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 
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- #35
Hickory smoked ribs. Ribs are from our local Amish market. We used Cookin Pellets hickory pellets, which are supposed to be 100% hickory wood. I did notice the smoke was sweeter smelling than the "mesquite" we used last week.
Nice!
We've had a RecTeq 590 for 5 or 6 years. I don't get the time to use it as often as I'd like, but it's a workhorse and absolutely love it.
I often refer to it as an EZ Bake Oven for adults, because it's easy to use - load with pellets, turn it on, set your temp, and let it go. Which is perfect for us as I would never have the time to smoke anything if it wasn't so easy or took so little time to use, just need to check on it on occasion. Can you possibly get more smoke flavor out of other methods? Maybe. But we're rather happy with what we get out of ours.
Among friends I've become known for my pulled pork. Also enjoy doing brined and spatchcocked chicken or an occasional rack of ribs. And doing my own variation of over the top chili - smoking the whole pot was too smoky flavored for us, so I make a giant patty with the ground beef (which I mix in some seasoning) and smoke it to 165, then break it up and put it into my chili. Have found that to be a great balance of flavor, adding a bit of smoke flavor, without it being too much. I also make my grandma's calico beans recipe on the smoker most of the time - her recipe calls for a crock pot and liquid smoke, and I then add a little extra liquid and omit the liquid smoke when I run it on the RecTeq. Smoked mac-n-cheese is also a favorite.
If you like wings, check out the 0 to 400 method. I don't do it at 400 though - I choose 375 as my temp, which I've found give me less of a chance of the temp getting so hot that it burns the wings. (Especially if the wings are smaller.)
Man, now I need to pick up some wings...
We've had a RecTeq 590 for 5 or 6 years. I don't get the time to use it as often as I'd like, but it's a workhorse and absolutely love it.
I often refer to it as an EZ Bake Oven for adults, because it's easy to use - load with pellets, turn it on, set your temp, and let it go. Which is perfect for us as I would never have the time to smoke anything if it wasn't so easy or took so little time to use, just need to check on it on occasion. Can you possibly get more smoke flavor out of other methods? Maybe. But we're rather happy with what we get out of ours.
Among friends I've become known for my pulled pork. Also enjoy doing brined and spatchcocked chicken or an occasional rack of ribs. And doing my own variation of over the top chili - smoking the whole pot was too smoky flavored for us, so I make a giant patty with the ground beef (which I mix in some seasoning) and smoke it to 165, then break it up and put it into my chili. Have found that to be a great balance of flavor, adding a bit of smoke flavor, without it being too much. I also make my grandma's calico beans recipe on the smoker most of the time - her recipe calls for a crock pot and liquid smoke, and I then add a little extra liquid and omit the liquid smoke when I run it on the RecTeq. Smoked mac-n-cheese is also a favorite.
If you like wings, check out the 0 to 400 method. I don't do it at 400 though - I choose 375 as my temp, which I've found give me less of a chance of the temp getting so hot that it burns the wings. (Especially if the wings are smaller.)
Man, now I need to pick up some wings...
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- #37
It is very convenient. I love how the app tells you everything and gives reminders and such. It really is so easy. Though I am a bit disappointed in the flavor and wonder if we would have been better off with a charcoal smoker. It seems rather difficult to get a really heavy smoke on this thing. I'm probably going to try the smoke tube idea to see if i can get more flavor.
I bet adding a smoke tube will do it. I use a Weber vertical tube smoker and with four pieces of wood tossed onto the charcoal briquettes, we get plenty of smoke flavor. With some mesquite I used one time it was actually too much smoke.
We're happy with the level of smoke flavor we get, but know many do use a smoke tube for more. I've also seen people add a Smoke Daddy, or something of that sort of another brand, to their pellet grill to get more smoke.
I think I've read that the larger pellet grills tend to get less smoke flavor than the smaller ones, which is why many do add another source of smoke - especially if they have a larger model, like yours.