...try to do a turkey for Thanksgiving or hold off until I get some experience first? I ordered a Grilla and hope it will arrive in the next few days. We plan on a small 10-12 lb bird plus a breast to supplement which will be cooked indoors. My question is, this would be my first time on a pellet cooker and should I be patient and work on some less prominent meals first or just go for it? This assumes delivery will take place on time in the era of COVID misery...
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To be honest, I would do your turkey the way you are used to until you have the new Grilla figured out. Others may feel differently, but I am such a “holiday meal must be traditional and right” that my advise is to go with what you know until you are ready to change up.-
Probably prudent. We have a 2nd breast that we pan to do indoors as a back up so to speak. 1st time for that as well. -
DrJimmy2112 I tend to avoid risk with holiday meals ..... the first year I decided to smoke a turkey instead of cook in the oven, I smoked two turkeys that fall to dial it in.
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Do you have a remote meat probe and instant read? If so, go for it! Cook at 350-375 until you hit 160 in breast and 170 in leg and you'll likely be very happy. Instant read is really the key, have to check a few spots to be sure and I never seem to hit the magic spot with the remote on poultry more than anything, Same really goes for cooking indoors, temping any protein is better than time. However, even a touch of smoke is better than an oven, IMO.Comment
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If the assembly and burn-in of your new OG go smoothly, I’d say go for it. Just don’t try to get too creative for your first cook, e.g., avoid trying to lay on heavy smoke by cooking initially at low temps. Keep it above 250-275F at all times. Remember that a pellet cooker is nothing more than a wood-fired convection oven and I’d advise using it as just that ... nothing more and nothing less. Frankly, I’d just crank the OG up to at least 350-375F and just keep a close eye on your grate temp and turkey IT at all times using a good external thermometer (or thermometers).
Before ignition, make sure that your burn pot and the surrounding area are clean ... no ash or unburnt pellets. For safety’s sake leave the OG door open during ignition until you see plenty of smoke and can see a happily flaming burn pot through the window.
Please don’t believe for a second that a pellet cooker is totally set-and-forget. It’s not.
I don’t know if you got the Grilla with the new alpha controller. If you decide to trust the old “classic” controller (you’ll get a bit more smoke if you do), be prepared to see +-30F temp swings. That’s perfectly normal and is by design.
Finally ... and this is important ... if your OG shuts down due to ANY error condition (including a power failure or flame out), do NOT attempt to relight it before you thoroughly clean out the burn pot and surrounding area. Frankly, if that happened to me on a first cook, I’d move the turkey indoors and avoid the new cooker until you’ve had a chance to work with Grilla Support to sort out what happened.
All that said, congrats on your new OG and best of luck with your Thanksgiving meal! Enjoy
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Congratulations on the New Grilla. Have fun with it!Comment
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spatchcock that bird, Just smoked on on my pellet grill in 40df weather @ 230-255df to internal temp 165df. Pellet grills are close to set it and forget it.
Sipped sour mash whiskey during cook. A little cold for PBR.
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Roger that, will do - thanks for the inputComment
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I say your pellet cooker is just another oven with smokier air, cook it in your Grilla like you would your oven. Congrats on the new rig!Comment
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It's the 30th, and I just saw this thread. Did you get your Grilla? If not in time for Thanksgiving, at least by now? I'm at our vacation home, where my OG is, so it's been getting some use. Turkey breast, pork butt, and brats. I vacuum out the ash from the fire pot and bottom of the smoker after almost every cook, especially long ones. When I gave you my opinion of what you should buy in the earlier thread I mentioned that it warms up quicker than my other, larger, Blaz'n Grid Iron. Partly why I love using the OG, and my gasser sat neglected for over a year. After close to 3 years I finally realized it would heat up even faster than I thought. After vacuuming I would start it up and let it prime itself. I've seen many others recommend putting a handful of pellets in a clean fire pot. Tried it, and according to my Smoke ambient probe I was up to about 310 in just over 10 minutes. It settled back down to the set level of 225 soon after. Just a suggestion. Just don't overload it, I think I may have dumped in more than I needed to get things going. Happy Smoking!Comment
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