New To Pellets, Need Some Advice

[Lightngsvt]

I've had my Rec Tec RT-590 for just under a week now and have 4 cooks under my belt. This is a great unit, sooooooo easy to use, and holds rock solid temps. I've made steaks (reverse sear, on RT until 140, then on the Weber to sear for 2-ish minutes), salmon (smoked at 265 until 152* due to time), ribs (5 hours unwrapped and came off kinda tough/chewy, not fall off the bone), a butt, and some boneless chicken breast. everything has had good flavor but most cooks have turned a bit on the dry side for some reason? I'm using the temp's probes and cooking to my normal temps but the foods just seems drier than I'm used to. The exception was the butt, it turned out excellent, juicy and had an amazing smoke ring. Is there a trick to using a pellet cooker? Do I need to add a water pan, baste/spritz my meats, brine, or...?

This weekend I have a pork tenderloin and another rack of Baby Backs and maybe some burgers to try out. I do a Jerk marinade for the TL that has always turned out amazing.

 

[masssmoke]

I don't have an answer for you but I am experiencing the same thing with my pellet, which is a Pitt Boss. I find things come out dry or drier than I would like too often, ribs, wings etc

 

[zjohnson1992]

Might want to make sure your thermometer is reading accurate temperatures. I always use a probe to get close and an instant thermometer about ten degrees low of desired temp to make sure.

I have had no issues with my smokes being dry after I started using both.

 

[JCAP]

I don’t have a pellet grill so my thoughts are taken with a lump of salt but....all of those final temps seem high to me. For example, I know FDA says 140+ for salmon but I usually pull at 125! When I’m towards 140 I feel like it’s dry no matter the cooking method.

The ribs may have just needed more time. How did you figure out they were done?

I’m sure like all cookers there is a learning curve and i echo those above with temp suggestions. Enjoy the unit!!

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I don’t have a pellet grill so my thoughts are taken with a lump of salt but....all of those final temps seem high to me. For example, I know FDA says 140+ for salmon but I usually pull at 125! When I’m towards 140 I feel like it’s dry no matter the cooking method.

The ribs may have just needed more time. How did you figure out they were done?

I’m sure like all cookers there is a learning curve and i echo those above with temp suggestions. Enjoy the unit!!

I agree with you regarding the salmon. I follow the basic premise described here and mine comes out perfect every time.

I have a pellet grill, indeed the same one that the original poster has. But I do not use it for salmon.

I use either water soaked or white wine soaked cedar planks over lump charcoal in my Kamado Joe.

https://blog.thermoworks.com/fish-seafood/recommended-temperatures-seafood/

https://recipeland.com/how-to/what-perfect-internal-temperatu-297

Dry often means overcooked.

A good way to test ribs for doneness is the bend test. Or the twist test. The twist test describing grabbing one of the exposed ribs and giving it a twist. You don't want to be able to twist the bone entirely clean out of the meat, But like the bend test and the toothpick test, experience will tell you when they're done using this approach.

 

[Jabiru]

As the others have said; Overcooked mate. Ensure your Target temps are correct.

On my pellet grill i dont spritz or anything, though I do wrap most meats at a certain temp then finish to target internal temp.

I use Al's method for ribs on my pellet grill and they come out fantastic every time. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/perfect-ribs-every-time-this-really-works.240916/

 

[flagriller]

Well here is what I do FWIW; on the pork side I use a picnic cut (IMO the Boston butt does not have enough fat to keep meat moist, good for crock pot), then I trim it cut the fat cap off (do not disguard) season, usually a mix of salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, thyme, and oregano, put the fat cap back on and wrap in plastic overnight. When ready to cook, remove from fridge, season again score the fat cap and let it come to room temp, in the mean time heat smoker to 225*,(my set-up is foil pan on grate with the shelf on top) after 45 minutes to one hour place meat on the shelf over the pan WITH the fat cap on. I cook for 10-12 hours, remove fat cap, wrap meat in butcher paper, wrap in towels and place in cooler for 3 hours. Then remove meat pull bone out and shred. Apply favorite sauce enjoy.
Also, I fill up a smoker box with wet chips.
The brisket pretty much goes the same way, IMO wrapping and placing in the cooler to rest helps re-distribute the juices.

