Who's smoking meat this weekend?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Which Traeger do you have? I will say it’s not the same a direct heat grilling but I have the 650 pro and once I found the hot spots, I can get a solid sear. For me it’s the first 1/3 of the grill close to the hopper and then entire bottom 6 inches of the grate horizontally

Actually not sure. It is about 5 years old and got passed down when my FIL was looking for a smaller footprint grill to make more room on his patio.

But it certainly isn't the same sort of sear I can get off of a roaring Kamado.
 
20200925_163451~2.jpg
Filipino style ribs, garlic jalapeno pecan smoked wings.
 
“I like big butts” just sounds better than “I like big shoulders”. Got a late start yesterday so they didn’t come off the smoker until 3:30 am this morning. Started pulling at 5:30 and finished just in time to go to work. Good thing Monday’s are never crazy/hectic! o_O
View attachment 700371View attachment 700372View attachment 700373

Ugh. I've been using the Kitchenaid mixer to pull pork butts because I'm lazy, but when I see yours it makes me want to pull out the bear claws next time and do it by hand.

That looks delicious!
 
Brisket last weekend. No time for good pics, there was food to be devoured.

vacuum sealed and froze the point to sous vide for the next family get together. Not as much bark as I’d like but man was it good. Pulled at 202F rested an hour. I think a longer rest is in store for the next one.
 

Attachments

  • B4099819-7D47-43E8-BB69-6E4D14753BA0.jpeg
    B4099819-7D47-43E8-BB69-6E4D14753BA0.jpeg
    2.5 MB · Views: 15
  • 26BEDCED-7F7B-4ED5-ADED-F5AB9A5BD1CB.jpeg
    26BEDCED-7F7B-4ED5-ADED-F5AB9A5BD1CB.jpeg
    2.5 MB · Views: 16
The Traeger is true set & forget, which is nice. The flavor on both the ribs and the short ribs I did yesterday was great, so I don't think there was anything lost in translation. It's not quite as rock-solid temp-wise as the kamado, I did see it fluctuating in the 240-270 range when I had it at the 225 set point... Part of that could be that it's an older model that I got secondhand. I also learned on the ribs that it does have hot spots, so when loading it with 3 racks of ribs I'm going to have to rotate them occasionally for even cooking. The rack in the back definitely got more heat than the others. But it's easier to set up and just get to smoking than the kamado, and it takes care of the temp control for you. Just plug it in, turn it on, and in 15 minutes you're set up and cooking.
Out of curiosity, hvae you verified the temp with a separate thermometer to verify if it's accurate or not?
 
Been stalking the Walmart inventory and got this Pit Boss XL for $247. Smoked some wings last week and doing pork tenderloin and chicken thighs tomorrow ;)
View attachment 702010

Cant beat these for the money when Walmart blows them out that's how I ended up with mine I went in to buy some charcoal and saw the classic was $175 and figured for that price even if I only used it at times it would be worth it. FYI Lowes (by me anyway) sells 40lb bags of the pit boss competition blend pellets for $14.99, I did a brisket with like $4 of pellets. I tend to get a lot of temp swing but the cooks seem to work out just fine some how, good luck with it and dont forget to register it they come with a 5 year warranty.
 
Haven't yet. Should probably do that.
Definitely should. My stepdad bought a nice Thermapen thermometer to use instead of the built-in one. He's got a Traeger. He's actually been using an additional little tray with wood chips in it to get more smoke. Pellet smokers don't get you as much smoke (but we all knew that already). They're pretty slick though.
We're doing some ribs and some chuck roast tomorrow (for tacos de barbacoa). Salud, cabrones.:mug:
 
Popping the Rib cherry. 3-2-1 Beef action.
How did they turn out?

After over cooking a few racks to the point of falling apart trying to pick them up, I have stopped wrapping my ribs unless they are full spares with alot of extra meat/cartilage past the bone.(varying thickness is another driving factor as well) If I have a St. Loius cut or baby backs, I just go a straight 5-6 hours with out the foil. (I will add Sunday's pic in from my phone). I also done beef ribs versus pork, so i am not sure if there is much of a difference

Also just threw on a pork butt @ 10 to be done by the Noon kick off of the college football season. Sorry, but with out the Bucks on the line-up, I really haven't gotten excited yet for the games that were on.
 

Attachments

  • 20201018_175431.jpg
    20201018_175431.jpg
    3.2 MB · Views: 11
  • 20201018_180022.jpg
    20201018_180022.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 11
How did they turn out?

After over cooking a few racks to the point of falling apart trying to pick them up, I have stopped wrapping my ribs unless they are full spares with alot of extra meat/cartilage past the bone.(varying thickness is another driving factor as well) If I have a St. Loius cut or baby backs, I just go a straight 5-6 hours with out the foil. (I will add Sunday's pic in from my phone). I also done beef ribs versus pork, so i am not sure if there is much of a difference

Also just threw on a pork butt @ 10 to be done by the Noon kick off of the college football season. Sorry, but with out the Bucks on the line-up, I really haven't gotten excited yet for the games that were on.

I was a little low in temp initially so added 30 during the wrap. I'd give it a B-. Nice flavor in general but not enough smoke. Wasn't quite falling off the bone but another 30min would've solved it. Pork next time though. I got the beef briskets down in this electric smoker though.

With you on CF. Huskers opening at Ohio State? Get it out of the way I guess. You never know what might happen being 2020 and all! 😉

Thanks for asking. This awesome community has been a great guide for massive improvements!
 
@PianoMan mine is a vertical pellet job. It is a little smaller than I would like, but I got it a great price.

The way the Big Ten mishandled this whole schedule has drove me insane. That being said, we have a game today and I am very thankful for that.

Don't underestimate the power of 2020. Nothing should be a given and a close game won't be a surprise to me. I hope your Huskers go undefeated--starting next week...
 
I've had the same issue with my electric smoker, especially when I have to go on the cool side (<230F) for something like bacon. I'm planning to add a smoke tray soon to amp up the smoke flavor.


In my electric smoker I fill the tray with pellets from my pellet grill then I use a torch and light them up give them a few minutes and blow the flame out and they are smoking heavily, I have found this to be by far the best way to get smoke flavor in my electric smoker. I tried the smoking tubes but the humidity from the water tray just kept putting it out the chips just dont work well (at all) in my Masterbuilt cabinet. You can grab a bag of pit boss pellets for under $10 and it will last a very long time if you use it in your electric smoker I use the Hickory and I get enough smoke flavor using this method.

these are the pellets I use
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pit-Boss-20-lb-Wood-Pellets/1001335870
 
My neighbor has a stick burner and I am wondering if he might help me test the whole "pellets don't give enough flavor" debate.

My thought is I get a 2 pack of butts from Costco, season them the same and then we both cook them over the same 'wood'. Then we have a blind tasting Brulosophy style and see how it shakes out.

Obviously a challenge for next spring or summer when we can have a gathering of appropriate size to tackle that much pulled pork. :mug:
 
I've had the same issue with my electric smoker, especially when I have to go on the cool side (<230F) for something like bacon. I'm planning to add a smoke tray soon to amp up the smoke flavor.
My stepdad does this with his Traeger, similar to was OG does but with chips instead of pellets. He likes the results.
 
Back
Top