When things don’t go as planned
For a long while I have been eyeing a new barbecue. I have been cooking on an “inherited” Weber grill. It came with no lid. I recovered one from a dumpster day. When the legs rusted out, we improvised new ones. Yet the Weber grill has done a good job. It has served us plenty of deliciously grilled beef, chicken, pork, shrimps and fish. On most occasions, the grill was only filled with vegetables.
However it was time to look for a better grill, to take my barbecue skills to another level. I explored building an outdoor Argentine style barbecue with an area to burn the wood, and a large adjustable open air cast iron grill. I’ve watched over the hot embers of an Argentine asado plenty of times while visiting my in-laws in South America. We could also just rough it as we’ve done so many times in the countryside of San Luis.
Asado en el campo
An Argentine barbecue is a many hours event. We needed something more practical.
I looked at gas grills but prefer the taste of a wood fire grill. I found the famous green egg grill too small. Ultimately I discovered pellet grills. They provide the convenience of a gas grill, the taste of a wood fire grill, the ability to smoke over a long period or time, and to grill over open flame as well.
After an exhaustive analyze and compare period, I knew what I wanted: a Camp Chef pellet grill. I was in no hurry and could wait for a sale. However these grills seem very much in demand, and the price didn’t move much. Let’s do it! I finally ordered a Woodwind 24 inch pellet grill.
By now the anticipation had been building for many months. I watched plenty of videos about cooking with a pellet grill. I joined the Camp Chef Facebook group and saw the mouthwatering briskets being sliced. When the grill arrived just before the Fourth of July weekend, I was imaging a slow cooked and smoked pork shoulder.
Camp Chef Pellet Grill
The grill had suffered a bit in transit. I could see a dent on the hopper. Though overall it looked fine. Assembly was straight forward.
Camp Chef Woodwind Pellet Grill
Then came the disillusionment: in feed mode the auger wasn’t moving. Also in startup mode, the auger didn’t feed any pellets. Cache Valley, Utah, we have a problem. Others had run into a similar problem where a dented hopper affected the auger motor.
Sadly I now have to wait until the next business day, after this holiday weekend, to find a solution. The fact that everybody raves about the Camp Chef customer service is encouraging.