Hi All,

I hate to barge into this group like a clueless newbie, but I just got a
Traeger grill and thought I'd share a few thoughts on it... OK, and ask
a few questions.

I am not a serious Q'er (right term?), at least not yet, but did read
about Traeger in another NG. As I was in the market for a new grill
anyway--as in gas--I figured I'd check it out. After the price shock I
convinced myself to try out the Lil' Tex (BBQ70). I live in Arizona and
the grill was delivered in one day via FedEx Freight
(traegergrills.com).

The grill is apparently built (and painted) on a wooden pallet at the
factory. It is shipped on that same pallet, presumably to hold it
together during transit. Still, my grill had a rather nasty dent in the
left side of the front opening--enough that when closing the lid a gap
was rather apparent. I didn't notice this at time of delivery (Friday)
nor during the setup (it was getting dark), but I was able to bend it
back into shape somewhat. The gap is nearly gone, though there is a lot
of flaked-off paint (ditto for the smoke stack). Unfortunately, by the
time I noticed it I was ready to fire it up and use it--and I did. I
still intend to call traegergrills.com Monday morning, as the dent and
missing paint are quite obvious (each person I showed the grill to
zeroed right in on the missing paint).

So I finished the setup, loaded some pellets, and flipped the switch. As
soon as I verified everything was working OK, I put down the manual and
grabbed some ribs. As they were cooking I picked up the manual again.
That's when I read the part about running the grill for 45 minutes on
high to "cure it" before cooking any food. The manual doesn't say it,
but I think it is also to dry the paint, based on the smell emanating
from the grill. As I slid the two racks of ribs into the trash I made
yet another mental note to RTFM (completely!).

After the first mishap, I cooked steaks, chicken, brats, and more ribs.
At first I was a bit disappointed, as I was used to gas grilling. I ran
my old grill at very high temps, and the food tasted flame-broiled. I
like that kind of flavor, but I primarily cooked steaks, ribs, and
chicken (and not much chicken/ribs, unless pre-cooked).

The steaks I cooked on the Traeger were really not on par with my old
grill. It was as if I had baked them, not grilled them. Yes, there was
some smoke flavor, but in my opinion that was not enough to overcome the
loss of the "flame-broiled" taste I got with my old grill. A sick
feeling set in, about spending over $700 on an ugly-looking "grill" that
couldn't even cook a simple steak.

After ruining $70 worth of meat, I decided to just try a whole chicken.
By this time I was a little more familiar with the grill, how hot it
gets and where, and more importantly, what the temperature control
actually does. For the chicken I did nothing but cut it in half, rub a
little Traegers Chicken Rub on it, and cook 45-minutes. Wow, my first
success! Juicy, tender, with just enough smoke flavor for my tastes. I
even tasted some of the steak that was sitting in the fridge--and
strangely enough it seemed to taste better than when it was first
cooked. I think I was beginning to "acquire" a taste for smoke--real
smoke.

I wrote "real smoke" because I think I was slightly misled. One of the
reasons I wanted a smoker was because I was impressed with the BBQ I
used to pickup in front of one our supermarkets. They (guy and his wife)
used to set up in the parking lot and BBQ'd tri-tips, ribs, and chicken.
I never knew how they cooked it, but it sure seemed tasty. Guess what? I
have now discovered they used Liquid Smoke! This makes sense, as they
would have stuff ready a lot faster than most all of the BBQ/smoker
recipes I have read. Is it normal to use Liquid Smoke in a professional
setting like this? They had the large oil drums and whatnot.

I then attempted ribs again (babyback). Since the rub worked so good on
the chicken, I used it on the ribs--this time I used a lot more of the
rub figuring more must be better. I cooked the ribs on the smoke setting
for three hours, and then for about 10 minutes on the high setting. When
finished I brushed them with sauce, and they looked great. I was really
anxious to taste these things, as to me 3-hours was like an eternity
(I'm learning though).

