What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

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.

***Official Grilling and Smoking Thread*** (4 Viewers)

You want to see the real underbelly of the pellet grill industry and what Traeger does down in the muck? Read this (because when Traeger gets done mopping the floor with every pellet manufacturer, pretty much every other grill that has any sort of connectivity with an app is going to cost more as Traeger will be getting a cut of every one of those grills sold).
I think you may be overstating Traeger's ability to mop the floor as there were wifi and networked connected grills prior to their patent application. And not to mention that the they seem to be overly vague in their complaint in a connected world. Would love a patent lawyers take on it (@Otis)

 
Hawks64 said:
I think you may be overstating Traeger's ability to mop the floor as there were wifi and networked connected grills prior to their patent application. And not to mention that the they seem to be overly vague in their complaint in a connected world. Would love a patent lawyers take on it (@Otis)
I totally agree that it seems pathetic and they should get housed in court. They shouldn't have gotten the patent in the first place. But they have it. And they are a powerhouse in the industry so they will crush the small companies with legal fees to get them to cave and then, once they have all the licensing fees set up with them, they will go after bigger and bigger companies until they have the ability to go toe to toe with Weber. 

 
One thing that may not appear clearly to the author of that article and you folks is that those two Traeger patents reach way back to October 2015.  That means that, when considering a claim is novel or non-obvious, the prior art has to come before that date.  Probably.  It depends on what that first provisional application discloses and I didn't read that.  So while devices connected to the cloud seem pretty ubiquitous today, a year ago, three years ago, even five years ago those weren't as common.  And it can be hard to find publicly documented sources of prior art.  And the parts might be there, spread across three or four different sources, (e.g., mobile devices and apps are a thing, cloud services are a thing, grills are a thing, and wood pellets/hoppers/augers are a thing) but nothing suggests combining those.  I'm not disputing anyone's knowledge of the industry history.  The patent litigators never have that.  But when there's enough money at stake, that further incentivizes prior art to be brought into consideration by the courts.    

 
Just finished doing homemade bacon.  I think the 7 day cure makes it sound difficult, but it's really incredibly easy. I followed this recipe from Jess Pryles. The only challenging part (for me) is keeping that smoker less than 225, but I lucked out and things steadied right at 205 from the get go.  I had to add curing salt to my arsenal, but that was easy thx to Amazon.

I split a 10# pork belly from Costco into 3 gallon ziplocks and I think I'll be doing bacon for each (used 1 of the 3 for batch #1).  Next time I'll go with maple flavor.  Anyone have other successes, failures with this? 

 
Just finished doing homemade bacon.  I think the 7 day cure makes it sound difficult, but it's really incredibly easy. I followed this recipe from Jess Pryles. The only challenging part (for me) is keeping that smoker less than 225, but I lucked out and things steadied right at 205 from the get go.  I had to add curing salt to my arsenal, but that was easy thx to Amazon.

I split a 10# pork belly from Costco into 3 gallon ziplocks and I think I'll be doing bacon for each (used 1 of the 3 for batch #1).  Next time I'll go with maple flavor.  Anyone have other successes, failures with this? 
I make my own very regularly and agree it is easy and always turns out great.  It is much easier now that I have a pellet smoker with good temp control.  Holding low temps for long enough on my reverse flow stick burner was a challenge.

I would do some reading on amazingribs.com on the science of meat curing to get recipe ideas and get a good understanding of the curing process. The curing salt quantity per recipe is not linear to the pounds of meat in all cases and a lot of folks don't realize that.

 
OK, let's talk curing bacon. My grocery store carried a number of varieties of bacon that they made here locally themselves. The maple variety is seriously the best store bought bacon I have ever had. They stopped making that #### a few months ago. So now I want to try my hand at this. How does one infuse maple into the bacon?

