What am I doing wrong with this pellet grill? - help if you can please - pics enclosed

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

Hello,

I tried to use my pellet grill again yesterday.

I cooked 2 racks of spare ribs at 275 just under 4 hours total and they were nasty and burned flavor from the grease burning.

I cooked them 3 hours at 275 on the smoker flat with some rub and spritzed with apple juice a few times, then wrapped for 45 minutes then sauced for 5-10 and done.

The Cabelas ( camp chef dlx ) pit was clean when I started, I even ran it earlier in the week and just burned off anything that was lingering at 400. The pit is level and drains into the bucket.

Pics show the handful of burned fat/grease that was left after the cook. Is this the expected behavior of this grill?

Do all models of pellet grills do this?

Is it better to run these low and slow so the fast is less apt to burn? What is the point of this pit running at 500 then?

I must be missing something or is this just an oven that everything is to be cooked in a pan?

Really scratching my head and any input would be appreciated.

thanks in advance!

my Google pics -

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5YhmqBedlkxdAEJh2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nPj9CrWfAMNt9LRB2

thanks haeffnkr

unclebubbas bbq · Jul 31, 2017

Try kicking the temperature down to 225 to see if you still get the heavy smoke from the grease. I also wrap my drip pan with HD foil, makes clean up very easy. Dumb question but is there a heat shield above the fire pot?

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

UncleBubbas BBQ said:
Try kicking the temperature down to 225 to see if you still get the heavy smoke from the grease. I also wrap my drip pan with HD foil, makes clean up very easy. Dumb question but is there a heat shield above the fire pot?

Hi,

I can try that and see what happens at 225.

I asked the foil or not to foil question before and more suggested to not foil, but yes clean up would be easier.

Does adding foil change the heat transfer overall for the grill?

Yes there is a heat shield under the grease pan.

thanks haeffnkr

lovethemeats · Jul 31, 2017

Thats what it sounds to me to. Way to high of temp. By reading the post. Sounds like you were trying to speed cook them. Low and slow is the motto for all smoking of meats. I don't have a pellet grill but the temps seem way to high.
Something to remember. Even if a car can go 220mpg. Do you open it up to that speed and just go all the time at that speed. No. Temps at the high range is ment for certain foods when you want to sear them to lock in the juices and then cook them the rest of the way on a lower heat. Try to step back and let your unit do the work at a slower pace. You will like what you end up with.

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

Hello,

Are you saying that 275 is too high for a grill that goes up to 500 plus?

Most guys now are cooking pork at 275 to 300 from what I am reading.

thanks haeffnkr

lovethemeats said:
Thats what it sounds to me to. Way to high of temp. By reading the post. Sounds like you were trying to speed cook them. Low and slow is the motto for all smoking of meats. I don't have a pellet grill but the temps seem way to high.
Something to remember. Even if a car can go 220mpg. Do you open it up to that speed and just go all the time at that speed. No. Temps at the high range is ment for certain foods when you want to sear them to lock in the juices and then cook them the rest of the way on a lower heat. Try to step back and let your unit do the work at a slower pace. You will like what you end up with.

unclebubbas bbq · Jul 31, 2017

275 is not too high to cook ribs at. You need to trouble shoot 1st to see the cause of the problem. I once cranked my RECTEC up to 450 with a greasy drip tray, the tray caught on fire and a plume of heavy white smoke poured out of the smoker. Never mind scorching the powder coat finish. After cleaning it I tried 500 with perfect results. No more smoke

So I recommend starting at 225 or 235 to see what the unit will do, everyone I personally know with a pellet grill always uses foil on their drip tray, it's just so much easier

unclebubbas bbq · Jul 31, 2017

One more question, what type of pellets are you using? If you are home heating pellets that could also be a large part of the problem

bregent · Jul 31, 2017

I prefer cooking ribs at 275 and have never had a problem. Takes about 3 hours and I don't wrap.

