Pellet Grill/Smoker

I've been grilling and smoking with hardwood and hardwood/charcoal for years but as empty nesters with some family members transitioning away from meat, not to mention a less social COVID summer, I thought I'd look for a more compact grilling option. I was intrigued by pellet grills (friend has owned a Traeger for over a decade and still raves about it) and bought into an Indiegogo in late spring and it was just delivered.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/asmo ... 20555223#/

Compact and although marketed as portable, it's a hefty 40+ pounds and needs 110-120V power for the auger and igniter. First impressions are very good quality build, well thought-out, dead simple to use, quick heat up and decent size for a compact. Heat settings range from 150-500 (and gets to 500 pretty quickly - it is pretty compact). Digital heat settings via dial, there's a sliding cover over the burn box to control the flame intensity.

Just did basic grilling when I got it with great results. Will try smoking this weekend.

Came with a 5-lb bag of applewood but bought a 33lb bag of Traeger pellets at Costco for $20. They say it'll consume .5lb/hr at smoke setting and 2lb/hr at 500 degrees.

This guy demonstrates a reverse sear on a $60 hunk of ribeye.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6mDSn2ZWlY

This is really interesting to me as a single guy who normally just cooks for himself - I have a gas grill, but no smoker or charcoal grill. Too big, too much mess for the amount of food I'd end up cooking.

Kid Charlemagne wrote:This is really interesting to me as a single guy who normally just cooks for himself - I have a gas grill, but no smoker or charcoal grill. Too big, too much mess for the amount of food I'd end up cooking.

My main grill is BIG. It's just as much effort to cook for 2 as it is for 12. This was my primary motivation in buying a second grill to cook for 2. Plus this has some precision in setting temp (maybe PID controller?). You set it to temp and it stays there. It also has a probe. I'm a tad apprehensive about a small brisket, I've never attempted one smaller than 9-10 lbs but they say it can be done. Just have to find nice looking one in the 3-5lb range.

First: Gary has already informed me that we're no longer friends. I can accept that, though I'm certainly not happy about it.

If you'd asked me a couple of years back if I'd ever even think of buying a pellet grill, the answer would have been a definitive "No! I've been a woodburner for 30+ years and I ain't never gonna change. Now, get off my lawn!"

Well, things do change. I'm certainly not getting rid of any of my solid fuel cookers but why not expand my horizons? I'll take an occasional 80% brisket in exchange for a full night of sleep. As I get older, my priorities and needs have shifted. So, today, after a relatively deep research dive . . . my first-ever pellet grill cook . . .


Traeger Ironwood XL
After a quick burn-in/seasoning session, I decided to fire it up just to get some practice and familiarity with the unit. It is pretty darned simple. Frankly, I plan on using it mostly for longer cooks -- no need on shorter ones -- but no time for that today, so just a quick-brined whole chicken. I cooked it at 350F for ~90 minutes.


Smoked Chicken
A really nice bird with a light smoke, relatively crispy skin and very moist meat. That said, my initial impression is that this unit is far from perfect. I used one of the built-in temperature probes that connects to an app I installed on my phone. That sensor never showed the internal temperature of the chicken budging from 32F, so either it's defective or I'm not using it correctly. Luckily, I have plenty other means to gauge when a chicken is done, including my 5 senses! But even beyond that, once it looked done-ish, I tested it with my Thermapen and it read 155F internal, so I knew that with the carry-over, I was basically there.

I'm sure I'll get the hang of it but again, I'm not likely to smoke many chickens on this unit. I'll continue to use my solid fuel cookers for that. For now, though, I'm pleased with the result and looking forward to using it more.

=R=

Ronnie-

Really curious to hear more about the traeger. I have always been pretty old school, webers for years then BGE last 15. We rented a place in florida this winter for a couple of months that had a nice quality gas grill, that did a very adequate job grilling (I wasnt smoking anything). While I do not see myself moving to gas completely, it seems that some sort of pellet, gas or electric, would be a good compromise. I am at the point now with my bge that I either need to get a several hundred dollar rebuild, or throw in the towel. I will be staying tuned.
If anyone else has any thoughts, since this might open up the topic to non-judgy discussion of non-hardwood options, please add them.

Thanks, Will

WillG wrote:Ronnie-

Really curious to hear more about the traeger. I have always been pretty old school, webers for years then BGE last 15. We rented a place in florida this winter for a couple of months that had a nice quality gas grill, that did a very adequate job grilling (I wasnt smoking anything). While I do not see myself moving to gas completely, it seems that some sort of pellet, gas or electric, would be a good compromise. I am at the point now with my bge that I either need to get a several hundred dollar rebuild, or throw in the towel. I will be staying tuned.
If anyone else has any thoughts, since this might open up the topic to non-judgy discussion of non-hardwood options, please add them.