 
One thing that may not appear clearly to the author of that article and you folks is that those two Traeger patents reach way back to October 2015.  That means that, when considering a claim is novel or non-obvious, the prior art has to come before that date.  Probably.  It depends on what that first provisional application discloses and I didn't read that.  So while devices connected to the cloud seem pretty ubiquitous today, a year ago, three years ago, even five years ago those weren't as common.  And it can be hard to find publicly documented sources of prior art.  And the parts might be there, spread across three or four different sources, (e.g., mobile devices and apps are a thing, cloud services are a thing, grills are a thing, and wood pellets/hoppers/augers are a thing) but nothing suggests combining those.  I'm not disputing anyone's knowledge of the industry history.  The patent litigators never have that.  But when there's enough money at stake, that further incentivizes prior art to be brought into consideration by the courts.    
In the article is specifically states that GMG had a networked grill in 2015 and MAK had one in 2012.

 
In the article is specifically states that GMG had a networked grill in 2015 and MAK had one in 2012.


One of the patents says that at *least* fifteen citations to GMG prior art were considered by the examiner, including two 100+ page petitions by GMG opposing the allowance of at least one of the patents, which were sure to be chock full of both pellet grill and other prior art ("just put em together, its obvious!").  There was also a citation to a MAK patent.  I'm a betting man and I bet that GMG's networked grill was considered.  Less sure about MAK but still pretty likely it was considered. 

The patent office gets it wrong.  A lot.  But these patents look to have been hotly contested so far (because $$$).  If they still haven't been proven invalid, it's likely that won't change.  But as Trager takes swings at bigger and bigger competitors, more money at risk will incentivize more searching for invalidating prior art.  

 
Any thoughts/experience with the RecTeq B380? Stainless body is appealing.

ETA - this is apparently a new/improved version with better temp control vs a prior model.
Thanks for posting this.  I was looking into the RecTeq brand last year.  I'm a Weber kettle guy and this might be ideal since I usually do smaller cooks.  Great price also.  :thumbup:  

ETA:  Ordered it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
OK, let's talk curing bacon. My grocery store carried a number of varieties of bacon that they made here locally themselves. The maple variety is seriously the best store bought bacon I have ever had. They stopped making that #### a few months ago. So now I want to try my hand at this. How does one infuse maple into the bacon?
My standard recipe is Maple Brown Sugar.  I just add Maple syrup to the cure.  

Pork Belly (5.38)

8 teaspoons kosher

8 teaspoons black pepper

5.5 teaspoons dark brown sugar

1 cup good quality maple syrup

1.25 cups distilled water

1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1 (Follow calculator at Amazingribs.com based on size of belly.)

Soak 3-4 days turning each day

Smoke at 225 or less until 150 internal.

 
Ron Swanson said:
My standard recipe is Maple Brown Sugar.  I just add Maple syrup to the cure.  

Pork Belly (5.38)

8 teaspoons kosher

8 teaspoons black pepper

5.5 teaspoons dark brown sugar

1 cup good quality maple syrup

1.25 cups distilled water

1 teaspoon Prague Powder #1 (Follow calculator at Amazingribs.com based on size of belly.)

Soak 3-4 days turning each day

Smoke at 225 or less until 150 internal.
Thanks FBG buddy. That's what I needed. Now I need to clean some space out in the downstairs freezer so I can do this in bulk. 

 
Played "what's in my fridge" to make some of the best fish tacos I've ever had last night.  I found a bag of Costco Orange Roughy in the freezer and marinated it in olive oil, garlic, a couple of hot peppers (de-seeded) from the freezer, lemon and Penzy's Northwoods Fire and Mural of Flavor Seasoning.  After a few hours of marinading, I smoked these using GM Fruitwood pellets for a little over 30-minutes at 300 in a cast iron skillet.  They soaked up the smoke in such an amazing way.  I made a salsa to top these with avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper; which also sat for a few hours.  Served these with sour cream, only (no cheese), on a soft flour taco.  The "sauce" that was left in the skillet was amazing soaked up with bread too.  

 
Played "what's in my fridge" to make some of the best fish tacos I've ever had last night.  I found a bag of Costco Orange Roughy in the freezer and marinated it in olive oil, garlic, a couple of hot peppers (de-seeded) from the freezer, lemon and Penzy's Northwoods Fire and Mural of Flavor Seasoning.  After a few hours of marinading, I smoked these using GM Fruitwood pellets for a little over 30-minutes at 300 in a cast iron skillet.  They soaked up the smoke in such an amazing way.  I made a salsa to top these with avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper; which also sat for a few hours.  Served these with sour cream, only (no cheese), on a soft flour taco.  The "sauce" that was left in the skillet was amazing soaked up with bread too.  
Sounds delicious. And I agree, cheese has no place on a fish taco.

