Pellet grills

[shtrdave]

For steaks I like to have them cut at least 1.25 or better. Depending on your taste for doneness, you will smoke to close to that point and then sear them off on a very hot grill or in a hot cast iron pan on the stove. I am a rare guy so I do smoke mine to about 110 internal and then sear both sides, the GF likes hers done a bit more so I either put hers on first or sear longer to get it cooked more for her. I have used my charcoal chimney and the grate off the grill for searing also.

 

[kerstingm]

We're all the rare to medium here. Makes it so much easier for cooking all done at same time. We also like the 1.25 or thicker cuts...

 

[kerstingm]

Quick question, has anyone used the insulation blanket on their Traeger?

 

[shtrdave]

A felt welding blanket would help if you are running it outside. People tend to stay away from the fiberglass welding blankets due to fibers coming off.

 

[kerstingm]

Question about the difference between the different WiFi temperature meters? Which one is the better one to get?

 

[shtrdave]

If you are talking Igrill and not maverick type, I kind of like the way the Tappaque looks and the 4 probes look like a nice thing, I don't have one, because I have nothing to use it with, smart phone or tablet, or I would have one of them.

 

[edshapy]

Traeger lil tex elite! Always start mine on smoke for 5 min with lid open then close lid! For burgers after I close the lid I set on 350! Go in the house prepare burgers! After about 10 min I put the burgers on the grill! Cook 10 min on one side then flip! Cook another 10 check to see if they are done! Adjust time from there!
For steaks same start up process! But set on smoke! Get the steaks ready and smoke them on the grill for 20 to 30 mins then set grill to 350! I have never tried to go above 350! Cooking times take longer than a gas grill but I'm ok with that because the flavor is way better!
Hope that makes sense!

When it comes to smoking I never use the traeger cook book! Seems they like way to much salt for my likings and they never smoke long enough I smoke all meats a min of 5 hours on mine and will adjust temps from there!
Can go into more detail with some of my cooking methods if you would like! Pulled pork, ribs and wings is what I cook mostly on mine!

 

[kerstingm]

EdShapy
So when you say you smoke longer then what their Cookbook says, do you set on smoke or 180 (next temp above smoke) been wondering about using the smoke only, but not many recipes call for it in the their book.
ShtrDave
On my post about the wireless thermometer I was wondering which one has more options like temp setting and timer and or counter? I'm liking the maverick, I also Traeger has their own, but doesn't have much of a discription on their sight.

 

[edshapy]

I set mine on smoke close the lid and leave it! For my ribs I do the 3-2-1 basic style but actually smoke them for 5-7 hours instead of the 3! My pork butts or pork roast I will put on no later than 8:00 am and smoke until about 2 1/2 hours before I eat! I will then put my meat into disposable aluminum pans with enough barbecue sauce to coat the bottom of the pan and and a little bit on top then cover that with aluminum foil set my temperature to 225° for the two hours then I pull the meat off cover it and let it sit for the next half hour before we eat
Now I know there are many other ways to do this but this is the way that works for me and my family we absolutely love it that way

 

[kerstingm]

Thank you for the tips, as you stated, there is a learning curve on these for sure. I was also considering the stove gasket material for around the lid the other day to help seal it up better. I would like to know where to pickup the butterfly damper mentioned above also??
Are you aware of the P setting adjustments we can make to the temp controller on smoke setting? From what I have read there are 9 setting to choose from, but they recommend not to go past P4, factory setting is P2 I believe is what I was told.

 

[edshapy]

I currently have mine set on 4 just changed it! I move between 2 and 4 but really don't see a big difference at all! You can google traeger p-setting and learn all about it!

 

[kerstingm]

Need some help and or more info on the P temp controller settings. I was trying to smoke a pizza for 10 or 15 min then was going to turn it to high to finish it off. So first attempt on SMOKE i was hitting 285 and not much smoke, I started play around with the P setting and went up to P4 (Read higher the P # the lower the temp?) I ended up dropping to around 100 on P4. Tried P3 hit 125-130 went back to P2 and went back out checked and was over 450 (actually higher than HIGH setting) it's like the auger never shut off and just kept feed MORE than on high. I can see the pellets and flame throughout the grill bottom.

What kind of actual temp should I be seeing on SMOKE? Of should I be on 185 (next setting above SMOKE) after the fire starts? Scratching my head right about now,one of the burger recipes says set on SMOKE for two hours and finish off at 350, Am I doing something wrong?

 

[edshapy]

When you start your traeger do you start it on smoke! For approx 5 mins or until you see heavy smoke! Then close the lid and let sit for Approx 10 min before you put anything on! At every shut down I always run my traeger with the lid open on smoke for 8 min! Are you cleaning your grill out??? I clean mine and vacuum after every 3-5 cooks! I am constantly changing my p-settings between 2-4 and always run any where from 155-180 on smoke settings! When ever I smoke I always use the smoke setting never go to the setting above the smoke!
Hope this helps you some!

 

[geerock]

I have to ask, Ed. How do you smoke a pork butt or brisket to 190 to 200 or more if you never turn past SMOKE? And it must take an awful long time to get to finish temp on other meats.

Sorry, i just read one of your other posts. But I just don't understand why people cook at such low temps.

