Food Recipes - Passing time while automating

Does anyone here use a wood pellet fired grill? I've had a Traeger for about ten years now and love it. Their slogan is "Taste the difference" and it is really true. The wood imparts a flavor to everything.
 
Curiousity questions:  
 
-  How long timewise does it take to bring the wood pellets fired grill to operating temperature?  (you mention ~ 375 F).
-  Do you fill it completely with wood pellets before every use? 
-  Can you or are there flavored wood pellets utilized for your grill?
 
A couple of nights ago did do injected - infusion (using a syringe) and marinated pork on the grill.  It was fast (grill was hot) and wife had me turning meat to a stopwatch and moving the meat to sections of the grill based (there is a second floor in the grill).  Temps were around 10F and it was a bit of a PITA to do this outside.  (she did mention inside cooking sans the grill flavor).  
 
This leads to another question relating to the wood pellets grill.  How hot can you make it work?
 
pete_c said:
Curiousity questions:  
 
-  How long timewise does it take to bring the wood pellets fired grill to operating temperature?  (you mention ~ 375 F).
 
In the hot summer sun we've seen over 400 degrees and the maximum temperature is dependent on what kind of wood you are using.
 
pete_c said:
-  Do you fill it completely with wood pellets before every use? 
 
No. I can cook a brisket for 10 hours overnight around 225 with a full hopper and have pellets left in the morning. I buy pellets in 40lb bags and the hopper in the stove holds about 30lbs. I've never timed the usage but it holds plenty to cook a roast beef at 375 or so.
 
pete_c said:
-  Can you or are there flavored wood pellets utilized for your grill?
 
They do make flavored pellets like whiskey flavor but I have never tried them. The pellets that I use are pure wood and nothing added. I can get hickory or mesquite or apple, maple, oak and more. Mostly I use Hickory and a pellet called perfect mix because it is priced better than the rest (cheaper).
 
 

A couple of nights ago did do injected - infusion (using a syringe) and marinated pork on the grill.  It was fast (grill was hot) and wife had me turning meat to a stopwatch and moving the meat to sections of the grill based (there is a second floor in the grill).  Temps were around 10F and it was a bit of a PITA to do this outside.  (she did mention inside cooking sans the grill flavor).  
 
This leads to another question relating to the wood pellets grill.  How hot can you make it work?
 
I have never seen it get much over 400 degrees.
 
One of my favorite recipes is steak cooked on both the propane and pellet grille. My wife does it. She sears the steak first on a hot propane grill and then puts them on the traeger at around 200 degrees. As they cool down they absorb the wood flavor as they finish cooking. Very nice.
 
Thanks Mike!
 
Tonights cooking endeavor is Paella.  I go slow with the old family receipe.  The new EU thing and I haven't tried it here yet is to cook the Paella on a wood burning wok thing.  It is an entire meal in itself.  Its a mixture of shell fish (shrimp/lobster), clams, chicken and pork.  Here do not utilize safron for cooking it.  Most of the flavor comes from the aforementioned stuff creating a base flavor for the rice which is cooked last.  There are many variants of same all over the place too (well adding sausage mild or hot is one).  Spicing up the shrimp a bit (well called "al diablo" latin style).
 
Many years ago would order Paella in these Jazz bars; well and it was about 2 hours of waiting time (out of country) while preparing everything from scratch.
 
Lots of preparation, you're going to be busy in the kitchen tonight if you haven't already begun.
 
You're setting the bar pretty high today, we're having ground turkey burgers tonight. It is something that I wouldn't enjoy if it weren't cooked on the Traeger over wood. With a little Cajun spice rub and the wood makes a very bland ground turkey very tasty.
 
Mike.
 
Yup; took 4 hours of prep time.  Well that and on a conference call until around 4 something had us eating dinner at past 8.  It was good.
 
Typically this is a Saturday / Sunday afternoon endeavor.
 
Will try the turkey burger thing.  We did do burgers last week with ground sirloin (well wife tweaks meat).  We do potatoes (well cubed french fries) with that using the fryer outdoors.
 
New movie to watch.  Looking for a specific scene.  We'll call it a Pulp Fiction Mary Poppins for now.
 
too-da-loo.....
 
Miss Meadows (2014)
 
http://youtu.be/vu7qAPp1v98
 
pete_c said:
Yup; took 4 hours of prep time.  Well that and on a conference call until around 4 something had us eating dinner at past 8.  It was good.
 
Typically this is a Saturday / Sunday afternoon endeavor.
 
Will try the turkey burger thing.  We did do burgers last week with ground sirloin (well wife tweaks meat).  We do potatoes (well cubed french fries) with that using the fryer outdoors.
 
