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Good luck with your first cook, always the most exciting one. Realise it's your first cook and you will probably want to do the whole thing in it. Pellets are expensive though and in time and further cooks, you may want to consider after 4-6 hours or when you get to the wrapping stage, finishing it off in the oven. A pork shoulder or Brisket won't take anymore more smoke after 4-5 hours and certainly once wrapped. So rather than burning pellets of for what is essentially is oven cooking it, run it at 250F in your kitchen oven. Have a search for Harry Soo videos on youtube for how his briskets/pulled pork turn out with this method, if interested.

4 months into ownership of the Smokefire EX4 and i thought I would update my blog now with my thoughts on how it has performed for me over that time as I think 4 months is a fair time to assess it. I know there have been some worries and concerns from some owners of Smokefire's for reliability issues etc. I have to say from my own personal experience, I haven't experienced any of them and my machine has worked pretty flawlessly, I have experienced a very occasional electronic failure in the early days, but any software (on most devices) often has glitches and the big Software update that came along in May seems to have ironed that out as well. There was clearly a problem with pellet feed from early initial reports from America (released a month earlier than the UK) Weber corrected that with an hopper insert that was supplied with my machine when it came and except for the need to push the pellets along if longer than a 6 hour cook, it seems to work pretty well. I find a full bag of 9 kg of pellets will last usually between 14-18 hours depending on temps set and how many start-up/shutdown cycles are used in that time. It is clearly more expensive than charcoal, but ease of use and finished smoke flavour is excellent, in my experience. The control unit is very responsive and easy to set temps from it or do the shutdown procedure, either at the machine itself or now via the app. The Smokeboost addition seems to quite beneficial to adding a little extra smokiness to your meat on lo&slo cooks at start-up around 150F-190F for an hour or so before turning it up to the actual required temp you wish to cook at, for the rest of the time The app still has a long way to go before it is the finished article, but the software company JUNE are behind it, so confident over the next 6 months and ongoing past that, it will continue to evolve into something good.. The smoke flavour is nowhere near as pronounced as charcoal and wood chunks, with pellets. But what I like is the consistency of the smoke flavour across all lo&slo cooks. My experience with charcoal is not always that way, when it works well, nothing beats it. But sometimes the smoke can be overpowering and occasionally bitter, there are so many variables with the wood and charcoal used. There is none of that with pellets with my experience so far. A mellow consistent smoke flavour every time (even giving a slight smoky flavour at 550-600F temps for pizza and steaks), is a bonus in my eyes. Coming from a bullet smoker to pellet, there is a longer cleaning procedure (grills, flavouriser bars) and sweeping/vacuuming out I tend to do this every 20 hours of cooking or 3 long cooks. Between cooks a good grill brush over the the grates once heated up does a good job of removing the remains of the previous cook and gives you a clean working surface, but greasy chicken wings and ribs take their toll on them pretty quickly so a good wash in hot soapy water, keeps them in good condition. Haven't needed to buy a vacuum yet and the ash at the bottom is easy enough to sweep down the holes by the fire pot and collect in the tray beneath them. Never experienced any problems with the grease flow channels and they work as they should, no build up of grease or forming grease lumps giving it a chance of a grease fire. I have had occasional flare ups, but when cooking at 600F and meat fat drippings onto a flame, you need to expect it and that is what flavours the meat in my view. First time it happened was a bit shocking, but after 4 months of use I know what and why it's happening and love the fact it does it. Would recommend buying a cover for the Smokefire as although it cooks with a consistent temperature whether it's a howling wind or showery rain , there is clearly a weak point underneath the hopper that can let water ingress to the motor over a period of time, by the looks of it. As said earlier I came from a bullet smoker and although it produced good food, I felt limited in what I could do. This grill, with its cooking area has given me the confidence and ability to cook so much more, than what I did previously and for me that has been the main benefit, whether I want to do a simple 10 minute grilled cheese sandwich or a full brisket this machine does it all and does it well and for that I love it and now a pellet grill convert. Thanks for reading

Recipe and instructions if interested. All cooked in a skillet at 375F, I used Gruyere and Cheddar for the cheese fillings and Red instead of Yellow onion. Nice and crispy, tasty and filling.

Food looks great and the ProQ was performing as it should, great stuff. Depends on your Butcher, but Chuck Roast is usually unsliced Braising Steak and does need that sort of time to cook, I love cooking outdoors with it

Gave it ago following your video, used a temp of 450F and a jar of Fried Tomato Sauce (it's a cracking sauce) with some Potato Bravas fried in Rapeseed Oil. Really tasty dish, thoroughly recommend trying it. Straight from the grill to outside table, good eating in lovely warm conditions is what it's all about.