Thanks, Will

In doing my research, the 2 complaints* about pellet grills that seemed to pop up most often were lack of bark and lack of smokiness. And I don't think there are many people out there -- though, I'm sure there are some -- who will tell you a pellet grill can exactly match a woodburner in either of these areas. So, as I move forward, until I get a feel for things, I'll be following guidance that takes these considerations into account. I've got a brisket planned for tonight/tomorrow and I'll be following this video by Matt Pittman at Meat Church . . .


Brisket on a Pellet Grill

I have to start somewhere and this seems like a good enough spot. I'm excited to see how it turns out. And even more excited to cook a brisket most of the way while I'm asleep, lol.

*There's also a commonly discussed issue that they don't get hot enough for good/effective grilling but I don't plan to do any grilling on mine or use it as an all-in-one, so that's not a consideration for me.

=R=

Do your research before buying, if you plan to spend big. The prices have a wide range. Build quality can go from "one year trial," to "should last for several generations." Last I knew of, Rec Tec and Yoder were the heavy hitters when it came to build quality (and price.) Camp Chef, while not cheap, was a very happy medium. "Traeger" has almost worked it's advertising into being synonymous with the phrase "Pellet Grill." Do your own research on that one. There are quite a few more makers, for better or for worse.

I'll talk pellet grills as much as anyone wants. These things are cool as hell for us lazy folks. It's basically like going from a weber kettle to a gas grill, but for smokers. It ain't the same, everybody knows that, but it's the ease of use compared to the results. It might be well worth it for you.

I'll stop now, but will easily contribute more if questions are asked.

Camp Chef has introduced a new "game changer" model last year or the year before. It's called the Woodwind Pro. It has a compartment to use wood chunks along with pellets.

ronnie_suburban wrote:In doing my research, the 2 complaints* about pellet grills that seemed to pop up most often were lack of bark and lack of smokiness. And I don't think there are many people out there -- though, I'm sure there are some -- who will tell you a pellet grill can exactly match a woodburner in either of these areas.

*There's also a commonly discussed issue that they don't get hot enough for good/effective grilling but I don't plan to do any grilling on mine or use it as an all-in-one, so that's not a consideration for me.

=R=

Ron -
For smoke flavor: There's a thing called a smoke tube that a lot of ppl recommend. You might already know what they are? It's basically a removable chamber you can add pellets to, then ignite it, and you just set it in the smoker chamber to let the pellets smolder alongside whatever carcass part you're cooking.

Also, for smoke flavor, I've found the pellets make a very big difference. My #1 with a bullet so far is Lumberjack Char-Hickory. You'll no-doubt do some research, and come across a few youtube videos with ppl comparing. I think a recent pellet comparison that the community likes to reference, claimed that B&B brand "Plum" and/or "Almond" flavor was highly preferred by the test group, over a a good list of favored brands. I think they are expensive, and not too easy to find around here. Haven't tried them yet.

I urge you to make beef jerky, spatchcocked chickens, ribs, pulled pork, oooo0 fish at 225 up to 145 degrees - perfection, every time. I do long cooks, sure, but I think these things shine brighter when used as a wood fired convection oven. I don't use mine for searing, I have a sep fancy gas grill, and also a small gas grill box attachment for the pellet grill that can scream up to 900 degrees. Reverse searing steaks is a nice way to use them, too.

seebee wrote:Do your research before buying, if you plan to spend big. The prices have a wide range. Build quality can go from "one year trial," to "should last for several generations." Last I knew of, Rec Tec and Yoder were the heavy hitters when it came to build quality (and price.) Camp Chef, while not cheap, was a very happy medium. "Traeger" has almost worked it's advertising into being synonymous with the phrase "Pellet Grill." Do your own research on that one. There are quite a few more makers, for better or for worse.

I'll talk pellet grills as much as anyone wants. These things are cool as hell for us lazy folks. It's basically like going from a weber kettle to a gas grill, but for smokers. It ain't the same, everybody knows that, but it's the ease of use compared to the results. It might be well worth it for you.

I'll stop now, but will easily contribute more if questions are asked.

Camp Chef has introduced a new "game changer" model last year or the year before. It's called the Woodwind Pro. It has a compartment to use wood chunks along with pellets.

I totally agree. Do your homework and here's the main reason why: Like a lot of things in life, there is no best. Most cookers offer a variety of features and attributes that range in quality, durability and ease of use. So, choosing the best will depend a great deal on one's priorities. What's most important to you? High temp, temperature range, all-in-one use, hopper size, ease of cleaning, ease of changing pellets after a cook, cooking capacity, footprint, mobility, built-in electronic features (wi-fi)? Sure, there's a minimum baseline but in the end, a lot of it's personal.

Presuming I like cooking this way, I can see eventually buying a Lone Star Grillz, which look terrific (for me) and get raves from folks who buy them. But they're at the very top end of the price range for residential-friendly pellet grills. They also have an 8-14 week leadtime to ship. But I'm happy to cook on my Traeger for a while, see how I like and make that decision down the road. It checks a lot of boxes for me in the short term, so we'll see.