 
Played "what's in my fridge" to make some of the best fish tacos I've ever had last night.  I found a bag of Costco Orange Roughy in the freezer and marinated it in olive oil, garlic, a couple of hot peppers (de-seeded) from the freezer, lemon and Penzy's Northwoods Fire and Mural of Flavor Seasoning.  After a few hours of marinading, I smoked these using GM Fruitwood pellets for a little over 30-minutes at 300 in a cast iron skillet.  They soaked up the smoke in such an amazing way.  I made a salsa to top these with avocado, tomato, red onion, cilantro, lime, salt and pepper; which also sat for a few hours.  Served these with sour cream, only (no cheese), on a soft flour taco.  The "sauce" that was left in the skillet was amazing soaked up with bread too.  
Sounds really great

Im craving fish tacos at 9 am lol

 
Sounds really great

Im craving fish tacos at 9 am lol
Same here...and my son is working tonight, daughter wants Pizza (and while I too would like Pizza, I am eating better and not going for Pizza tonight).  So may hit a local spot that sells by the slice and grab her a big slice and cook up some fish tacos for myself.  

 
I have been toying around with Mac & Cheese since I first got my smoker and think I've put together a pretty easy but solid recipe.  I made three batches this week, one for home, another for a neighbor for snow blowing my drive while I was out of town and one for my wife to take to a girls weekend.  Feedback all around was that it was amazing; so much so my neighbor asked for the recipe.  I hadn't taken the time to write this down, but put it in an email.  I thought I'd share it here as a sort of thanks to you all for what I've learned.  

  • 16oz box of elbow mac (I cook to 9.5 minutes)
  • 16oz bag of shredded sharp cheddar
  • 6oz of sliced Munster cheese (I prefer Kroger; less oily)
  • Brick of cream cheese
  • Stick of butter
  • 1 pint of half and half
  • Boars Night Out White Lightening Seasoning
Boil the noodles.  While boiling, thinly slice squares of butter and the Munster cheese into around 1” squares.  When done, strain the noodles and place them in a large mixing bowl.  Immediately add the butter and Munster cheese and stir a bit as the butter will help with the stirring of all the cheese.  Next, pour in the whole bag of sharp cheddar and stir more.  Now, (I use a dinner knife) cut and put in 1”-ish “chunks” of cream cheese and mix lightly (lightly, as keeping the cream cheese chunky allows if to pick up great smoke flavor).  Shake in a healthy amount of the seasoning and, again, stir lightly (I have tried a half dozen rubs (including Killer Hogs which was very good) and seasonings, and Boars Night Out provides the best flavor).  Lastly, pour in the half and half and stir (I’ll usually add a bit more seasoning here).  This will get it very creamy while still keeping the cream cheese chunks mildly intact.  Pour the mix into a disposable tin (I use the larger Costco type).

I smoke this on a Green Mountain Davy Crocket Smoker using the Gold Pellets (I tried the Texas and like the mellower flavor of the Gold).  I smoke this for an hour (20 minutes covered, 40 minutes uncovered and I rotate after 20 minutes uncovered to ensure the smoke is the same all around).  I have tried 15/45 and 30/30 too.  The 15/45 was a bit too smoky and 30/30 was a little light.

 
I am shopping for a new gas grill. I grill multiple times per week I get out charcoal when I want to get fancy, but daily use is my gas grill. 

Consumer Reports says this is the top grill:

https://monumentgrills.com/products/6-burner-grill

Anyone own a Monument Grill?

This had been my plan:

https://www.weber.com/US/en/grills/gas-grills/genesis-ii-series/62006001.html

I am pretty sure I would get a much longer life out of the Weber. However if the Monument grill lasts half as long at its price it might make sense.

