Pellet Grill

As mentioned in another thread I decided to pull the trigger on a Traeger pellet grill... Anybody using a Traeger (or like product) and what are your experiences... I am going to start off with 3 different woods...apple, hickory and pecan pellets. I like apple for chicken, pecan for almost anything and hickory is to me traditional for beef, chicken or pork.... I have seen and tasted some interesting blends too....
Probably going to do a small turkey or a big chicken this weekend for starters...
Mouth is watering
Probably going to do a small turkey or a big chicken this weekend for starters...
Mouth is watering

My New Year's resolution is 3840 × 2160
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Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
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Son has a Traeger. My pellet preferences are Red (not white) Oak, Pecan and Hickory. I buy the 3 and blend 50% Oak, 25% ea Pecan and Hickory. I found there was a bit of a learning curve for small cuts of meat. First time out of the gate I did pork chops and they came out like ham. Fail. Not bad, mind you, but not what I expected.
Recently been doing Tri-Tip to great results. Simple Kosher salt, garlic powder and pepper. Santa Maria style I was raised on and must be 100% Red Oak to be authentic. Smoke @ 210F until 120-125 internal temp and then pull and tent with foil. Stoke grill to 375 or higher and reverse sear using the flat side of Grill Grates to render the fat and produce a nice crust. https://www.grillgrate.com/shop-grillgrates/standard-grillgrates/pellet-grills/
Continue to watch the internal temp and not shoot past your preferred target (mooing/rare/med rare, etc).
I spatchcock poultry and start at the lowest temp setting (max smoke) for 20-30 min's, or more, depending on desired smoke taste. Wife and I prefer light to medium vs. heavy smoke. Raise temp to 350-375 and cook until done. One thing w/smokers is you won't get crispy skin unless you use high temp. I like the skin but don't indulge to save calories. Also, very low temps on chicken and the meat tends to come out rubbery.
Lean meats can dry out so buy a small spray bottle and spritz w/your choice of juice or other liquid every 1/2 or on the hour. I use 100% apple for taste and bit of sweetness. Usually do this on pork cuts and ribs. Pic of my recent sauced and rubbed babyback's mid-smoke...
Papa Murphy's pizza, low setting to smoke, and then in the oven to finish off. Yummm!
Son follows the Traeger recipes and claims to have good results. He's in another state, so haven't had the opportunity to try it, but trust his raised on Q by me judgement.
Get a Bucket Head to clean out the ash from your smoker. Cheap, $24.97 @ Home Depot (+bucket), and will make quick work of it plus save your nice shop vac from getting trashed. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-Gal-1-75-Peak-HP-Wet-Dry-Vac-BH0100/202017218
Haven't done any large cuts/really long smokes, yet, but have my sights on doing a whole suckling pig when I do. For Christmas, thinking about doing goose.
Still getting my learn on. Congrats and happy smoking!
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I like smoked ribs. Couldn't wait to taste the ribs and enjoy the ease of use that pellet grills have to offer. It sure is easier but doesn't even come close to the results that I get from offset smoking using charcoal and wood chuncks on my Weber kettle grill...not even close!
For beef, your oaks as a base and add flavor with your mesquite, hickory etc at the end
Just my HO
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Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
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Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
Lived in north Texas for a few years and we had pecan orchards nearby. Hills and hills of shells given away by the gunny sack. Never used it until I was on a Dallas area Q pilgrimage. "D" (for Dallas) magazine did a top 10 or 12 bbq joint list and my goal was to try all their pics. Hit about 7 of them and "Off the Bone" on Mansfield Hwy, Forest Hill, was my favorite. First time I went there they were completely sold out for the day. Anyway, spoke with the owner, very nice guy, and his woods of choice were a mix of oak and pecan. Took me around back and pulled off several ribs that were smoking for the next day. Gracious guy and gave them to me for free.
@txcoastal1, just curious, what's the "beef" with pecan on beef?
Got my read on and liked the fact that RecTec is stainless steel and solidly built, to include the smoke pot. Also liked that it wasn't painted and prone to peeling. The door is coated w/black enamel but all indications were that it's durable. RecTec owners are very brand loyal and tout the customer service if problems occur...even if out of warranty. Kind of like longtime Polk owners.