I originally bought the Pork belly for curing and streaky bacon, but when I looked at it this morning it looked as if it would end up to small and thin after the ribs were removed, although it was just over 3 kg in weight. So decided to use it for a rack of ribs and some rib tips. Needed quite a bit of trimming as what would have been usable for bacon, I didn't fancy it for the ribs. After trimming I was left with a rack just over 1.5kg and rib tips close to 0.85kg After applying a homemade rub, put them on the Smokefire on Smokeboost for 90 minutes, then turned it up to 240F for another 3 hours. I coated the tips in Sweet Baby Rays Honey Sauce and wrapped the ribs which I applied 2 tbsp of Brown Sugar a few sticks of butter and honey from my neighbours apiary. I put them all back on the grill for a further 75 minutes Unwrapped the ribs and applied some Bulls Eye Smoky Bacon Sauce. The rib tips were showing 205F IT and the ribs had a good bend on them, so took them off then ] Nice smoke ring and very juicy and full of flavour on tips and ribs and a really good bark on the tips. If I can improve my butchery skills, will buy a full pork belly again to do my own ribs in future, as there was far more meat on the ribs, than what I normally get from butchers pre-cut Realise not doing anything new here, but first time I have cut something up from a slab of belly pork to produce tips and ribs and found it worthwhile doing compared to normal store bought prepared ones.

I did it on pellet grill, but used hickory pellets.

This is the method I have bookmarked to try out. From what I am reading, it is the bits that aren't strained properly that cause mold/rancid bits on the lard over time. Doing a piece of shoulder in the next week and that fat is meant to be very good for lard and I have started to do a lot of frying in skillets and the high smoke point of lard is something that would help me. If successful, then will have ago at Beef Tallow from the beef fat as well. I make mine own Bone Broth and stocks and the flavour is so much better than any shop bought equivalent product. Seems a good way to use up stuff I would throw away normally and the crackling pieces after rendering down has to be a bonus.

Does anybody make there own lard from pork fat trimmings on here? I want to have a go at making some (along with the crackling afterwards) from the rendered pork, but wondering what sort of cheesecloth is best for straining once done. Can you only use cheesecloth suitable for single use for pork fat or are the re-washable ones usable for a task like this? If you do make your own, any recommendations you may have, if you do this sort of thing I would be grateful.

Looks like you may need to drill a bigger hole to fit a larger grommet or cut a slot in top compartment where the lid fits to accommodate those probes as crushing the wire between stack edges is never a good idea in the long run

Congrats on your purchase, I know they're expensive, but if like me you get the use out of it,, it pays for itself. I cook 3 or 4 times a week on mine at the moment and it opens so many more possibilities for wide ranging meals than just lo&slo Good to hear that the warranty and parts if needed are supported over here for them as well.

Don't know anything about the PitBoss as it looks a new product to market. May be worth doing some research first to see what Pitboss Customer Service presence is like in the UK if any problems, if anything like the early Weber problems a good customer service is essential and how that company is able to react to it.. A pellet grill has electronic and mechanical parts that can go wrong and the availability of replacement parts within this country is something worth considering especially if you are essentially a beta tester for a brand new model.

Glad it sorted you out. Fingers crossed mine continues to behave itself as it should, without any need for new parts to be installed.. There's been an app update that doesn't seem to effect the Smokefire machine by having to shut it down after installation, it just updates in the background. Now up to version 0.9.11

Have you read up or seen any models you might be interested in? and some owners of them may be able to help you out with some advise, if you list them here? I've owned a pellet grill for 6 months now and absolutely love it for its versatility and ease of cooking, I haven't lit my bullet smoker since, I find being able to do quick and easy evening meals on it like, chicken wings, steaks, chops, pizzas, paellas, fish at higher temps etc means I use mine 3 or 4 times a week now (20 minutes to get to temp anywhere between 185-600F ) and your off cooking at a very stable temperature you have set it at. No need to worry about indirect/direct it is just a stable temp over the whole grill. I do the longer 6 hour + cooks every week/fortnight, which is mainly what I used the bullet smoker for. I understand peoples love of creating and maintaining fire for cooking, but I for one am converted to setting the temp via a dial, knowing I am getting that temp and just enjoying the fact I am outdoor cooking and producing many different dishes I couldn't before. . It is a big investment, but one I certainly don't regret and I am getting so much more use out of it compared to the bullet smoker. I am sure I will go back to charcoal smoking again, but at the moment don't feel the need to The one thing I have noticed you get less smoke flavour in your finished cook (which tbh we are both fine with in our house) you do get hotspots , but easy to work round them, when you know where it is.and it is more expensive to run pellets than charcoal, certainly with my Weber model.

