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Twin Eagle Pellet Smoker

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    #16
    Hi Guys
    Thank you for the comments. You are correct that I should post some photos. I will do that on my next cook. The comment about the fan introducing some convection effect is also right on. I could hear the fan in the TE running quite a bit so I think you are very correct that the fan contributed to the cooking going quicker that I expected based on my temp readings. Let's keep the conversation going.

    Brian

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      #17
      Click image for larger version  Name:	TE Grill.JPG Views:	0 Size:	3.65 MB ID:	801813

      TE Pellet Grill Cook Number # 2: Chicken Thighs and Legs

      Hi Guys
      • Here's report on my second TE Pellet cook. I didn't have a lot of time this last weekend to plan an elaborate cook buy I did have two large packs of chicken thighs and legs that need to be cooked up. I just trimmed the yard bird pieces and shook them up with some store bought lemon pepper. I put them on the lowest large grill on top of a silicon mesh mat. Set the temp at 275 on the smoke + setting. Used two of the TE heat probes in two of the largest thighs. At about the 1 hour 40 minute mark the temps were at 165 where I typically stop a yard bird cook. However, the skin was not at all crisp and had a pale yellow pallor look about it. I didn't expect smoked chicken to be very crisp but this was not looking appetizing at all. So I cranked the heat up to 425 degrees. This is one of the great features of this cooker. The ambient temp in the cooker went from 275 to 425 in about 10 minutes. [note these temps are ambient temps as read out on the TE screen. My probes read 10-25 degrees lower at the lower grate level.]

      Once the cooker got up to 425 on the screen, I left the thighs and legs in another 10-15 minutes. The chicken pieces browned nicely. The skin got close to crispy. The chicken was fine eating. I used Lumberjack oak pellets and thought the smoke flavor was noticeable but on the light side of things.

      My takeaways from this cook are that:
      • A two hour cook at 275 and higher is going to impart a light smoke flavor with the Lumberjack oak pellet. Maybe longer cooks at lower temps will produce a more pronounced smoke profile. I did get more smoke flavor on my 5 hour rib cook. Other pellets may give different results.
      • The cooker has the ability to raise the heat very quickly should you want to do a little browning or set a glaze in a hurry. This is a nice feature.
      • The grill gets a little hotter in the rear center where hot air is released from the around the rear edge of the firebox plate. The hot spot is in a half circle pattern that extended about 6-7 inches into the grate. Maybe 20% of the grill space from the far back was in the hot spot. I could detect this hot spot because the pieces of chicken in that area were more done than the others, but not by much. I don't see this as a problem as the degree to which the affected spot was hotter than the rest of the cooker was not great and fairly small in area. I have never experienced a smoker of any kind that didn't have a hot spot or two somewhere.
      So I rate this as another successful cook at my early stages of getting to know my TE Pellet Grill. So much more to go to put this monster of a machine through its paces. One of the features on the TE is that it is that it can grill at high heat. To do that, you remove the plate over the fire box and replace that with rack of that is made up of ceramic briquettes. I am looking forward to giving this a try. I want to experiment with a reverse sear on a nice thick steak starting with a low heat away from the ceramic briquettes and then firing up the TE grill to max temp to sear the steaks just before serving.

      And let me apologize for not posting pictures of the cook again. I will sooner or later as I keep playing with my new TE pellet grill.

      Brian
      Last edited by briano52; February 10, 2020, 10:09 PM.

      Comment


        #18
        Twin Eagles Pellet Cooker Update #3

        OK folks, here in California we are confined to home except for shopping. And shopping includes brisket! So I picked up a couple of untrimmed packer cuts that weighed in at about 16lbs before trimming. After trimming they were probably about 11-12 lbs. So I planned at 12+/- hour cook at 225.

        Now, as I have mentioned, the temp readout on the TE Pellet Grill reads high. For this cook I set the grill temp to 240. I used a very accurate Thermoworks temp robe on the rack that sits about 8" above the main grill. The level of that grill is about 8"-10" below the roof of the cooker so I would assume that it read slightly hotter than the grill level but not by much. During my cook, I found that the Thermoworks probe read 15 to 20 degrees lower than the TE grill read on its interface after the grill came to full heat and equilibrium (90 minutes into the cook). For the first 90 minutes after the meat was on the grill, the ambient temp was about 212. And I did preheat the grill for 45 minutes before putting the meat on.