Much to my surprise, they weren't all that great. They were OK, I guess,
but once again I was happier with the results from the gas grill. The
first thing that hit me was the salt--way too much of it and I realized
I must have gone too heavy on the rub. But they were also *very* smoky,
which I didn't expect since the recipe I used called for 3 hours on
smoke at the minimum, preferably more.

They tasted like a combination of smoked ham, bacon, and to a lesser
extent, ribs. They were mostly pink, yet fully cooked (pink from
smoking, definitely not the pink from raw pork). Is this the way
babyback ribs are supposed to turn out? (The next day, cold from the
fridge, they were actually pretty tasty--or I am just getting more used
to smoke.)

Finally, I have noticed that my grill is running hotter than what I
think it's supposed to. When on high, my grill is reaching more than 575
degrees. Granted this is AZ and it was about 85 degrees out, but I
wonder what it will hit when it's over 100 out (where it will soon be,
and will be till October or so). On medium it was around 350 degrees
(didn't check the temp on smoke yet). I'm not complaining, but I do
wonder about that thermostat add-on Traeger sells. It only goes up to
450 degrees. If I end up buying that, will my max temp be limited to
450, or is there an override that allows it to work like the old "High?"
I kind of like having the extra heat, if needed.

If you've read this far, thank you!


--
Mike

Rather then get into specifics it's vital to know your equipment.

As I understand it the Traeger has three heat settings. For smoking you
want to use the lowest which should produce a temp of 175 to 200.

I suggest you pick up a copy of the "Smoke and Spice Cookbook". It's a
goldmine of information on "low and slow" cooking.

You should make every effort to get the door to the smoker chamber to seal
tight. The circulation from the firebox to the stack will be disrupted by
any leaks.

Grilling steaks/hamburgers etc is a very different exercise from
baking/smoking. The Trager is not a grill so food which should be cooked
over high heat with good air circulation will not cook properly in your
smoker.

I have a small TEC I use for grilling (it's about the hottest grill around)
and a HastyBake (to be replaced by a Kamado) for baking and smoking.

Remember practice makes perfect the Traeger can produce wonderful barbacue.

Richard Smith

Tinman wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I<snipped>
>
> Finally, I have noticed that my grill is running hotter than what I
> think it's supposed to. When on high, my grill is reaching more than 575
> degrees. Granted this is AZ and it was about 85 degrees out, but I
> wonder what it will hit when it's over 100 out (where it will soon be,
> and will be till October or so). On medium it was around 350 degrees
> (didn't check the temp on smoke yet). I'm not complaining, but I do
> wonder about that thermostat add-on Traeger sells. It only goes up to
> 450 degrees. If I end up buying that, will my max temp be limited to
> 450, or is there an override that allows it to work like the old "High?"
> I kind of like having the extra heat, if needed.
>
> If you've read this far, thank you!
>
> --
> Mike

I've used a Trager multiple times, and own NB pit, charcol water, and
propane BBQ, here's my 2 cents worth:

The Traeger is a not meant to grill, it's a BBQ in the true sense and best
used with the low & slow type of cooking. Purists in this group may shun
the pellet concept, but living in Oregon, I can pick them up at the factory
and avoid freight. The pellets are pure wood, no binders, etc.

Forget doing steaks, or anything that you would cook in under 10 minutes.
90+% of your cooking should be with the smoke setting, or at least keep the
internal temperature under 250, and lengthen your cook times. Always use a
meat thermometer. Here's some comparisons (from memory - that's why I use
a remote thermometer!):

Tri-Tip - hot grill 30-40 minutes, Trager: 4-5 hours on smoke setting
Ribs: 225-250 grill:3-1/2 hours, Trager: 6 hours on smoke setting
Standing Rib Roast: about the same as ribs\
Whole Chicken: 225-250 grill: 2-1/2 - 3 hours, Traeger 4-5 hours

If you want to add light smoke to a roast, turkey, etc, run the 1st hour in
the Traeger then put in oven, subtracting time in Traeger from regular cook
time. Nice slight smokey addition that won't upset those who don't really
like BBQ smoke type of meats.