Thoughts?
Finally pulled the trigger on the Weber Genesis 435S. Spent a while putting it together this weekend. Had some fantastically grilled steaks last night. 

 
Bought my first pellet grill, Pitboss Classic

I put it together yesterday, burned it off and smoked a rack of babybacks for the wife and I
 

Was planning to go 2-2-1, ended up going 2-2-15 mins because when I grabbed them with tongs to put back on grill after the foil they were trying to break already. 
Ribs turned out pretty good, quite tender but a little bite to them(not pulled porkish). 
 

Happy with the grill for my first time using. Planned to smoke at 225 but grill ran a little cold, mostly 200-215. After about an hour I changed the setting to 250. It fluctuated between 235-250 the rest of the cook. 
It was in the 30s and breezy here yesterday. 
 

So far so good :)

 
I have been toying around with Mac & Cheese since I first got my smoker and think I've put together a pretty easy but solid recipe.  I made three batches this week, one for home, another for a neighbor for snow blowing my drive while I was out of town and one for my wife to take to a girls weekend.  Feedback all around was that it was amazing; so much so my neighbor asked for the recipe.  I hadn't taken the time to write this down, but put it in an email.  I thought I'd share it here as a sort of thanks to you all for what I've learned.  

  • 16oz box of elbow mac (I cook to 9.5 minutes)
  • 16oz bag of shredded sharp cheddar
  • 6oz of sliced Munster cheese (I prefer Kroger; less oily)
  • Brick of cream cheese
  • Stick of butter
  • 1 pint of half and half
  • Boars Night Out White Lightening Seasoning
Boil the noodles.  While boiling, thinly slice squares of butter and the Munster cheese into around 1” squares.  When done, strain the noodles and place them in a large mixing bowl.  Immediately add the butter and Munster cheese and stir a bit as the butter will help with the stirring of all the cheese.  Next, pour in the whole bag of sharp cheddar and stir more.  Now, (I use a dinner knife) cut and put in 1”-ish “chunks” of cream cheese and mix lightly (lightly, as keeping the cream cheese chunky allows if to pick up great smoke flavor).  Shake in a healthy amount of the seasoning and, again, stir lightly (I have tried a half dozen rubs (including Killer Hogs which was very good) and seasonings, and Boars Night Out provides the best flavor).  Lastly, pour in the half and half and stir (I’ll usually add a bit more seasoning here).  This will get it very creamy while still keeping the cream cheese chunks mildly intact.  Pour the mix into a disposable tin (I use the larger Costco type).

I smoke this on a Green Mountain Davy Crocket Smoker using the Gold Pellets (I tried the Texas and like the mellower flavor of the Gold).  I smoke this for an hour (20 minutes covered, 40 minutes uncovered and I rotate after 20 minutes uncovered to ensure the smoke is the same all around).  I have tried 15/45 and 30/30 too.  The 15/45 was a bit too smoky and 30/30 was a little light.
Do a search for Alien Man N Cheese (both here and on the webs).  You'll know if you have the right recipe if it has thin sirloin steak included.

Some of the best smoked mac and cheese I've ever had.

 
I see more and more comments about Weber going downhill or slipping in people's eyes.  Here's my extreme frustration with Weber & their poor customer service.  

  • MAY 2020:  Bought a Weber Spirit II E-310......3 burner.  One of the reasons i bought it was the Weber reputation and this model has a full 10-yr Warranty if something needs replacing.  I'm not much of product review guy or posting complaints about minor things on social media.   But, I posted about the purchase in this thread so that others could consider it if they were in the mid-range gas grill market.
     
  • EARLY JAN 2021:   I noticed something wrong with the burners.  The Main Burner would light w/ no problem but it wasn't crossing over to the 2nd & 3rd burners.  However, i was able to manually light the 2nd & 3rd burners w/ a wand......so, easily concluded that the Crossover Tube had gone bad.  Well, i thought "Time to call Weber & utilize that Warranty".  Made the call, placed the Warr claim w/ no pushback, but they said the part is on "backorder" so ETA is ~2 wks & i would get an email confirm when it ships.
     
