Bonding with my sons using pellet cookers

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idahopz

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
★ Lifetime Premier ★
Nov 9, 2015
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Rural Northern Idaho
Quite a few years ago my wife called me from Costco telling me to bring the truck - she had purchased a Traeger Lil' Tex, and I needed to pick it up. At that time I'd not even heard of a pellet grill, but when the wife demands, I comply.  At first I thought it was a great cooker, but after I purchased a GMG DC, I realized that temperature control can be much better, so because the Traeger 25 degree temperature swings were disappointing, so I installed a PID, which made it a much better cooker.

Snapshot forward to a month ago, I helped my son purchase his first pellet cooker - GMG Daniel Boone.  He's been cooking on it nearly every day since, and he is now a confirmed pellethead, just like his old man.  He did his first ribs - pre-seasoned St. Louis style and told me they were fantastic - even his friends told him so.

A weekend or so ago I did spares, cutting St. Louis style.  I like to trim the thin flap to season and snack on while the ribs are cooking. The sternum and ribs were cooked modified 3-2-1, and I took out the thin trimmings to keep our mouths satisfied until the main show.
 

Ribs and trimmings on the Traeger - everything was rubbed with Bad Byrons (I don't use sugar rubs for the initial cook) overnight, then into the Traeger @ 225 degrees


After 3 hours using cherry pellets, into foil with brown sugar, honey, and butter - meat side down


Into the house oven at 225 degrees for two hours, then shut the oven off and let rest in the cooling oven for the next hour. These ribs are ready to cut.


The look on my son's face was priceless when he took his first bite. "Dang dad, I thought my ribs were good!"  He admitted that he took the shortcut time wise and that his ribs were a bit tough on the bite, and vowed to do it right the next time.


Interestingly, the prior weekend his brother was cooking a prime brisket on a GMG Davy Crockett, I was doing a pork butt on the SRG, and my youngest was doing his St. Louis ribs.  Without knowing what any of us was doing for Memorial day, each of us were cooking on a pellet cooker.

As a dad, it was a perfect couple of weekends, and has created a new way of bonding between us all.
 
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Reactions: SmokinAl and disco
That's great Dad!

You sound like a real proud Papa!

BTW those ribs look absolutely delicious!

Points!

Al
 
Many thanks, Al - yeah, I'm a real proud dad even though both boys are old enough to be dads themselves.  One is 31 and the other 28, but they are still my babies.  The two are as different as night and day (despite having the same parents)!  Even though the oldest lives a long way away, it feels real good to have something that we all love to do that brings us close.

... and thanks for the points!  You are very kind
 
That is awesome. I purchased a Traeger Texas Elite 3 years ago, and a GMG Davy Crockett a year and a half ago. Since then two friends and my brother in law have bought Traegers, and my dad bought the Daniel Boone. Love to see what other pellet heads do! Great looking ribs.
 
 
Those are some of the most beautiful ribs I have ever seen!  Awesome that you are sharing the love of all things smoke with your sons!
Thanks for the comment worktogthr!  Definitely not competition style with that perfect bite, but the family likes them almost fall off tender
That is awesome. I purchased a Traeger Texas Elite 3 years ago, and a GMG Davy Crockett a year and a half ago. Since then two friends and my brother in law have bought Traegers, and my dad bought the Daniel Boone. Love to see what other pellet heads do! Great looking ribs.
Man, I feel your sense of satisfaction, chorizodahitman - it's great to have a circle of friends and family that share the same que-ing passion!
 
I'm with you. I love my pellet smoker.

It is good your son still knows who is best.

Points for great ribs.

Disco
 
 
I'm with you. I love my pellet smoker.

It is good your son still knows who is best.

Points for great ribs.

Disco
icon_biggrin.gif
gotta keep those kids in line somehow!  It's kind of fun really, when we "old parents" can do something that our kids see as actually having some kind of value.

I'm liking the pellet cooker more each time I use it.  My wife initially purchased it and I did not use it that often, but once I changed out the Traeger digital controller for a PID, I find that I'm using it more and more. My son came over today and said "Hey dad!, your Traeger sounds just like my Daniel Boone!"

Thank you for the points, Disco!
 
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