=R=

seebee wrote:Ron -
For smoke flavor: There's a thing called a smoke tube that a lot of ppl recommend. You might already know what they are? It's basically a removable chamber you can add pellets to, then ignite it, and you just set it in the smoker chamber to let the pellets smolder alongside whatever carcass part you're cooking.

Also, for smoke flavor, I've found the pellets make a very big difference. My #1 with a bullet so far is Lumberjack Char-Hickory. You'll no-doubt do some research, and come across a few youtube videos with ppl comparing. I think a recent pellet comparison that the community likes to reference, claimed that B&B brand "Plum" and/or "Almond" flavor was highly preferred by the test group, over a a good list of favored brands. I think they are expensive, and not too easy to find around here. Haven't tried them yet.

I urge you to make beef jerky, spatchcocked chickens, ribs, pulled pork, oooo0 fish at 225 up to 145 degrees - perfection, every time. I do long cooks, sure, but I think these things shine brighter when used as a wood fired convection oven. I don't use mine for searing, I have a sep fancy gas grill, and also a small gas grill box attachment for the pellet grill that can scream up to 900 degrees. Reverse searing steaks is a nice way to use them, too.

Good input, thanks. I've seen those smoke tubes (normally in conjunction with gas grills) and I really hope I don't need to add one to my pellet grill. I'd feel like I bought the wrong thing if I found something like that necessary. My pellet grill has a Super Smoke mode that throws extra smoke between the temps of 165-225F, so I'll probably check that out, too. Just to be clear, I don't need/like heavy smoke. Just a touch is nice, so I'm not sure this will be an issue for me personally. Again, so much of this comes down to personal preferences.

I expect to try a lot of different cooks but it's really hard to beat the quality and ease of use on my Weber kettle for strictly grilling tasks. It'll take a real surprise to knock that off the top of my list. That said, I'm looking forward to, as you said, using it as a wood-infused convection oven.

I think those plum/almond pellets aka 'Plummond' are made by Knotty Wood. In some circles they score highly but they also seem to create to serious auger problems for certain cookers (turn to mush, then something solid and very hard to remedy/repair). Right now, I'm running B&B Championship Blend Pellets. They're a blend of pecan, cherry and oak. They seem good but it's been 1 cook, lol. I'm sure I'll branch out as I go. But I like B&B lump, so I figured I'd start with their pellets, which were also highly recommended by Dan at the Backyard BBQ Store in Wilmette, where I bought my Traeger.

=R=

I have the most basic Traeger from Costco - no supersmoke or wifi or anything, and it works just fine for me. I use smoke tubes for everything, but again, I don't have that supersmoke setting...not sure the tubes would be necessary if I had that, but no question they make a big difference currently.

I use Bear Mountain brand pellets - I like them because they are reasonably priced and if you are in a pinch, you can buy them from Lowes (they are always in stock) or otherwise you can order ahead of time from any number of websites. I use their Gourmet Blend since it works with pretty much anything I am cooking, and I don't have to worry about swapping out pellets depending on the meat going on the smoker. They also have never caused an issue with the smoker or auger, even with my less-than-diligent maintenance of the unit.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I think those plum/almond pellets aka 'Plummond' are made by Knotty Wood. In some circles they score highly but they also seem to create to serious auger problems for certain cookers (turn to mush, then something solid and very hard to remedy/repair).

=R=

My bad. Knotty Wood is the brand.

I think the wet mush turning into concrete will happen with any pellet if they get wet.

WillG wrote:...it seems that some sort of pellet, gas or electric, would be a good compromise. ...If anyone else has any thoughts, since this might open up the topic to non-judgy discussion of non-hardwood options, please add them

ronnie_suburban wrote:In doing my research, the 2 complaints* about pellet grills that seemed to pop up most often were lack of bark and lack of smokiness.

A question that I hope will spark some discussion: Is it better to completely split the heat function and smoke function than try to rely on controlling burning pellets for two separate, somewhat incompatible goals? It seems to me that an electric heater, especially one with a PID control for variable wattage, can hold rock solid temperatures in the cooker with both rapid temperature rise and minimal overshoot.

A separate smoke source could produce variable amounts of smoke without adding unwanted, less controllable heat. Plus the wood burning could be controlled exclusively for smoke production without conflicting needs for more or less heat.

On the bark issue, that's an even worse problem with electric smokers. I suspect it relates to the fact that pellet grills and electrics simply don't draw as much airflow as log burners. Forced draft with a fan? If nothing else it would be easy to control.

One more thought for those who point out that log burners can do the job magnificently with the added handicap of imperfectly controlled fuel: The log burner comes with an incredibly complex control unit that's monitoring it frequently if not continuously, with huge storage space with knowledge about performance of the specific cooker, the food being cooked, the fuel, weather conditions, etc etc. The pellet grill has at best a PID controller tuned to the specific unit and a few settings for food type.

seebee wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I think those plum/almond pellets aka 'Plummond' are made by Knotty Wood. In some circles they score highly but they also seem to create to serious auger problems for certain cookers (turn to mush, then something solid and very hard to remedy/repair).