 

[radio]

You didn't mention the temps you cooked at, but I am betting the ribs were under cooked rather than over cooked.
Invest in a good dual probe remote thermometer as I never trust the cookers probes and like to verify accuracy rather then blindly trusting a reading.
It has been my experience that most, if not all foods are a bit drier cooked in a pellet grill due to the heated air being constantly circulated by a fan much like a convection oven on a kitchen range. I only use my pellet grill when I am not going to be able to babysit the stick burners as I much prefer the results I get on those.
After some trial and error you will get the hang of it, so hang in there!

 

[mike guy]

The key juicy meat is brining. Salmon needs only a 20 minute light dry brine salt and it comes out much juicer. Also agree on the lower done temp. If you see white fat coming out of the sides you over cooked it.

agreed on the convection aspects of the fans that drive pellets. This is desirable on a huge chunk of meat, but can dry out smaller proteins. The same tricks that work in a convection oven work here.

 

[bregent]

Agree with everyone, but will add that boneless, skinless chicken breasts are not a great choice for low smoking on the pellet grill. That's really true for most lean meats. Best to cook those fast at high temp and brining will help. Otherwise stick with whole chicken or parts with skin and bones. For salmon, I typically don't go over 120F. As for your pork tenderloin, you need to keep a close watch on that and pull right around 140, It's lean and will dry out fast.

 

[Lightngsvt]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies! And, sorry in advance for the length of this post.

For temp control, I have a good instant-read, as well as a good 2-probe wireless thermometer. I've verified them with the boiling water test, I'd like to do the same for the probes in the Rec-Tec too. The Rec-Tec probes seem to be about 2-4* off comparatively, is there a way to calibrate?

For Salmon, I'll try for 130* next time and see how it goes. The last salmon I put skin side right on the grate and used a glaze of soy, honey, and ginger. And I cooked at 250*, next time will be at 225*. I would've done lower temps but was pressed for time.

In my other cookers, I've always done my ribs either 3-1-1 for BB, or 4-1-1 for SL style and have had excellent results. Or sometimes I don't foil at all, still with great results. I've always cooked to time, rather than temp. As mentioned, I also wondered if the ribs were a bit undercooked. I think the difference is the BGE, Smokin-It, etc have greater temp swings and maybe that was actually leading to a higher overall average temp for the duration of the cook? I'm doing ribs tonight and am going to try the "SmokinAl method". Nothing more disappointing than a less than perfect rack of ribs!

flagriller, are you saying you smoke your butts at 125* for the first hour and then raise the temp for the remainder? I have always used the Boston Butts and find them plenty juicy, it was the one cook I was truly happy with so far.

What is the key to a good reverse seared steak? The steak's I did were average cuts, so didn't expect them to be the best ever but the wife said they were a bit dry/overcooked though there was still slight pink in the center. We both normally prefer Medium. I cooked them at 245* until they reached 140* and then onto the Weber at ~475-500 for about 1.5 min per side. Looking back maybe I should've pulled them around 130?

I've always had amazing results with my Pork TL, normally cooked on BGE to 145*. Always very juicy and flavorful, of course, cooked at higher temps of 300-325. Should I smoke at 225* for say the first 20-30 min, and then bump the temps to 300* and pull lower at 140* IT? My goal is to add the smoked flavor while producing the results I'm used to.

Same question for chicken, boneless/skinless, or bone-in, can I do the initial phase at low temps to get the smoky flavor and then quickly ramp up the temps to finish? The Rec-Tec seems to be able to go from say 225 to 300 in a fairly short amount of time. Im not opposed to using bone-in chicken, just been trying to eat a bit healthier and boneless is very low fat.