        In short, the TE ambient temp per the TE readout is higher than the actual temp by 15 to 25 degrees depending on the time into the cook. As overall temps stabilized, after the effect of cold meat in the cooker went away, the difference between the TE temp and the actual ambient temps narrowed to a fairly consistent 15 degrees. That is a good thing because consistency is the main goal.

        The briskets were cooked to an internal temp of 202 in 12 hours and 20 minutes. This is about what I would have expected from a two brisket cook at 225. I used a pellet blend of hickory, cherry and maple. The TE has a smoking setting option of "smoke" or "smoke plus". The smoke plus is supposed to produce more smoke flavor by adjusting the temp and fan. I don't really know what it does but that is what TE says.

        I notice that the TE grill ambient temp readout did not fluctuate much at all. However my probe told me that the ambient temps fluctuated 15-20 degrees at times even after the first 90 minutes. Not really a big deal over a long cook at relatively low temps. And those fluctuations were not frequent. Maybe the temp fluctuations served to produce more smoke? That is just a guess.

        The grill holds 12lbs of pellets. I have found that at about the 6 hour mark the grill will give you a visual warning of temperatures dropping on the screen. When you open the hopper there will still be pellets visible over the auger but maybe only a pound or so. I have decided that 6 hours is about the longest time that you can leave this grill unattended. A little disappointing that you can't sleep for 8 hours and not worry about the fuel running out.

        So now to results: the cook was a great success. I used only a Texas style treatment of salt and pepper 50/50 applied moderately. Fat on the flat was trimmed to about 1/4". The brisket had a pleasant smoke flavor. I would call it low to moderate smoke but definitely noticeable, telling you that the meat was smoked. The lean meat off the flat was still moist but not quite as soft and juicy as the meat on the point end. But overall, result was good. For a first go around on a new cooker, I was pretty happy, as were my guests.

        If I was to change anything for the next brisket cook, I think I might leave a little more fat on the flat end. Or maybe bring down the final temp a little bit? Not sure if I would lower the temp as the meat from the point end was so wonderful I would hesitate to change that much.

        This cook proved that the TE is capable of producing flavorful meat for cuts that need extended cook time. I will keep up the reports on this very nice machine. I am coming from using a Weber kettle and a stick burner offset so I have a good frame of reference and hopefully I can share that perspective with you all. Questions are welcome.

        Brian
        Attached Files
        Last edited by briano52; March 25, 2020, 09:49 PM.

        Comment


          #19
          That is one pretty pellet grill. If you haven’t already, try a bag of CookinPellets 100% hickory.

          Comment


          • briano52
            briano52 commented
            Editing a comment
            Hey Glitchy
            I will try the CookinPellets 100% HIckory that you mention. The Pellets I used for the brisket above were CookinPellets "Perfect Mix" and I like the flavor I got. Very pleasant wood flavor. Still on the light/moderate side but noticeable. The Perfect Mix had better smoke flavor than a 100% oak I used on my first two cooks on the TE. I really like oak on my offset cooker but the oak pellets were too mild for the TE pellet grill.

          #20
          Just got my twin eagles pellet grill one month ago. I am in love! Named her Lucy .... that way I can have an extramarital affair without the wife getting jealous. As stated above, it IS build like a tank .. upwards of 350 lbs for the insert grill. It is soooo set it and forget it, and a perfect cook. I am 72 years old, so the old days of sitting by the smoker watching my temp the whole cook are too much for this old geezer. So far, results are great. Will post more details a bit later ... but if it is your last 6K .... Lucy is still worth it!

          Comment


            #21
            This is one I keep looking at, but need more info : )

            Comment


              #22
              Temp setting vs actual temp at the grid is good to know. Cooking really is time vs temp. My pellet grill cooks about 20% hotter than setting. For example, 180* is actually 220*, 300* is actually 350*; +/- a few degrees. I was still able to produce good results, but the timing was off. I performed an all-day temperature test. This really helps, typed up the results, and printed out an idiot sheet to go by.