My bad. Knotty Wood is the brand.

I think the wet mush turning into concrete will happen with any pellet if they get wet.

This is true but if you look on reddit, you'll see a few threads about the problems specifically with the Knotty Wood pellets.

tjr wrote:A question that I hope will spark some discussion: Is it better to completely split the heat function and smoke function than try to rely on controlling burning pellets for two separate, somewhat incompatible goals? It seems to me that an electric heater, especially one with a PID control for variable wattage, can hold rock solid temperatures in the cooker with both rapid temperature rise and minimal overshoot.

A separate smoke source could produce variable amounts of smoke without adding unwanted, less controllable heat. Plus the wood burning could be controlled exclusively for smoke production without conflicting needs for more or less heat.

On the bark issue, that's an even worse problem with electric smokers. I suspect it relates to the fact that pellet grills and electrics simply don't draw as much airflow as log burners. Forced draft with a fan? If nothing else it would be easy to control.

One more thought for those who point out that log burners can do the job magnificently with the added handicap of imperfectly controlled fuel: The log burner comes with an incredibly complex control unit that's monitoring it frequently if not continuously, with huge storage space with knowledge about performance of the specific cooker, the food being cooked, the fuel, weather conditions, etc etc. The pellet grill has at best a PID controller tuned to the specific unit and a few settings for food type.

One obvious downside of the pellet grill is, of course, that there's a lot more than can fail, break or malfunction. Technical difficulties are a thing. A woodburner certainly has its perils, too but at the end of the day, it's a low-tech cooker with no electronics (and few, if any, moving parts) that is unlikely to fail, which is not to say that a given cook won't fail. Pick your poison. Again, there is no best, only personal preferences.

I had some success with a brisket I cooked overnight on Friday into Saturday on my Traeger Ironwood XL. I seasoned it up, let it sit for an hour then put it in the smoker at 8pm . . .


Rubbed Brisket & Ironwood XL
Since I was only cooking a single brisket, I went top rack and placed a drip pan underneath to help with clean up. My cooker is hottest on the left side, so the point went that way. I also sprayed the rack with some nonstick spray. This was a 20-pound choice packer cut (complete with mysterious divot) that trimmed down to about 13 pounds. I rubbed it with Morton kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper and a light sprinkling of my homemade bbq rub.

After watching several videos on youtube, I decided to (mostly) follow Matt Pittman's video at his Meat Church channel. And btw, if you're last name is Pittman, isn't your destiny as a BBQ Guy pretty much preordained?! In any case, he calls for cooking at 200F on Super Smoke mode. That's it for a while. Leave it alone until it hits 175F internal in the thickest part of the flat, then wrap it in unwaxed butcher paper, return it to the smoker (now set to 250F) and cook the brisket until the temp at the flat is 203F.

All that said, my cook didn't go quite as planned. After 12 hours, my brisket was only at 155F. After another 2 hours, it had barely hit 160F. I cranked up the cooker to 250F and after another hour, the temp hadn't moved. I realized, unfortunately, that I was at the stall. Normally, fine. Wait it out. But not on this day.

If it's just me and the family, I stay the course -- we can eat at midnight. But with ~20 family members and neighbors coming over, I felt like I needed to push things along. I moved the brisket, still swaddled in its butcher paper, to the oven, where I cooked it at 275F. I hated to do it but I had a hard stop. After ~90 minutes (T minus 4 hours) , the brisket had finally moved along and had hit the magic 203F. I groped it a bit through the paper and could feel that it was right where it needed to be. I moved it to my lower oven (off) and let it rest. Mr. Pittman suggests that letting it cool to 140F is ideal. I followed that advice and have to say that I was rewarded for having done so . . .


Brisket
After 16 total hours of cooking and 4 hours of resting. Definitely barked up and P-lenty of smoke. I wish I had had a chance to grab some better shots but this was not the time for that.

I did manage to grab a shot of my overly ambitious plate . . .


Brisket & Friends
"They" warn you to not buy a pellet cooker and immediately invite a bunch of people for your first cook. While I did ignore that advice, I also hedged by cooking a bunch of other meats/sides just in case. All turned out fine in the end, even the chicken thighs (not pictured). I was not happy about having to finish the brisket in the oven but had I started the brisket on Friday afternoon, instead of 8pm, that wouldn't have been necessary. First time out, I should have allowed more time. But for a first effort, I was really pleased. The brisket was 75% of the way there and I give myself a solid C on this. Pull-apart slices, great flavor, nice smoke, and a fantastic bark. Next time, I hope to start with a Prime brisket. I'll also give myself more time and ease it in. It's not saying much but yeah, this is certainly the best brisket I've ever smoked.

=R=

Not only good looking bark, but a very nice smoke ring as well. "A" for appearance!

Did you ever get that wifi meat probe working?

tjr wrote:Not only good looking bark, but a very nice smoke ring as well. "A" for appearance!

