Grid Iron Has Arrived

[Old Glory]

Doing a Butt this morning. Running the BGI at 200 with cherry pellets. Fired up the smoke box for the first time to get more smoke on the meat. The smoker box holds about 2 lbs of pellets. I lit it with a torch and it threw out a ton of smoke. Let it run for a few hours then pulled it out and bumped temps to 250. Looking good so far.

***

Came out great. I struggled a bit to get the smoking box fire to die back. I think it was because I used the torch longer than the minute they direct you to do. Once I smothered the fire there was plenty of smoke. Only left it in the smoker for a couple of hours because I did not want too much smoke. Overall it was pretty easy to use and I think I will use it for my low and slow cooks going forward.

It is all stainless steel very solid and well made. Should last a very long time.

[Dewesq55]

They sure look purdy!

[Old Glory]

Did a couple of racks of ribs on BGI. Used competition mix pellets. Again incredibly easy to set and maintain temps on this cooker. Preheated the grill then set at 165 let them ride there for two hours then pushed it up to 275 for two hours. Wrapped in foil with some brown sugar and apple cider vinegar for another hour. Removed from foil and glazed with Sweet Baby Ray's cooking another 15 minutes to set the sauce. Ribs were tender and had a nice pink ring. However there was a definite lack of smoke flavor this time. The ribs were good and the family loved them but I missed the smoke. I will try the smoker box with the ribs next time out.

[Old Glory]

Thursday smoked a big Pork Butt on the BGI. A new couple moved in, and it is the tradition in our neighborhood to welcome new families by everyone taking turns cooking them a dinner. We were up Thursday. It was time to test the BGI with a low and slow cook.

The butt was rubbed with Oakridge Dominator Sweet Rub. Set up on the second level full size grate with a a drip pan placed under the meat to keep things clean. I have no problem using a drip pan for this it is no big deal and I am happy not to have to de-grease the inside of the cooker. Ran the it at 160 for four hours to get smoke on that gorgeous butt.

Rubbed and ready



Set up on the Cooking Grate With Drip Pan Below. Keep using my Fireboard, will have to try the included meat probe from Blazin' at some point.



After a Few hours at 160



Cranked up to 275 for the remainder of the cook. Starting to get some bark



Finished product. Good Bark but not outstanding




Delivered the goods and kept some for us. My wife's buttermilk coleslaw and Best BBQ Beans from Kenji's Website




Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies for Dessert




Post cook analysis. It was incredibly easy to set up this cook and manage temps. I probably used 10 lbs of Competition Mix. The pork was tender and juicy with good overall flavor. I did not wrap or spritz. Smoke was there but it was not the main player. Again, it was much more subtle than charcoal and chunk. It just tasted clean and restrained. You could discern the flavors in the rub and the caramelized sugars in the bark and overall everything was more balanced. I am very pleased with it however I could see where hardcore smoke eaters would be disappointed.

A few other notes. I bought a cover with the grill. It seems like it is good quality. It is heavy and thick material. However it is short and does not cover the outside shelf. It needs to be about 10 inches longer. I had to use bungee cords to secure it in yesterday's Nor' Easter. Luckily it does have grommets to allow for this. The pull out firepot was very tight at first and I had to tap it with a hammer to get it out. It is loosening up now and is a very convenient way to clean out the ash.

My meat probe died on my Fireboard. It is about a year old. I did notice it was frayed when I pulled it out.

[Skip]

Looking good Old Glory !

[Old Glory]

Having fun with the new toy. Threw some Italian Sausage and Chicken Apple Sausage on the grill with a skillet of peppers and onions.







A nice Pilsner from Maine

[Old Glory]

glitchy I have been happy so far. Searing has been pretty good. I don't like a ton of smoke on my steaks or my chicken so the subtle smoke has been perfect. I usually don't add wood to those cooks on the WSCG. I am doing two Pork Butts this week so I will be testing out the low and slow smoke then.

[glitchy]

You definitely are getting a very impressive sear on that pellet grill. Now you need to get some 100% hickory pellets and smoke something running a couple hours at 200 then bump up and see if you can get smoke you like better.

[Old Glory]

Did Tri-Tip last night. Was part of my second order from Alpine Butcher. Prime Beef very good quality. Reverse seared still using the Hickory pellets. Set temp at 250 and took the meat to 120 then seared on the Grill Grates over the trap door in the deflector. I used the flat side and it did a great job. It gives a more even sear across the surface of the meat rather than just grill marks. This thing is a reverse searing machine. I have been surprised by the volume of flames coming from the fire pot.

A few Pics:

[klflowers]

That's what I am talking about. Great looking chicken. I find I am using my Chimp more and more, and I am actually considering getting a full size pellet grill. I am going to try a small butt on the Chimp first and see how much I like the lighter smoke flavor on a long cook first. But plugging it in, setting the temps and waling away is great for a lazy man like me lol.

[Old Glory]

Second Cook - Boneless Skin On Chicken Thighs Rubbed with Pepper Palace Orange Chipotle Rub. Still using the included bag of BBQ Delight Hickory Pellets. Set temp to 350 to start cooker the bumped up to 375. Super juicy and flavorful. Skin could have been crisper, but I never let it dry out because we defrosted it that morning on the counter.

Two issues:

1. The pull out firepot was stuck so I had to remove the deflector plate to vac out ashes. After I vacuumed I used the persuader to loosen thing up so now it comes out fine.
2. It was a bitch to get the deflector plate back in. It has to go in just right. I have it figured out now but it was frustrating.

The chicken was very tasty and the rub was a nice change from the usual BBQ Rubs. Again, smoke profile was minimal. It is pretty awesome to just set a temp and not worry about it.


Chicken On:


Chicken Done:

[Spinaker]

Congrats on the new rig!

[HawkerXP]

Lookin good!

[Old Glory]

Thank you! Seems pretty solid. Need to play with it a lot more to get to know it. Figure out hot spots, etc. Smoke profile was way less than charcoal and chunk but I knew that going in. I prefer a more subtle smoke flavor on certain things like chicken and steak. I can't wait to try ribs and pulled pork to really see how he smokes!

[Old Glory]

Thank you!