Bottom line is I'm a*n*a*l in that I like to take care of things and make them last. My previous grill was a charbroil that I picked up on sale from Walmart 17 years ago. I babied it and rebuilt the guts every 2-3 years.
RecTec isn't the cheapest (or most expensive) smoker on the market but my experience, after 1 1/2 years, is that it is a good long term investment. A few other's that I compared were Grilla, Green Mountain and Camp Chef. Ultimately, they all accomplish the same goal...smoke meat to good results, but it was build longevity and potential customer support that sold me.
Oh also try some beef jerky on it. That's probably my favorite thing to cook on the Traeger, as it's mindless to hold 160-170 for 4hrs, and it doesn't produce so much smoke that it makes the meat bitter.
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Seems to be pretty simple and the temp controls are pretty accurate.
I chose the smaller/compact model thinking that I don't cool for 12 people and that it would conserve pellets a bit.
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ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
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Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
Webber also has a new Pellet Smoker coming out in Jan. 2020
https://www.weber.com/US/en/grills/wood-pellet-grills/smokefire-series/
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http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=302999#p302999
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Ribs
Plenty of smoke.... means we are going to have some good ribs or a new pope!
Family Room| Marantz AV7704| Usher Dancer Mini - 2 DMD Mains |Usher Dancer Mini-x DMD's Surrounds | Usher BE-616 DMD Center | SVS Ultra Rear Surrounds | Parasound Halo A21 | Parsound Halo A52+ | MIT Shotgun S3's | Dual SVS SB 4000 Ultras | Oppo UDP 203 | Directv Genie HD DVR | Samsung 75" Q8 QLED | PSAudio Stellar GCD | Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ | Lumin U1 Mini | HP Elite Slice PC | ROON'd for life |
ManCave: HT:Polk LSiM 706VR3 LSiM 703's LSiM 702's|| Marantz AV7002 AV PrePro Sunfire TGA-7401| Sony PS4 Pro| Sony PS4 Pro|SVS PB13 Ultra| Oppo UDP 203 | Music Hall MMF 5.3se TT w/ Soundsmith Carmen | Samsung 55" SUHD TV | Sony PS4
Patio | Polk Atrium 8's | Yamaha R-N303BL |
Office BlueSound Node| KEF LS50 | Peactree Nova 125SE |
Bedroom | Focal 905's | Chromecast Audio |
Garage | Polk Monitor 5B's
Closet Yamaha M80 | 2 Polk MP3K subs| Yaqin MC100B with Shuguang Treasures KT 88's & CV181Z's | Tesla E83CC's | Marantz 2252B | Marantz 2385 |Polk SDA SRS 2.3 | LSiM 705's |
Smells Good
Pellet smokers smoke at lower temps only. Higher temps you get heat. So all pellet smokers come with an accessory..... a smoke tube with real wood chips.
Who would have known? A pellet smoker that must use smoke tubes to have the smoke taste. Don’t get me wrong I still want to try pellet smokers. Such is a mid life crisis.
By the way. That Marvin fella.. he could seriously smoke meats.
Halen
I sort of disagree that I need a smoke tube with my pellet grill (a cheapo Walmart Pit Boss) I paid $380 for this pit boss and have not use my Weber Smokey mountain for over 2 years now because it so simple to use. gives plenty of smoke on the upper rack (which heat rises and everything cooks faster up there!
Pork Tenderloins (not pork loins) on the top rack at 250 degrees gets done in like 1 1/2 hour so I don't use a rub and prefer only salt & pepper on it! has a nice smoke ring and is super juicy
For ribs I do 3 hours naked then wrap tightly in foil and in about 45 minutes you can pull the bones out
for "Boston buts/Pork Shoulder/picnic's give it 6 hours naked and 2 hours in foil and I bet it should read 210 and fall apart with a simple fork.
for my Yoder (amish) meat market steaks I cook indirectly at about 350 degrees until it hits 90 degrees then I flip them and when it hits 115 I open the sear window and crank it to 450 degrees and give it about 1/2 a minute per side till it hit 128 and then wrap/rest in foil for 5 minutes and you have a teak almost pink form edge to edge and the best steak you ever ate!
P.s> the Rib's i cooked on my old Weber smokey Mountain were always a touch better the then the pellet grill..but not enough better to make me go back to the Weber.
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