 

[edshapy]

I will smoke it all day long then about 2 hours before I am ready to eat I will put it (I know sounds like a sin) but I put it in a crock pot with about a 1/4 of a bottom of bbq sauce to bring it to temp! It comes out truely amazing

image.jpg

• edshapy
• Oct 8, 2014

here is a pork loin I have done in that matter

 

[kerstingm]

When you start your traeger do you start it on smoke! For approx 5 mins or until you see heavy smoke! Then close the lid and let sit for Approx 10 min before you put anything on! At every shut down I always run my traeger with the lid open on smoke for 8 min! Are you cleaning your grill out??? I clean mine and vacuum after every 3-5 cooks! I am constantly changing my p-settings between 2-4 and always run any where from 155-180 on smoke settings! When ever I smoke I always use the smoke setting never go to the setting above the smoke!
Hope this helps you some!

I just cleaned it out Saturday before I did my shoulders, this was the first time I tried to leave it on SMOKE to see how it would smoke something. When I 1st get the pellets lit I did what you mentioned I closed the lid and let it heat up some while I was inside getting the pizzas ready. came back out about 15 min later and I was at 280 or so.. and the auger was still running non-stop. at this point I started adjusting the P-settings, It was on P2, I went to P4 and seen that my temp was dropping. I put the pizzas on and came back out after 15  or 20 min and the temp was at 54 or so. My flame had gone out. So I did a shutdown and start-up and left it on SMOKE, came back out 10 or 15 min latter and the grill was at 450 and rising. when I opened the lid the flame under the diverter pan was raging and I could see the pellets appeared to have over filled the chamber and half the bottom of the grill was in flames???? Basically the pizzas were done at this point and I did a shutdown. I went back out after about and hour and did a start-up just to make sure all was okay and the auger motor sounded really loud compared to before this all started.

I already sent Traeger an email, something just doesn't sound right here?????  Any ideas or thoughts on your end of what I am describing here? I am completely confused for sure..

 

[edshapy]

Yes I recently had this happen to me as well! This happened to me in my very first compitive rib cook off! I had already been smoking the meat for a little over 4 hours! P-setting was on 2! It had been maintaining a temp of 160-170 then all of a sudden I look at it and it's at 305 and rising! I propped my lid open took almost 20 minutes for it to level back out! I had other traeger users there and we all were trying to trouble shoot it, none of us coming up with any real reason but all of us experiencing this before!! I have no idea why traeger grills do this! On of my good friends has the traeger tex, his came with the digital temp but has since switched to the anolog switch and he swears by it! I did notice his produced considerately more smoke!

 

[kerstingm]

i was playing with the smoke setting tonight and seen that the temp was hitting around 285, i was thinking this was pretty high for a smoke setting yet no smoke was coming out the chimney, i have read up on the P settings and from what I understand the higher P setting number the lower the temp will run. I started adjusting to P4, and temp droped to  

Yes I recently had this happen to me as well! This happened to me in my very first compitive rib cook off! I had already been smoking the meat for a little over 4 hours! P-setting was on 2! It had been maintaining a temp of 160-170 then all of a sudden I look at it and it's at 305 and rising! I propped my lid open took almost 20 minutes for it to level back out! I had other traeger users there and we all were trying to trouble shoot it, none of us coming up with any real reason but all of us experiencing this before!! I have no idea why traeger grills do this! On of my good friends has the traeger tex, his came with the digital temp but has since switched to the anolog switch and he swears by it! I did notice his produced considerately more smoke!

So you're saying he basically switched his controller back to the old style?

So after you had the same and or similar issue what did you do to get it working right again, Shutdown and start back up???? I was heading this direction last night, but I did not like the sound of the auger motor, the grill had cooled down to 280 or so, it was late, and I was defiantly getting frustrated to say the least.... Will be cleaning the grill out and checking everything tonight or tomorrow.

 

[kerstingm]

I wanted to share the reply I just got from Traeger about this issue, Please let me know if this makes any since to any of you that have owned your grill for a while?

During the first 4 minutes of the grill being on, your auger will run continuously. The manual will ask you to shut your lid after 4-5 minutes, or after that initial puff of smoke, but that 4 minutes worth of pellets doesn't actually begin to ignite until 4-5 minutes in, or until you see that initial puff of smoke. So by shutting the grill that early, you are trapping all of that heat that it is about to create when all of those pellets ignite. Your ignitor is also only on for the first 4 minutes, and not at all afterwards. This process is to ensure your flame is strong and stable to maintain itself without that ignitor for the entire running process. But, if you keep your lid open initially for at LEAST 10 minutes (15 is preferable), those excess pellets will burn off and a vast majority of that excess heat will escape during that 10 minutes, so when you shut the lid, it should take under 10 minutes for the temperature to subside below 200 degrees. If you turn your grill off at ANY point, and then try to turn it back on, it will go through that start up cycle every single time you do so. It’ll just fill that firepot with raw pellets and it’ll have a really hard time coming back down in temperature.

It would be best to avoid the 180 setting, it’s essentially an alternate smoke setting for people who live in very cold areas, who would generally have a hard time maintaining temperature in the 160-200 degree smoke range. Since smoke covers the 180 range, it would be best to use that setting instead, as 180 can be unpredictable unless you live in the conditions it’s designed for. If you still have questions, please give us a call here at 1-800-872-3

 

[edshapy]

That makes sense to me!