In my case I only ever use warm soapy water to wash them out with a cloth afterwards and use a plastic scraper to get rid of any hard bits first. Never needed to use anything else even when frying at high temperatures with butter. You should never use anything metal or an abrasive scourer type things to clean them out with. Along with don't stick them in the dishwasher. After drying them off I pour a capful of vegetable oil and put it inside the dutch oven and get a paper towel to rub it all round the inside and the edges of the Dutch Oven/Skillet etc before putting them away, helps to stop any rusting and adds a coating to it, to build up the seasoning & non stick over time I believe. Professionals recommend Flaxseed oil as well, but vegetable oil has always worked for me and something I always have to hand.

No worries, meant on a pellet grill. Mine ranges from 185-600F would imagine somewhere round the 300-350F would do it. Just wondered if you had ever checked the temp yourself of the cast iron. It's Spanish week at Lidl from tomorrow, they do a terrific Fried tomato sauce when this comes around, so will pick some of them up tomorrow with their frozen Potato Bravas to go with it.

Looks a great dish to try. Have you any idea what surface temp of the cast iron is, for people who want to try this sort of dish on a grill who don't have a stove, like yourself?

Looks good, got a very similar one from another manufacturer. Nice sized DO to work with in a bullet smoker

Depends on what your budget is and how you intend to use it in the long run. If looking to cook with it over a stove or open fire as well as in your smoker and also have the ability to place hot charcoals on the lid, you need to look at something with a handle of some sort on the lid as well as it being flat with a rim round the edge If looking to be able to hang it from a tripod as well over an open fire, something like this with a handle to hang it from or one with loop handles designed to be hung on the side of it. If looking for just a cooking vessel with a lid that can be used as a skillet something like this Whichever style you choose, you need to be looking for something in the 5 Litre + mark to hold a whole chicken. Many brands out there at varying prices, Amazon is a good place to start looking at reviews within whatever your price range is.

Did a Paella yesterday and a Roast Chicken with hasselback potatoes today at 365F and both times it reached that temp in just under 12 minutes, which is what it normally does for me on the EX4, haven't got a 600F planned for a few days, but will check the timing when I do. But I usually take a little less than 25 minutes to reach 600F From what other users are saying Weber are saying this latest update cuts the reverse auger rotation by 50% during the shut-down process, I don't believe the firmware updated anything else

This website may or may not be useful to use, I used it for Strong Flour for Bread Making and helped me work with the Protein content of the flour for the UK Equivalents of US Flour in recipes. This page list the protein content of US All Purpose Flour as 10-11.5% whereas UK Plain Flour is usually <10% Couple of examples here from Morrisons for different Flours they sell if you look at the Nutrition Values listed for them Homepride Plain Flour 9.73g per 100g Morrisons Organic Plain Flour 11.8g per 100g Not saying buy the Morrisons one, just look online at the different flours or the side of the bag in the shop and if you see the protein value in the 10-11.5 range you will be getting closer to American all purpose flour.

New firmware update just released. Version 4035 meant to improve shutdown procedure

Had my first E3 Flame Out whilst using Smokeboost happen today. Going to keep an eye on it, as in States, this is what they are mostly sending the new augur out for. First time happened to me since owning it in February, so hopefully a one off, but will keep an eye on it. You will have to update us what the fitting of it is like and any benefit. Info been out for a few week now, but only showing in the States at the moment. Although Front table looks useful. The extra side table with the built in storage for the chopping board, will probably be my first purchase. Closely followed by the Pellet Storage bag. Also for the past 2 weeks and for another week they are offering $200 of both models in the States for the big holiday they've just had. Whether they will offer that sort of discount here in the coming months remains to be seen. But it certainly seems to have been popular in the States bring the EX4 down to $799 and the EX6 to $999 obviously that doesn't equate to UK prices but a similar reduction in price over here, would certainly attract a few more people to consider purchasing one over here as well. As the new firmware update they did in May has made this a much more stable and reliable machine overall.

My local Bookers didn't have any in yesterday, so picked these up from a butcher close by that I haven't used before. Couldn't believe it £4 a kg and he cut it off fresh off the carcass for me. Only needed it for 2 people so he offered me the 6 bones cut in half or 3 long bones for the 2 kg I asked for. Went with the 6 half cut length wise as wanted to judge how many I could fit on my Pellet grill for the future. Proof will be in the eating, but they look pretty meaty to at and a very decent price. He said he was happy to cut me St Louis Ribs to my preference if I bring in a picture of what I want, so long as he has a pig carcass on the day as well. 6 still looked too much for the 2 of us today, so after trimming it down I have put 4 of them onto cook.

May or may not be of interest to you? A guy I subscribe to on Youtube has just completed a Santa Maria Grill upgrade. Some interesting ideas in there. There is a total of 3 video's in the Project series, this is the final one, easy to find the other 2 if any use to you. Also some cooks he has done on them in others as well