Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Jeff Lebowski]

This is awesome. More grilling/smoking threads and food porn in the future. And now I don't look like such a fool for dropping a grand on my Traeger.

[TripletDaddy]

I re-read and should clarify. I am all for dropping coin on what makes you happy...esp if it is food related.

I guess my post was more of a surprise that CJF moved so quickly on such a big purchase. I guess that is how he rolls, though......doing everything really quickly....

[CJF]

I re-read and should clarify. I am all for dropping coin on what makes you happy...esp if it is food related.

I guess my post was more of a surprise that CJF moved so quickly on such a big purchase. I guess that is how he rolls, though......doing everything really quickly....

Sicko.

[Drunk Tank]

Bump....

No updates on your new grill?

[CJF]

Bump....

No updates on your new grill?

It's great. I used it pretty heavily for the three weeks we were in the US. Because we made food mostly for family get togethers while I was there we didn't really do much than safe things. No real opportunity for trial and error. I look forward to just making things for my family sometime and figuring things out a little better. Things we did make were:

1- Smoked turkey for Thanksgiving. Turned out ok. I think next time I do this I'll switch it up a little. It was decent, but not as good as I had hoped. The left over made incredible sandwich's though. It got better 24 hours after coming out of the smoker. I might smoke the turkey a day early next time and have cold turkey with warm gravy from the other bird. Might be the way to go. I'll have to think about that.

2- About a 20 pound round roast. Put a homemade rub of garlic, onion powder, sea salt, crushed pepper, rosemary, and basil on it and put it in the smoker at about 200 degrees with hickory and peach wood. Turned out awesome. Tender and juicy. Very good.

3- A couple of tri-tips. Put a little of Big Bob Gibson rub on those, smoked low and slow with hickory for about 4 hours. Again, very tender and juicy. Threw on some sea salt baked potatoes and upped the temp to about 375. Pulled the meat off after about 20 minutes and wrapped it. Let the potatoes cook another 40 minutes or so. Both turned out great. A little smoky flavored sea salt baked potatoes were tasty.

3- Did baby backs twice. First time they were incredible. Second time they were average at best. First time used Big Bob Gibson's rub and didn't open the lid very often. Second time I used Famous Dave's rub. I also kept opening the lid to spritz. I think that was a huge mistake. I've become a huge fan of Big Bob Gibson's stuff. I even downloaded their book this week to read through the recipe's and techniques. Good basic information for a beginner like me and lots of good rub recipes. We love good ribs in our family, so this is one I'd like to perfect.

4- Wings. We did the wing recipe that KC posted three times. They're a hit. I'd like to change them up a little with different flavors instead of just orange all the time, but the orange marmalade is very good. I also liked that they're baked/grilled with hint of smoky flavor.

5- Grilled Lou Malnati's Chicago pies. This is where it made it totally worth it. Being able to get this up to 450 degrees and steady is awesome. Not a huge wood flavor at that temp, but it is still a different flavor than cooking in your kitchen oven. It's also fun to bake pizza outside. Feels more manly for some reason.

6- Filet's. I bought some grill grates to use for steaks/burgers/chicken. These are great. Gives the food a nice grill mark that doesn't happen when putting it directly on the grill. It also bounces the drippings back up and into the meat. Put the filet's in at 650 degrees for 3 and a half minutes each side. Awesome.

I'll post some pictures sometime. I don't think I took pictures of everything, but we did get quite a few. Overall I'm really happy with the purchase. It held a consistent temp in close to 0 degree weather on Thanksgiving. That was one of my big concerns. It's a very nice piece of equipment. I can't wait to become an expert. There are so many things to try still. My wife is a huge fan of ribs and brisket, so after I master ribs, I'll tackle brisket.

[CJF]

Here's the turkey.



And some pictures of the ribs that turned out pretty good.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Here's the turkey.



And some pictures of the ribs that turned out pretty good.

Leave that sauce off until you eat them. Just rely on a good rub. (not that way sickos)

[CJF]

Leave that sauce off until you eat them. Just rely on a good rub. (not that way sickos)

That's how I prefer also, but everyone in my family likes them with the sauce on and caramelized a little. You can see in the other picture there wasn't much on them. Just enough to pacify the masses.

[Drunk Tank]

That looks great! How was the "smokiness"? One of the downfalls of a pellet grill/smoker is the lack of alot of smoke compared to a stick burner.

[kccougar]

Late this fall my brother-in-law decided to try his hand at masonry and build an outdoor grill/smoker at our cabin. For a first-timer, I think it turned out great. I'm anxious to try it out this summer. It will be my first time smoking something - what meat is good to try first?

