the egg a lot brown sugar based dry rub, gonna mop on some wet sauce shortly, running at 220 on the board and holding it quite nicely on the passive thermometer in the right hand door over the meat. when i open the doors to dress the meat it picks up a bit so it recovers from heat loss automatically and within a couple minutes, has a "beep" to tell you when its back on programmed temp (i didnt know this until i brought one home).

gotta tell ya, the BC chicken last night was slammin, as good as the egg does it though it took a bit longer (was a bigger bird too though 5.65lbs) cooked corn on the cob on the direct side while the chicken was indirect (cant do that with the egg not enough room) actually the squared of cooking grid works out well on the ribs, usually on the egg with this many half slabs i have to use a stacker and cook them standing up which works well except if you want to "go wet"

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i forgot to mention, we include a 20 lb bag of ESW branded pellets (hardwood) with each grill, its packaged inside with the components (legs , grates, shelves, and such.) so you will get to fire it off as soon as you get it put together.

the ribs im running now have been on since about 4.30 local, its 7.50 local now, and the grill has used a bit more than a large cereal bowl worth of fuel

 

[DexterDay]

Pics???

Mike you know the rules..... Never happened

 

[imacman]

ok guys, D-Day, i brought one home yesterday......i am shooting pictures and will post before during and after shots later as we go.......

The waiting song from "Jeopardy" is still playing......

 

[Lousyweather]

i forgot to mention, we include a 20 lb bag of ESW branded pellets (hardwood) with each grill, its packaged inside with the components (legs , grates, shelves, and such.) so you will get to fire it off as soon as you get it put together.

the ribs im running now have been on since about 4.30 local, its 7.50 local now, and the grill has used a bit more than a large cereal bowl worth of fuel

hmmm....a bit long for ribs.....but depends on the temperature profile you are using......temp is?

 

[FyreBug]

You may want to read this about beer can chicken..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/beer-can-chicken_b_1634001.html
The article makes sense as the beer NEVER boils.. I now just use a rack with a drip pan with a little water between the heat and the chicken.. Of course I do smoke with hickory, apple, mesquite or cherry
Ray

Excellent article... However the writer gloss one important fact. Moist meat is a function of how you cook, never how you add various spices or try different techniques or tricks to 'add moisture'. There is no such thing as 'adding moisture'. The moisture was already there in the meat to begin with. The trick is not to let it get out of it.

If I may suggest the book "Keys to good cooking" by Harold McGee. Mr. McGee is a food scientist and this is not a cook book. It explains how and why food behaves under certain conditions. It also explodes quite a few long cherished 'Myths' about cooking.

Regarding meat moisture, Mr. McGee proves with science all meats are done cooking at 145F. Anything above that is overcooking and drying the meat. USDA adds 15-20F as a safety factor. For large pieces of meat (Turkey, Roasts etc...) he recommends cooking the meat at target temperature (ie. 145-160 F) until the meat reaches its target temperature. For meat with a lot of connective tissues (ribs and other tough cuts) he suggest to leave it at that temp until the connective tissues dissolves into its gelatin.

Since then I have cooked large turkeys, roasts, chicken on my Green Egg between 150 - 160F. Mind you it takes a long time and the bird comes out ghostly white (put it in the oven on 'broil' for 10 min. to crisp the skin) and everyone raves about the best and moistest meat they've ever had. I cook my ribs between 8-10 hours at that temp with similar results.

Cooking meat in 250F and above ensures the top layer will be long dry before the inside of the meat reaches safe eating temperature. The method above ensures the meat cooks evenly without drying.

If you are concerned about bacteria the book explains at length how bacteria behaves (too long for this post) but long term cooking at 150F will kill more bacteria than short term at 350F. The same principles applies to the 'sous-vide' method cooking many chefs across the world now use to make the meat moist and tender.

 

[Lousyweather]

like I said before, its a process learning......I smoke for a few hours usually at 180 or so (anything below that and I have a hard time keeping the fire lit), and once the meat hits 145, I will wrap in foil to keep the moisture in, and finish cook it to temp. Now, after it hit temp, I will open the foil and cook for the bark that we all know and love. Also, a VERY good idea to "sit" the meat after cooking for AT LEAST a half hour, more is better! rewrap the meat in the foil, then wrap it in beach towels or something, and throw it in a cooler (with no ice, of course!) I have let meat sit for two hours and found it lost barely 5 degrees......there is a definite learning curve, and you keep learning.......

 

[FyreBug]

like I said before, its a process learning............there is a definite learning curve, and you keep learning.......

Indeed... That's half the fun of it! You develop your own 'secret' tips and recipes and others have to ply you with beer to get it out of you

 

[Lousyweather]

Indeed... That's half the fun of it! You develop your own 'secret' tips and recipes and others have to ply you with beer to get it out of you

and, lol, I don't even drink! I've helped others, but admit to leaving a step out of two at times.....