Did you ever get that wifi meat probe working?

Hey, thanks! Plenty of room for improvement but yeah, it at least it looked like the real thing.

I still need to further troubleshoot/investigate the probe issue. For all I know, it could be entirely user error. In the meantime, I'm using my Thermoworks Signals. It's a 4-probe unit with wifi that I've been using for a few years. Extremely accurate, excellent wi-fi and an intuitive, reliable app.

=R=

Ronnie-

Are you saying it was better than any you have smoked on a bge or other hardwood smokers?

-Will

WillG wrote:Ronnie-

Are you saying it was better than any you have smoked on a bge or other hardwood smokers?

-Will

There were a few back in the day that I cooked on my Komodo Komado that were pretty damned good but I think that overall, this was better -- especially the bark and smokiness -- and notably easier. The KK briskets were definitely moister but that's the nature of the ceramic cooker, and those were prime and wagyu briskets. This was choice, so it's not an entirely meaningful comparison (this flat was a bit dry).

I've never had much success with smoked briskets on my offsets, though. Some combination of the length of cook and fire management have always thwarted me.

=R=

DClose wrote:I use Bear Mountain brand pellets - I like them because they are reasonably priced and if you are in a pinch, you can buy them from Lowes (they are always in stock) or otherwise you can order ahead of time from any number of websites.

Bear Mt "Bold" or Hickory is my #2. Lumberjack "Char Hick" is my clear #1. Great to know about Lowe's carrying BM, tks!

I normally stock up on Lumberjack from Farm & Fleet. They do a BOGO, or a nutso price a few times per year on them making them cheaper than BM. (lol - just checked, and LJ are B2G1 for their Mem Day ad) I've also found BM at Tractor Supply for crazy prices when I'm up in the U.P or far north Wisconsin where I load up for the summer. In a pinch, I've used 2 bags of the Costco pellets which are very well priced. The branding colors make them really look like they are Pit Boss related. Never had a problem with them, but I do remember that plenty of the Pellet Grill community were not fans of Pit Boss pellets. I've never bought straight up PB pellets for that reason.

I've never made any real effort to try the fruitwood blends. When I first got this thing, it came with a good 10 bags of assorted LJ pellets which included a few of the fruit blends. I only recall having any good, pronounced, smoke flavor from the Char Hick, and all of the others didn't even come remotely close, imo. But, I do like a a strong, smokey flavor.

seebee wrote:I've also found BM at Tractor Supply for crazy prices when I'm up in the U.P or far north Wisconsin where I load up for the summer.

FWIW, there are Tractor Supply stores fairly close to Chicagoland including a new one in Beach Park (suburban Waukegan.)

Did an experimental cook on the new Traeger pellet grill. This time, I trimmed down a couple of slabs of spare ribs, hit them with some binder (brown mustard and worcestershire sauce) and my rub, and took them out to the grill . . .


Low & Slow Spare Ribs
Smoked at 250F to 203F internal, this was after about 4 hours, which included a 45-minute wrap in butcher paper. They turned out great, with nice smoke (and ring for those who care about that) and a just-about-perfect tug away from the bone. Tender, moist but not FOB, which is something I really dislike in a rib.

Aside from the tasty ribs, one of the best things about this cook is that I did it in conditions that would have made using one of my woodburners just about impossible, or at least extremely unpleasant. It rained all day, so instead of lighting a fire and getting wet all day while tending to it, I raised a patio umbrella over the Traeger and basically went with 'set it and forget it.' I checked them occasionally but once they reached 175F internal, I wrapped them, set a probe and let them cook to 195F internal. When my phone beeped at me, I unwrapped them, hit them with a touch more rub and returned them to the cooker (directly on the grates). From there, once they reached 203F, I retrieved them.

Were they as good as ribs I do in my offset cooker? No, they were not but they were ~85% of the way there and countless times easier. I spent the day not only staying dry but doing other projects. As for the ribs, this was only my first time with them on this cooker and they were damned good. I expect I'll be able to dial it in even more tightly going forward. So far, I'm really liking the pellet grill.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I expect I'll be able to dial it in even more tightly going forward. So far, I'm really liking the pellet grill.

=R=

Ron -
Looking forward to where you're gonna take this to. I've settled into this as what I think this thing excels for:
Spatchcocked chickens (tandoori, jerk) to a perfect 165
Spatchocked Cornish Hens
Poor Man's Burnt Ends (Chuck Roast)
Pulled Pork (shoulders/butts)
Spares/BB
Reverse searing (smoking then searing) fat burgers, Prime Rib roasts, thick steaks
Pork tenderloins to a perfect 145
Beef Jerky (I bet Traeger has their own jerky racks for sale?)
Fat fish filets to a perfect 145

Weeknight smokes for birds, fish and pork tenderloins - generally an hour or 2. I'm no pro on ribs, but I generally only go by time now. Baby backs - 4 hours at 225, then glaze for 1 hour. 5 hours total, only need to open the lid once. Spares, 5 hours, then glaze and smoke for another hour, 6 hours total.