New movie to watch.  Looking for a specific scene.  We'll call it a Pulp Fiction Mary Poppins for now.
We like lettuce, tomato and onion and mayo on the turkey.
 
Mike.
 
Curious and relating the weather here in the Midwest and wondering if anyone is BBQing outdoors for Christmas (or Eve) dinner?
 
Its 50 degrees here in the Midwest today.
 
Another curiosity question relating to adding spices to food. 
 
Why is it some folks make the assumption that more spices is always better? 
 
Personally here always want to complement the chief not to hurt feelings but noticed some folks either never taste their own food or just do not have sensitive taste buds and seem to over spice whatever it is that they are cooking.
 
I've used that recipe myself and it's delicious.  
 
Do NOT bother with that ladder rig nonsense.  It's not necessary.  
 
I've done birds in the fryer for over a decade and that's utter nonsense.  I love Alton Brown's work but that was ridiculously unnecessary.  If anything I'd be MORE worried about that contraption having problems and making things MUCH worse.
 
What works reasonably well for one person is to wear a set of long-sleeved barbeque gloves. The kind that come up past your elbows. That and crappy shoes and work jeans.  There's always a little bit of spatter, no sense in ruining good shoes or pants...
 
Otherwise with two adults I find it's simplest to just use a broom handle.  Any regular workshop push broom will suffice, not one of the shorty-fold-up apartment kind.  Take the bristle-end off, of course and just use the pole.  Run that through the hook/handle used to lower the rack into the oil.  Then have your accomplice lower it with you, gently into the oil.  Take it slow and steady.  Just be clear with your instructions and let them know to be prepared to stop for a bit, or even lift back up if the bubbling gets too intense.  The process shouldn't take more 10-20 seconds, so it's not like there's any arm strength or endurance necessary.  You will want to be wearing the longer gloves but if the pole's sufficiently long enough the other person won't need them.  
 
Be sure to cut open the skin around the neck area.  You need to allow for the bubbling steam to escape up from the inside cavity.  Otherwise there will be some surges of bubbling during the lowering process.
 
Also be sure to be thorough in drying water off the bird (both inside and out).  The less there is on the bird, the less steam you'll get boiling off it as you lower it.
 
Not sure about the weather today / tonight here in the midwest.
 
That said we are doing (wife) 2" brined pork chops inside or outside depending ....
 
The Turkey Derrick is more a conversation piece than anything else.
But it certainly does ease the in and out process.
Even without it, his technique of putting in the bird at 250 while the oil is still heating avoids a lot of splashing and thrashing during insertion.
 
There's no splashing and certainly no thrashing.   The key is just lowering it slowly and steadily.  I've done dozens of birds this way.
 
Setting up some Rube Goldberg contraption hardly eases anything.  As opposed to just unscrewing a broom handle...
 
That and if your oil is only 250F then you'll have a terribly under-done and oily bird.  If it's 250C then you'll have a raging house fire on your hands.  
 
Proper temp depends on the oil type.  Typically I use peanut oil and aim for around 375F for the temperature when the bird is first put into it.  The temp will drop QUITE a bit after inserting the bird so it's important to bring the burner up to HIGH for the first 5 minutes (or so) to help bring it back up to around 350F.  Keep it there, 3 minutes per pound.  
 
Just be safe and make sure you NEVER allow the oil to get close to or exceed it's smoke point.  Which varies quite a bit depending on the oil type.  So be sure to check FIRST.
 
I also use more than one thermometer to monitor the oil.  A thermoworks dual-probe works great for monitoring the both the oil and the bird.  I also use a separate candy thermometer to periodically check the oil.  This because I have had thermometer sensors fail, once while right in the middle of doing several birds in a row.  
 
When you're done, find a place that recycles the oil for bio-diesel.  Never, ever pour it down your drain or dump it outside.  It's bad enough what all that oil costs, don't let it go to waste.
 
Meh, starting cold leaves too much opportunity for the water/oil exchange and cause the bird absorb oil.  Especially that close to water's boiling point.  With hotter oil you'll make the water in the surface layers of the bird stay get enough to cause the water pressure to rise and keep the oil out.  This will encrust the bird further reducing the chance of oil getting into the meat.  Colder oil let the water come out more slowly, with oil getting in to take it's place.
 
I've made the mistake of using oil that wasn't hot enough and was displeased with the result.  This when doing several birds in a row, all with a very similar marinade injection.  
 
Trouble is most of us don't fry regularly, or the same stuff, so it's hard to know what process works best for our individual tastes.
 
Your call, of course.  Either way it'll be tasty!
 
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