Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Product Review: Traeger Junior (BBQ055) Pellet Grill – Part II, Smoking
As I mentioned last week, the Traeger Junior Pellet Grill uses an electric system to feed and burn pellets (not the same as for home heating systems) to generate the BTUs for cooking. It's clean -- no carting off ash after cooking, and only a semiannual vacuuming to clear out any residue from pellet burning. Although the smallest model, you can easily fit enough food to feed six (not only do they claim that, but we were able to do it). What I didn't like about the unit is that it didn't get hot enough with its indirect heat source to do a good job of actual grilling. However, I thought that the real strength might be in smoking. I was right.
We fired up the grill on the smoke setting and put in a couple of racks of pork ribs that had been sitting with a rub of salt, pepper, allspice, and ground coriander seed for a few hours. The smoke setting got the kettle thermometer just over 100°F, so closer to cold smoking than to hot. In mid process, I contacted Traeger and mentioned the first part of the review and that we were going to smoke the ribs. They suggested starting on high, getting the meat's internal temperature to about 100°, and then shifting to smoke for the best results. A bit too late for us, but no matter.
I've used conventional smokers before. One advantage of the Traeger is that it can go for long stretches largely unattended, as it continues to funnel pellets at a pre-determined rate into the fire box. That certainly beat continuingly going out to check on the fire and fuel supply. (We didn't have the opportunity to test the pellets "flavored" with different types of wood, like apple or hickory, so made do with what we had on hand.) I'd estimate that it takes only a small part of a bag to run the unit for hours, so it is relatively economical in fuel use. (One 20-lb. bag runs only about $15 to $18.)
After a few hours, I noticed that the kettle temperature was still only about 100°, so I shifted the feeder to medium. I remembered that the high setting had resulted in a kettle temperature of about 300 to 400, so thought that medium would get us smack in the hot smoking range, which is what happened. Although I haven't tried it yet, I suspect that the "smoke" setting would be good for fish or for smoking meat where you planned to cook it some other way after. Medium gets you a bit less smoke, but more heat.
Ultimately, I shifted the unit to high. That eventually caused a bit of a hiccough, though late enough that it didn't matter. Although I had filled the pellet bin, the pellets fed into the system from the middle and left a hole, with additional pellets not feeding in, so the fire eventually went out. But, things were done enough after a total of seven hours. The results were fabulous without barbeque sauce. (We still have some two days later.) Because the two rib racks had to overlap a bit to fit in the unit, part way through cooking I had to shift them. Still, it was an easy way to smoke a lot of food. So although I wouldn't recommend the Traeger Junior for grilling, at under $500, it's a convenient, effective, and well-constructed smoker if you have an outlet you can reach with the power cord. The budget constrained will have to go a different route, but if you like smoked food, this could quickly pay for itself over the cost of heading to a barbeque restaurant, assuming there's a good one in your area.
We fired up the grill on the smoke setting and put in a couple of racks of pork ribs that had been sitting with a rub of salt, pepper, allspice, and ground coriander seed for a few hours. The smoke setting got the kettle thermometer just over 100°F, so closer to cold smoking than to hot. In mid process, I contacted Traeger and mentioned the first part of the review and that we were going to smoke the ribs. They suggested starting on high, getting the meat's internal temperature to about 100°, and then shifting to smoke for the best results. A bit too late for us, but no matter.
I've used conventional smokers before. One advantage of the Traeger is that it can go for long stretches largely unattended, as it continues to funnel pellets at a pre-determined rate into the fire box. That certainly beat continuingly going out to check on the fire and fuel supply. (We didn't have the opportunity to test the pellets "flavored" with different types of wood, like apple or hickory, so made do with what we had on hand.) I'd estimate that it takes only a small part of a bag to run the unit for hours, so it is relatively economical in fuel use. (One 20-lb. bag runs only about $15 to $18.)
After a few hours, I noticed that the kettle temperature was still only about 100°, so I shifted the feeder to medium. I remembered that the high setting had resulted in a kettle temperature of about 300 to 400, so thought that medium would get us smack in the hot smoking range, which is what happened. Although I haven't tried it yet, I suspect that the "smoke" setting would be good for fish or for smoking meat where you planned to cook it some other way after. Medium gets you a bit less smoke, but more heat.
