I have tried to use no foil at temps of 250-300 and the drippings will burn which gives an off odor and taste. Not much better with foil. How do you folks deal with this? I have the 1 and the 2 piece diffuser and this is the case on both. Not used to this with all of my other cookers that I have? Should I just cook in pans?
Not sure what you are describing, but, I do never use foil, and very rarely use pans, as both can cause serious temperature swings and longer cooking times. The diffuser cleans up simply with a wide putty knife. Doing this will season the diffuser like a cast iron pan, and will make the clean up easier the more seasoned it becomes.
I use the 2 piece diffuser, with no foil. If I want to direct grill, I remove the diffuser door and use the optional Grill Grates over the opening. If grilling a large number of items, I remove the diffuser and use Grill Grates across the entire lower portion of the cooker.
Hmm, I use foil and didn't use foil before. Are you cooking fish? Or have in the past and the drippings are collected in the drain area?
What pellet brand are you using?
Pans? for what kind of food?
More info please.
[quote="Yoder_Herb"]Not sure what you are describing,
The drippings/juice burn on the plate, turns to black crust and puts off an odor/taste.
Conumdrum wrote:Hmm, I use foil and didn't use foil before. Are you cooking fish? Or have in the past and the drippings are collected in the drain area?
What pellet brand are you using?
Pans? for what kind of food?
More info please.
No fish. I am talking about ribs, butts, brisket, chicken, etc..........
I have used Lumber Jack, Cooking Pellets.com and B&B.
What you are describing is normal. Before each use, scrape the plate with a putty knife to clean away the cooking debris, and clean the ash from the burn grate.
Yoder_Herb wrote:What you are describing is normal. Before each use, scrape the plate with a putty knife to clean away the cooking debris, and clean the ash from the burn grate.
I do both of those before each cook. I quess it is something I will have to get used to. Just never had to deal with burnt grease with my Primo's, WSM's or Stick burner.
Thanks,
Well since it's a roaring fire under that plate, it does get hot. And more than a reverse flow smoker for sure. It hasn't done anything off-taste to my flavors that I can tell. Your pellets are good brands. I have done 9 chickens at once at 275-300. Lotta fat for sure.
Are you on level ground? Maybe it doesn't drain towards the drip can well enough.
Anyhoo, I have been using foil on my 640 after the second cook, over 2 years now. Makes it much easier to clean. Just be sure to tuck the foil under VERY well on the right side, get it flat over the surface to not stop the airflow. Nice thing is the wide heavy duty foil is exactly as wide as the plate.
MUCH easier cleanup.
I have been reading this thread with curiosity. Never having been a stick smoker there is no way I can compare the two but can only add to what others say and give my experiences.
I have owned my 640 for two years and have burned over a ton of pellets in that time. I do foil and do clean religiously. In that time I have only had to clean my grease bucket twice and am getting fairly close to my third clean out. I must add that I do actually even foil about half the bottom of the pit when am doing fast cooks at high temp to reduce that splatter and clean up mess.
I too was wondering if 1) maybe your pit was not level leading to build up or 2) for some reason your diffuser plate might actually be at an extreme angle to be getting excess buildup.
Either way, I have never had excess buildup or drippings. The only time I have ever thought that I was getting harsh flavors from my pit was when trying long slow cooks with harsher pellets (hickory, mesquite etc).
Guys,
My cooker is very level, what I am talking about is the drippings that hit the plate. Most of them do not reach the grease drain, they are evaported before the can run off because of the fire is "licking" the bottom of the plate. I am moving away from foil to season it the way Herb says to. Maybe when it gets coated good it will be more non-stick. I have done 2 cooks since my post and it looks as if it is headed in the right direction. I keep a clean cooker and plate.
I have never had the same issue on my 640 after nearly 2.5 years and literally thousands of pounds of meat. I have always used foil--without realizing, I guess, that it's not recommended by Yoder--and never had any problem w/ burning or odors or off-tastes at all.
I have cooked at much higher temps than you're talking about too and still not had an issue... I do have fire "licking" the diffuser for just a few minutes at startup, but rarely for long thereafter, particularly at the temp ranges you're talking about. Have you checked your grate temps? Are they relatively similar to your set temps?
I'm sure you'll get it sorted out, hopefully soon.
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