Any Time is Grillin Time

[Unforgiven]

 

[olbriar]

I've been lately thinking about getting a little smoker for my cabin. I'm a bit afraid of leaving a pellet grill out in the elements so I'm considering a two stage wood smoker. I've never smoked with wood or a two stage. Anyone have any recommendations? I need a small set up and nothing fancy. It needs to have grill/smoke surface large enough to do a rack or pork butt.

 

[Unforgiven]

In honor of National Chicken Wing Day I have these for the smoker a little later.

 

[olbriar]

I bet those turned out good... they certainly look good. Do you smoke them in the pan? I've never done wings but I've done boneless skinless thighs many times. I found that by cooking them almost completely in a pan and them tossing them on the grate to finish them up avoids a great mess in my smoker.

 

[Unforgiven]

I bet those turned out good... they certainly look good. Do you smoke them in the pan? I've never done wings but I've done boneless skinless thighs many times. I found that by cooking them almost completely in a pan and them tossing them on the grate to finish them up avoids a great mess in my smoker.

I section them, pat them dry with a paper towel. Then add Salt & Pepper (and for the pan on the right Jamaican Jerk rub). Put them right on the grate. 225 for an hour, then 350 for half an hour. Then I use a couple mixing bowls to toss them in sauces as desired (e.g. Franks Red Hot, BBQ, Parmesan Garlic). It really doesn't make to big a mess in the smoker either.

 

[olbriar]

I've just about talked myself into another pellet grill for my cabin. I'm giving the Green Mountain Daniel Boone model some serious consideration. I hope to get up close inspection of one Friday. I can buy the standard, no wi-fi model for $524. I thought about a two stage wood burner but hey.. I'm spoiled to the pellet system.
Here is a pic of the Daniel Boone.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I haven't grilled anything this year. I lost the key to my back porch and I don't even have a hibachi. I'm starting to get desperate.

 

[olbriar]

I had the opportunity to look at the Green Mountain Daniel Boone today. Naturally it came home with me. I decided that I'll take my five year old Traeger pellet grill to the cabin and leave the Danny Boone on my patio. I'm not certain exactly what's up with the Traeger but it tops out at around 360°. That's perfectly fine for smoking but since my JennAir grill is in poor repair I either needed another grill or a smoker that will get hot enough to grill a steak.
The Daniel Boone will top out at over 550° and fill that need. So.. new home smoker and old smoker for the cabin.

My first impressions of the Daniel Boone:
It seems well constructed but I'm certain I'll miss the cabinet storage that the Traeger supplied. It was very easy to assemble.
It's start/smoke temp is 150° vs the Traeger's 80°. It took about the same amount of time to get to and maintain the low temp on both smokers. The Daniel Boone has a digital controller and readout.
It took ten minutes to reach 550° which seemed reasonable. I ran it that hot for ten minutes then turned it back down to 150°. It took ten minutes for it to fall back to start temp. The heat dispersal metal in the Daniel Boone is far superior to that of the Traeger in construction and gauge. It came with a meat probe that reads out on the controller. The hopper has a quick dump feature so that you can change pellet flavors if you care to. The cooking grates are stainless steel but are not large diameter rods. I can see burgers wanting to wrap around them.. we'll see. It has a burn pot cleaning cycle that it initiates on shut down. It first burns out the existing pellets then the fan goes to high and puffs out the ashes. which should prove to be a nice feature. The side shelf seems adequate but not extremely robust. The Traeger had two side shelves that were very sturdy. The lid on the Daniel Boone and it's hinges seem a little weak to me. I think they will last without abuse but there will be no throwing back the lid for it might just keep on going.

To sum up, I think the Daniel Boone is a lot of pellet smoker/grill for $529. I paid far more for my Traeger but that was five years ago. It's design is good and it's features seem to have been well thought out. I've not shopped smokers for half a decade so they all might have progressed since I last purchased. I will have to use it for a while before I recommend it but my initial take on it is that it's going to be a winner.

 

[olbriar]

I'm smoking a chuck roast tomorrow. Will be a first for me. My son has talked about his chuckies for the last six months. I've had enough... gotta try it. He's been rubbing the roast with just coarse salt and pepper and smokes it at 250°. He foils it up at 150° and removes it at 200°. He wraps it in a towel and lets it rest in a cooler for an hour or so. Pull it or slice it for sandwiches. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

 

[olbriar]

I didn't realize until I was prepping my roast that I had purchased a beef chuck tender.. not a chuck pot roast. I cooked it exactly as I planned to do the chuck but DON'T do that lol. It's a more lean cut of meat and I should have smoked it more like a prime rib. It was over cooked and dry. Lesson learned.

