First brisket in the pellet grill

[radio]

It came out good, but I still prefer my wood fired smokers. Almost no smoke flavor from the pellets, but I was surprised to see a smoke ring!
Overall, I'm less than impressed with the grill. As per Green Mountains recommendations in their recipes, I started the brisket at 165 to get the most smoke from the pellets. After an hour and a half, I bumped it to 220, then after 30 minutes bumped it to 250 where it stayed until done. Not sure why, but had to take it to 207 IT and it Stoll wasn't as tender as I would have liked. A 7 pound brisket flat took just shy of 12 hours, plus an hour rest. Consider any longer than my stick burners, and it wasn't as tasty.
My opinion on pellet grills is they are likely great for someone who doesn't have a lot of experience on a stick burner.
The "set and forget" convenience is fantastic though. I did play with the heat deflector position and finally got a fairly even temp from one end to the other that was reasonably close to the controller setting. I did see a thin layer of ash in the drip pan I placed under it which was a bit of concern. Also had a fair amount of ash where smoke was escaping from under the top of the chamber and lid.
Anyone else notice ash during a long Cool? Not sure I'm a fan of the "extras" I'm getting on the meat

 

[markh024]

What brand and flavor pellets? Have you considered a Amazen tube for added smoke? I have gotten satisfactory flavor on my CampChef but not like a wood burner. I didnt go into a pellet purchase thinking i would though.

As far as ash its common, but i dont see it on my food ever. Dont really pay any mind to it until i vacuum the grill after every 3-4 smokes.

 

[radio]

What brand and flavor pellets? Have you considered a Amazen tube for added smoke? I have gotten satisfactory flavor on my CampChef but not like a wood burner. I didnt go into a pellet purchase thinking i would though.

As far as ash its common, but i dont see it on my food ever. Dont really pay any mind to it until i vacuum the grill after every 3-4 smokes.

Green Mountain pellets premium gold blend..
I saw no ash on the brisket, but the moisture would saturate it and it would blend in with the pepper. If I keep it, a tube will be ordered. I think once you have mastered a stick burner, it will be hard for anything else to measure up flavor wise.

 

[SonnyE]

I think the key here might be First....
Give yourself some time to decide. It's new to you, so try some more recipes, try longer smokes.

I'm looking at pellet fueled smokers, because Bradley pucks are getting ridiculou$ and have to be ordered in.
Yet, I can run over to Walmart and pick up bags of pellets, for cheap.

If you decide to throw away your GMG, you are welcome to throw it my way. :D

 

[SmokinAl]

Well the brisket sure looks good from here!
Al

 

[a g k]

Hi Radio,
I purchased a Daniel Boone during their recent Black Friday sale, & got a bag of fruit blend at the same time. The dealer did the burn in for me before I hauled it home. It has been cold & windy here in NE Wis which made it hard to get a handle on things, but I did a couple of smokes & noted I got way to much smoke at times along with soot or cresote. Also had trouble reaching set temps. I then dumped the GM pellets & put in some Lumberjack maple, hickory, cherry blend. After the pellets in tube were used up, the smoke & temp seemed much better. Seemed like a combustion problem, so I nuked about 1 1/2 cups of each in microwave. The Green Mountain pellets had noticeably more condensation than the Lumberjack pellets in the clear glass jar. Not sure what means yet due to cold, snow, & wind. It may or may not mean anything. We'll see.
Alan

 

[radio]

I think the key here might be First....
Give yourself some time to decide. It's new to you, so try some more recipes, try longer smokes.

I'm looking at pellet fueled smokers, because Bradley pucks are getting ridiculou$ and have to be ordered in.
Yet, I can run over to Walmart and pick up bags of pellets, for cheap.