  • FEB 1st:  No email so far, so i call back again.  Was told, "taking a little longer than expected, but part is still on backorder"
  • MAR 1st:  No contact at all.....so i call again.  Cust Svc Rep says, "let me look into it for you, and we'll contact you"
  • MAR 5th:  No contact since 3/1 call & now I've had it.  I tell the CSR I want to escalate the complaint & speak w/ someone higher up the chain.  He says, "I do see here that something has changed and it now shows the part is scheduled to ship out TOMORROW.  Can we just wait 24 hours on this & you'll see an email confirm?"    Reluctantly, i agree.
     
  • MAR 8th:  No email...it obviously didn't ship.  🤬  So, I make another call & demand to speak to someone in charge.  They tell me the person is not available right now, but someone will call me back later today.  I finally get a call back at 8pm.....and it is the same 1st level CSR i spoke with earlier in the day.  I am told the following instructions:   "We need for you to go on AMAZON, search for Part 69898, & buy it   (It was $23 + $5 shipping).  After you receive the part, call us back, tell the CSR, and they will provide you with a link where you can upload the receipt.......And then, we will re-imburse You."
Weber has always bragged about their reputation and being USA made, etc......
However, IIRC, i think someone mentioned or i read that Weber might have changed their supply chain from USA to China (or maybe for only some of their Grill lines).  They blamed the part shortage on Covid, & getting parts in stock........You would think that if they have such part shortages that their Procurement Dept would have multiple approved vendors on stand-by contracts to provide parts.

So, I haven't been able to use my grill for the past couple of months...and the worst part about it is that i live in FL where grilling season is all-year!

 
@NemesisThat sounds terrible, and I feel for you.  However, I don't think they are lying. Their communication could be a lot better for sure. The entire backyard leisure industry has been crushed this year due to everyone staying home. Couple that with factories in China and in the US being way behind since factories are one of the toughest places to operate and not spread Covid and we have a huge parts backlog for anything in the backyard.  Pool pumps, heaters, grills, you name it.

So I don't think Weber is alone here. And I'm sure some or all of their parts are made in China. In this case it probably doesn't matter much.

As a side note, have you tried to clean out the burners and crossover tube? Sounds like spiders might have clogged it.

 
@NemesisThat sounds terrible, and I feel for you.  However, I don't think they are lying. Their communication could be a lot better for sure. The entire backyard leisure industry has been crushed this year due to everyone staying home. Couple that with factories in China and in the US being way behind since factories are one of the toughest places to operate and not spread Covid and we have a huge parts backlog for anything in the backyard.  Pool pumps, heaters, grills, you name it.

So I don't think Weber is alone here. And I'm sure some or all of their parts are made in China. In this case it probably doesn't matter much.

As a side note, have you tried to clean out the burners and crossover tube? Sounds like spiders might have clogged it.
Wish they would have just been upfront with me from the start or gave me the Amazon option earlier.  Also, don't tell me it's shipping tomorrow & then don't ship.  This is more about wasting my time more than anything.

I did inspect the exterior of the crossover tube, especially where it mal-functions, to make sure the venturi holes weren't clogged.  I didn't however, remove the crossover and look inside......but i always keep the grill covered when not in use and normally don't have a problem w insects.   

One final note:  i got on the Weber website for the Spirit II and looked at the 1-star reviews and saw where the crossover tube mal-function was mentioned enough times to conclude it's a production issue.    

https://imgur.com/wbz0cVG Main Burner will light, but won't move to the middle / far right via Crossover tube
https://imgur.com/6JEthwx  After manually lighting the 2nd/3rd burner, you still see the Crossover tube in the back left isn't functioning correctly.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bought my first pellet grill, Pitboss Classic

I put it together yesterday, burned it off and smoked a rack of babybacks for the wife and I
 

Was planning to go 2-2-1, ended up going 2-2-15 mins because when I grabbed them with tongs to put back on grill after the foil they were trying to break already. 
Ribs turned out pretty good, quite tender but a little bite to them(not pulled porkish). 
 

