So I’m in Vegas visiting my mom and dad. It’s Dad’s birthday. Been a GREAT trip so far, but dad got a new cooker. He bought a Kuma Platinum pellet pooper. I’ve been tasked with doing ribs tomorrow, which I’m fairly confident with, but I’ve never used a pellet pooper before and am wondering what I need to be aware of for this cook. Any suggestions from my pellet head Pit Brothers and Sisters? I cooked some Honey/Basil pork chops tonight that turned out ok, but cooked a little faster than I would have like. Great flavor, but more done than I wanted. I don’t want to over do the ribs. I also made my first attempt at Meathead ‘s Crackilins, but again, a brand new cooker. They kinda burned up. Flavor was mostly good, just burned a bit. . Anyway, any advice for the pellet cooker would be most appreciated. My initial impression of the Kuma is very good!!
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Do you think the cooker is running hotter than the temperature guage indicates, since the food is cooking faster/more than you like. I'm not familiar with that cooker. For ribs, or pretty much anything on the pellet cooker, I like running on low smoke for a couple hours at the start of the cook to get as much smoke exposure as possible. I then increase to 225 or 250 to finish out the cook.
Enjoy the visit with your parents.
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It’s entirely possible. I don’t have an independent temp probe here, so I’ve no idea if it’s running at an accurate temp. I will say that I really like the features and interface of the Kuma, I’m just trying to learn it quirks in the span of a day or three. My dad said that he has had to adapt his outdoor cooking style (and timing) and think of the Kuma more in the the terms of a conviction oven vs a grill/outdoor cooker.
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RickyBobby Yep, they are convection ovens with slightly smoky air, that sums them up.
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If you have a charcoal or wood smoker, expect this is to taste way different. The smoke is there, but it's delicate. Smokier than your indoor oven, you can tell it was cooked 'outside', but nothing like your kettle w/ charcoal and wood chunks or whatever else you might have or have used.
Here's what I do to maximize smoke on a pellet rig:
DON'T PREHEAT the cooker. Place your nearly frozen-cold ribs on the cooker as you start it up. Let all that excess start-up smoke hit them ribs. Use the high-smoke mode, if there is one, for the first hour or two like mentioned by jerrybell. Meathead suggests using the top rack, and perhaps an occasional misting to help with smoke. Don't over do it, too much misting can slowly wash off your rub, even if you don't think so. Their own juices are rolling away some rub as they cook already. Another thing you can do, place a few well-lit charcoal briquets on some foil with a small wood chunk on them on the grate if there's room beside the ribs. Or under the grate. Or just a wood chunk, maybe on the diffuser on top of the burn pot. All depends on how much room and how clever you want to get in the quest for the most flavor.
I often recommend a digital thermometer to verify grate temp, but let's be realistic, this is a thermostatically-controlled cooker not something completely at your own mercy. Even if it's off by 30-50 degrees, ribs can handle it. So they cook at 220 instead of 250, or 280 instead of 225, big deal. Just check them and pull them when they're done. Over-done ribs means a little more fall apart. I'd be more worried about overdoing steak or chops than ribs or a brisket. Don't fret too much. Enjoy!
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Can you get a cheap oven thermometer somewhere to get an idea if it is close? It shouldn’t cook much different than about anything else would indirect at the same temps, you might (will likely) just sense less smoke. I’ve gotten pretty similar results on my Summit Charcoal versus what I’ve been used to with pellet grills or older gas and electric cabinet smokers.
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I went from a SnS in a Weber kettle to a pellet pooper, and it hasn't really changed how the cooks go. Heat is still heat, and time is a constant. The flavor changes depending on how the heat is generated, but they will cook the same no matter the heat source. For a one time cook, I'd just set it to high smoke, or 250, and treat them just like you would on whatever it is you cook on now. If you want to get your dad a nice add-on, then I highly recommend a smoke tube. That will help boost the smoke profile.
Bubba.
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My suggestion would be to cook them at 225° start to finish. If you need to speed things up toward the end of the cook, then kick the temp up a bit. You didn’t mention if they are baby backs or St. Louis Spares... big i’d plan on a 5-8 hour cook depending on which type of rib and how the cooker handles itself. I never wrap ribs on a pellet cooker. At the 2 hour mark I start spritzing every 40 mins or so until about an hour before they are done. That last hour I glaze them and let them go til they probe tender with a toothpick. They always turn out super good! I just made these last week on my pellet smoker...
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My GMG runs 30 degrees hotter than it indicates on the builtin thermometer. If you do not have wi-fi temp monitoring check every 45 for possible bridging of the pellets. Bridging will cause the auger to stop feeding the fire. If dad doesn't have an instant thermometer for things like chops, steaks or chicken, at least get a cheap on at wally world for temporary use.
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Nice looking ribs there, RickyBobby . I bet it was fun to cook on that pellet cooker. It's always good to try something new. Plus I bet your Dad enjoyed the tips you gave him. I bet they'll be sad to see you leave. Parents are like that.
KathrynLast edited by fzxdoc; October 9, 2019, 06:12 AM.
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Since I did post this in the pellet cooker thread, I suppose I should add my impressions of the Kuma. BLUF, I am no Max Good .... and this is the first time I’ve ever used a pellet cooker of any kind. BUT! I liked it. I will never trade in my stick burner, Kettle, or gasser for one, but I can certainly see me adding a pellet cooker to the stable. The Kuma platinum has a great interface and what appear to be good features. The pellets actually fall through a chute into the burn pot, so it does not appear possible for anything to back up and burn back into the hopper. I’m told that it is possible for the pellets to burn back through the auger and into the hopper, but I have no idea if it actually can happen. I like that the hopper on the Kuma is really easy to dump into a bucket of you want to change the type of pellets you are using. It gets to temp pretty fast and I also like the ease of exposing the burn pot for searing. The Kuma is also 100% made in the USA. The only negative that I can see is that according to their website, Kuma has paused production of their pellet grills in order to focus on their wood stove business to comply with new EPA regulations. Again, I’m no professional and have almost zero pellet pooper experience, but if Kuma starts making their pellet grills again and I have the money, I would choose this one to add to my stable.
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