Lew Newby
R.I.P. 1/26/2024
First cook with Cabela's pellets and the 14 in. Stainless upper cooking grate on the EX4. I decided to cook a chicken because, even at 400° F, the skin picks up the smoke well. I don't get complicated in choosing pellets. If it tastes good, burns good, and doesn't give me feed problems then it works for me. Don't ask me about ash production or anything else that complicates my simple tests, if I like the pellets, I'll clean up the ash and deal with the peripheral stuff.
The pellets burn and feed well. I started with 14 bs. of a 50/50 blend of Cabela's Competition blend and Cherry. I started the fire at 3:05 PM to burn off the grate, meat went on at 5, and I just kept the fire running to evaluate pellet flow. After 3 hours running, the low fuel alarm sounded. Two hours later and it's still holding temp. I think I will switch to using Cabela's and, definitely, keep the upper grate.
The chicken cooked for 65 minutes at about 410. Because the back of my grills is a little hotter than the front, I orient my birds with the breast to the front of the grate. My set temp was 375 so I paid close attention to the meat temp and pulled it off as soon as it was done. It was moist and delicious. The skin was rubbery but I could really taste the smoke on it. The B&B has Pecan where the Cabela's has Hickory and I noticed a slight increase in smoke flavor intensity.
The picture is for those who wonder how it handles rain. The Florida thunderstorm started 10 minutes after I put the Chicken on and it sat over our house for the entire cook. There's about 3 inches of water at the bottom of my driveway
EDIT: I just checked the pellets and I could see the auger and a few stray pellets in the hopper. I never stirred the pellets so I know they feed well.Shut down the grill. I started with about 14 lbs. of pellets and ran 5.5 hours. That's 2.5 lbs./hr. on the EX4 at 375° F.
The pellets burn and feed well. I started with 14 bs. of a 50/50 blend of Cabela's Competition blend and Cherry. I started the fire at 3:05 PM to burn off the grate, meat went on at 5, and I just kept the fire running to evaluate pellet flow. After 3 hours running, the low fuel alarm sounded. Two hours later and it's still holding temp. I think I will switch to using Cabela's and, definitely, keep the upper grate.
The chicken cooked for 65 minutes at about 410. Because the back of my grills is a little hotter than the front, I orient my birds with the breast to the front of the grate. My set temp was 375 so I paid close attention to the meat temp and pulled it off as soon as it was done. It was moist and delicious. The skin was rubbery but I could really taste the smoke on it. The B&B has Pecan where the Cabela's has Hickory and I noticed a slight increase in smoke flavor intensity.
The picture is for those who wonder how it handles rain. The Florida thunderstorm started 10 minutes after I put the Chicken on and it sat over our house for the entire cook. There's about 3 inches of water at the bottom of my driveway
EDIT: I just checked the pellets and I could see the auger and a few stray pellets in the hopper. I never stirred the pellets so I know they feed well.Shut down the grill. I started with about 14 lbs. of pellets and ran 5.5 hours. That's 2.5 lbs./hr. on the EX4 at 375° F.
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