275 is certainly not too high and you should not get burning grease at that temp. I suspect the problem might be that the temperature was spiking high above your set temp which caused the grease to burn. Did you monitor the temp swings?

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

UncleBubbas BBQ said:
One more question, what type of pellets are you using? If you are home heating pellets that could also be a large part of the problem

Lumberjack, multiple flavor, same results. No not heating pellets.

thanks for asking.

haeffnkr

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

bregent said:
I prefer cooking ribs at 275 and have never had a problem. Takes about 3 hours and I don't wrap.

275 is certainly not too high and you should not get burning grease at that temp. I suspect the problem might be that the temperature was spiking high above your set temp which caused the grease to burn. Did you monitor the temp swings?

I monitored the pit temps with a known accurate bbq thermometer that was placed close to the factory probe and the 2 read the same or very close to the same temps for the whole cook.

What I dont know is how hot the grease pan was when the pit temp was 275 measured 5 to 6 inches above it. I have a infrared thermometer that I can check the grease pan temps and see how hot it is. If that grease pan is 400 to 500 and is burning everything that drips on it, like I am experiencing then that is a design issue and I need to add and insulate another sheet pan on top of the grease pan.... or sell this unit.

thanks haeffnkr

bigtrain74 · Jul 31, 2017

The drip tray needs to be 100% clean if you are not using foil. Otherwise it burn and yes, you get nasty tasting food. I know ruining a few meals.

bregent · Jul 31, 2017

haeffnkr said:
I monitored the pit temps with a known accurate bbq thermometer that was placed close to the factory probe and the 2 read the same or very close to the same temps for the whole cook.

What I dont know is how hot the grease pan was when the pit temp was 275 measured 5 to 6 inches above it. I have a infrared thermometer that I can check the grease pan temps and see how hot it is.

thanks haeffnkr

I'm sure the grease pan is higher than 275, but surprised that it's getting hot enough to burn the grease. I don't recall if I cooked ribs at 275 when I owned my CampChef, but that's the only way I cook em on my Memphis.

>Does adding foil change the heat transfer overall for the grill?

Yes, foil is a reflector and will reduce the amount of radiant energy coming from below. In your case, maybe this will be helpful. If I were you, I would trying going down to 250 and test a single rack, and if that doesn't work, down to 225.

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

BigTrain74 said:
The drip tray needs to be 100% clean if you are not using foil. Otherwise it burn and yes, you get nasty tasting food. I know ruining a few meals.

Good point, thanks.

It was clean when I started, all scraped clean, even ran it on Wednesday up to 400 with no food to burn off anything that lingered from 2 weekends ago.

thanks for input.

haeffnkr

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

bregent said:
I'm sure the grease pan is higher than 275, but surprised that it's getting hot enough to burn the grease. I don't recall if I cooked ribs at 275 when I owned my CampChef, but that's the only way I cook em on my Memphis.

>Does adding foil change the heat transfer overall for the grill?

Yes, foil is a reflector and will reduce the amount of radiant energy coming from below. In your case, maybe this will be helpful. If I were you, I would trying going down to 250 and test a single rack, and if that doesn't work, down to 225.

Makes sense...thanks.

I will add foil and/or add another sheet pan above the grease pan to try and lower the temp and get it closer to pit temp and not screaming hot in which it must be 400 plus when when the pit is at 275.

bigtrain74 · Jul 31, 2017

another tip, make sure your grill is flat or even tilted down to the right (towards the grease bucket) so it flows out of the grill and doesnt linger around.

