Author Topic: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...  (Read 11818 times)

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Offline smoker pete

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To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #-1 on: March 24, 2017, 05:12:20 PM »


I am and have always been 100% in the camp that uses foil to cover their pellet smoker-grill pans. The photo above shows the residue/gunk from 1 smoke/cook of 4 pork butts last weekend. When I got my first MAK 2 Star years ago I initially did not foil my pan and spent hours trying to get it clean. I started foiling my pan after that and have never looked back. For me it's easier to replace the foil than scrape that nasty gunk!! See photo below.

A clean foiled smoker-grill provides me with beautiful blue clean smoke rather than the nasty gunk burning off during preheat and cooks.

What are your thoughts?

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Offline TMB

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« on: March 24, 2017, 05:21:28 PM »
I always foil my Rec Tec but not my home built pellet pooper the way the home built drains grease it would not help
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Offline LostArrow

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2017, 05:28:19 PM »
If you believe aluminum vapors cause Alzheimer's don't foil.
If the words of that country song by Mary Chapin Carpenter
"I'll Take My Chances "
I always foil my smokers
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Offline rwalters

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To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2017, 06:00:48 PM »
I actually hate foiling! With that said, I will foil for long low and slow messy cooks. Definitely makes cleanup much easier! For every day grilling though, I prefer cooking naked...lol!! I find when cooking at hotter temps, the stuff pretty much carbonizes and just flakes right off with a paint scraper.  I also spray my drip pan with coconut oil prior to grilling. Seems to keep things looser on the drip pan when scraping.
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Offline Pappymn

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To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2017, 06:04:00 PM »
I started out foiling my Mak. But grease always found a way under it. So I stopped. Maybe my foil technique needs improving.....
Pappy

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Offline rwalters

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To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2017, 06:09:27 PM »
I started out foiling my Mak. But grease always found a way under it. So I stopped. Maybe my foil technique needs improving.....
Would you consider the cleanup to be difficult when you go without foil?
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I am not a vegetarian, but I eat animals that are... :-)

Offline hikerman

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2017, 06:30:23 PM »
I started out foiling my Mak. But grease always found a way under it. So I stopped. Maybe my foil technique needs improving.....

Pappy aluminum foil has thousands of minute perforations. It is not airtight. I assume the hot grease finds it's way thru the foil and that's why after a cook you'll see grease under the foil. So buddy... It's not you! :D

Offline HighOnSmoke

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2017, 06:32:57 PM »
I'm in the "always foils" camp after starting out naked.
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Offline Pappymn

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To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2017, 07:31:29 PM »
I started out foiling my Mak. But grease always found a way under it. So I stopped. Maybe my foil technique needs improving.....
Would you consider the cleanup to be difficult when you go without foil?
Not really. But then again I stopped being overly concerned with that kind of stuff. I don't get too use my Mak that often as life gets in the way.
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Offline Savannahsmoker

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2017, 07:49:19 PM »
If you believe aluminum vapors cause Alzheimer's don't foil.
If the words of that country song by Mary Chapin Carpenter
"I'll Take My Chances "
I always foil my smokers
Well let me tel you I always,
wait what was the question? ;D
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Offline teesquare

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2017, 08:44:59 PM »
I quit foiling for 3 reasons:

1. I am lazy

2. I have a gas gill that does a great job of cleaning the carbon and gunk off my pellet grill grates and parts.

3. After cooking over it - look at the edge of the aluminum foil that is wrapped around the heat deflector/drip pan in a pellet grill - the "under side" if you will...Clearly the aluminum foils disintegrates, yet there is no ash or slag in the belly of he pit that can be found....So - where did it go? We know that the air volatility of a pellet grill's fan driven airflow can carry ash to your food occasionally - right?
So...WHERE did the tiny particles of aluminum go? ;) You know. Like or not....you are consuming some of it. SO, - is it good for you?
You decide...... 8)
« Last Edit: March 24, 2017, 11:01:21 PM by teesquare »
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Offline Smokin Don

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #10 on: March 24, 2017, 08:56:43 PM »
I have always foiled my Traeger and will continue to do so. I don't have a good place to scrape the drip pan and it will not fit in my gas grill so the foil is easy to dispose of and renew. Don
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Offline tomcrete1

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #11 on: March 24, 2017, 10:55:38 PM »
I alway foil my Rec Tec, for me it makes clean up easier  :)
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Offline Old Dave

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #12 on: March 24, 2017, 10:58:17 PM »
I am in the always foil camp....
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Offline smokeasaurus

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Re: To Foil your Pellet Grill or Not ...
« Reply #13 on: March 25, 2017, 02:13:21 AM »
Foil.
Got Smoke?

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