Rich G
TVWBB Honor Circle
So, I recently acquired a RecTeq pellet grill (I know, I know, Weber forum.......I just couldn't bring myself to go with the version 1.x product that the Smokefire is. Weber will get it right, and has already made good on some of its initial faults, but I just couldn't do it.) Anyway, I really feel like the cooking process on these units is pretty similar, so just ignore the logo on mine! 
....back to cooking. I have a buddy who is considering swapping his BGE set up for a pellet grill, so we did dueling briskets on mine. Both were ~12 lbs before trimming (prime packers from Costco), and got seasoned up about four hours before going on the pit. Mine got a heavy dust of DP RedEye Express, his got a double dusting of Honey and Honey Hot from Meatchurch. We put both briskets on the grill at 11:45p, with the temp set at 205F. Since this was my first overnight on the pellet grill, I wanted to be sure that I didn't hit the wrap point while I was still sleeping, so started low. When I got up at 6a, I bumped the pit to 225F. His brisket was wrapped in pink paper at 170F, mine was wrapped in foil. The foiled brisket finished about and hour faster, probing tender at 201F. We bumped the temp again to 240 when his brisket stalled at 195F, and it eventually probed tender at 202F. Both of the briskets turned out pretty much the same from a tenderness perspective, but I had a definite preference for the bark on his. Now, they didn't get the same rub treatment, but I think that the difference in bark texture was definitely due to paper vs. foil wrap, so I'll try that next time.
Now, since I had the pit going anyway, it seemed like a good time to try out the Smokebox add-on to my grill for some sausage. at 6:30a, I put five chubs of summer sausage into the smoke box on the bottom shelf, which was about 125F. After four hours there, I moved it to the middle shelf at about 160-165F for two hours. Then it was into the oven at 190F to bring it up to 155F internal. When the chubs came off, I put my batch of kielbasa in, split between the bottom and middle shelves. I rotated the shelves every hour to make sure I got even cooking. After three hours, it became obvious that I wouldn't finish the sausage on the smoker before going to visit my mom, so I pulled them off and poached them in 185F water until they were 155F internal. (Note, the brisket is still going......) When the briskets were pulled from the pit, I got my final batch of sausage, spanish chorizo, into the smoke box. After a couple hours of the low temp there, I moved them to the main chamber running at 180F, then bumped to 200F for the last hour to finish.
All in all, the grill was running for 22 hours straight, just needing a pellet top off once. Super fun, and a great way to really get to know the new pit. Here are a few pics of the results:
I like this pellet thing!
Rich
....back to cooking. I have a buddy who is considering swapping his BGE set up for a pellet grill, so we did dueling briskets on mine. Both were ~12 lbs before trimming (prime packers from Costco), and got seasoned up about four hours before going on the pit. Mine got a heavy dust of DP RedEye Express, his got a double dusting of Honey and Honey Hot from Meatchurch. We put both briskets on the grill at 11:45p, with the temp set at 205F. Since this was my first overnight on the pellet grill, I wanted to be sure that I didn't hit the wrap point while I was still sleeping, so started low. When I got up at 6a, I bumped the pit to 225F. His brisket was wrapped in pink paper at 170F, mine was wrapped in foil. The foiled brisket finished about and hour faster, probing tender at 201F. We bumped the temp again to 240 when his brisket stalled at 195F, and it eventually probed tender at 202F. Both of the briskets turned out pretty much the same from a tenderness perspective, but I had a definite preference for the bark on his. Now, they didn't get the same rub treatment, but I think that the difference in bark texture was definitely due to paper vs. foil wrap, so I'll try that next time.
Now, since I had the pit going anyway, it seemed like a good time to try out the Smokebox add-on to my grill for some sausage. at 6:30a, I put five chubs of summer sausage into the smoke box on the bottom shelf, which was about 125F. After four hours there, I moved it to the middle shelf at about 160-165F for two hours. Then it was into the oven at 190F to bring it up to 155F internal. When the chubs came off, I put my batch of kielbasa in, split between the bottom and middle shelves. I rotated the shelves every hour to make sure I got even cooking. After three hours, it became obvious that I wouldn't finish the sausage on the smoker before going to visit my mom, so I pulled them off and poached them in 185F water until they were 155F internal. (Note, the brisket is still going......) When the briskets were pulled from the pit, I got my final batch of sausage, spanish chorizo, into the smoke box. After a couple hours of the low temp there, I moved them to the main chamber running at 180F, then bumped to 200F for the last hour to finish.
All in all, the grill was running for 22 hours straight, just needing a pellet top off once. Super fun, and a great way to really get to know the new pit. Here are a few pics of the results:
I like this pellet thing!
Rich