Ultimately, I shifted the unit to high. That eventually caused a bit of a hiccough, though late enough that it didn't matter. Although I had filled the pellet bin, the pellets fed into the system from the middle and left a hole, with additional pellets not feeding in, so the fire eventually went out. But, things were done enough after a total of seven hours. The results were fabulous without barbeque sauce. (We still have some two days later.) Because the two rib racks had to overlap a bit to fit in the unit, part way through cooking I had to shift them. Still, it was an easy way to smoke a lot of food. So although I wouldn't recommend the Traeger Junior for grilling, at under $500, it's a convenient, effective, and well-constructed smoker if you have an outlet you can reach with the power cord. The budget constrained will have to go a different route, but if you like smoked food, this could quickly pay for itself over the cost of heading to a barbeque restaurant, assuming there's a good one in your area.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Review: Traeger Junior (BBQ055) Pellet Grill – Part I
We actually got this Traeger pellet grill in for testing last fall, but shortly after it came, the cold really ramped up and the snow started. So we're finally getting a chance to test out grilling with pellets. I'm breaking the review into two parts, because although we did some grilling yesterday, the smoking test is still to come.The approach is interesting. Instead of using gas, which to my taste often ends up with too neutral a flavor, or charcoal, which can be messy whether you go with real hardware charcoal or briquettes, the grill uses a pellet design. Small wood pellets, which look for all the world like rabbit food, go into a hopper. (Note that they're a special type developed for cooking food and not the same ones used in furnaces to heat a building and come with different "flavors," so you can get apple or maple or some others.) A slowly-turning electric auger (yes, it has to be plugged in somewhere) feeds pellets at a controlled rate into a firebox. In the firebox is a heated rod that burns the pellets. Depending on the setting, you can go for high heat grilling, medium, or smoking. In the latter setting, the ignition rod keeps turning on and off, letting the pellets smolder and turn into a smoke source.
Even this, the smallest unit, is hefty, with a shipping weight of 76 pounds. Part of that is because of the augur motor and other electrical paraphernalia, but a good chunk is due to heavy construction and thick steel shell. This isn't the type of unit that is going to easily blow away in a wind. Assembling it is a bit fussy, and I found that the instructions were not necessarily all that helpful. But I can see that trying to find a way that will work easily could be a hassle. You have to clamp the heavy burning unit to the grill's body, so you want it low to the ground. But then you have to get the whole thing elevated to attach the legs, which is inconvenient. I had help in assembling, and you might find that useful. Not the most fun solo project.
The design is pretty clever. A large drip tray sits under the grill and conveys fat out to a spout that juts out through one end of the unit. Hanging under the spout is supposed to be a small bucket, which will catch the grease, only the bracket for the handle broke off during shipping when inside the box. So that's now on the list of things to fix. You then follow instructions to fire up the grill for the first time and then season it by letting it run on high for 45 minutes.
All that was fine, and I noticed that by the end, the thermometer read about 400 degrees. We let it cool down and then started it again, using high to grill some salmon that I had coated in a cilantro-parsley pesto. (It was variation on an idea that I had seen on Steve Raichlen's Primal Grill program, which used tuna and a more traditional pesto.) I had covered the drip tray as instructed with aluminum foil, heated the unit, used an oil-dampened wadded paper towel held by tongs to grease the grill bars, and put on the fish. And waited. And waited. Although the instructions say that the grill (which sports a supposed 19,500 BTUs) should heat in ten minutes, I had left it on longer. The grill didn't seem to get hot enough to do a good job. For example, the bars weren't leaving marks on the fish. Overall, the salmon probably took about 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time, and was maybe medium by the end of this. This was, as they suggest and as I'd have done anyway, with the cover closed.
Ultimately, it was tasty, but I was disappointed by the amount of heat. It was in the lower 70s with a bit of a breeze where we are, and the instructions note that cooking in cooler weather can take longer. So it might be that on a somewhat warmer day the grilling action would have been more responsive. Also, given the drip tray and firebox arrangement and the inability to change the height of the grate, the heat is going to be indirect, which is why I'm thinking that I'll be doing at least an additional test with smoking a brisket or turkey, and perhaps a third test with a roast at the medium setting. They sell through dealers with a list of $499, but some web research suggested a street price of $50 to $100 less. I'll hold off on a full opinion until after the smoking, but as a grill alone, I'd pass at that price.