I'm mildly convinced that these things work better when you don't open the lid until you absolutely need to. I call it "no peek." I stopped spraying for those long cooks, Just kinda set it and forget it. I watch the temp probe, or set the alarm for the temp I want to wrap it (if I'm wrapping) and try to keep the lid closed otherwise, unless it's time to take it off.

I have a feeling you're gonna find some method or recipe that's great soon!

I haven't had any really great successes with veggies. Butternut squash chunks was a good one.. OOOOH, smoked cream cheese - the hype is kinda real. I'd suggest to use a not too salty seasoning if/when you try it, because it gets salty as a whole, really quick. I kinda dig using salt free everything bagel - that toasted onion really pops. I also like to do a sweet flavor, and then have it with a jam on crackers.

I did a smoked tuna dip not too long ago - excellent.

I did an apple crisp, and a pie as a trial. Way too smokey, but novel.

You'll find all this stuff on Youtube, or on the web whenever you feel like searching.

Also, I don't know how the cleanup works on the Trager, but you might wanna watch for sales on shop vacs, and have a dedicated "smoker" shop vac or cheap vacuum if you don't already. My Camp Chef has a easy ash dump feature, so I only do a full clean 3 or 4 times per year, but I've frequently seen an inch or two of ash buildup if I'm doing a lot of cooks between cleanings. Plastic paint scraper works nice on the grease/soot buildup inside the chamber, too

seebee wrote:Ron -
Looking forward to where you're gonna take this to. I've settled into this as what I think this thing excels for:
Spatchcocked chickens (tandoori, jerk) to a perfect 165
Spatchocked Cornish Hens
Poor Man's Burnt Ends (Chuck Roast)
Pulled Pork (shoulders/butts)
Spares/BB
Reverse searing (smoking then searing) fat burgers, Prime Rib roasts, thick steaks
Pork tenderloins to a perfect 145
Beef Jerky (I bet Traeger has their own jerky racks for sale?)
Fat fish filets to a perfect 145

Weeknight smokes for birds, fish and pork tenderloins - generally an hour or 2. I'm no pro on ribs, but I generally only go by time now. Baby backs - 4 hours at 225, then glaze for 1 hour. 5 hours total, only need to open the lid once. Spares, 5 hours, then glaze and smoke for another hour, 6 hours total.

I'm mildly convinced that these things work better when you don't open the lid until you absolutely need to. I call it "no peek." I stopped spraying for those long cooks, Just kinda set it and forget it. I watch the temp probe, or set the alarm for the temp I want to wrap it (if I'm wrapping) and try to keep the lid closed otherwise, unless it's time to take it off.

I have a feeling you're gonna find some method or recipe that's great soon!

I haven't had any really great successes with veggies. Butternut squash chunks was a good one.. OOOOH, smoked cream cheese - the hype is kinda real. I'd suggest to use a not too salty seasoning if/when you try it, because it gets salty as a whole, really quick. I kinda dig using salt free everything bagel - that toasted onion really pops. I also like to do a sweet flavor, and then have it with a jam on crackers.

I did a smoked tuna dip not too long ago - excellent.

I did an apple crisp, and a pie as a trial. Way too smokey, but novel.

You'll find all this stuff on Youtube, or on the web whenever you feel like searching.

Also, I don't know how the cleanup works on the Trager, but you might wanna watch for sales on shop vacs, and have a dedicated "smoker" shop vac or cheap vacuum if you don't already. My Camp Chef has a easy ash dump feature, so I only do a full clean 3 or 4 times per year, but I've frequently seen an inch or two of ash buildup if I'm doing a lot of cooks between cleanings. Plastic paint scraper works nice on the grease/soot buildup inside the chamber, too

Great, supremely helpful post. Thank you! And yeah, I think it's true of any cooker (pellet or solid fuel) that the less you open it during the cook, the better. Temperature retention is definitely important.

I don't foresee moving away from my charcoal/kettle configuration for too much (especially on certain routine weeknight cooks) but I'm going to branch out as the inspiration takes me. I love the amazingly wide range of stuff you've tried. My next 2 cooks will probably be pork shoulder and short ribs, both for baseline and reference. After that, I can see some (whole sides of wild) salmon on deck. After that who knows but I hope be as varied and adventurous in my cooks as you've been.

So far, clean-up on my unit seems super easy. There's a "keg" that catches ash and drippings. It comes with foil liners and is easy to dump, so I'm hoping that will keep me cooking unimpeded on a consistent basis. I've also cooked so little food on each individual cook so far that I've been able to use drip pans (just like I do in my offset) and those have mitigated the mess very well. When/if I get to higher volume cooks, there may not be room for the drip pans, as I'll be using both the top and bottom grates for food. And I do have a shop vac, so I'm ready to deploy it if necessary.

