Name Brand Pellets Bargin Prices Mail order

Name Brand Pellets Bargin Prices Mail order

Bargin BBQ Pellets

I love  the convenience of shopping from home.  I dont enjoy getting in the car driving to the store and fighting thru the crowds.  Don't get me started on those parking lot's.  When It comes to BBQ Pellets I have found some of my best Prices Mail order. I recently posted about Sportsmans WareHouse having various brand pellets at 50 to 60 cents a pound mail order.

Lately I have noticed you can get great prices on Pellets at Walmart  Just Click this link and look down the left side of the page for anything that says shipping pass. It has been my experience that anything that says shipping pass will offer free shipping on orders of $50 or more about 80 to 100 pounds of pellets.  You would also have the option of free store pickup if you prefer or for just 1 bag.  I have recently seen Trager pellets for less then $13 for 20 lbs as well as Pacific Gourmet Pellets for $11.76 a bag.  Check the link often you are bound to find something you like,

Searing Meat -Traeger Tips and Tricks

Searing Meat -Traeger Tips and Tricks

Sear Steaks Grill Marks

I have gotten really nice grill Marks on my steak from my Traeger directly from my grill grates.  If you want a good sear on your steaks to lock in those juices then you should be doing the reverse sear method.  When I first got my grill I saw a recipe that talked about searing in a cast Iron pan.  I went out and purchased a reversible cast Iron Griddle/Grill.  I wish I had not been so fast to pull the trigger on that purchase because I soon found out about GrillGrates.  They are way better for the Grill then Cast Iron,  They have holes in them so you can get that grill flavor.  

GrillGrates

Will my grill run hotter with GrillGrates?
Yes. GrillGrates cook via all methods of cooking: conduction, convection and infrared. GrillGrates with their extra mass and surface area literally radiate heat and provide more direct food contact than conventional grills. In addition they convect heat between the rails. Aluminum is a superb conductor of heat smoothing out hot spots and cold spots and focusing the heat of the grill to the raised rails. Adjust grill temps downward and enjoy gas savings or use less fuel. Keep in mind that most grills typically run 100-150F degrees hotter at the cooking surface than the air in the hood anyway and GrillGrates will be hotter still. Kamado grills run 200-300F hotter at the surface, gas grills 100-200F hotter and pellet grills you can expect to see about 100F hotter. --- Directly from GrillGrate Webpage, Notice the very end expect to see Pellet grills run 100 degrees hotter.  Click here for Grill Grate website.

There are five elements to the the Science of GrillGrate

1. Amplifies the Heat of any Grill

GrillGrates act like a lens on top of any heat source. They magnify and focus the grill's heat converting it to infrared heat.

2. Flare-Up Protection from the Bottom Plate

The underside and hole pattern of GrillGrates blocks flare-ups from engulfing food preventing charring and drying out.   --- No Flare ups on Traeger anyway.  Ive heard of people removing drip pan and  using grillgrates on top of firebox either with or without the Grills Grate on

3. Conducts Heat More Efficiently

GrillGrates are made from hard anodized aluminum, which conducts heat more efficiently than cast iron or stainless steel.

4. The Valleys Vaporize Drippings

Juices and drippings fall into the hot valleys where they sizzle and vaporize into flavor and retained moisture. The valleys of GrillGrates are a flavor enhancing system.

5. Perfect Sear Marks

GrillGrates conduct and focus heat up the raised rails for steakhouse quality searing. Sear marks can be controlled from golden brown to dark, crispy and flavorful.

Above taken from GrillGrate website Science of Grill Grates 

Here is a review about different kind of Grates including GrillGrates Click Here

In the above review of different type of Grill Grates from amazing ribs they do rate GrillGrates very highly and state you can add Pellets or chips in the Valleys of the Grates for extra flavor.  I will be trying this out ths weekend.