chef jimmyj · Jul 31, 2017

Pictures are worth a 1000 words. I have seen that burnt Carbon, not grease, many times...The problem? Burning Sugar. Sucrose, wht/brn sugar burns, at 320+. Fructose in Apple juice or honey, around 230. Guys that smoke in the average pit at 275 have no issue because dripping sugar hits a 275 surface and does not burn. In your pellet grill the rack is at 275 but the grease tray over the burn pot, where you are dripping, is likely close to 500°F. The burning sugar is giving a bitter smoke. To use your rub and spritz, not really needed at temps below 300, cut your temp to 200-225. Having lined the drip tray with foil, put 3-4 hours of smoke on them ribs.Take the ribs off and remove the dripped on foil. Increase the grill temp to 300. While heating, foil your ribs with whatever and cook about a hour more or to desired doneness or lT. If you want crispier bark, crank the heat again, to 500. Remove the foiled ribs and carefully open the pouches. Place the pouches on the grill for a few minutes to caramelize and crisp. Since nothing will be dripping in the hot tray, you won't get nasty smoke.

The other option is to stay the current course of temp and time but use a sugar free rub like SPOG and drink the apple juice. Only stuff dripping and vaporizing will be fat and a little meat juices and they taste good...JJ

retiredbadge · Jul 31, 2017

I use the 3-2-1 method at 200-230 degrees on my traeger. I wrap after the first 3 hours. Mine always turn out fantastic.

bregent · Jul 31, 2017

>The other option is to stay the current course of temp and time but use a sugar free rub like SPOG and drink the apple juice.

>Only stuff dripping and vaporizing will be fat and a little meat juices and they taste good!...JJ

That's an excellent point. Burnt sugar is a likely culprit. I know a lot of PelletHeads that follow the Fast Eddy method for ribs. That method includes coating the ribs with brown sugar, then rub, then cook for 3 hours at 275 and finish with a glaze. However, some pellet grill owners report that the sugar burns on their pellet grills at that temp - so they omit the sugar and everything is fine.

haeffnkr · Jul 31, 2017

So... I play with the grill tonight... I opened up the pit to find this lovely mess. Do all pellet grills blow the ash around like this?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/A0g1Zqbf2duec4Et1 \

I cleaned it up and put it back together and put my thermometer next to the factory one and set the controller at 275.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ViIup3HtAUIAkrJr1

I come back after 30 minutes to find my pit is running around 15 to 20 degrees hotter than advertised.....ugh

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pqOWuyWOevzopb8a2

I read the temp from the grease pan at 350 to 370.... UGH.... and when I tried to read the temp of the actual grate it always read about the same ... 350 to 370 ish... more UGHHHH

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4hBuc3rtN93g95ms1 https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ffwp68aGrEYaETjF2

But it did sort of make sense that the temp 6 inches above the bottom grate... where the temp probes and say the pit is 275ish... that the upper grate is at 270ish.... make sense sort of I guess.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cjInEN4MlzQx2I2Q2

Then I crank it up to 300 and come back 15 minutes later and to find the grate temp is 470 .... love that feature :)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jdfzrrX12GSRIM5I2

Lets review.... at 275

- Factory probe measures about 15 degrees lower than expected

- Grate temps where I cook are 75 to 100 degrees hotter than I expected and is WELL with in the temps of burn anything that touches it.

- Upper grate is very close to advertised temp

- at 300.... way too hot.....

I guess tomorrow I can try it at high and low smoke and see what happens... the manual says essentially cook pork at low temps. Maybe the swing at 200 is less than 275 and 300. More to come when I hear from Cust Service.....

Oh and one more thing... I run over to Costco to see a Traeger/Camp Chef/Cabelas/you name company grill with very similar parts. As in the stainless handles, grate, exhaust chimney, almost exact same fire box, heat deflector and grease pan??

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GoexVuibb4SJu5Q93

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y7yYdpGF61IA8rKZ2

thanks for all the help, keep it coming

haeffnkr

unclebubbas bbq · Aug 1, 2017

The ash under the drip pan is normal. I usually take mine apart and vacuum out about every 3 cooks. I once did a long cook on a brisket and it was windy, my brisket was cover in ash...I never new I had to clean it out....that won't ever happen again

What am I doing wrong with this pellet grill? - help if you can please - pics enclosed

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