Probably pulling trigger on Camp Chef Woodwind; anything I'm missing?

[kiva822]

Right now, my only complaint is the controller / wifi signal. Everything else looks pretty darn good.

I'll call them Monday and see what's up. Worst case I put an extender near the back slider and see if that works.

 

[Speeed]

After returning my SmokeFire, I'm a little concerned about beta testing new smokers like this. I haven't seen a ton of reviews of these online yet.

I don't have a woodwind but have been researching them deeply the last few days (how I ended up reading this thread)

Dont know that I'd consider this a beta test. The base unit of this pellet smoker has been out for quite some time and is pretty tried and proven. The only newish thing about it is the wifi controller. (and even thats been out a couple months)

As far as time on market, its not even in the same league as the SmokeFire.

 

[Mike Twangzer]

problem

Right now, my only complaint is the controller / wifi signal. Everything else looks pretty darn good.

I'll call them Monday and see what's up. Worst case I put an extender near the back slider and see if that works.

Was doing a bit of surfing and came across the same issue ceck this out maybe it will help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS1GqZUdC3g&t=349s

 

[kiva822]

Thanks for the tip and video. I ended up calling Camp Chef and they suggested a reset of everything. It was a problem they had encountered before and, in their experience, the reset takes care of it.

I'll report back after next cook.

I just realized I didn't report on the brisket results.

I know people have discussed how pellet cookers don't impart enough smoke flavor, etc. I didn't find that was the case for this unit on my first long cook.

I used Hickory Pellets. They were Camp Chef brand which I believe are similar to Traeger in quality as a blended product. I have since located a lumberjack dealer and will be getting some of those.

I had watched a video by Meat Church for midweek brisket and it looked like a cool process. 190 for 12hrs, then wrap, then finish remotely. I remembered wrong and put it on at 160 high smoke (he referenced "super smoke" mode on the Traeger he was using) for about 10hrs. There was a lot of visible white smoke, that's for sure. Made me wonder about the standard clear blue smoke of a stick burner or other 'real' fuel grill vs. the smoke the pellet grill puts out. I will have read more about that.

Anyway, I had the aforementioned difficulties with staying connected but, overall, the use of the unit was simple and I felt it held temperature well. When I woke up and it had been on 160, that wasn't enough to create a good bark. I realized my error, put it up to 225-230, and let the bark form. I wrapped it around 1pm. It read 180 at the time. I took it off at 4pm at 203-205 and put in faux cambro. We ate around 7.

IMO, the smoke flavor was too strong and overpowered the beefiness of the cut. Don't get me wrong, it was very good and everybody loved it. However, I would do less smoke next time and try to get the flavor in the background instead of front and center. The fat was rendered and delicious!

We had leftovers of the flat tonight. I warmed them up in a pan with some beef broth and my wife said they tasted like they were fresh off the smoker. We froze half the point for later consumption.

 

[Mike Twangzer]

Brisket looks great !!!

 

[gtsum]

That’s a nice looking brisket!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[BKING!]

Thanks for the tip and video. I ended up calling Camp Chef and they suggested a reset of everything. It was a problem they had encountered before and, in their experience, the reset takes care of it.

I'll report back after next cook.

I just realized I didn't report on the brisket results.

I know people have discussed how pellet cookers don't impart enough smoke flavor, etc. I didn't find that was the case for this unit on my first long cook.

I used Hickory Pellets. They were Camp Chef brand which I believe are similar to Traeger in quality as a blended product. I have since located a lumberjack dealer and will be getting some of those.

I had watched a video by Meat Church for midweek brisket and it looked like a cool process. 190 for 12hrs, then wrap, then finish remotely. I remembered wrong and put it on at 160 high smoke (he referenced "super smoke" mode on the Traeger he was using) for about 10hrs. There was a lot of visible white smoke, that's for sure. Made me wonder about the standard clear blue smoke of a stick burner or other 'real' fuel grill vs. the smoke the pellet grill puts out. I will have read more about that.

Anyway, I had the aforementioned difficulties with staying connected but, overall, the use of the unit was simple and I felt it held temperature well. When I woke up and it had been on 160, that wasn't enough to create a good bark. I realized my error, put it up to 225-230, and let the bark form. I wrapped it around 1pm. It read 180 at the time. I took it off at 4pm at 203-205 and put in faux cambro. We ate around 7.

IMO, the smoke flavor was too strong and overpowered the beefiness of the cut. Don't get me wrong, it was very good and everybody loved it. However, I would do less smoke next time and try to get the flavor in the background instead of front and center. The fat was rendered and delicious!

We had leftovers of the flat tonight. I warmed them up in a pan with some beef broth and my wife said they tasted like they were fresh off the smoker. We froze half the point for later consumption.

I did 3 hours smoke and 225 deg for a brisket and butt cook once on my Mak and I personally thought the smoke was too strong. Now days I just use the smoke setting for maybe an hour if I want extra smoke.

