Englander Pellet Grill arrives!!

[StihlHead]

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.......

I cook my chickens to 160... which is the new standard cooked temp for bird (old temp was 180). I use a temp starting at 120 for more smoke and finish about 160-180. Smoke sticks far better to cold and cool meat, and once it gets warm the smoke does not stick nearly as much. I rarely cook anything above 250. I do not use foil, except for wrapping corn on the cob and meat if I want to make it more stringy for the likes of pulled pork. Foil will actually reflect the heat back in and you will tend to boil, or spike the heat in there and actually lose more moisture (and/or meat texture) using it. Also all you really have to do is let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes to unbind the proteins that make seared meat tough, but that is more for meats grilled on high heat (like flame broiling steaks and chops at 400+).

Low temp cooking is better and in my view the bane of all of these pellet grills with temp controllers that start around 225 degrees. That is way too high a temp for making smoked meats, fish, and jerky. Many of us wind up using the P level controller on the Ortech controllers to get lower smoking temps on Traeger grills. For that reason Traeger does not put the P controller knob on their controllers from Ortech, and the P switches are either on the back or recessed on the front (need a screwdriver to set them). A Traeger rep says that they fear that users will set the P control too low and cause the fire to go out and then the pellets will mound up unburned and cause a flare-up when the igniter is turned on again. Ortech had has their own controller available direct (on their Ebay site) for Traeger and Brinkmann that had a P control knob on the front, and they let users control the P setting for smoke mode, as well as between active cycles in the highter temp ranges. That controller also starts at 180, which is still too high for my likes, but better than 225. I am designing a controller based on P timing only, that allows for controlling the on and off cycle of the pellet auger, and thus allowing for better temp precision, and low temp control.

I cooked a pork roast last night, and as an afterthought tossed in a half chicken that I have frozen and thawed out. Damn if the chicken was not better than the pork! I did not expect that. The pork was good, but... No foil on either, smoked on low (120) for an hour, flipped meat, smoked at 160-175 for 2 more hours, flipping back after an hour. Rubbed with garlic, salt, ginger, pow. worst., black pepper, onion and... that was it. Tasty good. Smoked with half alder and half apple. Good chefs have nothing to hide, or to keep a secret.

Oh, and of the Harold McGee books, his best is: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

 

[raybonz]

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.

Agreed you want to seal the meat.. Moist heat such as smoking does help retain the moisture in my opinion.. A throw away foil pan with some water does help to create a damp/humid environment while cooking/smoking..

Ray

 

[Jags]

A throw away foil pan with some water does help to create a damp/humid environment while cooking/smoking..

Ray

...And is a great heat regulator.

 

[raybonz]

...And is a great heat regulator.

Yes I forgot to mention this is also my heat diffuser for indirect cooking..Thanks for pointing that out

Ray

 

[Lousyweather]

I cook my chickens to 160... which is the new standard cooked temp for bird (old temp was 180). I use a temp starting at 120 for more smoke and finish about 160-180. Smoke sticks far better to cold and cool meat, and once it gets warm the smoke does not stick nearly as much. I rarely cook anything above 250. I do not use foil, except for wrapping corn on the cob and meat if I want to make it more stringy for the likes of pulled pork. Foil will actually reflect the heat back in and you will tend to boil, or spike the heat in there and actually lose more moisture (and/or meat texture) using it. Also all you really have to do is let the meat rest for 10-15 minutes to unbind the proteins that make seared meat tough, but that is more for meats grilled on high heat (like flame broiling steaks and chops at 400+).

Low temp cooking is better and in my view the bane of all of these pellet grills with temp controllers that start around 225 degrees. That is way too high a temp for making smoked meats, fish, and jerky. Many of us wind up using the P level controller on the Ortech controllers to get lower smoking temps on Traeger grills. For that reason Traeger does not put the P controller knob on their controllers from Ortech, and the P switches are either on the back or recessed on the front (need a screwdriver to set them). A Traeger rep says that they fear that users will set the P control too low and cause the fire to go out and then the pellets will mound up unburned and cause a flare-up when the igniter is turned on again. Ortech had has their own controller available direct (on their Ebay site) for Traeger and Brinkmann that had a P control knob on the front, and they let users control the P setting for smoke mode, as well as between active cycles in the highter temp ranges. That controller also starts at 180, which is still too high for my likes, but better than 225. I am designing a controller based on P timing only, that allows for controlling the on and off cycle of the pellet auger, and thus allowing for better temp precision, and low temp control.

