Things We're Cooking

[PnkPanther]

Tonight pepper stout beef

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Alright b!tches... I finally got myself a Traeger. Found it second-hand. Seller had only used it twice because he could never get into it & was moving out of town. Got it for $200 cheaper than retail. He even threw in 2 bags of pellets (1 mesquite/hickory & 1 cherry).

Going to try smoking some poppers & pork butt tonight. Anybody got any tips or advice?

@PnkPanther @beardown07 @4down20 @Fog

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Well I’ve already confused myself... Warning, rookie smoker here so pardon the stupidity

So the instructions say to turn it on in the SMOKE setting, of which I did and big plumes of smoke came out. Next it said to close the lid and turn up heat to desired setting. Well the Traeger website recipe for smoked poppers said to “preheat at 180 then smoke” ... so I turned it up to 180, let it get to temp, then I turned it back to the SMOKE setting.

This time it didn’t produce the same amount of smoke, hardly anything compared to the startup. So did I do something wrong? Or am I just confused about the “smoke setting” vs “smoke at temp”? Smoke is still trickling out so I don’t think it’s a firerod/fire pot issue.

Anyways, the recipe had tons of user reviews and everybody said it was a must to run the grill on the smoke setting for 30 mins, then turn the heat up to 350-375 for another 30mins.

 

[DJ Fieri]

I love to eat.....so does @trojanfan12.

 

[PnkPanther]

Char Siu Pork

 

[PnkPanther]

Well I’ve already confused myself... Warning, rookie smoker here so pardon the stupidity

So the instructions say to turn it on in the SMOKE setting, of which I did and big plumes of smoke came out. Next it said to close the lid and turn up heat to desired setting. Well the Traeger website recipe for smoked poppers said to “preheat at 180 then smoke” ... so I turned it up to 180, let it get to temp, then I turned it back to the SMOKE setting.

This time it didn’t produce the same amount of smoke, hardly anything compared to the startup. So did I do something wrong? Or am I just confused about the “smoke setting” vs “smoke at temp”? Smoke is still trickling out so I don’t think it’s a firerod/fire pot issue.

Anyways, the recipe had tons of user reviews and everybody said it was a must to run the grill on the smoke setting for 30 mins, then turn the heat up to 350-375 for another 30mins.

A little late, I'm not too experienced with pellet grills, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. You don't want large plumes of smoke, most likely initially old stuff was just burning out

Smoke from pellet, or any grill, should be clean...you want a thin blue smoke, not thick white cloud

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

A little late, I'm not too experienced with pellet grills, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. You don't want large plumes of smoke, most likely initially old stuff was just burning out

Smoke from pellet, or any grill, should be clean...you want a thin blue smoke, not thick white cloud

Good to know. I had wondered that, but figured it being called a "smoker" then it should be as smoky as possible. Going to get a pork butt smoked this weekend and will do the due dilligence of taking everything out to clean out the firepot. That way I know what it looks like & what to expect when it starts up from a clean environment.

 

[PnkPanther]

Good to know. I had wondered that, but figured it being called a "smoker" then it should be as smoky as possible. Going to get a pork butt smoked this weekend and will do the due dilligence of taking everything out to clean out the firepot. That way I know what it looks like & what to expect when it starts up from a clean environment.

Yeah, kind of a misconception that smokers have lots of smoke rolling out. If it's too thick, your food will come out with an acrid smokey smell.

.

 

[Across The Field]

View attachment 206890 Alright b!tches... I finally got myself a Traeger. Found it second-hand. Seller had only used it twice because he could never get into it & was moving out of town. Got it for $200 cheaper than retail. He even threw in 2 bags of pellets (1 mesquite/hickory & 1 cherry).

Going to try smoking some poppers & pork butt tonight. Anybody got any tips or advice?

