Traeger wood pellet grill.Do i need a Traeger or is there a better choice, money wise

[Burque]

@burque. My brisket only takes 20 min of smoke after chilling to 40 degrees from a 36 hour water bath. I no longer attend to baths because of ping pong ball surface and foil cover.

Oh nice, I got a fancy tub and cover for mine, I hope it reveals the same results.

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[HeHateMe]

Oh nice, I got a fancy tub and cover for mine, I hope it reveals the same results.

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It will. Just dont get all creative with marinades and chit u could really **** up your meat. Some idiot thought 24 hours of buttermilk in a vacuum for a fried chicken prep would be good. Besides horrible tenderizing it made the final product taste like farts.

 

[Burque]

Fair enough. But I think you are a little fixated on blue smoke. I did a little checking on the net and that fog you saw could be from the fat melting into the coals. Not that creatine smoke. That's why drums don't need a water pan. HHM's half hour ribs could be from Memphis's Rendezvous method.

I am not fixated on blue smoke. I mentioned two things about smoke: 1. when you are cooking at a higher temp you aren't "Smoking" the meat you are cooking it, and 2. there is a difference between grey and blue smoke. If you want to impart good smoke flavor on your meat you want blue smoke.

There is no fixation, just a difference.

 

[Burque]

It will. Just dont get all creative with marinades and chit u could really **** up your meat. Some idiot thought 24 hours of buttermilk in a vacuum for a fried chicken prep would be good. Besides horrible tenderizing it made the final product taste like farts.

uhhh really?! Someone thought it would be a good idea to hot water bath buttermilk for a day?

Herbs, spices, and stable fats seems like a MUCH more reasonable way to go.

 

[Albert Flasher]

I am not fixated on blue smoke. I mentioned two things about smoke: 1. when you are cooking at a higher temp you aren't "Smoking" the meat you are cooking it, and 2. there is a difference between grey and blue smoke. If you want to impart good smoke flavor on your meat you want blue smoke.

There is no fixation, just a difference.

Any temp over 200 is cooking.

 

[Burque]

Had to do a break in on my new pellet grill. I think i'm really going to enjoy it .

I hope you didn't forget the most important part of a good break in.... Cold Beer.

 

[Fatman LOU]

I hope you didn't forget the most important part of a good break in.... Cold Beer.

It was so early this morning when i did it i was still in coffee mode.

 

[Burque]

Any temp over 200 is cooking.

Typically you are smoking anywhere from the low 160's - 225.

Are you cooking some, sure, but are you also still getting smoke?

That is what I am trying to tell you about higher temps, you aren't smoking the meat significantly anymore. I am not arguing that running 225 cooks meat, it does, I am arguing that 225 > 300+ when you are still imparting smoke.

Honestly though, are you just trying to troll me? srs, I gave you clear, concise answers and you come back at me with that??

 

[Albert Flasher]

I'm not sure how you get trolling. I gave clear and concise feedback. There is no shame in cooking hot and fast. Or low and slow. Did you know once meat hits 145 it can't take any more smoke.

 

[Burque]

Hey Burque at what temp do i want to smoke my cornish cross chickens or the young rooster ? You said smoke for an hour than turn up to 375

Your rig is different than mine, on mine I would go 180, that is the lowest smoke setting I have on my unit.

I am not sure what temp settings you have, but I would go sub 200.

On the Traeger I have I avoid the smoke setting because even though it is supposed to smoke at 165, it is based on pellet timing versus actual temp so you can end up with wild temp swings. Again, your unit may function differently than mine.

*** What you are trying to accomplish is smoking the rooster without cooking it much, so anywhere from 165 - 185 is alright. Then going to your higher heat is going to act like an oven and do the actual cooking. With a smaller animal it is going to cook quick, so I would consider pulling it when you crank the heat up to 350+. Once it hits temp, which takes a few minutes, put your bird back in (I usually pull it off into an aluminum pan and then leave it on the pan when I put it back into the smoker.) At that point its a temp game. I use a couple of temp probes, one that is leave in and feeds out to a digital unit that tells me whats going on in one place and then I use a digital probe that I put in various places to make sure we have good temp everywhere before I pull. usually it is no trouble as I put my leave in probe in thick breast meat that takes the longest anyway. 160 degrees and it is dinner time!

I also usually spatchcock (cut out the backbone and lay flat) my birds so they cook evenly. If you want the best instructions on how to do that youtube it! Much better video description than I will give you over a message board. ***

Best of luck, and no question is too weird I will happily share any info I've got. I am still relatively new to smoking myself.

