Just bought a Traeger Pellet Smoker

Buy and use good meat thermometers and TRUST THEM. Stop opening your smoker to look at it or check on things. That’s where your meat dries up.

 

I love the egg for grilling. Absolute unit for that. It does smoke decently but I could never get that good smoke ring and bark. That’s why I went pellet. I’d prefer a stick but don’t have the time but wanted a dedicated smoker. Well worth the money.

 

I use a thermapen. Crack the lid, 1sec reading, close it. But I’ve found I make the best food when I forget about it for a long time.

 

We did two turkeys last year with my siblings and their kids - one spatchcocked and smoked, the other one in the oven. There was zero smoked Turkey left at the end of the meal. As much as I hate using the term, it’s definitely a game changer.

 

Odd addition to this thread.... Years ago, Joe Traeger purchased a RV. He tried to get it registered and titled but the DMV wouldn't do it because they couldn't find the VIN plate. My father showed him where it was (diesel pusher I believe, VIN was in the back by the engine) so he could take it back and show them, and as a thanks Joe Traeger brought him a bunch of smoked brisket. It was pretty good stuff.

 

great info thanks

 

Congrats. I have a lesser
Smoking Joes 995$ value I won at my job. Pellet smoking is very nice My family loves it. I like the control aspect of it, time / temp etc.
The smoked chickens come out Awesome.

 

MY brother has had a Treager for years and loves it. We have cooked some amazing meals on it. I am going to be purchasing a Pitboss smoker/propane combo or the smoker/griddle combo. I think I'm leaning towards the smoker/griddle combo. Anyone here have experience with either options?

 

I have a Webber Smokey mountain which was inexpensive, but it’s not my favorite. It’s really clunky to use, the covers for it all leak and the way the parts fit together lets the water go inside the smoker. It’s hard to tend the fire. It’s stable once I get up to temp, but with wife and kids and everything else to deal with in life, I’d rather get a traeger. But then for the price of a tragger, I can buy a lot of takeout BBQ.

 

I have a Rec-tec (not sure why they changed the spelling of their name to RecTeq now, but same company) 590 pellet smoker. Can do 4-5 racks of baby backs laid flat, 3-4 shoulder/butts depending on size, 20lb turkey, etc. I've had it for 4 years and it's phenomenal. Great flavor. Ease of use. I have a separate weber propane grille with a "griddle" insert to replace the grates when necessary. The idea of the combo is appealing, and I've had an OK Joe stick burner offset smoker/propane grille a long time ago. Got rid of it due to the babysitting of the offset, and don't notice any change in the taste with changing to pellets. Wood is wood.
I know the griddle tops are all the rage now, but I don't care for the shallow/short lids of most of them. Limits them to one trick ponies, imo.

 

I'm a cheap upgraded campchef XT pellet smoker guy here. I had a traeger at one point and this is basically the same thing.

I like all the common cuts like brisket, pulled pork, and steaks. BUT some awesome alternative smoked recipes are: cream cheese (put into dips or eat with crackers as is), spatchcocked turkey, pulled ham (yes take your honey ham up to 205 IT and pull it like uncured pork), smoked chili (meat loaf dripping into trays of tomato/bean mixture of your choice), and everytime I smoke something a batch of hot italian sausage goes on to make a snack. I like 195 IT to get the fat nice and melted, let it rest and enjoy juicy slices with a nice casing bite.

I also found that I like Lumberjack brand pellets the best. Rural King tried to quit selling them so I found a local distributor to buy from. Now Rural King is bringing the Lumberjacks back but I've been spoiled with all the different flavors and will stick with my pellet dealer!

 

My buddy just gave me his Traeger since the place he lives doesnt allow smokers or BBQs, so I'm in for cheap so far! Any suggestions on smoked salmon recipes? The wife and I have only BBQ'd a few steaks so far, but damn were they tasty. Looking forward to learning this smoking hobby.

 

Teriyaki and brown sugar marinade the salmon overnight. A little lime or lemon for some acidity to help get into the meat. Pinch of salt works too if that's not your thing.

 

Look into Pitboss I was told the smoker box/hardware are the exact same as Treager.

 

Got their 700 and love that thing. Got their bullseye and it's junk. Started out good but after about 6 months it had several issues. Their customer service it great but I got tired of having to mess with it.

 

I do salmon straight from frozen. Easy to always have a bag in the freezer for quick weeknight meal. Cut it out of the vacuum pack, rinse it under cold water for 10-15 seconds to thaw the "flash freeze" off, pat dry, rub with olive or avocado oil, season with lemon pepper and/or Killer Hogs AP rub (just salt, pepper, garlic, msg). Smoke at 225 or "hi-smoke" setting until flakey, about 45 mins usually.

 

Another option for people..

I had a pit boss that I picked up at Lowe’s when they went on sale a couple years ago (a few of us on here got in on the deal; there’s a thread on here about the sale). I didn’t use it quite as much as I’d like so ended up selling it for what I paid for it. Picked up a couple of smoke tubes off Amazon and have been really happy using those on my gas grill. The Weber keep the temperature nice and stable, two smoke tubes put out an insane amount of smoke and there’s very minimal cleanup. Just figured I’d share a cheaper option

 

I've been using a pit barrel cooker (not to be confused with pit boss) for quite some time now and always has fantastic results. Will be moving soon and getting a little more backyard space to add in a pellet into the mix.

For recipes / ideas, Chef Tom at atbbq.com (youtube for videos). Can't go wrong. We did his smoked turkey this past year....amazing. Turkey may be my favorite thing to make. I like to reserve a breast and let it sit in the fridge over night and cut thin for turkey sandwiches the next day. Wings are also amazing. I usually use meat church holy voodoo rub...perfect kick. There's also ribs, obviously. I got frustrated with ribs last summer though, just couldn't get them to the level I wanted. 2024 goals....RIBS

 

Ribs 2nd time...

 

Nice!!

 

A little revival here. Been wanting a Traeger and of course they are on sale now. Ran across a reddit thread about the Oklahoma Joe Bronco pit smoker and that seems pretty intriguing. Anyone have any experience or know anyone who has one? I'll be moving up from a Cabela's electric stack smoker that is terrible at heat retention and just a pain to use. I should mention that I will want to get a pizza stone too. Thoughts?

 

Yeah....I have a MAK 4 Star General.
While it does do some things like Chicken Very Well it kinda lacks in other departments.
One of the best things about a Pellet Pooper is you can go to bed and let it do it's thing while you sleep.
Unlike an off set pitt where you have to stay up and feed it.
But in the end the Off Set makes better BBQ.
I started using the Pellet Pooper first and finishing it on the Off Set.
That way you can get some sleep.
There's been plenty of times where I was up most of the night tending the Pitt and not be able to hang out and eat with everyone else because I was so tired.

 

You cant Beat the Egg or the Kamado Joe which is what we have.
It cooks amazingly Well and you use far less charcoal. Of course you need to use the natural charcoal chunks to get the best out of your ceramic cooker.
It beats a standard charcoal grill by a long shot!!