              Looked up the Twin Egles pellet grill. Nice unit. Look forward to future reports. This may be my upgrade.

              How many pounds of pellet did you go through in the 12 hour cook?
              Last edited by bbqLuv; January 5, 2021, 04:19 PM. Reason: add a question.

              Comment


                #23
                Just finished reading some reviews of the twin eagles review. They are top of the line.
                Starting at over 6 thousand dollars, and adding extras that are closer to $9,000.
                I will not pair them with PBR.

                Comment


                • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
                  ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I have a friend that is stupid wealthy, he drinks PBR with caviar and seems quite happy

                #24
                Looks like this is an older thread. I ordered my Twin Eagles Pellet Grill in early 2018 when first introduced. Waited over a year for it, so I'm probably one of the first pellet grill owners. FWIW, I traded in a Memphis Elite towards the TE.

                Pros:
                • Temp control rocks! GREAT job on the algorithm
                • Insulation is excellent
                • Fit and finish are excellent
                • The interior light is great for overnight cooks!
                • Recently ran a "heat map" (using biscuits) on grate level and mid-level (2nd level) and it was highly consistent across entire grill as well as mid level. VERY surprised at how even is was across both grates
                • Recently discovered that I can use the Charcoal Insert as a "bi-level" cooking process. By using the SMOKE mode @ 250* and the food offset to one side, and charcoal in the insert, the charcoal does light but is on "standby" for high heat cooking as soon as the food is moved over the center (charcoal), switched to "charcoal" mode, and the lid left open. VERY COOL and probably unintended as designed. Did a Tri-tip this way and it ROCKED!
                • I really like that TE makes their products to be interchangeable. If I were to pass away before my wife (sorry to be gruesome) or simply tire of the "hassle" of pellet cooking, I know that I (or she) can drop in a TE gasser. I wish I had installed a gasser as well, as the OP had done. I did install a TE "Salamangrill" but it's been a disappointment.

                Cons:
                • The iOS app SUCKS and hasn't been updated in 2 years and they don't seem too interested in updating it. Memphis' app was really quite good.
                • The pellet hopped is REALLY SMALL. If doing an overnight cook, you better fill to the absolute top (late at night) and check FIRST THING in the AM. I also had issues with the pellets not "sliding" into the auger well. The hopper slope angle may not be steep enough. I'm considering lining with UHMW low friction strips to the slopes to aid the sliding of the pellets
                • The "low pellet warning" only fires when the pit temp has dropped 50 degrees (50 degrees!!!). By then, my food temp has also dropped. This "temp drop level" should be user configurable, AT LEAST thru the app. Even better, have a configurable temp drop alarm for the food probes themselves
                • REALLY miss the Memphis "Genie tool" for moving grates and inserts. TE really needs to consider this.
                • It's a tough grill to clean, as many surfaces are welded in place. REALLY hard to remove the hood. Actually harder to reinstall the hood. FWIW cleaning the Memphis was also really hard, for the same reasons as TE.
                • TE product management response to [this] customer feedback has been nothing at all ("crickets")
                Attached Files
                Last edited by mschoonmaker; July 24, 2021, 08:58 AM.

                Comment


                  #25
                  I have not tried the internet interface on the TE as my home wifi is 5ghz and they tell you that it only works on the 2.4 ghz. Maybe that is your problem.

                  I can't get my highly accurate Thermaworks ambient temp probe to match the readout on the TE but I find that I can reliably use the TE readout to plan and manage my cooks. Go figure. Getting enough smoke flavor is always a challenge. I have found that putting my meat in cold helps and so does using pure hickory pellets. In my offset with charcoal, hickory chunks are too strong but the hickory pellets don't give off the same pungent flavor in a pellet grill.

                  The TE is built like a tank out of beautiful thick stainless steel. It is a marvel to look at. My one real complaint is that the hopper capacity is about 6 hours. Not enough for a full night of sleep and that big brisket or pork butt. Although I should say that the brisket will cook in about 7 hours +/- as the convection effect makes it cook faster. So I have mostly gotten over the small hopper. The controller screen is bright, easy to read and works great in all functions (leaving aside the wifi that I haven't tried to use). I got my TE on a big sale thank goodness as they are really spendy. My outdoor kitchen is mostly TE and their quality and service is first rate. I love the TE gasser even though I am really a charcoal and wood guy. Pleasantly surprised how well the gasser cooks. The IFR unit is a big plus for a nice outside char and with reverse sear cooking and also great for sous vide.

