Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
It says nowhere on the label what they are other than Beef Ribs. I am assuming from pictures that they are Plate Ribs. This will be the 3rd time i have done these. First time was learning curve, as I needed a longer cook time. 2nd time seemed to hit it right on the head and they pulled apart. They cut themselves if i looked at them hard enough.
What recipe did you use? I just got a grinder and want to try my hand at making andouille, hot link, and breakfast but not a ton of recipes that I have found.
I've got the Daniel Boone from Green Mountain. It's phenomenal. I have an app on my phone so I can be sitting by the fire while cooking dinner outside. I know exactly what the temp of the grill is and what the temp of the meat as well. I can raise and lower grill temp from the phone. The cooker gets up to 550 so I can do hot and fast too. My only complaint is the grill grates don't give me good grill marks. Luckily, I had a set of Grill Grates (the aluminum kind designed for great grill marks) in the garage. Once I added them to the repertoire, the set up is perfect.
The 3-2-1 is how I’ve been doing my ribs in my Egg for years now. Won’t cook them any other way. It’s almost fool proof, they come out perfect every time.
I'm sure they're great, but you may want to try a quicker cook and see what you think. It's been said many times in this thread, but most of us have had better success shortening the 3-2 to something like 2.5-1.5 or even less if you're doing baby backs. It'll have better bite (as opposed to fall off the bone) and be less like crock pot ribs (not saying 3-2-1 is crock pot, but the consistency is more to that end). Just a suggestion.
I have the Traeger Select Pro TFS81. I like it a lot, but if I had to do it over I would go with either a Camp Chef with a side burner or a Green Mountain like Fanatic suggested. I've eaten cooks of both and found they had a better smoke flavor. Though that's the only knock I have on my grill; other than that it has been fantastic. I end up using an Amazetube to add more smoke flavor, but that's a pain in the butt.
If I had to do it all over again I'd likely go Rec Tec RT-700. I know so many people who have them and love them...even our own @Ron Swanson converted to it from a stick burning Lang. I have a Louisiana Grill (really like it) and a Camp Chef (really like it) but prefer the Camp Chef for ease of ash clean out, there is a removeable cup that you can empty the fire pot into with a gate slide.
I have the Rec Tec 700 and love it. It is so easy. Holds up to 40lbs of pellets. Large enough to feed an army. You can even buy the aftermarket rack to have two layers. Wifi. Turn on from anywhere. I don't have a single complaint.
Thanks for the suggestions, I hear what you’re saying and have tried. My wife and I tend to like the fall off the bone style a bit better.
I strongly recommend the Rec-Tec RT-700 "The Bull". Great, consistent smoke flavor, holds temp perfectly at low and high settings, and high build quality. Lots of stainless and powder coated parts. Even the fasteners are good quality. I think to get any nicer you have to jump up into the 3-4k price range. If you want to see one in person, come over to NSB. Ahem, I mean, you should buy my Lang.Thanks for the suggestions...I have a Weber 22 that I do my smoking on, though I am not opposed to trying to smoke on the grill I get...it's just not going to be my primary reason for use. I'll check these others out. It's been a while since I looked, so it seems I need to look again. I have a starting place now
@Hawks64 Here's the Andouille recipe I've been working on. I might go bigger on the chunk part and up the % next time. This recipe has mild jalapeno heat level. Adjust the cayenne and crushed red pepper to your tastes.
Where do you get pellets for it? Would any wood pellets work or do they have to be specific ones?
I bought mine with a package of 400 pounds of pellets. Still working my way through those. They are Ultimate Blend from Rec Tec. I'll probably stick with them as long as they are priced reasonably. Great smoke flavor and they burn real clean. There is a store here in town that sells a bunch of different varieties as well.
What are your thoughts on that smokey flavor being more about the pellets than the grill? Wondering if they are just better pelletsRon Swanson said:
Nothing stopping me from coming for a visit to NSB to load up on pellets from time to time, but I'm not sure there are any places around here selling them. I'll have to be more observant.
