It's all in the timing

[Bedford]

Ok, I need some timing tips. We decided to have a non-traditional Easter dinner, my first test with a month or so old Traegar. For now we decided on pork ribs and whole chickens. I'm not new to smoking, just to pellet cooking and I'd like to appear like I know what I'm doing. I've got the rubs and sauces, but what are the times you all think for the ribs, and what do you think about the smoke 3, wrap in foil with juice 2, then sauce for one on smoke setting? I'd like to time it and the chickens to get done at the same time. On my kingfisher, 4lb chickens took right at 4 hours on 225 deg, but I'm really partial to a lot of smoke on my ribs. Rib racks around 3.5 lbs took anywhere from 3 1/2 hours to 5, but I never heard of the foil wrap method. The only thing we don't like when I cook chicken that way is the skin, but the meat is beyond good. I'll save the skin for traditional grilling or fried chicken, damn the cholesterol. It's nothing like a secret recipe or anything, but Tone's spices citrus grill is pretty good on chicken. The picky eating grandkids devour my chicken when I use it. My favorite rubs are heavy on black pepper for me, but it's too much for the kids and my sweetie. Oh the sacrifices we make for loved ones.

Ok, what do you think for timing and temps? My traegar has the digital controller. Also, can someone tell me where the dreaded hotspots are on the Traegar Tex 075. I haven't figured that one out, but I've seen it talked about, but no one ever mentions the location.

One last thing. Do you ever put on a liquid pan to add moisture when pellet grilling. I had a water pan on my kingfisher that worked great. Cheap white wine is meant for steam.

 

[FLBentRider]

For determining the hot spots, do the "biscuit test".

Get a can (or two) of biscuits, space them out evenly on the grill, and bake. Some will get done sooner than others, and this should give you a good visual representation of the heat pattern on your smoker.

 

[TentHunter]

A few different questions to answer.

Hot Spots: FLbentrider is right-on about the biscuit test. It's simple, cheap and works every time. Once you know where your hot areas are, use them to your advantage. For example: When cooking whole spatchcock chickens, we place the leg quarters towards the hot spots.

Temps & Timing: If you have a method you already like for ribs, you can use it on your pellet grill too. Don't worry about making huge adjustments. The biggest difference is you won't have to open the pit to add charcoal and loose precious heat (and time) in doing so.


A good temp for doing both ribs & chicken is 275°. Ribs will take about 4 - 4½ hours and whole chickens (Spatchcocked) will take 1½ - 1¾ hours at that temp. If you want crispy skin, bump the pit temp up to for the last 15 minutes. I pull chickens when the internal temp of the breast is at 165° whether the skin is done or not.


Water pan: If you like using a water pan, then by all means, use them in your pellet grill too. I've put pans under stuff on the drip tray, but Loaf Pans or even a tin cans work great if there's not much room.

Here's a couple examples:

Loaf Pan, Tin Can,