 

[Fishwater2002]

I’m seriously considering selling my Camp Chef 24 DLX with the sear station for the 36” Woodwind. I’ve had the 24 DLX for 3-4 years, added the sear station as soon as it was available a few years ago & it has been rock solid, never ever had a grease fire, jam or problem whatsoever even though it sits outside on my deck 365 days a year with just a cover to protect it. While I may lust for Mak, Yoder or even the Smokefire it’s hard to deny how rock solid the Camp Chef is. Also what’s interesting to me is that you don’t hear a lot about them on this forum, seems like many brethren look right past them.

How is the direct grilling feature without using the sear box? I’m looking for more real estate & really want to have a smoker grill that I can do quick cooks with during the week & then smoke on the weekends. I was hoping the Weber was the solution but that’s pretty ugly right now, although I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually.

 

[kiva822]

Sorry I haven't been around lately. Same craziness everybody else is dealing with...

Did some ribs a couple nights ago. Sorry, didn't take a ton of pics. I only had some of the camp chef hickory left and then had to do Pit Boss competition blend. IMO, the Pit Boss pellets are good for heat only. I just don't get any smoke flavor off of them. Ribs turned out pretty good regardless. I did high smoke at 190 for 2hrs, then 235 at "smoke level 7" to finish them off. Wrapped 1 rack and didn't wrap the other 2, just to see. The one on the top rack finished quicker and had a good bite. Wrapped one I overdid a bit as it slid off the bone a bit too easily.

The smoke flavor was very delicate / light. I would like to experiment with some better pellets. it sounds like the best way to go is 160 for a couple of hours of high smoke for pork, then up to cooking temp (?). It will be fun experimenting to find the best smoke flavor.

I was able to paint them with sauce at the end and get a little caramelization on the sear station. Sorry, fishwater, I totally forgot to do it on the open flame option on the camp chef.

So far, the most bothersome issue, other than the wifi they're supposed to be fixing, is that the right side of the larger 36" grill doesn't "burn off" well. That is, if you crank the heat up to 500 to do a little grease burn-off, the right side doesn't have the firebox beneath it so doesn't really burn off that well. I've found it stays greasy, so I've been electing to put meat over the left side primarily. There is no real foiling this thing since it has vents for the direct flame. I don't really care how it looks inside anyway, as a drip pan is supposed to be a mess.

I didn't take pictures of a prime tri-tip that I did low and slow + reverse sear on the sear station which was, hands down, the best tri-tip i've done to date. Color was edge to edge medium rare (-) and had a good crust on it. The sear station is a game changer for me and my style of cooking.

 

[kiva822]

How is the direct grilling feature without using the sear box? I’m looking for more real estate & really want to have a smoker grill that I can do quick cooks with during the week & then smoke on the weekends. I was hoping the Weber was the solution but that’s pretty ugly right now, although I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually.

My main thing with the direct grilling feature is that I'm usually doing reverse sear and, thus, would have to wait for it to come up to temperature to use it. Due to the velocity of internal temperatures, and the subsequent brief continuing and then drop in temp while you wait, it can be hard to get the final internal temp right. I find the sear station fixes that problem and so I won't have frequent use for the direct grilling feature.

However, I can imagine doing some asparagus or sausages or other things I don't typically do low and slow but want to get some color. We'll see.

 

[Fishwater2002]

My main thing with the direct grilling feature is that I'm usually doing reverse sear and, thus, would have to wait for it to come up to temperature to use it. Due to the velocity of internal temperatures, and the subsequent brief continuing and then drop in temp while you wait, it can be hard to get the final internal temp right. I find the sear station fixes that problem and so I won't have frequent use for the direct grilling feature.

However, I can imagine doing some asparagus or sausages or other things I don't typically do low and slow but want to get some color. We'll see.

Thanks for the insight. I see your point, I did steak this week on mine using the reverse sear on my sear box which is super quick. I’m more wondering about the simple things like burgers, dogs & chicken. Thinking maybe run the cooker at 350-400 with the protein off to the right side then move them over the flame for a little char, basically 2 zone like I do on the kettle.

 

[kiva822]

Delivery today

Couple each of

Apple Blend
Hickory Blend
Char Hickory
100% Hickory
Competition Blend
Pecan Blend

will figure out what I like. I found a local independent selling for $12/bag which is best in area by a few bucks.

 

[Fishwater2002]

Delivery today

Couple each of

Apple Blend
Hickory Blend
Char Hickory
100% Hickory
Competition Blend
Pecan Blend

will figure out what I like. I found a local independent selling for $12/bag which is best in area by a few bucks.

Very nice, please update the thread after you try a few of the blends. I only have a few choices locally but considered ordering some just to try.

 

[kiva822]

I am finding that my familiarity with the new grill and experimenting with the smoke settings are confounding any conclusions I can draw. I did a turkey with pecan. Very light flavor, but that was on smoke 10 and 190 for 20min then smoke 5 at 325 for rest of cook. Turkey wasn’t great, but it was a big bird, so was probably that.

I haven’t been using it a ton since I’ve been making soups. Did 100% hickory for the double smoked ham and it was fab.