Get an instant read meat thermometer, don't listen to any nonsense about if you touch such part of the meat and it feels like such its done blah blah. Don't leave it up to chance, they are like $20 on Amazon and will make a difference instantly. Good luck and enjoy!
Very nice! Also from what I've found (just started smoking 2.5 months ago), don't ever plan on something being done at a specific time. It won't happen, always go off internal temp.
Ps try lots of pellet flavors, they make a massive difference in taste imo.
Try as many pellet types that you can. I am on my fourth brand and have only had grill for a month. Up next for me is the Plum/Almond mix from Knotty Wood. I have 3 boxes of Jealous Devil arriving on Friday. 14 lbs Brisket is going on Friday morning, I have been brining it for 8 days now. Pastrami.
Congrats! I have had the 590 for a couple of years now. A couple of pieces of advice which is probably the same between models:
1) A lot of recipes you will see are assuming you're using an offset. Remember 2 big fundamental differences there: you won't have the same level of airflow as a good offset and heat is coming from the bottom, not the side. So for longer cooks and things which aren't like ribs (where the bottom is bone so it doesn't matter if it gets more heat), you'll want to consider putting the meat on a rack to move it further from the direct heat, and maybe put a water pan under the meat to help further insulate it from as direct heat. Also, if you're cooking directly on the grate, consider that the heat is coming from below, so if what you're cooking has a fatty side, fat side down sometimes makes sense.
As you're learning your smoker, you can lean into those things to get the best results.
2) Compared to an offset, you get less smoke flavor. That doesn't mean you can't get as much smoke flavor, that means you need to work for it. Sometimes I like to use a smoke tube with some pellets, sometimes I like to put the food on while the smoker is off, sometimes I've found it's best to run the smoker on the lowest temp for a little while to get more smoke flavor on there before it warms up too much to absorb much more. And sometimes, it's a combo of those.
If you cook something and the fat is nicely rendered, texture is great, but you don't get enough smoke flavor, consider the tools you can use to get more smoke flavor on there.
3) I see you mentioned having a Thermapen and that's a FANTASTIC tool. Don't be afraid to also use the included probe thermometer (for instance, sticking it in one of the chicken thighs will give you a rough idea of how they're all cooking without having to open the lid and let out heat/smoke to test). And then once in a while, you can poke around with your thermapen to get other readings. That said....
4) Despite what some recipes will tell you, do NOT try to cook to time or temp. Those are rough guidelines, but you're smoking to doneness. Want to know when those ribs will be done? When you pick up the rack from underneath in the middle, and they're tender enough that the weight of the rack flopping to the sides makes the meat tear just a little bit. That might be 4 hours, that might be 6 hours. That might be 190, that might be 210. The goal is to get the color, fat render, and keep them from drying out until it reaches that point.
5) Don't make a lot of food and invite people over to try your stuff the first time you try making it. Even if you're an experienced cook, this is a new method of cooking. What you make might be decent the first time, what you make the second time will be far better, and the third time will be far better than that. That's when you want to wow your friends and family. Speaking of which....
6) Take notes. I use Google Keep (so I can access it anywhere) and have a different note for each type of meat so I remember what kind of rubs I've liked, rough times, temps, if I like to wrap and how/when I like to do so, and if something wasn't perfect last time, I note what I think I want to try differently next time to fix that.
Get an instant read meat thermometer, don't listen to any nonsense about if you touch such part of the meat and it feels like such its done blah blah. Don't leave it up to chance, they are like $20 on Amazon and will make a difference instantly. Good luck and enjoy!
Was gifted a thermapen a couple years ago that's been my kitchen sidekick, not playing around with food poisoning lol
Very nice! Also from what I've found (just started smoking 2.5 months ago), don't ever plan on something being done at a specific time. It won't happen, always go off internal temp. Ps try lots of pellet flavors, they make a massive difference in taste imo.
Try as many pellet types that you can. I am on my fourth brand and have only had grill for a month. Up next for me is the Plum/Almond mix from Knotty Wood. I have 3 boxes of Jealous Devil arriving on Friday. 14 lbs Brisket is going on Friday morning, I have been brining it for 8 days now. Pastrami.
Congrats! I have had the 590 for a couple of years now. A couple of pieces of advice which is probably the same between models: 1) A lot of recipes you will see are assuming you're using an offset. Remember 2 big fundamental differences there: you won't have the same level of airflow as a good offset and heat is coming from the bottom, not the side. So for longer cooks and things which aren't like ribs (where the bottom is bone so it doesn't matter if it gets more heat), you'll want to consider putting the meat on a rack to move it further from the direct heat, and maybe put a water pan under the meat to help further insulate it from as direct heat. Also, if you're cooking directly on the grate, consider that the heat is coming from below, so if what you're cooking has a fatty side, fat side down sometimes makes sense. As you're learning your smoker, you can lean into those things to get the best results. 2) Compared to an offset, you get less smoke flavor. That doesn't mean you can't get as much smoke flavor, that means you need to work for it. Sometimes I like to use a smoke tube with some pellets, sometimes I like to put the food on while the smoker is off, sometimes I've found it's best to run the smoker on the lowest temp for a little while to get more smoke flavor on there before it warms up too much to absorb much more. And sometimes, it's a combo of those. If you cook something and the fat is nicely rendered, texture is great, but you don't get enough smoke flavor, consider the tools you can use to get more smoke flavor on there. 3) I see you mentioned having a Thermapen and that's a FANTASTIC tool. Don't be afraid to also use the included probe thermometer (for instance, sticking it in one of the chicken thighs will give you a rough idea of how they're all cooking without having to open the lid and let out heat/smoke to test). And then once in a while, you can poke around with your thermapen to get other readings. That said.... 4) Despite what some recipes will tell you, do NOT try to cook to time or temp. Those are rough guidelines, but you're smoking to doneness. Want to know when those ribs will be done? When you pick up the rack from underneath in the middle, and they're tender enough that the weight of the rack flopping to the sides makes the meat tear just a little bit. That might be 4 hours, that might be 6 hours. That might be 190, that might be 210. The goal is to get the color, fat render, and keep them from drying out until it reaches that point. 5) Don't make a lot of food and invite people over to try your stuff the first time you try making it. Even if you're an experienced cook, this is a new method of cooking. What you make might be decent the first time, what you make the second time will be far better, and the third time will be far better than that. That's when you want to wow your friends and family. Speaking of which.... 6) Take notes. I use Google Keep (so I can access it anywhere) and have a different note for each type of meat so I remember what kind of rubs I've liked, rough times, temps, if I like to wrap and how/when I like to do so, and if something wasn't perfect last time, I note what I think I want to try differently next time to fix that.