Click Here for Tri-Tip using GrillGrates

Reverse Sear Video below
Here is the Link just in case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ4xl7XJM08

How To Clean Your Traeger or Most any Other Grill

How To Clean Your Traeger or Most any Other Grill

How To Clean Your Traeger or Most any Other Grill

When It comes to cleaning my Traeger I am not the best at cleaning the grill and making it all shiny and bright.  I do vacuum out the fire-pot and change the foil on the drip pan often.  Usually every 3 to 4 cooks unless I do a long smoke like Pulled Pork, 3-2-1 ribs etc then I usually do drip pan and firebox Maintenance and clean my grill before and after those cooks.  I also clean my grill Grates before and after every cook.  Below is a compilation of Videos I found on Youtube.  They include 3 different ways to clean your grill grates naturally without harsh chemicals or wire brush.

The Following 3 Videos are different Methods to clean your Grill Grates.  Followed by a short video on your Drip pan and Fire-Pot Maintenance,

Cleaning your grill  grates with Aluminum Foil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4WG_vwxhOQ

How to clean your Grill Grates with an Onion and a Fork

https://youtu.be/NNyqECZSQeY?t=14

How to clean your grill with a potato

https://youtu.be/l8TlSyJQRIQ

A real short Video of drip pan and Fire Pot Maintenance 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihKS3wF23LY

Deep Cleaning Your Traeger

Not something I do often but at least you know how,

How to clean your Traeger akk you need is water a wire brush and a Puddy Knife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NG1YWbZSew

A while back I stumbled across some videos when I was surfing the Web.  It is put out by Weber but talks about cleaning the outside of your grill and Grease Buildup Inside your grill.
For the Weber Spring Cleaning your grill Video on how to do a deep grill cleaning Click Here

BBQ Pellets Traeger Smoker

Pellet Storage

BBQ Pellets Traeger Smoker

Pellet Grills a Brief History Lesson

Traeger would use the sawdust and scrape wood from the Lumber industry and create Pellet stoves used for heating.  At some point they got the idea why not make Pellet Grills.  If you go to a hardware store you may notice Pellets used for heating much cheaper then food grade pellets.  No matter which brand of Pellets you buy make sure they are always food grade.  The heating pellets have ugly chemicals in them I'm told.

Pellet Type

Some people are very passionate about there pellets.  If you go to the Traeger User groups on Facebook you will notice some people only use Traeger Pellets, others use Lumberjack.  There are many other brands like Pit Boss, B and B and Cooking Pellets to name a few.

Another huge debate is weather or not  non Traeger brand pellets void the warranty.  The consensus seems to be it does not.  Ill let you decide which pellets might be right for you.

Pellet Flavor

I find that Pellet Flavor doesn't  matter but then again I may not have the most sensitive pallet.
Here is a chart from the Traeger website which talks about which pellets to use with meat fish etc.

Recommended pellet usage

above chart from traeger 

Pellet Storage

Pellet Storage is also very important after I open My pellets I store them in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid.  I also store the unopened pellets off the floor on a shelf in the Garage.  I use a colander to sift the pellets before I use them to remove the dust.

Pellet Sifter

Pellet Storage Shelf

Pellet Storage

Tools for a Successful cook

My BBQ Tool Kit

Here are a few tools I need for a stress free cooking experience on my Traeger.  I know people cook amazing food with just tongs but I need a bit more.

Leave In Thermometer

I Griil 2 by Weber

A leave in Thermometer because as they say if you are looking you are not cooking.  I currently useI Grill II  by Weber.  It works well for me and tells me the temperature of my grill as well as what I am cooking.  I do have all 4 probes.  I have used 3 probes for food and one for the Traeger. The Igrill sends the results directly to my android smartphone via Bluetooth.  They also have an App that works with the Iphone.  I was extremely impressed with Weber's customer service, they sent me a replacement probe at no cost when mine broke.


Another great feature of the Igrill is that it creates Graphs so you can see your Temperature swings

I also have a Maverick ET-732 remote BBQ Thermometer which I was not impresed with.

