gohring3006
Well-Known Member
Got me a pit boss pellet smoker and wondering if I should use a pan when smoking meats like brisket or ribs or directly on the rack?
What do you do?
What do you do?
Smoker methods.
- Thread starter gohring3006
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Mine is a Traeger, and they are a pellet GRILL in my opinion. I spent a lot of time and money learning how to get mine to make the food I want, other than grilling burgers or chops and the like which they do an excellent job on.
If you are trying to smoke something like ribs or brisket DO NOT place the food on the grill rack, that is direct heat and you end up with a grilled result. Dry tough bottom way before anything is done. Mine has a warming rack that is 4-5 inches above the grill rack, placing the ribs or whatever on that makes a huge difference, a lot less direct heat and a lot more smoke. But that still has direct heat and the bottom of whatever you are cooking will get dry and tough. I use a big baking sheet pan on the grill grate and also a water pan on the grill grate to deflect the direct heat and that is the key to making decent BBQ on a pellet grill. It still doesn't equal a real smoker in my opinion, but the convenience and better BBQ than you can go out and get makes it worth it. The other thing is plan on a LOT more time in the pellet grill than in a smoker. Ribs that take 5-6 hours on my smoker take 9+ hours on the pellet grill, brisket that goes 8 hours at 275 on my smoker takes 20 hours on the pellet grill at 275. Having used a smoker for 30 years the pellet grill was a HUGE disappointment, I started the process to return it 5-6 times. My wife kept telling me I would figure it out and I kept it, now I am glad I did. Get up in the morning and rub a rack of ribs, put them back in the fridge until it's time to go to work and put them on the pellet grill, come home 8-9 hours later and really good ribs are waiting. Same with a brisket or pork butts etc. Load them up, fill it to the brim with pellets and go to work, no muss no fuss. Can't do that with a smoker.....
If you are trying to smoke something like ribs or brisket DO NOT place the food on the grill rack, that is direct heat and you end up with a grilled result. Dry tough bottom way before anything is done. Mine has a warming rack that is 4-5 inches above the grill rack, placing the ribs or whatever on that makes a huge difference, a lot less direct heat and a lot more smoke. But that still has direct heat and the bottom of whatever you are cooking will get dry and tough. I use a big baking sheet pan on the grill grate and also a water pan on the grill grate to deflect the direct heat and that is the key to making decent BBQ on a pellet grill. It still doesn't equal a real smoker in my opinion, but the convenience and better BBQ than you can go out and get makes it worth it. The other thing is plan on a LOT more time in the pellet grill than in a smoker. Ribs that take 5-6 hours on my smoker take 9+ hours on the pellet grill, brisket that goes 8 hours at 275 on my smoker takes 20 hours on the pellet grill at 275. Having used a smoker for 30 years the pellet grill was a HUGE disappointment, I started the process to return it 5-6 times. My wife kept telling me I would figure it out and I kept it, now I am glad I did. Get up in the morning and rub a rack of ribs, put them back in the fridge until it's time to go to work and put them on the pellet grill, come home 8-9 hours later and really good ribs are waiting. Same with a brisket or pork butts etc. Load them up, fill it to the brim with pellets and go to work, no muss no fuss. Can't do that with a smoker.....
birddog 68
Well-Known Member
I use a disposable foil Turkey pan and usually get a couple uses out of it. Mine came with fancy racks to set the ribs in but everyone told me they will dry out using them. Pan works great for me!
gohring3006
Well-Known Member
Awesome info!
Since I got this thing, I've been busy trying to learn. I don't want to ruin a 50$ brisket if I can help it on my first time. I never thought I'd reach the age of well groomed grass and smoking meats. Lol
I'm settling into my mid life perfectly. Haha
dfanonymous
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I do directly on rack unless you are trying to simmer specifically. Maybe even sauté. That's with exception to things worth basting like say a traditional cooked turkey or something.
You can reverse sear certain meats as well or for briskets using aluminum foil with help with char. There's a lot of ways to go about it.
You can reverse sear certain meats as well or for briskets using aluminum foil with help with char. There's a lot of ways to go about it.
Everyone has their own ways I guess. Have had a pitboss for couple years now and have smoked just about everything on it. We have never used a tray and have never dried anything out. Leave the sear door closed and set temps for low and slow. You'll do fine. I don't do facebook but wife does, there's a pitboss group and tons of tips and techniques on it.
xsn10s
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I use a small Weber Smokey Mountain (charcoal brickets). It has a pan that sits under the grill racks. I can put water in it to keep things moist or even decrease the temps using ice. Other times I can just remove it for more direct heat. But most times I just fill it with water.
xsn10s
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The list is long, but distinguished
I have a Weber Smoky Mountain and a Z Grill pellet grill. The Weber has a pan of water that sits under the meat. Based on that part of the design and the excellent results it gives me I decided to try something similar with the pellet grill, and found I got much better results when I added a pan of water. I put an aluminum pan filled with water on the lower rack and my meat directly on the upper rack. I still prefer the Smoky Mountain for bigger cuts of meat like brisket and pork shoulder, but for smaller cuts I can smoke on a weeknight the convenience of the pellet grill is hard to beat.
dfanonymous
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The traeger app has some pretty descriptive recipes as well. I like trying different ones when I have the right ingredients on hand, especially for particular cuts that I want to mix up.
Almost always it comes out good enough for family and guest. Maybe not so much for competition lol.
Anyways since we were talking briskets, here's an random example.
traeger.com
Almost always it comes out good enough for family and guest. Maybe not so much for competition lol.
Anyways since we were talking briskets, here's an random example.
Traeger Grills® - The Original Wood Pellet Grill
Slow smoked beef brisket rubbed down with Traeger Coffee Rub and injected with a coffee and beef broth. Throw it on the grill for some wood fired flavor.
xsn10s
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I might have to try a small section of Boston Butt marinated in teriyaki sauce then smoked. It can be hard for me to adjust the temps on my Smokey Mountain. I'm still learning. Once I get that under control I want to try a brisket. Sounds soooooo awesome.
I run a camp chef. I smoke directly on the rack and finish in butcher paper. After you get a few under your belt you'll know what you are doing with your grill. They vary a little bit from brand to brand.
gohring3006
Well-Known Member
Sound delicious