 

[Fatman LOU]

Your rig is different than mine, on mine I would go 180, that is the lowest smoke setting I have on my unit.

I am not sure what temp settings you have, but I would go sub 200.

On the Traeger I have I avoid the smoke setting because even though it is supposed to smoke at 165, it is based on pellet timing versus actual temp so you can end up with wild temp swings. Again, your unit may function differently than mine.

*** What you are trying to accomplish is smoking the rooster without cooking it much, so anywhere from 165 - 185 is alright. Then going to your higher heat is going to act like an oven and do the actual cooking. With a smaller animal it is going to cook quick, so I would consider pulling it when you crank the heat up to 350+. Once it hits temp, which takes a few minutes, put your bird back in (I usually pull it off into an aluminum pan and then leave it on the pan when I put it back into the smoker.) At that point its a temp game. I use a couple of temp probes, one that is leave in and feeds out to a digital unit that tells me whats going on in one place and then I use a digital probe that I put in various places to make sure we have good temp everywhere before I pull. usually it is no trouble as I put my leave in probe in thick breast meat that takes the longest anyway. 160 degrees and it is dinner time!

I also usually spatchcock (cut out the backbone and lay flat) my birds so they cook evenly. If you want the best instructions on how to do that youtube it! Much better video description than I will give you over a message board. ***

Best of luck, and no question is too weird I will happily share any info I've got. I am still relatively new to smoking myself.

You been very imformative i appreciate very much thank you . This grill goes 150/500 ....... so spatchcock , i can do that by breaking the back bone trying to get it to lay flat i take it ?

 

[Burque]

I'm not sure how you get trolling. I gave clear and concise feedback. There is no shame in cooking hot and fast. Or low and slow. Did you know once meat hits 145 it can't take any more smoke.

I would like you to back that up with whatever sight you googled it from.

I'd also like to know which meat, specifically cannot take on smoke beyond 145, because lets face it, all meat is not the same. Are we talking beef, pork, chicken, salmon, tuna, cod, tilapia, deer, elk, moose, bear, seal, rabbit, and squirrel? I mean without getting into the intricacies of each cut of each animal you are blanket stating that all meat will not take smoke beyond 145 degrees? How did I get trolling?

How did I get trolling? you came back at me with "Any temp over 200 is cooking." when we were talking about smoking.

 

[Burque]

You been very imformative i appreciate very much thank you . This grill goes 150/500 ....... so spatchcock , i can do that by breaking the back bone trying to get it to lay flat i take it ?

To spatchcock you just cut out the backbone along the ribs on either side with meat scissors and then press it down flat. seriously just youtube it. just put the bird breast side down and use shears to cut out the back bone then flip over and press flat.

I watched one youtube video on it and it made it simple to understand.


I would go 165 if you have a setting for that.

 

[Albert Flasher]

Look it up yourself fool. I tried to have a friendly discussion.

 

[number51]

Look it up yourself fool. I tried to have a friendly discussion.

You hurt his feelings, and he was being so friendly.

This type of thinking is why I go against the grain and challenge convectional thinking. If your mind is made up then it's pointless to discuss.

Not really that friendly.

Al thinks he is funny and wants to be a troll, but he's just too stupid to be either.

 

[Burque]

Look it up yourself fool. I tried to have a friendly discussion.

No, you really haven't, and instead of having a reasonable conversation you have resorted to name calling.

I'd say sorry for questioning your methods, but you've already decided that reasonable discourse on an interesting topic is something you are not interested in. So I am really not sorry for asking questions about your questionable methods.

 

[brett05]

Missed this thread. I have a Pit Barrel Cooker.

[video=youtube_share;P8i7k1Tv9j8]https://youtu.be/P8i7k1Tv9j8[/video]

I am not seeing the hanging method. I would think the weight of some foods would cause food to drop. My ribs have a tug but if I hung them, I think it would tear.

 

[Albert Flasher]

[video=youtube_share;7ZN3nb5EDzY]https://youtu.be/7ZN3nb5EDzY[/video]

 

[HeHateMe]

I am not seeing the hanging method. I would think the weight of some foods would cause food to drop. My ribs have a tug but if I hung them, I think it would tear.

I think you have to have faith in the meat hook.

 

[Albert Flasher]

I am not seeing the hanging method. I would think the weight of some foods would cause food to drop. My ribs have a tug but if I hung them, I think it would tear.

You double hook heavier meats. I only had one instance when the meat dropped. A slab of spareribs that I left hanging too long. Only charred a couple of the bottom ones a little bit/ Less oxygen at the bottom of the cooker. In the rib hanging video he got a little char on a couple of the ribs because he cracked the lid and got some flame up.