Note - here's part II of the review. It's pretty cool as a smoker.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Product Review: George Foreman 360 Grilling Machine
This is the first time I've had a chance to try one of the George Foreman-branded grills. After trying it a bit, I can largely recommend it. On the plus side, it gets real hot, real fast, and cooking food from both sides speeds the time to meal. A good amount of grease does pour off the grill when you use the built-in tipping stand that causes the hot liquid to roll off the grill and into a receptacle. There are replaceable surfaces, so you can switch from a grill to a quesadilla maker to a baking dish. The surfaces clean up quickly, and we had great luck grilling burgers, pork chops, fish, and vegetables. There is also a lot of space, and you should be able to cook a 1.5 pound, or perhaps larger, steak.
Now for the cons. Be careful how you set the grill, otherwise you might have the grease container at the edge of a counter and accidentally knock it over, spilling a big mess, as I did. If you like rare or medium-rare meat, then this can get tricky. The grill will cook far faster than you're used to because both sides are getting heat simultaneously. Because of the speed, you won't get the same degree of grilling char marks on the surfaces, and if you look for those, a steak or burger will have already sailed into well-done territory. It's still worth using if you're in a hurry or if the surface appearance isn't so important.
We did try the baking dish for a deep-dish pizza, as the marketing lit says is possible, but I wouldn't even bother. The lid keeps the dough compressed, which makes for a heavy pie. I've yet to try it for a frittata, and suspect that will work well. It would also be good if there latches to keep the lid closed when moving it from a cupboard to a surface for cooking and back again. However, it's a fast way to make dinner with a lot less grease. Retail price is about $150.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Product Review: Grill Charms
Grill Charms are stainless steel markers that you can press into meat that's sitting on your grill. The idea is "to distinguish spices and flavors, steak temperature, or avoid health or allergy issues." You press one of the charms into a burger or piece of chicken and know that it's different - special. But there are a few problems. One is that if because you need to put both sides of the meat (or vegetable - let me not dismiss the greener fare) onto the grill, you really cannot put the charm into place until after you've cooked one side. However, I find that something cooked rare medium will flip sooner than a well-done item. So you have to remember to put the charms in on that first flip, so that the side that's already done will have the charm, which you want face up.
Next, there are different collections. Depending on the collection you get, you might find it harder or easier to use. For example, in the charmed life collection, the charms bore marks of a crown, martini glass, dollar sign, clover, sail boat, and a palm tree on the beach. Pray tell, how do you remember which you assign to a given meaning? Checking the web site, the spiciness was a little clearer, with an X over a pepper for mild, a single pepper for regular, and multiple peppers for spicy. Clearest of all are those in the steak collection: R (rare), MR (medium-rare), M (medium), and so on. But what happens if I have a small party at which three people like medium-rare, two like rare, and one holds out for well? I don't get multiple doneness charms, so do I have to buy multiple sets at $19.95 for six or $4 for a single one? That seems like a lot of money for such a small piece of stainless.
I suspect the best thing is to divide the grill surface into a few sections. Put all the rare in one, all the spicy in a second, the salt-free in a third, and invest the money into some good beer to tide you through the chef experience.
Next, there are different collections. Depending on the collection you get, you might find it harder or easier to use. For example, in the charmed life collection, the charms bore marks of a crown, martini glass, dollar sign, clover, sail boat, and a palm tree on the beach. Pray tell, how do you remember which you assign to a given meaning? Checking the web site, the spiciness was a little clearer, with an X over a pepper for mild, a single pepper for regular, and multiple peppers for spicy. Clearest of all are those in the steak collection: R (rare), MR (medium-rare), M (medium), and so on. But what happens if I have a small party at which three people like medium-rare, two like rare, and one holds out for well? I don't get multiple doneness charms, so do I have to buy multiple sets at $19.95 for six or $4 for a single one? That seems like a lot of money for such a small piece of stainless.
I suspect the best thing is to divide the grill surface into a few sections. Put all the rare in one, all the spicy in a second, the salt-free in a third, and invest the money into some good beer to tide you through the chef experience.
