Country Smokers Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker

Post by **JEBar** » Sat Apr 18, 2020 7:26 pm

today we smoked our first rack of baby back ribs on our Traveler .... our process remains the same ===> remove membrane, dry ribs, rub with yellow mustard, sprinkle heavy with Tex Joy Steak Seasoning, pats of butter along the way to add moisture, smoke at 225 - 250 degrees for 3 hrs, more butter, wrap in aluminum foil, back in smoker for a couple of hours, remove from foil and smoke for an additional hour, wrap in foil and let rest a while .... the ribs turned out OK .... lesson learned for the future ===> next time set temp at 225 and leave it there, start earlier to give the ribs the full 6 hours to cook ....

Post by **JEBar** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 11:05 am

today we grilled Bacon Wrapped Sirloin Steaks on our Traveler ===> https://countrysmokers.com/recipes/baco ... loin-steak .... its a simple recipe that yields really good eating .... we follow the recipe to the letter but grill them longer at a lower temperature ....

Post by **JEBar** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 6:23 pm

one of the things I noticed in reading through many pages of pellet grill/smoker recipes is, a good number of recipes require the use of a cast iron pan .... largely due to the size of its grilling grate, it took a good bit of looking to find one .... with the long handles on standard round cast iron pans, using one really wasn't practical .... I finally found a TableCraft Pre-Seasoned 10" Cast Iron Square Fry Pan ====> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011K ... UTF8&psc=1 .... it arrived today and very much lives up to info in the link .... the lid closes perfectly .... it cost a bit more than I anticipated but it is a restaurant quality pan and most importantly, it fits .... I hope to get it seasoned tomorrow and then find something to cook ..

Post by **fortyshooter** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:07 pm

Looks very tasty!! I had my ol' smoker going Sunday with a pork loin. Buster of course was keeping an eye on it too!

Post by **JEBar** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 8:45 pm

first cooking in our cast iron grill pan .... bacon first, followed by sausage .... both cooked well .... made one fine sandwich ....

Post by **JEBar** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 9:20 pm

fortyshooter wrote: ↑
Wed Apr 22, 2020 11:07 pm
Looks very tasty!! I had my ol' smoker going Sunday with a pork loin. Buster of course was keeping an eye on it too!

does your smoker use pellets, chips or chunks ..

.. good looking ham

Post by **JEBar** » Tue Apr 28, 2020 4:41 pm

earlier today we smoked our first Pork Tenderloin on our traveler .... the loin was purchased at Sam's and was 24" long .... to fit it in our Traveler smoker, we had to cut it in half

Post by **JEBar** » Sat May 16, 2020 10:07 pm

today we smoked/grilled Baby Back Pork Ribs 6 hours at 225 degrees .... no leftovers ..

Post by **JEBar** » Thu May 28, 2020 5:11 pm

as noted earlier in this thread, historically, we use pure Hickory pellets/chips/chunks in our smokers ..... the more we spend time smoking various foods we have found that they do a great job for short periods ..... for longer periods we've found that the hickory taste can get much heavier than we like .... I just got back from our local Walmart where, based on a recommendation from a fellow I trust, I purchased 2 40lb bags of their Pit Boss Competition Blend Pellets ===> https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pit-Boss-Com ... 5/40583459 <=== for $14.86 per bag .... contrasting that price with the one in the link, I'll probably drive back over there tomorrow and literally load up .... as a side note, I've found that a standard 5 US Gallon bucket will hold about 30 lbs of pellets

Post by **JEBar** » Sat May 30, 2020 4:24 pm

earlier today we used Pit Boss Competition Blend Barbecue Pellets (link above) in our traveler for the first time .... in my eyes, the results were rather dramatic .... basic observations :

1. while burning they give off a much softer (for lack of a better term) aroma than the solid Oak Pellets we have been using

2. they do not seem to burn as hot as the solid Oak Pellets

3. they appear to be a bit longer and to have a tiny bit larger diameter than the Oak Pellets

4. compared to Oak, they leave almost no ash which cuts cleanup time to almost nothing ....

5. they impart a much milder flavor which to my taste is a good thing

bottom line is we are very pleased with them

Post by **BigAl52** » Sat May 30, 2020 8:08 pm

Ive seen these pellets at Sams here locally. But Ive switched from Hickory and Mesquite to Cherry. I really like the flavor of the Cherry in Pork and Chicken. Its also good with beef. Ive found a new place to get pellets here locally at 11.00 a bag for all flavors. They are Lumberjack Pellets. I havent used any of theres yet as I still have a current supply on the Camp Chef

Post by **JEBar** » Sat May 30, 2020 8:44 pm

Lumberjack produces good pellets .... that's what we've used for years .... had to admit that I was very reluctant to change .... so much so that I now have a couple of years worth of their pellets that I have no clue what I'm going to with .... the Pit Boss competition blend has caught me very much by surprise

Post by **BigAl52** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 12:12 am

Hey Jim how many hours will a hopper load of pellets last at the smoke temp like around 225. I just ordered one of these grills for us was curious if you knew.

Post by **JEBar** » Sun Jul 05, 2020 12:56 am

today I filled ours up to about 80% full and fired ours up earlier today about 1:30 PM .... ran it steady at 225 until just after 8PM .... smoked the ribs below and some bacon wrapped stuffed pickles

Post by **BigAl52** » Tue Jul 14, 2020 12:34 pm

Got our grill yesterday and put it together which was easy. Got the initial check out done. Now cant wait to give it a try. Looked for the cover for it only to find it’s unavailable. Hmm plan B again

Post by **BigAl52** » Tue Jul 14, 2020 12:44 pm

Well I like it when plan B works. Just as a chance I went back and checked and now the covers are available. Ordered one up.

Post by **BigAl52** » Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:01 pm

Used the grill tonight for the first time. Very impressed with it Jim. Glad I bought one.

Post by **JEBar** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:38 am

LESSON LEARNED :

"don't try to shortcut the startup process" .... Traveler grills have a simple stated startup process .... turn the knob to smoke and with the lid open let it run until smoke clears and you can tell the pellets are lit .... I got in a hurry and turned it to smoke but didn't wait .... results, the pellets didn't light and the burn chamber filled up with pellets ..

.. unplugged and cleaned out the burn chamber .... turned the dial to smoke and let it do its thing .... it worked perfectly ..

Post by **JEBar** » Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:50 am

BigAl52 wrote: ↑
Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:01 pm
Used the grill tonight for the first time. Very impressed with it Jim. Glad I bought one.

good to hear .... just heard yesterday from a fellow we camped with in mid June who has bought one ....

Post by **JEBar** » Tue Jul 28, 2020 9:00 pm

tonight we grilled a HyVee pork tenderloin that was encrusted with chunks of apple smoked bacon .... while it turned out to be moist and tender with a decent flavor .... served it with fresh local corn on the cob and sliced tomato, along side .... not bad, not bad at all .... seasoned lima beans .... that said, I doubt we will try that loin again, we've found other recipes we do like better