@PnkPanther @beardown07 @4down20 @Fog

@PnkPanther @beardown07 @4down20 @Fog

Bought one of these from a buddy of mine last week. He got it last year from Tito's. He's a liquor rep and he won some contest. However, he's a single dad of 3 boys, so he never has time to actually use it. It has 2 smokes and 2 grills on it over the course of a year, and I got it for $300. I can't wait to use it, but I'm definitely going to try and find a tutorial video online so I get the most out of it. Did you have any luck getting it to work right?

 

[PnkPanther]

@PnkPanther @beardown07 @4down20 @Fog

Bought one of these from a buddy of mine last week. He got it last year from Tito's. He's a liquor rep and he won some contest. However, he's a single dad of 3 boys, so he never has time to actually use it. It has 2 smokes and 2 grills on it over the course of a year, and I got it for $300. I can't wait to use it, but I'm definitely going to try and find a tutorial video online so I get the most out of it. Did you have any luck getting it to work right?

Time to fire it up.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

@PnkPanther @beardown07 @4down20 @Fog

Bought one of these from a buddy of mine last week. He got it last year from Tito's. He's a liquor rep and he won some contest. However, he's a single dad of 3 boys, so he never has time to actually use it. It has 2 smokes and 2 grills on it over the course of a year, and I got it for $300. I can't wait to use it, but I'm definitely going to try and find a tutorial video online so I get the most out of it. Did you have any luck getting it to work right?

Yes I did! It helped a lot to clean it out really well, all the way down through the fire pot. That way you know exactly how it works from the start.

Well if your's is similar then I have a few pointers...

• Cover your Grease Drain Pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze. It's a slanted pan which directs the grease out to the grease trap.
• Don't be confused by the "SMOKE" setting as indicated on the temp dial. When a recipe tells you to smoke, it is not telling you to set it to that setting. That "SMOKE" setting is only used during startup to get the auger to pull enough pellets into the firepot to create the ignition. Once you have that ignition you must turn the dial up to an actual temp setting so that it changes its feeding proportions. FYI the "SMOKE" setting puts the temp around 170-190, and the first temp setting on the dial above that is 180. So if you want to low & slow the smoke of your meat then 180 is where its at.
• So far I have had the best tasting results from incorporating at lest 20-30mins at 180 prior to ramping up to whatever temp setting the recipe calls for. But I've only done poppers & burgers so far. That first leg of the smoking at lower temps seems to really induce flavor. I have been using the "Signature Blend" pellets which is an infusion of hickory, maple & cherry. I have a bag of cherry pellets that I haven't used yet.

 

[Across The Field]

Yes I did! It helped a lot to clean it out really well, all the way down through the fire pot. That way you know exactly how it works from the start.

Well if your's is similar then I have a few pointers...

• Cover your Grease Drain Pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze. It's a slanted pan which directs the grease out to the grease trap.
• Don't be confused by the "SMOKE" setting as indicated on the temp dial. When a recipe tells you to smoke, it is not telling you to set it to that setting. That "SMOKE" setting is only used during startup to get the auger to pull enough pellets into the firepot to create the ignition. Once you have that ignition you must turn the dial up to an actual temp setting so that it changes its feeding proportions. FYI the "SMOKE" setting puts the temp around 170-190, and the first temp setting on the dial above that is 180. So if you want to low & slow the smoke of your meat then 180 is where its at.
• So far I have had the best tasting results from incorporating at lest 20-30mins at 180 prior to ramping up to whatever temp setting the recipe calls for. But I've only done poppers & burgers so far. That first leg of the smoking at lower temps seems to really induce flavor. I have been using the "Signature Blend" pellets which is an infusion of hickory, maple & cherry. I have a bag of cherry pellets that I haven't used yet.

Good stuff man, makes a lot of sense about starting it much lower. I have a couple racks of ribs that are gonna be thrown on this week, but I'm wondering about the transition from smoker to grill. I'm sure it's simple, I've just never had a smoker like this so I'm used to transferring meat from the smoker onto my grill.