Speaking of lessons learned, I want to pass along a lesson I paid a high price to learn today. Hopefully it will keep another from having to learn this first hand. I placed my roast in a disposable tin pan and covered it in foil at the 150° mark just as planned. (would have been a great time to pull it from the smoker) When my roast hit the 200° I pulled it with intentions of wrapping it in a towel and placing it in a cooler to rest. However, as I lifted the roast from the grill my tin pan collapsed and poured the roast juice down my ankle and into my shoe. By the time I managed to get the roast set down and my shoe off... my skin came off with my sock. I've panned up thousands of delectables in those tin pans without a problem. I will certainly be more cautious from now on. Please don't trust one to hold your dish.

 

[Unforgiven]

 

[Unforgiven]

Well, I have a camper again (sort of) and I want a good grill / smoker to take on the road with me. I'm thinking of this so I don't have to change the way I cook when I'm on the road.

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/grills/town-travel-portable-series/ptg/TFT17LLA.html

Any thoughts?

 

[olbriar]

Smart looking! I've not seen it before. Looks very portable. I would think it would be perfect for the camper. Seeing the Traeger camper model made me curious as to what Green Mountain had to offer in that class. Theirs is larger and more expensive but perhaps worthy of consideration. You can't go wrong with either brand.

https://greenmountaingrills.com/products/grills/davy-crockett-pellet-grill-wifi/

 

[olbriar]

I took my Traeger down to the cabin for the Labor Day weekend. I smoked out a pork butt and pulled it for sandwiches. One of my buddies was so impressed that he shopped smokers all week. He ended up getting the Green Mountain Daniel Boone Wi-Fi model today. He got it too late in the day to do any serious smoking but he was giving some brats some smoke and then grilling them. I wish I had bought the Wi-Fi model. $669 is not a bad deal. He is new to smoking but is a long time cook. He had a restaurant for a number of years. It's a whole new adventure for him. I can't wait to hear of some of the new slants he comes up with smoking. Should be some stuff a person will have to try.

I bought a rack of St. Louis ribs to smoke Saturday. It will be the first ribs I've done on the my new smoker. I'm anxious to see how it goes. At least I won't be worried about pouring boiling juice in my shoe while smoking ribs lol.

 

[olbriar]

My ribs turned out great. I made a macaroni salad to go with it. Was some mighty good eating. Tomorrow I'm smoking a chuck roast. As you might recall, two weeks ago I bought the wrong cut of meat and over cooked it. In the process of taking it off the grill I managed to empty the juice from the roast in my shoe. My foot is still badly burned. Be careful with those disposable pans... they can give you the hot foot.

Anyway, I bought a real chuck pot roast to smoke tomorrow. I will smoke it at 250° and pan it up at 140-150° and remove it to rest at 185-190°. I hope it turns out as good as my son lets on. I've been limping around for two weeks thinking about it lol.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

Where have thisTopic been all my life? i love grilling!

 

[olbriar]

Welcome to the club Rico. If I'm not grilling.. I am thinking about it. Love outdoor cooking.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

Thank you sire. I love smoking brisket. when we have friends over, i marinade a few pounds the day before then next day start the grill 3am and slowwww cooking with potatos and onions

 

[olbriar]

That's what it's all about. Sharing good food with friends. Love it!

 

[Rico ANDROID]

i just may plan a cookout next weekend now that i am in the mood. No fancy grill, just a big smoker. i do plan to get one that uses those wood "pods" ? i think? looks like circular chips that you load , highly technical smoker, but i still like the old fashioned way

 

[olbriar]

The old fashion way is an art form in my opinion. The pellet grill/smoker takes all of the work out of it. You want a 250° grill.. you set it at 250 and it will hold it there. Works just like an oven except it uses the wood pellets for fuel. Makes it very easy to use. They make Wi-Fi units that you can control from your phone. Now I ask you... how sweet is that?

Have fun with your cook out Rico. I'm sure your friends will be very happy that you were in the mood to smoke something. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Rico ANDROID]

Will do! I will also catch up on some good grill tips reading through this nifty topic

 

[olbriar]

You will find the good, the bad, and the ugly in this thread. The fantastic dishes as well as the fails. Have fun.

 

[olbriar]

My chuck roast, though not fantastic, was pretty darn good. I cooked it exactly like I intended but I let it reach 200° before I removed it from the smoker. Leaving it wrapped in foil, I wrapped it in a towel and placed it in a small cooler for an hour. It was just a little bit over cooked and I thought a bit on the tough side. Next time I will cook it a bit slower and strictly adhere to my intentions of removing it at 185-190° Live and learn. Best part was not setting my foot on fire this time lol.

 

[olbriar]

I have plans to either cook out some pork blade steaks or some kick but pork chops Sunday.
The cook will basically be the same. I'll smoke them for while and finish them up with the temp up to get some grill marks. I'll rub either with my pork rub. I'll do something extravagant to go with whichever meat looks good at the market. Something like some homemade mac and cheese lol. Happy grilling my friends.