Itās been my longest ever continuous cooking session today, just over 18 hours and the Weber has performed flawlessly, just left at 240F from start to finish, for all of the meats, except for spritzing and a quick reload of the hopper havenāt had much to do, it just did itās thing.
Put the Beef Short Ribs on just before midnight, expecting a 10-11 hour cook for the 2 kg Slab , took 11.5 in the end and rested for + 60 minutes rest time (transport time to share with my Dad for Fathers Day) due to his need for self isolation. Turned out well, good beefy flavour, nice crust and a decent smoke ring. Think it was a little too long resting time and the IT went a little over in the cool box, but it had to be that way, to get them there. Think a 15-20 minute rest would have been ideal
After removing them from the grill, I added the Ribs and ham (ham is for the next few days) Once back started spritzing 4 hours after putting them on every 30 to 40 minutes. Didnāt bother wrapping or adding sauce and they were done around the 7 hour mark.
Just got done with some wings. They were spectacular. Ok, no photos but hereās a step by step for what went on.
Step 1 - Make a marinade of 1-1/2 cups Italian dressing, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 3 tbsp hot sauce (I used Frankās). Marinate thawed wings for 3 hrs.
Step 2 - Heat smoker to 375F. Drain marinade from wings. Then liberally apply a base coat of What the Cluck. Then a layer of Weberās Kickinā Chicken.
Step 3 - Cook on 375F smoker for 23 mins.
Step 4 - flip and cook an additional 23 mins. (or internal temp 170F).
Step 5 - toss in favorite wing sauce. We had 1/2 buffalo and 1/2 bbq.
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I also (at the nagging of my wife) finally parted ways with my old Weber, put it out by the curb for some lucky soul, think it was 20 yrs old maybe, still in good working order!
Yeah, Iām gonna miss it, actually not sure on the age, was a hand-me-down from my Dad, when the handle for the lid rotted off I fashioned a new handle from a tree branch. Other than that it was poifect !
Canāt help with the Traeger as I own a Smokefire. But did come from a Bullet Smoker to a Pellet Grill for the first time in February this year. We love our pellet grill for its versatility in temps and speed reached from 180F-600F at the setting of a dial. The food and ability to cook different foods has really opened my eyes and I want to experiment with different things, not just meats now.
There have been a couple of downsides. The gentler smoke flavour on the meat compared to charcoal is noticeable (although you get a better smoke ring I think) My wife prefers less smoke flavour, so in my case itās a bonus as I get to cook more food, than I did on the charcoal for both us of now.
Certainly mine runs a little hotter on the right hand side, than the left, and I understand most other pellet grills d? so you need to factor that in when putting meat on the grill. But so long as the fatter side of the meat you are cooking is towards the right it doesnāt cause any problems with the finished results.
The cost of running a pellet grill is significantly more than a charcoal bullet with fuel, here it works out approximately about 75p an hour for me, compared to about 50p and hour using good restaurant grade charcoal. You have a much wider selection of pellets in the US at considerably cheaper prices than here in the UK, so headline price would be cheaper, but still more expensive than quality charcoal overall.
Since getting my Pellet Grill I only use my bullet smoker for cold smoking now, but would imagine I will do some nostalgia cooks in the coming months.
@bluenose63 MUCHO thanks for taking the time brother. Iām a diehard Weber fanboy, but was unsure about the Smokefire (newly relased ??). Iāll PM you.
Ah no⦠let him spill the beans here lmaoā¦
I am thinking on upgrading my kettles⦠I have a travel and a full size, but getting bored and really want something new to play with too. not sure on a pellet⦠but I am an excellent bonfire cook. I even dehydrate meats and some veggies on a bonfire. I am a charcole girl looking at whats next
Well @anon84779643 being a REAL Weber Fanboy, I started getting excited when I heard they were going to get into the pellet smoker market. Now with ANY MFG, Iām always reluctant to buy the first model of a new series, and Iāve read some good, and some not soo good as of this writing. Still on the fence, and watching what Weber is going to do.