I'm curious how your rig performs in cold weather -- not so much the temperature retention but more so the overall performance of the electronics. Have you had any notable issues? Also, do you use yours as an all-in-one or do you have other outdoor cookers? If so, are you no longer using them as frequently?

I'm wondering what lay ahead. So much to explore here and given my initial results, I'm pretty darned excited.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:
I'm curious how your rig performs in cold weather -- not so much the temperature retention but more so the overall performance of the electronics. Have you had any notable issues? Also, do you use yours as an all-in-one or do you have other outdoor cookers? If so, are you no longer using them as frequently?

=R=

Only once had an issue in the dead ass January cold a few years ago. It was one of those cold stretches of negative temps for several days. The controller screen didn't light up for a few minutes after I took the cover off, but once the sunlight hit it, it apparently warmed it up enough. I also keep a heat retention blanket on it year round for insulation. It's a custom fitted magnetized one from the grill maker, but many ppl use "welding blankets" that are pretty easily found, and then add magnets. The blanket really makes a difference in pellet consumption year round, but especially in winter.

I sold off all my smokers, but I still have a fancy Weber gas grill that only gets used for big grilling needs. The pellet grill has an attachment called a sear box which is just a small gas grill with heavy duty grates, and a heavy duty cover, but it screams up to like 900 degrees. So if I'm doing a quick grill for the immediate fam, I just use that bad boy if I don't need a lot of space. The Weber gas grill is quite frankly, just a yard ornament at this point. It looks nice and stately - ceramic colored cover model, lots of stainless steel. Super clean from not being used.

If you keep on this path of "enjoying" your new rig, you think there's any chance of Gwiv switching to the daaahhk siiiide?

Pretty sure he will.

seebee wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:
I'm curious how your rig performs in cold weather -- not so much the temperature retention but more so the overall performance of the electronics. Have you had any notable issues? Also, do you use yours as an all-in-one or do you have other outdoor cookers? If so, are you no longer using them as frequently?

Only once had an issue in the dead ass January cold a few years ago. It was one of those cold stretches of negative temps for several days. The controller screen didn't light up for a few minutes after I took the cover off, but once the sunlight hit it, it apparently warmed it up enough. I also keep a heat retention blanket on it year round for insulation. It's a custom fitted magnetized one from the grill maker, but many ppl use "welding blankets" that are pretty easily found, and then add magnets. The blanket really makes a difference in pellet consumption year round, but especially in winter.

Okay, thanks. That's helpful. I think I'll wait and see how it goes once the weather gets colder. It doesn't appear that Traeger makes a blanket for my model, so if I do decide to do something, I'll have to improvise it.

seebee wrote:I sold off all my smokers, but I still have a fancy Weber gas grill that only gets used for big grilling needs. The pellet grill has an attachment called a sear box which is just a small gas grill with heavy duty grates, and a heavy duty cover, but it screams up to like 900 degrees. So if I'm doing a quick grill for the immediate fam, I just use that bad boy if I don't need a lot of space. The Weber gas grill is quite frankly, just a yard ornament at this point. It looks nice and stately - ceramic colored cover model, lots of stainless steel. Super clean from not being used.

Damn, that's bold of you. I can't see ever giving up my charcoal grill(s) but I do understand. Yeah, Weber + Gas is not a combination that's ever sung to me. It's been over 20 years since I had the last of those -- the one that came with the house -- removed from my deck.

seebee wrote:If you keep on this path of "enjoying" your new rig, you think there's any chance of Gwiv switching to the daaahhk siiiide?

Pretty sure he will.

My guess is that some manufacturer or rep will eventually put one in front of him and ask him to put it through its paces. Having chatted with him about this, I don't think he'll ever pick one up on his own . . . but he probably won't have to.

=R=

More "testing" of the new Traeger pellet grill. This started early morning . . .


Beef Short Ribs aka Dino Ribs
About 11.5 total pounds. The smaller slab on the right was rubbed with my homemade BBQ rub. The larger slab on the left was rubbed with Meat Church's Holy Cow, which I'd wanted to try for a while. Before the rubbing, I spent some time trimming these down of excess fat and all the silver skin. With a loaded hopper of pellets, I set the cooking temperature to 250F. Once it got there, I put the slabs on the upper rack, placed a drip pan with some water below them and went back to sleep . . . for several hours!

When I woke up about 4 hours later, the short ribs were still happily smoking away (about 165F internal at that point). Later, after about 7.5 total hours on the smoker, which included a lengthy stall, the short ribs had reached 175F internal. Unlike with my Memorial Day briskets, this time I allowed plenty of time for the cook and the stall . . .


Getting There
Really nice looking slabs, with excellent bark and just the right amount of smoke. Next, it was time to wrap them in unwaxed/spritzed butcher paper. Once wrapped, back onto to the cooker they went until they hit 208F internal (in the thickest part of the meat). That took another few hours, and I ended up pulling them after about 11.5 hours total time on the cooker (including wrap time, etc.) From there, into an unheated oven to let them cool down back to ~140F and recongeal slowly before slicing. While this was a fairly long cook, it was mostly passive with very little intervention needed. I never spritzed them and only opened the cooker a couple of times, mostly out of curiosity.


