Some kind of lever press with pellet shaped does should do the trick. Stick in the sawdust, press it down and take it out.Yeah i read the pellets don't change in flavor much. I did NOT know it was fake flavor though!That really annoys me if so.
I was actually thinking about seeing if i can press/mill my own pellets. I have tons of wood lol i just need an efficient way to do it that won't cost a fortune.
Wife's birthday present
- Thread starter Big Ry
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I do chicken and turkey pretty often. My only advice is either cook it hot or at least finish it hot to prevent rubbery skin. I sometimes do it slow and low for a hour then crank up the heat but usually just cook it start to finish it about 375.
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- #23
I think from a labor perspective, that might not be feasible. A single cook uses hundreds to thousands of pellets, so it'd need to be some sort of automatic (electric/pneumatic) device or at least need to be able to produce 10+ pellets at a time. I was thinking maybe I would use a dowel cutter, then just chop up the dowels into the appropriate length, but that too is liable to be too labor intensive. It'd have to be something I could easily run through a cutter, but even then the setup would be a lot of work. I'm thinking the smoke tube idea makes the most sense. Probably just running something through my planer with helical head and collecting the shavings is the way to go.
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- #24
We did 225 for 4hrs then cranked it up to 450. We ended up pulling it off before it hit 450 (got to 340), because internal temp reached 175. It was just about perfect, though I think it could have used a bit longer at the high temp. The meat was super juicy and fell off the bone. The skin was mostly crispy, but could have used a tad more crisp. And some fatty areas hadn't fully rendered. I'm thinking next time we try 180-200 for 4-6hrs for more smoke flavor, then 350-400 for however long it can handle it without internal temps going to high.
Of all the chicken and turkey I've done I have never had one that wasn't nice and moist . I also put a pan of water in with almost everything I cook. If we have turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas it is cooked in the smoker.
Y'all have convinced me that I don't want a pellet grill.
A good BBQ can go a long way to satisfying the need for a smoker...
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- #28
Who's to say it has to be either/or
Point well taken. I have both.Who's to say it has to be either/or
I came to the same conclusion last spring when my 15 year old barrel grill finally bit the dust. Looked long and hard at pellet grills, but I've got no place convenient to keep it inside, and just don't trust the electronics/mechanicals for the long term.
Ended up buying a nearly identical barrel grill for less than half of the cheapest pellet grill. If it lasts half as long as the last one I'll be happy.
Don't want to besmirch pellet grills or their owners, just not a good fit for me.
We've cooked chicken & turkey countless times on the Traeger over the years and I can't recall any of it being rubbery. We do cook low and slow for the smoke flavor and turn it up to cook toward the end. Not turning up the heat leaves the skin soft & a little wet feeling, neither fits my taste.
It's just another tool. It's like cooking in the oven, but a little different.
One time my wife was looking to make a easy meal and we had leftover smoked chicken in the fridge. She made white gravy with peas and chicken, it was delicious on toast. Chicken pea wiggle
SOS becomes CSOS 