Dick

Richard Smith wrote:
> Rather then get into specifics
> it's vital to know your equipment.

I'm getting there, albeit slowly.


> As I understand it the Traeger has three heat settings. For smoking
> you want to use the lowest which should produce a temp of 175 to 200.
>

After further testing the temps are roughly 220, 350, and 550 degrees
respectively. This was with very little wind, and an outside temperature
of between 80-90 degrees. Where I live it will be over a hundred degrees
soon, often hitting 110+ (or 120+ during "heat waves"). I'm guessing the
aforementioned grill temps will climb accordingly come summer. (Should
save money on pellets! ^_^)


> I suggest you pick up a copy of the "Smoke and Spice Cookbook". It's
> a goldmine of information on "low and slow" cooking.
>

Will look for it, thanks.


> You should make every effort to get the door to the smoker chamber to
> seal tight. The circulation from the firebox to the stack will be
> disrupted by any leaks.
>

I have it pretty tight now, but I had to use a mallet to bang the metal
into shape. Not that happy with the look of my dented $700 grill right
now, but it works.


> Grilling steaks/hamburgers etc is a very different exercise from
> baking/smoking. The Trager is not a grill so food which should be
> cooked over high heat with good air circulation will not cook
> properly in your smoker.
>

While I certainly can't argue with the above, I do wonder why Traeger
and others call them grills if they aren't. I'm not even sure what to
call it now (grill? smoker? BBQ?). Regardless, it wasn't easy accepting
the fact that this expensive (to me) "grill" can't actually grill.


> I have a small TEC I use for grilling (it's about the hottest grill
> around) and a HastyBake (to be replaced by a Kamado) for baking and
> smoking.
>
> Remember practice makes perfect the Traeger can produce wonderful
> barbacue.
>

I am seeing that more-and-more now. Even the ribs that I think I screwed
up weren't all that bad after sitting overnight in the fridge. They
kinda grew on me. But now I'm a bit confused over what they are supposed
to taste like off of a Traeger.

I read a lot about the Traeger before I bought it. I didn't find much
negatively written about it, except for price. But I could have sworn I
read at least one report of it not imparting enough smoke flavor. So
even if I did screw up the ribs, it at least proved that the Traeger is
indeed capable of imparting more than enough smoke flavor for my tastes.

These ribs were very smoky and salty (the salt was a mistake, and I
think it made the smoke flavor... well, smokier or something). Still,
there was a distinct bacon or "ham" flavor which I don't recall ever
tasting in ribs. Is this normal or did I really screw them up? (There
was no smoke ring to speak of. The meat was pink throughout.)

Thanks for the reply, and sorry about that loooong post.


--
Mike | Last words of Thomas Grasso, executed in 1995:
'04 FLHTCUI | "I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti.
| I want the press to know this."

> I suggest you pick up a copy of the "Smoke and Spice Cookbook". It's a
> goldmine of information on "low and slow" cooking.
>

Who is the Author? I did a search for "Smoke and Spice Cookbook" on amazon
with many results, just not this one.

Dick Wiegand wrote:
> Tinman wrote:
<snippage>
>>
>> If you've read this far, thank you!
>>
>
> I've used a Trager multiple times, and own NB pit, charcol water, and
> propane BBQ, here's my 2 cents worth:
>
> The Traeger is a not meant to grill, it's a BBQ in the true sense and
> best used with the low & slow type of cooking.

I've come to that realization now. Since Traeger calls it a grill, and
explicitly states that you can grill on it, it's very easy for someone
not familiar with the nuances of (real) BBQ to become confused. I
thought I was buying something that could not only BBQ, but grill too.
Worse, I explained this to my wife when I ordered the Traeger, and she
in turn offered our old grill to her parents. We'll need to either learn
to eat only BBQ, or we'll have to buy another grill. I gots some
'splainin to do!


