Franklin does his fat side up. Guessing because he uses an offset and thus the heat comes from the top?
1 Like
I’ve gone through a similar journey recently, albeit my 2nd attempt. (had electric vertical smoker back in ~2014 that I wouldn’t recommend to my worst enemy)
I bought a pellet smoker back in June. If you’re looking for an incredibly easy way to start smoking meat at a fairly high level then you can’t beat it. It’s seriously super easy, just turn it on and put the meat on the rack. It won’t be able to produce the same quality you will see on some of the big pit smokers or charcoal, but if you’re just using it for home use it will give you everything you need. I found that smoking even using a green egg required a lot of maintenance working on temp control.
They have all kinds of different models of Pellet Smokers, ranging from ~$250 all the way up to well over $1000. I went with Pit Boss 1100 combo because I didnt want to lose my gas grill (it has both pellet smoker and propane gas grill), I didnt want to have to cook burgers, steaks, chicken etc on a Traeger style pellet grill. Took too long and I like the direct flame taste. But you can use your smoker as a grill if you choose to. One thing I will say about the Pit Boss over the Traeger is the heat shield (piece of metal between the flame and your grates) on PB has an option where you can slide it to add vents so you can create a direct flame on a Pit Boss on the smoker. The heat shield on Traeger is solid and doesn’t have that option. If this doesnt make sense Youtube can help.
Which leads me to my next recommendation, Youtube will give you everything you need. How to bbq right, Meat Church etc. All kinds of amazing resources online to watch. It took 2 weeks for my grill to be delivered so I probably watched 50+ videos before it even arrived. By the time it was delivered, I pretty much knew what to do. Even then Ive gone through tons of trial and error (especially with brisket).
Some things I will add that are best practices (some have already been mentioned):
-Cook to temperature, but also the poke test. If you’re cooking brisket or pork butt you should be able to stick your probe in with no resistance. Every piece of meat is different, so temp sometimes will steer you wrong way. Poke test is always the equalizer.
-Buy a wifi temp gauge, especially if you plan on doing overnight cooks.
-Use butcher paper and don’t use foil. Disregard if you aren’t a bark fan. Butcher paper will give you same benefits of foil but will maintain bark.
-Let all meat rest for 45-60 min after you pull it off the smoker,most people wrap and put in cooler for rest. Briskets you can let rest up to 3-4 hours before serving it and it will be great.
Fat up vs. Fat down discussion is kind of 50/50 I think but Franklin is definitely using offset style smokers, so fat up probably works better for them.
I think the high volume restaurant guys are mainly fat up because they have those massive offset smokers where the heat is well distributed throughout the chamber. In that case it really doesn’t matter IMO.
But with these smaller pellet smokers or charcoal smokers, just point towards the heat. Malcolm Reed uses this strategy as well. (How to bbq right guy)
What about smokers with water pans? Feels like that would limit the heat from the bottom and cause the heat to come from the top?
In truth I have always used an offset, until quite literally the bottom fell out. Been thinking of investing in one of the ceramics. Never used one, but have always heard great things. This gives me something to think about.
1 Like
Dad has a traeger and uses a smoke tube, because he didn’t think the smoke flavor was what he wanted. He think it makes a big difference. Have you tried?
What temp is he smoking at?
I don’t know. Guessing 225 ish
+1 on the pellet grill. I like a pellet grill for chicken and pork. Gas grill for steaks.
Might be why traeger released super smoke on their new grills.
Not yet, but Ive heard of people using them. I think mine puts out more htan enough smoke flavor, but could be personal preference.
The ceramic smokers are really great, but are more of a time investment. If you have an offset, you probably already know what it takes. Had a friend who has had a green egg and another who had Kamado and both have pumped out some amazing bbq.
This is what he uses. Or something similar. He splits his time between the ranch and Scottsdale. The smoker is in Scottsdale and I haven’t been out there since he’s started all this.
The offset was given to me by a neighbor who moved. Should have taken better care of it. I think, if do decide to do something, it will be something easy like a pellet grill.
1 Like
Have you shopped for any here locally?
Saving up for a hasty-bake currently, great Tulsa product! Sorry for the shameless Tulsa plug…covering two threads with one post!
1 Like
Have not. We’re pretty much committed to a move to Stillwater. I don’t think I’ll do anything until I get there.
2 Likes
Yes Sir. Gives meat a little protection for heat.
Yeah learned something new today.
1 Like
Fat side up or down looks to be highly debatable. If you read the brisket recipe on the Pit Boss website, they say fat side up.
https://pitboss-grills.com/recipes/smoke/classic-smoked-brisket
3 Likes
Fat side up/down is a preference thing.
That is a good procedure from Pitt Boss could turn out some good brisket for you.
1 Like
Does anyone here smoke with a Grilla Grill?