Happy with the grill for my first time using. Planned to smoke at 225 but grill ran a little cold, mostly 200-215. After about an hour I changed the setting to 250. It fluctuated between 235-250 the rest of the cook. 
It was in the 30s and breezy here yesterday. 
 

So far so good :)
I would really love to buy a pellet smoker so reading your post makes me jealous.  But between the Weber and the Egg I have a hard time justifying it (mainly to the wife 😝).   

 
I would really love to buy a pellet smoker so reading your post makes me jealous.  But between the Weber and the Egg I have a hard time justifying it (mainly to the wife 😝).   
Tell the wife it gives you more time to cook and spend time with the family instead of tending to the fire 🤷🏽‍♂️  That’s how i convinced my wife to get one.  

 
Ok gents.  I think i want to smoke some eggs so i have some hard boiled eggs for breakfast this week.  Anyone done this?

ive heard people out the raw egg in shell on the smoker i have heard people hard boil and peel first then smoke for like 20 minutes.  Any suggestions?

 
Ok gents.  I think i want to smoke some eggs so i have some hard boiled eggs for breakfast this week.  Anyone done this?

ive heard people out the raw egg in shell on the smoker i have heard people hard boil and peel first then smoke for like 20 minutes.  Any suggestions?
I have never even contemplated this but I'm super intrigued. Just fired up smoker.

 
Ive smoked eggs before, but they were cooked and peeled before the smoker. It was years ago, I dont remember how long or at what temp but they were pretty good IIRC.

 
Ok gents.  I think i want to smoke some eggs so i have some hard boiled eggs for breakfast this week.  Anyone done this?

ive heard people out the raw egg in shell on the smoker i have heard people hard boil and peel first then smoke for like 20 minutes.  Any suggestions?
This sounds delicious.

 
Question about thawing, then freezing, then thawing, then freezing pork ribs.

I bought a couple of slabs of vacuum sealed partially frozen pork ribs last weekend thinking I would have a chance to smoke them.  It didn't work out so I put them in the freezer.  Moved them to the fridge a few days ago thinking I would have a chance to smoke them this weekend.  Didn't have a chance to smoke them.

Now I might not have a chance to smoke them for a couple of weeks.  OK to put them back in the freezer until I do get a chance?

 
WDIK2 said:
Question about thawing, then freezing, then thawing, then freezing pork ribs.

I bought a couple of slabs of vacuum sealed partially frozen pork ribs last weekend thinking I would have a chance to smoke them.  It didn't work out so I put them in the freezer.  Moved them to the fridge a few days ago thinking I would have a chance to smoke them this weekend.  Didn't have a chance to smoke them.

Now I might not have a chance to smoke them for a couple of weeks.  OK to put them back in the freezer until I do get a chance?
I've been in this situation more than a few times and my thought is to just throw in the towel on smoking and do them in the oven or slow-cooker. That gives me an excuse if they're not very good. I hate the thought I'm going to serve anything less than awesome ribs off my smoker.

 
Yesterday was the kickoff of grilling season for me.  Fired up the weber.  

Did chicken for tacos.  Marinated in olive oil, lime juice, taco seasoning, and garlic for a few hours.  

This is the first time I've used boneless/skinless thighs instead of breasts.  While trimming the fat was a PITA, wow what a difference.

Also, I've used Cowboy lump charcoal in the past, was buying the large bags at Costco.  However a lot of the pieces were so small they'd fall right through the charcoal chimney and my charcoal grate.  I picked up a smaller bag at Lowes yesterday and the pieces were much bigger.  Don't know if it was a coincidence or just randomness of the batch.

 
Wingnut said:
Ive smoked eggs before, but they were cooked and peeled before the smoker. It was years ago, I dont remember how long or at what temp but they were pretty good IIRC.
My thought would be to cook and peel, then smoke at very low temps - like smoking cheese or cold-smoking salmon.  Seems like you could get the desired level of smoke penetration without having to worry about overcooking the yolk.

 
What's the best value going right now for pellet smokers? I have a blackstone that I use for non-smoking uses and am looking to upgrade my old electric smoker to a pellet. Size wise my current electric has close to 700 in^2 of rack space and I'd like to keep that at a minimum.

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top