> Purists in this group
> may shun the pellet concept, but living in Oregon, I can pick them up
> at the factory and avoid freight. The pellets are pure wood, no
> binders, etc.
>

I'm impressed over the heat, and smoke flavor, that comes from these
tiny pellets. Very cool to watch it--and hear it--in operation. Sounds
like a blast furnace or something.


> Forget doing steaks, or anything that you would cook in under 10
> minutes.

I see that now. I did cook a few brats on the High setting though, and
the things seemed to cook as fast--or faster--than on the gas grill. I
think my Traeger runs a little hot as High climbs quickly to, and then
exceeds, 550 degrees (I took the thermometer out at 570 or so--I need to
get that built-in version). I accidentally touched the end of one of the
handle bolts and burned my finger when opening the lid. I'd pretty much
bet that when that happened the temp was 600 or higher. Come summer this
thing's gonna be a kiln!


> 90+% of your cooking should be with the smoke setting, or at
> least keep the internal temperature under 250

It looks like I'll be needing that thermostat controller. Dang that
thing is expensive--and I also wonder about losing my extra-high-heat
capability (I know, I know, I shouldn't be using the Traeger with that
kind of heat).

Thanks for the tips!


--
Mike | As the light changed from red to green to yellow
'04 FLHTCUI | and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life.
| Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and
| yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.

Found it, Thanx!

Tinman ---
Where are you in AZ? I have a son in Mesa who has been doing a lot of
experimenting with his Traeger. Maybe you two can get together.

Have you contacted Traeger on your unit? Call and ask for George in Service.
They have been more than eager to help me with any problems.

The "smoke" quantity is determined by how fast the pellets are introduced to
the firepot. It is set so that the fire burns down to coals and then more
pellets are dropped which "smoke" before they ignite. Therefore, the higher
you set the temp, the less "smoke" is produced.

Just my $0.02 worth.

John

"Tinman" > wrote in message
...
> Richard Smith wrote:
>> Rather then get into specifics
>> it's vital to know your equipment.
>
> I'm getting there, albeit slowly.
>
>
>> As I understand it the Traeger has three heat settings. For smoking
>> you want to use the lowest which should produce a temp of 175 to 200.
>>
>
> After further testing the temps are roughly 220, 350, and 550 degrees
> respectively. This was with very little wind, and an outside temperature
> of between 80-90 degrees. Where I live it will be over a hundred degrees
> soon, often hitting 110+ (or 120+ during "heat waves"). I'm guessing the
> aforementioned grill temps will climb accordingly come summer. (Should
> save money on pellets! ^_^)
>
>
>> I suggest you pick up a copy of the "Smoke and Spice Cookbook". It's
>> a goldmine of information on "low and slow" cooking.
>>
>
> Will look for it, thanks.
>
>
>> You should make every effort to get the door to the smoker chamber to
>> seal tight. The circulation from the firebox to the stack will be
>> disrupted by any leaks.
>>
>
> I have it pretty tight now, but I had to use a mallet to bang the metal
> into shape. Not that happy with the look of my dented $700 grill right
> now, but it works.
>
>
>> Grilling steaks/hamburgers etc is a very different exercise from
>> baking/smoking. The Trager is not a grill so food which should be
>> cooked over high heat with good air circulation will not cook
>> properly in your smoker.
>>
>
> While I certainly can't argue with the above, I do wonder why Traeger and
> others call them grills if they aren't. I'm not even sure what to call it
> now (grill? smoker? BBQ?). Regardless, it wasn't easy accepting the fact
> that this expensive (to me) "grill" can't actually grill.
>
>
>> I have a small TEC I use for grilling (it's about the hottest grill
>> around) and a HastyBake (to be replaced by a Kamado) for baking and
>> smoking.
>>
>> Remember practice makes perfect the Traeger can produce wonderful
>> barbacue.
>>
>
> I am seeing that more-and-more now. Even the ribs that I think I screwed
> up weren't all that bad after sitting overnight in the fridge. They kinda
> grew on me. But now I'm a bit confused over what they are supposed to
> taste like off of a Traeger.
>
> I read a lot about the Traeger before I bought it. I didn't find much
> negatively written about it, except for price. But I could have sworn I
> read at least one report of it not imparting enough smoke flavor. So even
> if I did screw up the ribs, it at least proved that the Traeger is indeed
> capable of imparting more than enough smoke flavor for my tastes.
>
> These ribs were very smoky and salty (the salt was a mistake, and I think
> it made the smoke flavor... well, smokier or something). Still, there was
> a distinct bacon or "ham" flavor which I don't recall ever tasting in
> ribs. Is this normal or did I really screw them up? (There was no smoke
> ring to speak of. The meat was pink throughout.)
>
> Thanks for the reply, and sorry about that loooong post.
>
>
> --
> Mike | Last words of Thomas Grasso, executed in 1995:
> '04 FLHTCUI | "I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti.
> | I want the press to know this."
>