If you decide to throw away your GMG, you are welcome to throw it my way. :D

this was my tried and true brisket method I've always done in my stick burners. Starting it at a lower temp trying to get a smoke profile added greatly to the cook time and still had almost no smokiness. It basically tasted like an oven cooked brisket, which I admit I have done during very cold winters .
what pellets does Wal Mart have

 

[nozzleman]

A pellet grill/smoker will never produce as heavy of a smoke profile as a stick burner will. Adding a smoke tube will increase it from what you experienced however. If you use it as a grill as well I highly recommend using the grill grates product. They perform as advertised. Good luck

 

[SonnyE]

this was my tried and true brisket method I've always done in my stick burners. Starting it at a lower temp trying to get a smoke profile added greatly to the cook time and still had almost no smokiness. It basically tasted like an oven cooked brisket, which I admit I have done during very cold winters .
what pellets does Wal Mart have

I'm sorry to hear it wasn't to your hopes. But don't give up, not just yet.
I don't recall the specific brand name, but it was a 20 pound bag of Hickory Pellets. I transferred them to a sealed bucket, so sorry, I threw out the bag.
But here is a LINK to what I did find. Pit Boss, and Louisiana Grills brands.
But what I bought was only $10.9x . I was looking for cheap because I wanted to experiment trying to make pucks for my Bradley. I gave up on that and ordered some $<40. pucks.
To me, damned expensive ash.
I'm on the verge of just getting one of Todd's AMAZN maze things that is made for pellets and be done.
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Too old to cut my own wood anymore (let alone if I had a place too), And Bradley fuel is too expensive. So it looks like pellets may be the answer.
However they can be used. But I'm more of a "cold smoker" guy. But a step above hangin my fish in a tree and a campfire. LOL!

Bet wishes for happiness with your new GMG. Keep workin with it, it's just something new and I bet a dollar to a donut you'll perfect it.

 

[SLW210]

The Traeger Hickory have been smoking pretty good in my Traeger so far, but I do plan on trying the Pit Boss this weekend from Walmart, since it is more convenient, at least here, you have to have the Louisiana Grills shipped to store for free. I found BBQPelletsonline.com with Lumberjack and free shipping, so I may try those at some point.

Yes, to really get the smoke, you'll have to go to a stick burner or maybe give those smoke tubes a try.

 

[mowin]

I love my GMG DB. Puts out some amazing Q. The ash your getting outside the grill doesn't seem right. Never had that happen on mine. I also use a a-maz-n tube for all my cooks. It comes close to my SB, but not quite.

 

[radio]

I love my GMG DB. Puts out some amazing Q. The ash your getting outside the grill doesn't seem right. Never had that happen on mine. I also use a a-maz-n tube for all my cooks. It comes close to my SB, but not quite.

This is inside the grill. Notice the hinge and see the line of ash where the lid and cooking chamber overlap? There is a gap there where the lid does not fit tightly and allows smoke to escape. When I lifted the lid, I noticed ash had built up wherever smoke was escaping. I'm going to contact GMG and see if this is normal

 

[Rings Я Us]

Mighty tasty looking.. yep.

 

[Bearcarver]

Well the brisket sure looks good from here!
Al

I'm with Al on this one, Radio!!
Like.
Bear

 

[mowin]

Ah... Now I see it. Looking quick it looked like the lip of the lid over the CC.

I get very little ash above the drip trays.
Is your grill a WiFi unit? The first thing they will check is what firmware your running.

 

[radio]

Ah... Now I see it. Looking quick it looked like the lip of the lid over the CC.

I get very little ash above the drip trays.
Is your grill a WiFi unit? The first thing they will check is what firmware your running.

Nope, not WiFi

 

[mowin]

Nope, not WiFi

Well, if you call CS for support, I can almost guarantee they will send you a new wifi controller.

 

[radio]

After several e mails back and forth, GMG is sending me a new control board.
Very helpful folks, and customer support is top notch!

 

[Bearcarver]

After several e mails back and forth, GMG is sending me a new control board.
Very helpful folks, and customer support is top notch!

That's Great, Radio!! :)

I'm glad to hear that.

Bear

 

[radio]

Thanks Bear!

I explained that it was a customer return and therefore basically a used grill. They said no matter, you have a two year warranty from date of purchase. Great customer service like that is almost unheard of these days!
I will not hesitate to recommend Green Mountain Grills to anyone looking for a pellet rig!