Can anyone recommend any good resources for tips for convection cooking, or brining tips/"recipies"?

 

[flagriller]

Sorry typo, I meant 225*

 

[bregent]

Should I smoke at 225* for say the first 20-30 min, and then bump the temps to 300* and pull lower at 140* IT?

If the goal is to add smoke, then start as low as the grill will go. You won't get any smoke over 300, so get as much as you can before bumping it up.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

You can calibrate the Rec Tec temp probes.

 

[Lightngsvt]

Update, Friday I did ribs using the SmokinAl Method. I took them off the smoker at around 192*, and they were fantastic! Wife even had 2nd's! Also, mad some more boneless chicken breast but brined it for about 20 minutes first and even pulling at 160* the chicken was quite juicy! The pork TL I did Sunday followed my normal process and it also turned out superb! Now to get handle on the reverse searing of steaks.

 

[mike guy]

Nice!

Before you spend money experimenting with steaks, my advice is if you already have a method of grilling them, stick with that. I've tried several methods with reverse searing on a smoker, and while the results are good, fast high temp grilling is still my personal favorite. Rendering that fat so it fries in it's own drippings produces the best flavor in my opinion.

That said while I think just direct fire is best, I've done a number of reverse seared steaks and the process is pretty simple. Smoke it at 200-225 until temp is 113ish and then I personally don't find searing on a pellet grill to the best. You can go higher or lower on the internal temp, but 112-113 is a good starting point to give you wiggle room on your final temp after searing. The hotter your sear, the easier it is to hit your final target temp.

For searing I would recommend using a charcoal chimney starter and grill grate. Or a charcoal grill. Or a screaming hot cast iron pan inside. You can sear on a pellet grill with the grill grates, and it works just fine, I just think the other 2 methods are better. I don't like waiting for the grill to heat up and it never hits the temps the other methods hit. If you do use the grill grates, do yourself a favor and include them in the grill while the steaks slow cook. If you put them in cold, it will be a long wait until your grill is 500+. Another option is a cast iron pan in the smoker, so you can do things like butter basting.

It's easy to get good steak using a variety of methods, so just experiment until you have great steak. I can't order steak in restaurants anymore, just doesn't compare to home.

 

[Jabiru]

Nice!

For searing I would recommend using a charcoal chimney starter and grill grate. Or a charcoal grill. Or a screaming hot cast iron pan inside. You can sear on a pellet grill with the grill grates, and it works just fine, I just think the other 2 methods are better. I don't like waiting for the grill to heat up and it never hits the temps the other methods hit. If you do use the grill grates, do yourself a favor and include them in the grill while the steaks slow cook. If you put them in cold, it will be a long wait until your grill is 500+. Another option is a cast iron pan in the smoker, so you can do things like butter basting.

It's easy to get good steak using a variety of methods, so just experiment until you have great steak. I can't order steak in restaurants anymore, just doesn't compare to home.

Excellent post. I do the same with Steaks, while slow cooking I have the grill grates or Cast iron pan in warming up. Pull the steaks, cover with foil and turn the grill up to 500F, when up to temp I sear.

I also prefer using my chimney with grill grate on top for searing that way I am not waiting for my grill to get up to the correct temp and burning a heap of pellets.

Personally I think you cant be a good reverse seared steak.

 

[Lightngsvt]

Good advice, thanks! My plan would be to smoke until a certain temp (I'll try ~112-115) and then thrown them on my Weber Genesis at full temp to sear. No need to wait for anything to heat up. Do you prefer on the grates or cast iron pan?

 

[Jabiru]

Mate it sounds like you have got it sorted!

I reckon your next steak cook up will be damn good. I also go to 115F and try to get a finish of 125f ish.

The pan, gives me an all over even sear. Using grill grates the juices drip down onto coals and provides a beautiful flavour. Try both ways, a good excuse for more steak.

I’ll also use 1 1/2 inch or thicker when rev sear. Any thinner it doesn’t seem to work the same for me.

Make sure you post some pics for us.