HELP! Will a EX6 SF suit my needs

[bbqking]

I do not know how bbqking does his burgers but I have been doing them at 350 for a while because I get lost doing other things and this helps me so that I do not burn them.

What I am saying is that you do not have to do burgers at high temp. Might help save on pellets.

Ok here my entry. Just good ol’ burgers. Did some pretty big patties. Probably .75 lbs. each. Used Worcestershire and a couple eggs in the meat. Also salt lick original seasoning. On the SmokeFire at 300 for .5 hour, then cranked her up to 375, for about 20 more... pulled the meat off when they read 140. On one we did roasted garlic and regular burger sauces. Tomato, onion, lettuce. The other we did same sauces, bacon and grilled onion/mushroom.

 

[AHoneyman]

That sounds real good to me. Mine do not get that fancy since both of us work from home and cooking is usually done in a hurry too often.

 

[abmet]

I’d echo a lot of what others have mentioned. It can do high temp but will go through more pellets especially if leave lid open since it will be trying to keep that temp with the outside air constantly coming in. I kept my Genesis gas grill and WSM charcoal/wood smoker. I haven‘t touched the WSM since but I still use the Genesis for quick things and searing steaks. I could probably do it all on the SmokeFire but like having options and the convenience of the gasser for some things.

 

[Bruno]

I don’t feel like it uses a ton of pellets at 600, it isn’t like you cook at that temp for very long, it’s a raging inferno at 600 and it will sear the hell out of anything you throw at it.

 

[MattyM]

I don’t feel like it uses a ton of pellets at 600, it isn’t like you cook at that temp for very long, it’s a raging inferno at 600 and it will sear the hell out of anything you throw at it.

Exactly! Sure it will burn thru more pellets to get to those soaring temps, but you’re not gonna be using them for long unless you like torching your food! I’m more confident that this won’t be as big a concern as I first thought.

 

[sntwilliams]

Some personal experiences with my EX6 that may help:

- Low and slow cooking for brisket and pork shoulder etc...has been a dream, I've also found the pellet usage at these low temps to be perfectly acceptable to the point where I really don't mind leaving the meat on the smokefire after wrapping it to get through the stall. You could easily save some pellets by putting the meat in the oven after wrapping as no more smoke flavour will really be added at this point. Here in the UK, I have managed to get some deals on Weber pellets to the tune of around 13GBP per bag which no doubt plays some role in my pellet usage. I can't comment on 35AUD a bag, unfortunately.

- A quick and dirty, high temp evening BBQ is where I had completely underestimated this bit of kit. Fired the grill up and set to 250 celsius (sorry, Fahrenheit means very little me!), and by the time it had come up to that temp, I'd cooked the burgers and sausages and hit shutdown, the grill had only been on for a total over about 30 mins and the pellet level in the hopper had barely moved. 15 minutes after that, I was full of food and the cover was back over it. Also, the whole "lid down" thing is nothing more than a slight learning curve, I barely even think about it.

- My currently preferred technique when reverse searing steaks is to smokeboost them up to the desired internal temperature and then dunk them straight into a ripping hot cast iron pan over high heat to finish. I've personally found that there is very little difference between this method and waiting to flame sear on the smokefire. It may not win a BBQ comp, but it makes everyone in this house extremely happy. I haven't tested on any guests yet because of that whole "C" word thing.

- Last quick note, the Thai green curry that I did in my GBS wok the other week has ruined my life. I now can't eat out at a Thai restaurant for fear of being disappointed

 

[Bruno]

Some personal experiences with my EX6 that may help:

- Low and slow cooking for brisket and pork shoulder etc...has been a dream, I've also found the pellet usage at these low temps to be perfectly acceptable to the point where I really don't mind leaving the meat on the smokefire after wrapping it to get through the stall. You could easily save some pellets by putting the meat in the oven after wrapping as no more smoke flavour will really be added at this point. Here in the UK, I have managed to get some deals on Weber pellets to the tune of around 13GBP per bag which no doubt plays some role in my pellet usage. I can't comment on 35AUD a bag, unfortunately.

- A quick and dirty, high temp evening BBQ is where I had completely underestimated this bit of kit. Fired the grill up and set to 250 celsius (sorry, Fahrenheit means very little me!), and by the time it had come up to that temp, I'd cooked the burgers and sausages and hit shutdown, the grill had only been on for a total over about 30 mins and the pellet level in the hopper had barely moved. 15 minutes after that, I was full of food and the cover was back over it. Also, the whole "lid down" thing is nothing more than a slight learning curve, I barely even think about it.

- My currently preferred technique when reverse searing steaks is to smokeboost them up to the desired internal temperature and then dunk them straight into a ripping hot cast iron pan over high heat to finish. I've personally found that there is very little difference between this method and waiting to flame sear on the smokefire. It may not win a BBQ comp, but it makes everyone in this house extremely happy. I haven't tested on any guests yet because of that whole "C" word thing.