Smoked Short Ribs
In the end, I'm not sure I could have wished for anything better. These were just about -- dare I say it? -- perfect. Smoke was distinct and sweet but not overbearing. Awesome bark. Tender, rich and unctuous meat that slid right off the bone. We sampled from both slabs. Unsurprisingly, after that long a cook, the difference between the two rubs was negligible. Were these as good as a woodburner would have turned out? That's hard to say but I've certainly never produced better smoked short ribs on any cooker.

4 cooks in on the new Traeger and so far, I'm feeling like it was money very well spent. Pork shoulder is probably up next.

=R=

Awesome job Ronnie, impressed with the bark you've gotten on your cooks. Finally getting decent with my ez bake oven err traeger, but not getting as much bark as you get.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Were these as good as a woodburner would have turned out? That's hard to say but I've certainly never produced better smoked short ribs on any cooker.

4 cooks in on the new Traeger and so far, I'm feeling like it was money very well spent.
=R=

Welcome to the daaahhhhhk siiiiiide.

What's funny to me is that I thought I made a mistake when I first bought mine because of the lack of smoke flavor, but now, after I've tweaked cooking process/pellets I rarely think of going back to a regular smoker. (It still does cross my mind, tho.) I'm gonna get a Camp Chef Woodwind Pro the second mine does anything weird, OR, if there's a sale I cannot pass up.

EscobarSzn wrote:Awesome job Ronnie, impressed with the bark you've gotten on your cooks. Finally getting decent with my ez bake oven err traeger, but not getting as much bark as you get.

LOL - youtube, my friend, youtube. There are at least a few credible dudes there (Matt Pittman, Malcom Reed, etc.) who've gone somewhat in depth in their videos on methods and techniques that help close the gap between what a woodburner can produce and what a pellet grill can put out.

seebee wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Were these as good as a woodburner would have turned out? That's hard to say but I've certainly never produced better smoked short ribs on any cooker.

4 cooks in on the new Traeger and so far, I'm feeling like it was money very well spent.

Welcome to the daaahhhhhk siiiiiide.

What's funny to me is that I thought I made a mistake when I first bought mine because of the lack of smoke flavor, but now, after I've tweaked cooking process/pellets I rarely think of going back to a regular smoker. (It still does cross my mind, tho.) I'm gonna get a Camp Chef Woodwind Pro the second mine does anything weird, OR, if there's a sale I cannot pass up.

LOL - thanks. Feels kind of strange to be here but I'm fine.

It's nice to be able to cook BBQ on days that I don't feel like spending (most of) my day managing a fire. Ease of access also leads to more reps, more experimentation, etc. because it's just easier to get into it. I've already done what would typically have been almost a full summer of BBQ in the space of a few weeks. It's a real door opener.

So far, I'm very happy with the smokiness of the food I've produced on the Traeger. It's not lacking in any way. I've only used Super Smoke mode once and even then, I'm not sure it was necessary. Bark has been great but with bark and smoke, it may be as much or more about technique than the cooker itself. Longer cooks, rub adjustments, butcher paper are all contributing factors.

I too already have my eye on another pellet grill -- Lone Star Grillz -- but I want to spend more time with the Traeger before I decide whether or not to plunk down for that one and "upgrade." The Lone Star gets rave reviews and has a lot of great features, including one -- the ability to cold-smoke -- that the Traeger doesn't offer. On the downside, maintenance and cleaning seem more difficult and time-consuming than on the Traeger. The ability to do more is always appealing but anything that impedes ease of access needs to be assessed carefully.

Cooking on the pellet grill has a strong analog in knife sharpening. With knife sharpening, one can go free-hand on whetstones or buy a rig that reduces several variables. Stones generally produce better results but many rigs are capable of producing results that are almost as good. But, if you start with a rig, you'll forever miss out on a lot of knowledge, experience, nuance, technique, etc. that will make you a better sharpener via any method. So, the people who are getting the most out of their rigs are those who've also spent some time sharpening freehand.

And I think that's basically how it is with pellet grills. Those who are getting the most out of them are most likely people who've also spent some time cooking on woodburners -- aka "freehand" -- and are students of the craft. While there's no doubt one can get fine results with a pellet grill having never used a woodburner, when variables and unknowns come up -- and they always do, because it's the nature of the beast -- that additional knowledge base and experience one acquires from having cooked in a more fundamental way is really helpful.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

seebee wrote:If you keep on this path of "enjoying" your new rig, you think there's any chance of Gwiv switching to the daaahhk siiiide?

Pretty sure he will.

My guess is that some manufacturer or rep will eventually put one in front of him and ask him to put it through its paces. Having chatted with him about this, I don't think he'll ever pick one up on his own . . . but he probably won't have to.

=R=

Gwiv may have used his quota of pellets at Barn & Company.