[statman]

Late this fall my brother-in-law decided to try his hand at masonry and build an outdoor grill/smoker at our cabin. For a first-timer, I think it turned out great. I'm anxious to try it out this summer. It will be my first time smoking something - what meat is good to try first?

Fish is actually the easiest - and it's quick. 2 hours at 175 degrees - after soaking in brine, black pepper and dill for a couple hours - and you're in salmon heaven...

Pork is hard to totally destroy - especially if you intend to pull it. There's so much fat on a shoulder that it's hard to screw-it-up it to inedible status. Pork loin is a little trickier - overcook and it gets too dry. But if you keep the temp low and cook slow, pork loin is fairly easy to manage.

DON'T TRY TO LEARN ON BRISKET. Brisket is a fickle bitch. Not quite enough cookin and it's like chewing on a belt. Too much and it falls apart like poached fish. And for some reason, brisket soaks up smoke like nothing else. Too much smoke and it's like licking an ashtray.

[FMCoug]

So I'm about to pull the trigger on a new smoker. The Bradley I have has been great and I will keep it around (though it is showing its age) but I'd like a full size smoker to be able to do a whole brisket without cutting it, turkeys, etc. I also like the idea of being able to grill with it. I have a pretty nice Solaire grill as well so that's not totally required but being able to just have one unit would be nice. Thinking of a traeger but this thread has got me thinking about the memphis. BGE would be okay but I want to go set and forget this time. The Bradley I have doesn't have the digital controls so I have to at lest watch it and adjus the temp. Also it doesn't hold enough pucks for a brisket.

Thoughts / Recs? I was budgeting $1k but could go more if I think its worth it. Especially if I can sell the Solaire.

[Drunk Tank]

So I'm about to pull the trigger on a new smoker. The Bradley I have has been great and I will keep it around (though it is showing its age) but I'd like a full size smoker to be able to do a whole brisket without cutting it, turkeys, etc. I also like the idea of being able to grill with it. I have a pretty nice Solaire grill as well so that's not totally required but being able to just have one unit would be nice. Thinking of a traeger but this thread has got me thinking about the memphis. BGE would be okay but I want to go set and forget this time. The Bradley I have doesn't have the digital controls so I have to at lest watch it and adjus the temp. Also it doesn't hold enough pucks for a brisket.

Thoughts / Recs? I was budgeting $1k but could go more if I think its worth it. Especially if I can sell the Solaire.

If I had the money, I'd get a Memphis Pro (but they are 2k)... The upgrades they have over a Traeger is pretty substancial (insulated, hold temps better, able to really grill, goes up to 600 degrees, etc...) But a Traeger will produce some pretty good bbq as well, just not good grilled foods. This is why I have the egg.

I have contimplated selling both my Traeger and the egg to fund a Memphis Pro. I could use the real estate on my patio, but I really love the egg, more than the Traeger, and my wife would probabbly kill me.

[FMCoug]

If I had the money, I'd get a Memphis Pro (but they are 2k)... The upgrades they have over a Traeger is pretty substancial (insulated, hold temps better, able to really grill, goes up to 600 degrees, etc...) But a Traeger will produce some pretty good bbq as well, just not good grilled foods. This is why I have the egg.

I have contimplated selling both my Traeger and the egg to fund a Memphis Pro. I could use the real estate, but I really love the egg, more than the Traeger, and my wife would probabbly kill me.

Yeah the bucks are the deterrent. And a Traeger + Bradley I have + Solaire grill with IR and rotisseries is a pretty good setup. The Solaire is like a $2K unit (I bought it used) so I wonder how much I could get out of it. OTOH it doesn't sound like even the Memphis would sear like the IR side of the Solaire. Plus the rotisseries is nice.

How much work / watching does the BGE require? Compared to a non-digital Bradley for example.

[Drunk Tank]

Yeah the bucks are the deterrent. And a Traeger + Bradley I have + Solaire grill with IR and rotisseries is a pretty good setup. The Solaire is like a $2K unit (I bought it used) so I wonder how much I could get out of it. OTOH it doesn't sound like even the Memphis would sear like the IR side of the Solaire. Plus the rotisseries is nice.

How much work / watching does the BGE require? Compared to a non-digital Bradley for example.

Once you figure out the vents, you can run at 225 for very long periods of time with no adjustments. Some have gotten over 24+ hours on a single load of lump charcoal. The cool thing with the egg is that they are extremely efficient. After a grilling session, I can shut down all the vents and still have plenty of unburnt charcoal in there for the next cook. You can also add a stoker pit minder for true set it and forget it smoking. It uses a PID controller, RTD's and fan to monitor and adjust the temperature to the temps you desire. Also has multiple temp probes for food temp etc... For the money, an egg is probabbly the most versatile of the bunch. But you are looking at a smaller cooking area and high initial cost ($900-1500 depending on size and accessories).