Happy smoking buddy

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Good stuff man, makes a lot of sense about starting it much lower. I have a couple racks of ribs that are gonna be thrown on this week, but I'm wondering about the transition from smoker to grill. I'm sure it's simple, I've just never had a smoker like this so I'm used to transferring meat from the smoker onto my grill.

Happy smoking buddy

 

[Sexual Chocolate]

Great for summer


Cucumber salad

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Pepper to taste
• 4 medium cucumbers, peeled if desired and thinly sliced
• 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

Enjoy

 

[Wunder.Noid]

Great for summer


Cucumber salad

• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Pepper to taste
• 4 medium cucumbers, peeled if desired and thinly sliced
• 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings

Enjoy

One of my favorites. Good stuff.

 

[mcnabb7542]

Yes I did! It helped a lot to clean it out really well, all the way down through the fire pot. That way you know exactly how it works from the start.

Well if your's is similar then I have a few pointers...

• Cover your Grease Drain Pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze. It's a slanted pan which directs the grease out to the grease trap.
• Don't be confused by the "SMOKE" setting as indicated on the temp dial. When a recipe tells you to smoke, it is not telling you to set it to that setting. That "SMOKE" setting is only used during startup to get the auger to pull enough pellets into the firepot to create the ignition. Once you have that ignition you must turn the dial up to an actual temp setting so that it changes its feeding proportions. FYI the "SMOKE" setting puts the temp around 170-190, and the first temp setting on the dial above that is 180. So if you want to low & slow the smoke of your meat then 180 is where its at.
• So far I have had the best tasting results from incorporating at lest 20-30mins at 180 prior to ramping up to whatever temp setting the recipe calls for. But I've only done poppers & burgers so far. That first leg of the smoking at lower temps seems to really induce flavor. I have been using the "Signature Blend" pellets which is an infusion of hickory, maple & cherry. I have a bag of cherry pellets that I haven't used yet.

Go to Walmart and buy some pork butts the fatty the better!

 

[Across The Field]

Yes I did! It helped a lot to clean it out really well, all the way down through the fire pot. That way you know exactly how it works from the start.

Well if your's is similar then I have a few pointers...

• Cover your Grease Drain Pan with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze. It's a slanted pan which directs the grease out to the grease trap.
• Don't be confused by the "SMOKE" setting as indicated on the temp dial. When a recipe tells you to smoke, it is not telling you to set it to that setting. That "SMOKE" setting is only used during startup to get the auger to pull enough pellets into the firepot to create the ignition. Once you have that ignition you must turn the dial up to an actual temp setting so that it changes its feeding proportions. FYI the "SMOKE" setting puts the temp around 170-190, and the first temp setting on the dial above that is 180. So if you want to low & slow the smoke of your meat then 180 is where its at.
• So far I have had the best tasting results from incorporating at lest 20-30mins at 180 prior to ramping up to whatever temp setting the recipe calls for. But I've only done poppers & burgers so far. That first leg of the smoking at lower temps seems to really induce flavor. I have been using the "Signature Blend" pellets which is an infusion of hickory, maple & cherry. I have a bag of cherry pellets that I haven't used yet.

Did a 3 lb beef shoulder today. Turned out a perfect medium rare and now I've got lunch for the next couple of days. I did have one instance of the temp dropping (had it set at 185 and it dropped to 121) but I simply hit the on/off switch and it returned right back to where it should be. All in all, easy smoker with a great result.

 

[mcnabb7542]

 

[mcnabb7542]

Did country style ribs today! Done tons of racks threw these on the offset turned out really good!

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Did a 3 lb beef shoulder today. Turned out a perfect medium rare and now I've got lunch for the next couple of days. I did have one instance of the temp dropping (had it set at 185 and it dropped to 121) but I simply hit the on/off switch and it returned right back to where it should be. All in all, easy smoker with a great result.

What pellet flavor did you use?