I don't really have a frame of reference for that. All I know is that with the Rec-Tec 700 and their Ultimate pellets I get great smoky flavor that is more consistent than my stick burner. My wife claims it is much better smoke flavor. I'm not willing to go that far but it is more consistent. I haven't used any other pellets or pellet grills to judge. I wouldn't worry about having to get pellets locally. There are a ton of different options online. Most brands ship. Amazon is loaded with choices. Most all of them cost about $1 per pound and 1 pound of a good pellet gives you roughly 1 hour of cooking time. Cheaper than just about any other form of fuel by way of efficiency.What are your thoughts on that smokey flavor being more about the pellets than the grill? Wondering if they are just better pellets
It's a lot of this and a bit of what Ron said. If you have a low smoke setting or high smoke setting those will typically be sub 200 and put out more smoke. However, the pellets make a huge difference. I've tried a few different Lumberjack pellets, Traeger, CookinPellets and one other that I can't recall. So far I think CookinPellets work the best for me.What are your thoughts on that smokey flavor being more about the pellets than the grill? Wondering if they are just better pellets
Thanks
Yep, they are all the same in my experience.Thanks
I am assuming that all the pellet grills can handle any of the different brands of pellets by now, correct?
I've never used it that way. I normally sous vide my steaks and sear them on an infrared grill burner on my NG grill. I never cook chicken breast (wife hates them). I have used the sear plates and cooked burgers on it and it did OK, but I really like to cook my burgers up at 700 degrees hot and fast so I prefer my NG grill for that. The pellet maxes out at about 500. I have grilled shrimp and chicken thighs/legs on it and they turned out great with that slightly smoky wood oven flavor.
How do you like it as a grill? To me, there is very little better than a isteak, chicken breast, you name it cooked with an italian profile and that hint of "wood fired" smoke flavor.
I hear these are the best, but I haven't tried them yet. Once my current supply gets low I'm going to order a few different kinds off Amazon.
Had some issues where a few bags didn't burn really clean with high ash output so I switched to CookinPellets. I did really like the smoke from the LumberJack though.
I think you're about on target. 30 minutes per pound to get it to 120 is about normal but you want to go a little higher than that to medium/medium well so add a bit more time. I might recommend that you pull it about 10 degrees from finished and char it over very high heat (direct charcoal, super hot cast iron, etc.). I prefer charring it afterwards since raw meat takes smoke better. I think charring it first limits the smoke penetration. If you're using cast iron, heat it up in the oven first as hot as the oven will go, then put it over your Hottest burner while searing. Welder's gloves come in handy here and don't forget the crank up your exhaust hood and open a window!
I found a local dealer who sells me 40lb bags of Smoke Ring BBQ Pellets for between $20 and $25.
Pellet grills don't work when the power goes out. Pick up a used weber off Craigslist for when that happens.
I've heard of people putting a light dusting of corn starch on wings to make them crispy on the smoker with positive results.
I was thinking the same thing... I wonder what thighs would be like with some corn starch on them.
No, but when I dry brine the thighs I peel back the skins and salt the meat directly. Then I replace the skin for smoking. When I pull and chop the meat I do not include the skin. I still get plenty of great smoke flavor and the skin stops the meat from drying out. I'll sometimes throw a little skin in when I make broth to give it some smoky flavor.
Thanks....I have solar plugs I could plug it into if necessary, also have a generator. It's just now, it'll be another thing I need to account for if we ever lose power from hurricanes etc. Not a big deal. I was going to see if I could replace both my gas grill and smoker with one of these things, but it might be best just to hold on to the smoker.
I have one of those batteries that can be plugged into a solar panel. It has a standard outlet so I can plug mine in should the power go out.
Is it big enough to power the grill? Mine are plugs directly wired into my solar panels on my house.
