BFG vs 680

Hai Nguyen

Member
Messages
6
Grill(s) owned
  1. BFG
  2. WyldSide
  3. RT-680
Hello RecTec,

Love the products and customer service. I had a question for you as far as cooking goes.

Obviously a BFG is way bigger than a 680 and getting used to the cooking times will be something to look at.

I just cooked my first on the BFG today and it was good but not awesome like how the 680 is.

I bought some Costco Boston butts yesterday.

  • 2 packs of them for a total of 4 butts.
  • I preheated the BFG to 400 for 1 hr
  • Dropped temperature to 225.
  • Let the butts sit out for 45 minutes and dry rubbed it down.
  • Put the 4 butts left to right on the bottom grate.
  • 1am was when I put them in.
  • 7pm I moved temp to 240.
  • The middle left and right hit 195 @ 8pm.
  • I moved the outer ones in and put them in the center.
  • 9pm took out the right one @ 190.
  • 9:40pm and the last one is sutck @ 173.
  • Ate first 2 and they seem really dry.
  • Any ideas on what to do?
  • The 680 typical butts cook in 8-12 hrs @ the most.
  • Anything I should do to perfect in the BFG?
 
Just took the last one out at 11:30pm. It was at 184 and in since 1am. Almost 23 hours. Something is differently off.
 
I am no expert, but I would think cooking temps would be cooking temps, once the desired temp is reached regardless of the size pit. The size does come into play as it is going to take a larger pit longer to get up to your set temp when originally starting the pit, or anytime the pit door is opened and the pit needs to get back to set temp. The larger pit would also probably burn more pellets during the cook, and if the pit is opened a lot, a lot more pellets. As we all know if the pit door is open, your not cookin.

Curious on why you pre-heated the pit to 400 rather than just setting your desired cooking temp? Thanks for sharing your cook, keep at it. It is not an exact science when cooking meat, but oh what fun it is!
 
It was my first cook so i let it run to kill everything.
It stayed steady @ 225 and 240 later.
I even used an outside probe and the temperatures were stuck at 173 for a while.
Just curious of everyone else's experience with the BFG 2500.
 
I'm new to a pellet smoker, so tell me to sit down and be quiet if I'm off base here (But have been smokin meats for more than a dozen years on offsets and komados).

The first thing that struck me about my RT-700 was the large amount of airflow from the fan. My experience is that a lot of airflow means it will dry the meat faster. It's how a dehydrator works. That's why my offset dries meat much more than a komado. I haven't used or been around a BFG, but it's possible/likely that the airflow is even more than a 680 or 700.

The second thing I noted was about your cooking time. I think being in heat for that many hours is going to dry out uncovered meat. Additionally, you didn't indicate you foiled the butts. Competition cooks seem to have moved in the direction of foiling and faster cooks/higher temps. I believe this is driven by getting a better product.

______________________________________________________________________

I'll share a secret here, at the risk of being run out of Dodge.

In the past couple years, I've taken to putting my Boston Butts in half trays, foil covered, and cooked at 300F until tender (I use the oven, don't tell anyone). At first, I would use rub on them before putting the butts in the trays. I found it didn't matter in the end product and I could use some for different spiced recipes or save some for the dog without spice.

When tender, I remove them from the tray and pull. I put the pulled pork in half trays and pour a mixture of chicken or pork broth (don't use the juices from the tray, they are largely fat and rendered gelatin and will congeal when cooled) and my favorite rub (add apple juice as desired) on the pulled meat and mix it in. I only put in enough to fill about 1/4 - 1/3 up the meat. Anytime after pulling the meat, you can stop and keep in the fridge until you're ready to smoke it.

Next, I put the uncovered tray on the smoker to get smoke into the meat. On my komados, I can still get good smoke at 300-350F or even up to 400F, which allows me to smoke and get some char on the top meat curls sticking up. The broth/rub in the tray keeps it moist. I turn the meat over in the tray after a half hour or so (when I see formation of charing or "bits-o-bark") , then continue more smoking/charing to make a nice presentation. When I'm finished, the broth is just a little moisture in the bottom of the tray. In a pellet smoker, I would try a low smoke for about an hour, turning the meat a few times, then ramping up to 350F to get a char, turning the meat based on color and finishing to color.
 
The 680 typical butts cook in 8-12 hrs @ the most.

I'll just make one comment, which won't address all of your concerns but may be worth consideration: are you certain your pit temp was 225f and 240f? I don't stress much over differences--and I don't track every square inch of real estate--but during my first use last week of the Bull its control panel read 30f+ higher than what I was reading from my Fireboard. It does seem like your butts took longer to finish than what I would anticipate (but I generally smoke mine at a higher temp, too).

The BFG looks awesome, so I hope you get this sorted out to your satisfaction.
 
I'll share a secret here, at the risk of being run out of Dodge.