- Last quick note, the Thai green curry that I did in my GBS wok the other week has ruined my life. I now can't eat out at a Thai restaurant for fear of being disappointed

Very nice!! I might try the CI pan sear method just for fun.

 

[Dassman5]

Very nice!! I might try the CI pan sear method just for fun.

Essentially that is what many of the good steak restaurants do after cross-hatching for appearance. Also allows them to add butter to melt quickly to give it that “great greasy taste”

 

[MattyM]

A quick and dirty, high temp evening BBQ is where I had completely underestimated this bit of kit. Fired the grill up and set to 250 celsius (sorry, Fahrenheit means very little me!), and by the time it had come up to that temp, I'd cooked the burgers and sausages and hit shutdown, the grill had only been on for a total over about 30 mins and the pellet level in the hopper had barely moved. 15 minutes after that, I was full of food and the cover was back over it. Also, the whole "lid down" thing is nothing more than a slight learning curve, I barely even think about it.

Thanks! This was really helpful in that it reconfirmed it is indeed possible to cook on it this way, and that for the short period of searing high heat action, minimal pellets are burned Sure if you cooked this way 3-4 or more times a week pellet usage would be huge, but that would not occur in our case at least.

And like yourself would be willing to adapt our cooking style, in fact been reading over at amazingribs.com where they actually recommend finishing of your reverse seared meats in a red hot frypan as it gives an allover sear, not just the grill marks that are more for appearance than taste. Makes for some interesting reading...and future application.

Your curry sounds a-maz-ing! It’s awesome when you can cook something that beats its restaurant quality equivalent!! Well done!

 

[abmet]

One of the reasons I like to sear on my gas Genesis is I have two sections of Grillgrates flipped over so the flat side is up and can sear the whole piece vs just grill marks.

 

[JpsBBQ]

One of the reasons I like to sear on my gas Genesis is I have two sections of Grillgrates flipped over so the flat side is up and can sear the whole piece vs just grill marks.

FWIW, I move grill grates from one appliance to another all the time. I just leave the original grate in place and set the GG’s over them.

 

[AHoneyman]

One of the reasons I like to sear on my gas Genesis is I have two sections of Grillgrates flipped over so the flat side is up and can sear the whole piece vs just grill marks.

I have GG over the entire surface of my Weber gasser. but I stole my mother-in-law's Jenn-Air griddle. It just happens to have bumps on the bottom that align in the GG groves and sits down on top the the GGs. I just leave it there and crank up the temp for flat surface sears. Or thin crunchy burgers.

 

[sntwilliams]

Thanks! This was really helpful in that it reconfirmed it is indeed possible to cook on it this way, and that doe the short period of searing high heat action, minimal pellets are burned Sure if you cooked this way 3-4 or more times a week pellet usage would be huge, but that would not occur in our case at least.

And like yourself would be willing to adapt our cooking style, in fact been reading over at amazingribs.com where they actually recommend finishing of your reverse seared meats in a red hot frypan as it gives an allover sear, not just the grill marks that are more for appearance than taste. Makes for some interesting reading...and future application.

Your curry sounds a-maz-ing! It’s awesome when you can cook something that beats its restaurant quality equivalent!! Well done!

Pleased to be of assistance!

I look forward to seeing your results when you inevitably buy a smokefire

I'm terrible at remembering to take photos of my cooks, but here are a few examples so far.

Carnitas in the GBS Dutch Oven:

First pork shoulder on the smokefire:

Bacon-wrapped chicken thighs, stuffed with Jalapeño peppers and cream cheese. I've seen them referred to as "Dragon Eggs":

and lastly, my Côte de boeuf partway through their smokeboost session (featuring the barely run-in grillgrates). I'm rather annoyed that I forgot to take a photo of these seared up, maybe next time!

 

[MattyM]

Oooh nom! Nom! Nom! @sntwilliams, that all looks sooooo good!

Those ‘dragon eggs’ in particular has my mouth watering!!

If (ok, ok, “when”) I get a Smokefire think I’ll invest in some grill grates also. If you’re reverse searing meat, is in the initial heat hot enough to then sear on the grates, or do your take the meat off and bump up the temp in the WSF first?

Cheers!

 

[sntwilliams]

The dragon eggs were extremely nice. I used this recipe as a basis - https://www.atbbq.com/thesauce/bacon-wrapped-jalapeno-popper-stuffed-barbecue-chicken/

When I do reverse sear on the smokefire, I take the steaks off and then crank the temperature up. Once it's at max temp, I let it sit there for a few minutes at least to get the grillgrates up to the right temperature before adding the steaks back on.

I have an infrared thermometer on order at the moment to take the guesswork out of it.