Some people seem to like the Tapeccue Wifi Thermometer.  There are a few other wi fi thermometers including 1 by thermoworks.

Instant read Thermometer 

Thermapen and Thermopop by thermoworks

When it comes to an Instant read Thermometers  nothing beats thermaworks.  I have a Thernapen and Thermopop they both work well the Thermapen is more accurate and faster, The thermopop is slower and a lttle less accurate.  Buy the best one you can afford between these 2.  Last time I looked there were multiple versions of the Thermapen the classic and the MK4. are the same when it comes to accuracy and speed the MK4 has more features.  Buy the best one you can afford between these 3.  

It looks like the newer Thermopops are even faster.  If you already have a Thermometer and just want an upgrade if you sign up for the Thermoworks newsletter they have sales often.  Sometimes they sell open box stuff at a discount but you get the same warranty ason a brand new one.

Thermoworks has great customer service.  For most things on the Traeger I agree its a matter of personnel test, but when it comes to an instant read thermometer I say get a thermoworks you will be happy you did.

                             

Tongs

Tongs, I have multiple sets of Tongs but my go to set is my 18 inch OXO.  Sometimes you need to use 1 set for raw chicken and another for cooked food.

Oxo Tongs

My Toolbox 

My Toolbox, Yes I actually have a toolbox which holds most of my grilling tools and supplies.  It is a Stanley flat max waterproof toolbox.  I have My Tongs, Spatulas, Grilling Gloves, Thermometers, Hand sanitizer, bleach wipes and even spices in my Fat Max.  It makes it easy to have everything all in one place.

I no longer store my spices in my toolbox they cake up.

Toolbox

Toolbox

Grill Tools

Some of My Spices and Rubs

Wet Dry Shop Vac

A wet Dry Shop vac is a must have tool to clean out your Firebox of excess ash.  I usually clean the Firebox when I replace the Foil on the Drip pan every 4 to 6 cooks.  Unless I do long cooks like Pork Shoulder then sometimes before and after the cook.  The brand doesn't seem to matter as long as it has enough HP to do the Job.

wet dry shop vac



Here are more posts about Tools I use
http://traegerrecipesbymike.blogspot.com/search/label/Grilling%20Tools?m=0

Fire Bricks - Helpful Traeger Modifications

Fire Bricks Surround the FireBox 

Fire Bricks

The Fire bricks help maintain the Temperature especially when you open the grill,  In the winter time the Firebreaks insulate the bottom of the Grill while the insulation blanket insulates the top meaning a more steady temperature and lower pellet use,  But even in warmer temperatures because the Fire bricks retain the heat and temperature swings are much smaller.

Traeger with Insulation Blanket Window Grilling

Traeger Junior Rack - Helpful Traeger Modifications

Traeger Junior Rack

Double Decker Cooking

I love my extra rack.  It virtually doubles the size of my Junior.  It allows me to cook twice as much food with the same number of  pellats.  It also saves time because I can do 1 batch instead of 2 or 2 batches instead of 4 .....   It is a high quality product that I highly recommend.  You can get your extra rack by clicking the link http://www.barbieqt.com/product-p/jr55.htm.  You can also use this rack in larger grills to get extra space.

Traeger Grill Premium Nomex Gasket, self stick Helpful Traeger Modifications

Traeger Grill Premium Nomex Gasket, self stick 

Traeger Grill Premium Nomex Gasket, self stick was another Modification I did to help seal the Grill.  It works great but when you are using a leave in temperature probe it defeats the purpose of the gasket.  But on long cooks like pulled pork or Brisket, you don't even need to probe until 6 or more hours in.   Click here to see on Amazon

Insulation blanket - Helpful Traeger Modifications

I purchased The Traeger Insulation Blanket on sale during the Thanksgiving sale Period,  I have Grilled in Weather below zero with the windchill.  It maintained the temperature well and burned less pellets.  I also have the Bottom of My grill lined with fire bricks