wrote:
> Tinman ---
> Where are you in AZ? I have a son in Mesa who has been doing a lot of
> experimenting with his Traeger. Maybe you two can get together.
>

I'm in Lake Havasu City. We're about 3-4 hours NW of the PHX (and Mesa)
area--and in the summer we actually get a little warmer. We head down
there to "cool off." ;-)


> Have you contacted Traeger on your unit?

No, but I probably should. I didn't think they would be able to do much
more than send a little touchup paint.


>
> The "smoke" quantity is determined by how fast the pellets are
> introduced to the firepot. It is set so that the fire burns down to
> coals and then more pellets are dropped which "smoke" before they
> ignite. Therefore, the higher you set the temp, the less "smoke" is
> produced.

Yep, I'm catching on. I was--am--just clueless about BBQing in general.

Amazingly, I just had the two last ribs from my "mistake" batch for
lunch, and I actually thought they tasted pretty darn good. Not like the
ribs I cook on the grill, but still good. They seemed to get better the
older they got. Plus, I think I was wrong about the bacon flavor. It was
more like, for lack of a better term, rib jerky (in taste, as the meat
was not tough or even that dry). I used to wolf down a whole rack of
ribs by myself (not for lunch!), and these smoky ribs don't work that
way.

By the time I got to those last two ribs, I even ate them slower. I also
nuked them, whereas I had been eating them cold. My grilled ribs never
really tasted as good when nuked. The smoked ribs seemed to improve.
Taking my time chewing, I was able to taste the flavor a lot better.
There really was a lot of flavor packed into those babies. I don't think
I'll make them like that again, but I sure didn't throw any of them
away. My in-laws seemed to like them cold from the fridge--and took a
rack home.

Being as these were tender babybacks, I believe I smoked them too long
and used way too much rub. I also should have wrapped them in foil right
after cooking, and let them sit for a little while. It's kind of amazing
that I liked the ribs at all, after all of the mistakes I made. Next
time I'm going to try the recipe on Traeger's Web site: a sprinkle of
shake; 1-2 hours on Medium and 30 minutes on smoke; brush a few times
with sauce while smoking; remove, wrap in foil and let sit for 15
minutes.


--
Mike | There are 10 kinds of people in this world: those
'04 FLHTCUI | who understand binary, and those who don't.

< Next
> time I'm going to try the recipe on Traeger's Web site: a sprinkle of
> shake; 1-2 hours on Medium and 30 minutes on smoke; brush a few times
> with sauce while smoking; remove, wrap in foil and let sit for 15
> minutes.>

Stay a way from wrapping with foil! The whole idea of dry smoking is not
to steam the ribs. I apply a rub the night before. I take the ribs out of
the fridge the next morning so they come to room temp, thats important! I
then put them in my HastyBake when it shows a hood temp of around 200.