                  Comment


                    #26
                    I thought I would weigh in here with some additional thoughts and impressions. I installed my built-in TE 36" Pellet grill in December 2021. As you all know this is the most expensive pellet grill money can buy. I did a lot of research before I bought this thing because it was so expensive. I almost couldn't find a bad review on it. There aren't a lot of owner reviews on these things, but I couldn't help myself and decided to splurge on this thing for my new outdoor kitchen.

                    So far I am very disappointed. My $2000 Traeger was a far more reliable option than this thing has been so far. This thing will not hold temp. I live in Colorado and it's winter here. I have 2 cooks so far and endless fiddling with this thing. In my past experience with my pellet smokers, outside temperature has never been a factor for maintaining a steady temp inside the grill. When it's colder outside, the grill uses more pellets than when it's 80 degrees outside. No big deal. I will also say this. This thing is really well insulated. I can run the internal temps at 400+ degrees and still put my hand on the lid without it being that hot so I have a hard time believing that the outside temp is much of a factor once the grill gets warmed up. My problem is my TE will not ever reach the temp I have the target temp set at. If I want to maintain a temp of around 225, I have to set the target temperature 50-100 degrees hotter. The grill internal temp bounces all over the place. If I set the temp around 275, the temp inside the grill will range from 180 all the way up to 260, rarely ever getting to 275. This goes on for the entire cooking process. 5-10-15 hours. Makes absolutely no sense. The same goes if I set the temp at 400. It will never hit the 400, it will bounce between 325 and 375 all the while going up and down and never ever hitting the desired temperature. I have never seen anything like it.

                    For this kind of money, this is ridiculous. To be honest, a $500 cheap pellet smoker will maintain better than this thing. I have an email and a call in with tech support at TE to try and help me establish what the issue might be. I understand that I might see some temp fluctuations up and down 10-15 degrees as the fan kicks on and off, and that is perfectly acceptable, but not being able to hit and mostly maintain the temp I have the grill set at, it completely unacceptable.

                    My initial call with tech support was met mostly with excuses. They told me that I didn't buy a smoker, that I bought a pellet grill, and that a Traeger was meant to run at 225, but this was designed more to run at higher temps. I told them they have better change their advertising if that was the case. I also told him I still had a problem, because I can't maintain consistent high temps either. The same problem being no matter what set temp I have is that the grill them consistently is running 50-60 degrees cooler than the set temp even if I bump the temp up to 400 or over.

                    I am really hoping that they come up with some sort of answer for me like a faulty motherboard or something. I spent nearly $9000 on this bad boy. I don't think it is to much to ask to pick a temp and have this grill at least maintain within 10-15 degrees of that set point at all times.

                    I am supposed to hear back from tech support in about a week. I'll update on what they tell me. I really hope they are able to help me with whatever issue is going on here.

                    Comment


                    • glitchy
                      glitchy commented
                      Editing a comment
                      …and for the price of a TE it better be able to smoke and grill both or that should be damn clear in marketing materials.

                    • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
                      ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
                      Editing a comment
                      that sucks, for 9k you could have got a MAK 3 star or a Yoder Cimmaron or YS1500 on a comp cart. Hopefully they help you figure it out, but you're not the first person I've seen that had bad things to say about these grills but I've seen lots of people happy with 'em too. The marketing for TE was bragging about 140 degree cold smoking capability as a comparison to their primary competitions 180 degrees... so obviously it should be able to do low and slow.

                    • Patterson0608
                      Patterson0608 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Hi, I know this post was from a year ago, but I am having the EXACT same problem as you had with my TE wifi pellet grill installed last summer. Tech support has suggested everything from the obvious to replacing a couple of sensors and giving the latest firmware update. Please tell me how you fixed the problem. Thank you.

                      Saladin
                      [email protected]

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