This seems like a credible approach to me (aside from the fact that it's more enjoyable to hang out with my smoker rather than using the kitchen oven).
 
I'm new to a pellet smoker, so tell me to sit down and be quiet if I'm off base here (But have been smokin meats for more than a dozen years on offsets and komados).

The first thing that struck me about my RT-700 was the large amount of airflow from the fan. My experience is that a lot of airflow means it will dry the meat faster. It's how a dehydrator works. That's why my offset dries meat much more than a komado. I haven't used or been around a BFG, but it's possible/likely that the airflow is even more than a 680 or 700.

The second thing I noted was about your cooking time. I think being in heat for that many hours is going to dry out uncovered meat. Additionally, you didn't indicate you foiled the butts. Competition cooks seem to have moved in the direction of foiling and faster cooks/higher temps. I believe this is driven by getting a better product.

______________________________________________________________________

I'll share a secret here, at the risk of being run out of Dodge.

In the past couple years, I've taken to putting my Boston Butts in half trays, foil covered, and cooked at 300F until tender (I use the oven, don't tell anyone). At first, I would use rub on them before putting the butts in the trays. I found it didn't matter in the end product and I could use some for different spiced recipes or save some for the dog without spice.

When tender, I remove them from the tray and pull. I put the pulled pork in half trays and pour a mixture of chicken or pork broth (don't use the juices from the tray, they are largely fat and rendered gelatin and will congeal when cooled) and my favorite rub (add apple juice as desired) on the pulled meat and mix it in. I only put in enough to fill about 1/4 - 1/3 up the meat. Anytime after pulling the meat, you can stop and keep in the fridge until you're ready to smoke it.

Next, I put the uncovered tray on the smoker to get smoke into the meat. On my komados, I can still get good smoke at 300-350F or even up to 400F, which allows me to smoke and get some char on the top meat curls sticking up. The broth/rub in the tray keeps it moist. I turn the meat over in the tray after a half hour or so (when I see formation of charing or "bits-o-bark") , then continue more smoking/charing to make a nice presentation. When I'm finished, the broth is just a little moisture in the bottom of the tray. In a pellet smoker, I would try a low smoke for about an hour, turning the meat a few times, then ramping up to 350F to get a char, turning the meat based on color and finishing to color.

Thank you for your advice. I too have been using A similar method as well.
https://www.snakeriverfarms.com/preparation-guides/brisket/hot-fast-brisket
I try to get it to 165 and then put it in a lather of beef consommé. I’ve had huge compliments when I do it this way and more moist vs being too dry.

After everyone’s feedback so far I’m calling tech support to see what I can do about the temperatures setting showing 225 but the meats are stuck at an internal temp for a very long time. Causing the dryness.
 
This seems like a credible approach to me (aside from the fact that it's more enjoyable to hang out with my smoker rather than using the kitchen oven).

It came about as a result of a pinch I was in, I had to cater the next evening, but had to go to my real job. So, I just trayed the shoulders and put them in the oven at a temperature that I figured would finish by the time I came home, upon which time I pulled and smoked the pork for the next day's event. The next afternoon, after work, I reheated the pork and delivered it. I figured since I was doing all this gratis, if it was not great, I would get a pass. But it turned out really well. So much so, it has become my standard method.
 
@Roaniecowpony When I first received my 700 I was used to the wet dripping meats of my stick burner and catch pan. I was worried about the drying as well, as in most cases, I don't use a water pan either now. After 6months I've realised the air movement is a good thing. It seems to keep a better all around temp instead of hot and cold spots. Also, alot of the fan action is directed at how fast you're burning pellets, but it's also Helping the smoker to work in a convection style. The outside (even though I'm used to it now)
has the appearance of being dryer, but the inside could not be more moist and delicious. It's obviously a different style of cooking but, from my experience isn't drying anything out more.
 
@Roaniecowpony When I first received my 700 I was used to the wet dripping meats of my stick burner and catch pan. I was worried about the drying as well, as in most cases, I don't use a water pan either now. After 6months I've realised the air movement is a good thing. It seems to keep a better all around temp instead of hot and cold spots. Also, alot of the fan action is directed at how fast you're burning pellets, but it's also Helping the smoker to work in a convection style. The outside (even though I'm used to it now)
has the appearance of being dryer, but the inside could not be more moist and delicious. It's obviously a different style of cooking but, from my experience isn't drying anything out more.


Thanks for sharing that. I have just started using my Bull. Really haven't done much with it yet. Just some sausage and a salmon fillet. I'm sure I'll have a learning curve. I was thinking about doing a Brisket today. But I don't think it would work out with timing this evening. My wife made reservations at a restaurant, since it's the last evening with her sis who flies back home to NJ tomorrow morn. Besides, I need to read up on brisket techniques in the Bull.
 

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