First real cook on my new PG1000

that looks really nice partner. really good.

Looks great. You're gonna love that tri tip.

The story unfolds...

Notwithstanding my comment about my competition days being in the rear view mirror, I have to confess to a bit of "how come I'm not that far along?" rattling around in my brain.

Nice stuff!

Thanks guys. It was a busy but fun day. I know some of my neighbors had to have been jealous because it smelled phenomenal in the backyard today.

The Tri-Tip came out really good. Next time I'll brine it and spend more time injecting it. I didn't have a ton of time today as I was originally planning on using today to prep and cooking tomorrow, but I ended up having to cook today. For rushing it I was still very happy with the results.

I put the Tri-Tip on the direct side when it hit 115 in a few spots. I brought the cooker temp up to 450 degrees and applied some Teriyaki marinade with a silicone brush so that the sugars would caramelize a bit. I pulled it when I got interior readings with my Thermapen around 130 degrees. I let it rest for about 20 minutes before slicing. I didn't get pictures but it was pink but not red and VERY juicy.

The ribs were good but had a little too much heat. I got a little carried away with the cayenne in the glaze glaze. With that said we did quite a number on the rack of ribs and the tri-tip.

The ribs were a tad dry as well. My cooker was jumping all over the place with the temps so I made some adjustments to the controller mid-cook which helped. I may need to close the stack down a bit to help hold in a bit more heat to keep the temps more steady. I also had the fire go out right at the start of my cook but I dialed back the temp down to like 180 and it came back to life on it's own. After that I cranked it back up and everything was fine.

All told - ribs were a solid good but not great. I know I can do better but for the first ribs I've cooked I've certainly had MUCH MUCH MUCH worse.

The yellow corn that I bought was like candy. Butter, seasoned salt, and some rub. I cooked them for about an hour on the upper shelf moving them between zone 2 and zone 3. That was the best corn I've ever had in my life. So much better than the white ears I was cooking earlier in the week.

All told the parents were happy and I sent them home with a to-go box. I have enough Tri-Tip to last me for a couple days of sandwich making so I think I can give the PG a rest for a couple of days. I love this cooker and once I get the hang of things I expect some really great results.

Things look great. Congrats.

Sliced Tri-Tip - last night the juices were over flowing my cutting board:


Tri-Tip Sandwich for breakfast with a little mayo, spicy mayo, medium cheddar cheese, Heinz 57 Sauce, on a toasted sweet roll:


The Tri-Tip tastes fantastic today. I cut some slices, dredged them through the drippings, and laid them flat on aluminum foil. I sealed up tightly and put it in my small convection oven for about 8 minutes or so at 220 to warm the Tri-Tip. Yum!

I can really pick up on the smokiness today versus yesterday when I spent most of the day cooking around the smoke. I have to say that this is the best Tri-Tip I've ever had. I'm going to cry when I cut the last slice. haha.

Dang, that looks nice. I just got home from golf, and no one is here. I'm starving, and this is what I see. Just not right. I'm mean...just not right.

It all looks great!
As for the temps jumpin around, I think that is common for a new cooker. I have some wild swings at first but once it got good and seasoned it holds rock steady.
Keep up the good work!