I cooked a pork roast last night, and as an afterthought tossed in a half chicken that I have frozen and thawed out. Damn if the chicken was not better than the pork! I did not expect that. The pork was good, but... No foil on either, smoked on low (120) for an hour, flipped meat, smoked at 160-175 for 2 more hours, flipping back after an hour. Rubbed with garlic, salt, ginger, pow. worst., black pepper, onion and... that was it. Tasty good. Smoked with half alder and half apple. Good chefs have nothing to hide, or to keep a secret.

Oh, and of the Harold McGee books, his best is: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

yep, all good info, tho I am slightly different because I tend to not have enough time which is necessary to cook at the low temps you use (sadly). Youre right, low and slow is best, if you have the time. Sadly, one commodity I don't have. So, I foil all red meats (and pork)- I do not foil fowl. For me, its slow till 145, then foil, raise the temp, to around 250 or so, and finish cook, then remove the foil to firm the meat, and its all good. Biggest issue is all the folks asking "when's it gonna be done?".......they just don't get it.....cant answer that......took years to finish the Sistine Chapel ceiling.......frankly, cooking like this is an art......and trust me, Ive head stupendous failures....usually from second guessing the temps (overcooked)

 

[StihlHead]

Make 'em wait. Or cook in the conventional oven and make 'em suffer. Or do what we do, toss on some small pieces that will cook faster and carve 'em up early. Or smoke some corn on the cob in foil, that only takes 15 minutes.

A meat thermometer works wonders to avoid the overcooking.

 

[jtakeman]

Still no grille pic's or pic's of food even? Careful, We'll turn this puppy into a beer thread ifn we don't see results!

 

[smoke show]

Still no grille pic's or pic's of food even? Careful, We'll turn this puppy into a beer thread ifn we don't see results!

A friend of mine's stash...

 

[StihlHead]

 

[gbreda]

Hey J, now ya gone and done did it. Mike better get some pics up here quick !

 

[stoveguy2esw]

as soon as i find my cable to connect the camera to the dang computer i will upload (grrrr) never let your wife 'borrow" anything

 

[smoke show]

as soon as i find my cable to connect the camera to the dang computer i will upload (grrrr) never let your wife 'borrow" anything

cables are so yesterday.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

cables are so yesterday.

so's my computer

 

[gbreda]

as soon as i find my cable to connect the camera to the dang computer i will upload (grrrr) never let your wife 'borrow" anything

Havnt used the cable in a long time. Get a card reader (or a computer with card reader). They work much faster and easier than cabling the camera to the computer.

 

[mepellet]

Havnt used the cable in a long time. Get a card reader (or a computer with card reader). They work much faster and easier than cabling the camera to the computer.

or better yet, a camera that transfers the photos via wifi to your computer. No cables or cards to deal with. Works pretty slick!

 

[Lousyweather]

Make 'em wait. Or cook in the conventional oven and make 'em suffer. Or do what we do, toss on some small pieces that will cook faster and carve 'em up early. Or smoke some corn on the cob in foil, that only takes 15 minutes.

A meat thermometer works wonders to avoid the overcooking.

lol- you all know me! I use THREE digital thermometers (redundancy), and check the temps all while the goods cook!

 

[Lake Girl]

as soon as i find my cable to connect the camera to the dang computer i will upload (grrrr) never let your wife 'borrow" anything

Hey... in our house, I was forever trying to retrieve my drill, saws, sockets, screwdrivers, hammer, etc. After 30 years, I've learned to buy duplicates so I have a better chance of keeping track of the equipment and tools I use Mine are not pink but my husband started to mark his tools for construction sites with pink spray paint for easy ID - a color rarely used

 

[Lousyweather]

Hey... in our house, I was forever trying to retrieve my drill, saws, sockets, screwdrivers, hammer, etc. After 30 years, I've learned to buy duplicates so I have a better chance of keeping track of the equipment and tools I use Mine are not pink but my husband started to mark his tools for construction sites with pink spray paint for easy ID - a color rarely used

lol- when I worked in the oilfields of Wyoming, one of the biggest commodities we carried in winter were propane torches to thaw out pipe couplings (winters are cold there)....folks were ALWAYS borrowing the torches and not putting them back...so, I painted mine flamingo pink and stuck those daisies they make for bathtub floors (to make em skid resistant) right on the propane can.....I found the workers gave pause to borrow it, but if they did, I sure knew it was mine they were using!

 

[BrotherBart]

Hey Mike. When ya find the cable, start a new thread. This one has disintegrated.