Outdoor cooking and grilling!

So, my propane grill is pretty old and rather than spending money on replacing parts, I would like to get something new. So, I was at Lowes on Saturday, and I was that they had a PitBoss Wood Pellet grill for $450 dollars. I was itching to buy it, but I went ahead and started doing more research on grills. I've been itching to do a little smoke now and then. After many hours or research, reading reviews and watching videos, I ended up with the following options:

1) Silverbac Wood Pellet Grill for $699 shipped to your door. I like it because it is convenient, easy to use, appears to be of good quality and it has 4 years warranty.
https://store.grillagrills.com/products/silverbac-wood-pellet-grill

2) Pit Barrel Cooker for $299 + tax and free shipping. This is a upright metal barrel that uses charcoal / wood as heat source. You pretty much have the option to hang or use a crate to cook your food. It is somewhat easy to use, it isn't as convenient as the pellet grill, but it gives the meat a better smoky flavor.
https://www.pitbarrelcooker.com/product/the-pit-barrel-cooker-package/

Some have told me: "make your own." I don't want because by the time I spent money to get all the materials and the required time to build it, I am most likely going to go over $300 dollars lol.

What do you guys think?

Mark C Flick said:

If choice was limited to those two... I'd go pellet grill. Depends on what you're cooking thought. Pellet grills are generally not great for steaks, burgers, dogs and stuff but are awesome for brisket, ribs, butt, jerky and a lot of other things.

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I did a lot of research about them and I decided to go with somewhat of a traditional smoker because it give the meat more of a smoked flavor. I was going to buy a Grilla Pellet Grill into I saw someone on YouTube comparing the Grill Pellet Grill against the Pit Barrel Cooker, and the meat had more smoked flavor with the barrel. Plus my wife wanted a griddle as well. So I got two things for the price of one.

So for tomorrow the menu is the following

Ok so just posting some pics of the brisket that I just started smoking out.

Yesterday!

It came out pretty good. This was my first time smoking out a large brisket, and I see some room for improvement. 1. I need to leave more fat on the meat, 2. Use more rub, 3. I need to bbq sauce the meet possibly in the last hour of cooking for better soaked in flavor.

Overall, I’m an pretty impressed with the Pit Barrel Cooker. The hardest part was lighting the charcoal, which is also my first time using. I will be using this PBC a lot during summer!

The meat was moist, but it would of been juicier if I would of left more fat on it. You can see the ring of smoke around the edge of the meat.

I think that I’ve learned to leave more fat on the brisket and remove it after it has been cooked. I also skip one step. I usually put a large piece of meat like this one wrapped with some broth for 1 to 2 hours prior to removing it from the grill, but people were hungry and couldn’t wait.

I never checked the temp inside the PBC. I follow the instructions on how to light it up on their website, and I hung the brisket and checked it hourly. Once it reached 160 degrees internally I took it out.

I was pretty surpriced on how well and easy it is to use the PBC. My wife really liked the flavor.

mechman said:

How big was the brisket - weight wise, and how long did it take to cook it?

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The brisket was a little over 22 lbs. It took about 6 hours to cook. The air vent was opened half way. If I had closed it a 1/4 way more, it would of taken longer. I also used only one metal rod, which let more air in. So, after learning all this the more air you let it the hotter it gets. That’s how you control the temp for the PBC.

I’m getting ready to cook another brisket today. I ran out of rub, so I am going to the store and get some.

I think the brisket was ready at 5 hours, but I cooked it a little longer since my wife doesn’t like any red in the center.

mechman said:

Yeah you really don't want any red on a brisket. My full sized briskets usually take 12+ hours to smoke at around 230 degrees. Flats and points are around that 6 hour mark. I smoke them until they hit around 165 degrees or so. Then I wrap them in foil and put them back in the box until they hit around 190 degrees. Rest for about 45 minutes or so and then dig in!

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Yeah, I skip the wrapping with foil with beef broth since people wanted to try it out and eat. This next brisket will be cooked/smoked better.

That’s going to be a lot of fat, wouldn’t that create a lot of flare and possibly burn the brisket? I guess similar to the propane grills?

I am smoking another brisket, but this one is much bigger so I am not using hooks. I am using the grate. We will see how it goes.

Well, the brisket is so large that it doesn't let much air out. So, I had to crack the lid open for a little while to get the coal to burn hotter. Well, I forgot about it and what do I see a bunch of smoke coming out of the PBC. I ran to it, took the lid off, and man really hot fire. I put the lid back on it and let the fire die on its own. Lucky the brisket large amount of fat protected the meat, and it isn't burn. It appears that using the grate vs hanging methods needs a little bit more air intake. We will see how it turns out.

mechman said:

Another plus for the fat cap I guess! lol

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I know. brisket is so big I had a hard time turning it over lol.

So this is what’s going on now. After 8 hrs of smoking it reached 165 degrees internally. My wife is slow cooking some pork butt for pulled pork.

Got the smoker going. Got some beers! Should be a good day!