Newbie with Traeger

[cheapo]

I'm from California.  Pretty new to smoking, started out using a friend's Masterbuilt electric smoker.  Last year I received the Traeger Lil' Tex Elite as a Christmas Bonus, I have spent the last year trying to get the hang of the change.  The electric smoker was basically fool proof, or so I learned.  When I switched to the Traeger pellet smoker I found the transition somewhat difficult.  I have done some great ribs, fish, chicken but I cannot seem to master the pork shoulder I used to be able to make.  One came out dry, one didn't shred right, one was real salty (all my fault, well done on the rub, dumb dumb), I was looking for some tips and tricks from other people that have Traegers. 

I look forward to learning lots and hopefully contributing what little knowledge I have on the subject.

 

[gary s]

  Good evening and welcome to the forum, from a chilly and cloudy day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary

 

[hamrhead1971]

Welcome from Louisiana. You will find a wealth of knowledge here from members who are happy to share it. Don't hesitate to ask questions and take advantage of the search bar.

 

[bear55]

While i don't own a Traeger, the key to butts as you know is time and correct internal temps.  Pull your butts at 203-205 let them rest and they will fantastic.  There are many rub recipes here, just use the search bar and search them.

Richard  

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David

 

[gary s]

I think we have a lot of Traeger smokers on here someone should jump in to help you

Gary

 

[tjohnson]

I own a Traeger Texas...What do you want to know?

Using a Pellet Grill is just as easy as using an electric smoker.  You're using wood pellets to heat your smoker rather than electricity, and wood pellets for smoke.

Your dry meat is most likely caused by smoking your pork butt for too long.  I smoke mine without a pan, until it starts to drip, or right around 120°.  Then I place it in a pan.  At 165° or so, I foil the pork butt and finish it to 205°ish.  When you can easily remove the bone, it's done.  Cooking to over 205° can cause mushy meat.

Injecting your pork butts is also very important.  This keeps the meat moist throughout the cook.

The other thing to consider is a pellet grill may have an air temp of 225° inside, but a grate temp of 350°.  You need to take this into consideration when using a pellet grill.

A pellet grill is basically an "Outdoor Pellet Fired Convection Oven"

Todd