After 30 minutes I put hickory chunks wrapped in foil in the firebox. The
foil causes the chunks to char slowly. Don't want clouds of smoke! Every 45
minutes I baste the ribs with a beer/vinegar based mopping liquid.

I try to keep the hood temp at around 200 for the duration of the cook.

After 4 hours or so the ribs should be pulling from the bone. When that
happens I heavily coat the ribs with barbecue sauce and let them cook until
the sauce begins to caramelize. When that happens I remove them from the
smoker slice and serve.

The important thing here is NOT to overcook then they are tough, dry and
stringy. Otherwise wonderful!

Richard Smith

>
> < Next
>> time I'm going to try the recipe on Traeger's Web site: a sprinkle of
>> shake; 1-2 hours on Medium and 30 minutes on smoke; brush a few times
>> with sauce while smoking; remove, wrap in foil and let sit for 15
>> minutes.>
>
> Stay a way from wrapping with foil! The whole idea of dry smoking is
> not
> to steam the ribs.

Wrapping them in foil--after cooking--counts as steaming?

-John O

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:03:51 GMT, "Christine Allison"
> wrote:

>Every 45
>minutes I baste the ribs with a beer/vinegar based mopping liquid.

Why? My experience is that mopping adds nothing to the flavor and only
lengthens the cooking time because you're repeatedly opening the lid
and losing heat.

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 15:50:08 GMT, "John O"
> wrote:

>>
>> < Next
>>> time I'm going to try the recipe on Traeger's Web site: a sprinkle of
>>> shake; 1-2 hours on Medium and 30 minutes on smoke; brush a few times
>>> with sauce while smoking; remove, wrap in foil and let sit for 15
>>> minutes.>
>>
>> Stay a way from wrapping with foil! The whole idea of dry smoking is
>> not
>> to steam the ribs.
>
>Wrapping them in foil--after cooking--counts as steaming?
>

Yep.

Christine Allison wrote:
> Every 45
> minutes I baste the ribs with a beer/vinegar based mopping liquid.

I'm curious why you do this. Have you tried not doing it
and compared the results?

The reason I say this, is that I've compared mopped to unmopped
a few times, and mopping does nothing for the flavor or texture
of the meat for me. In particular, once the meat starts "setting
up" a skin, the mop just beads up and runs off. At best, the
mop might help rinse away some rendered fat that might be
oozing out somewhere.

I basically abandoned mops pretty quickly. In fact, my style
has evolved to never lifting the lid at all on the cook chamber
for at least three hours on ribs. I don't fuss over the meat, I
just watch the cook chamber temperature and manage the fire, even
that usually just gets tweaked once a hour. For larger chunks
of meat, not ribs, I'll watch the internal temperature, too,
though ultimately done-ness is tested with texture.

> The important thing here is NOT to overcook then they are tough, dry and
> stringy. Otherwise wonderful!

Absolutely.

Dana

I am using a mop from the Smoke and Spice cookbook. It contains vinegar,
beer some of the dry rub and chopped onion.

This mop being very thin forms very little crust but the vinegar/beer base
adds "complexity" to the finial product. I always mop heavily and a lot of
steam and smoke is (briefly) emitted by the boiling liquid. I suspect these
vapors also enhance the flavor.

I have smoked ribs without the mop but with the same rub and finishing
sauce and find a noticeable difference (for the better) with the mop.

Richard Smith

PS These observations respect using a HastyBake for smoking. It's possible
that these results are a product of my equipment.

I just did a search on Amazon for "smoke and spice". The second and fourth
entries were the soft cover and hard cover repectively. The author is
Cheryl Alters Jamison. Actually it is written by a husband and wife couple,
Cheryl and Bill Jamison. When you search on a phrase like that title,
remember to use quotes. It helps.

Brick (Keep the shiny side up)

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