My New Treager

[rik]

All,
This past weekend I just got a new grill/smoker. I got myself a Treager Lil-Tex with a modified digital thermostat (didn't like the smoke/med/high on the orig, needed better control of temp). It a wood pellet style with a auger motor to feed the pellets into the burn chamber. It is "fire and forget" style smoker. Now I know the purists will say sure it is great for beginners and I still have my traditional smoker but it is sure nice to be able to start up a brisket and be able to work on other things around the house instead of always going back to work the fire. Makes getting ready for a party much easier!
This weekend I will be doing twice smoked pork. I go the receipe from the book "Backyard BBQ" by Chef McPeake. Really looking foward to smelling the pork while I'm getting my yard work done. Now that the snow has melted off I can begin to get the yard in shape for spring.

 

[cajunsmoker]

Congratulations on the new rig Rik

, it sure will make Big Al happy to have another Pellet Pooper to talk to, he's been starting to feel like the Maytag repairman

 

[msmith]

Dang and all this time I thought Big Al was the may tag repairman Lol.

 

[rik]

Thank-you and I have the twice smoked pork going right now. I am using Pecan pellets for the smoke. I have my in-laws coming over to be my guinea pigs for dinner. I did some chicken in it last week and they came out great. It is nice to be able to smoke and get my house work done at the same time. I'm looking forward to dinner.

 

[bigal]

SWEET!!! In 6 months you'll want a bigger one, for sure. good choice.

I'm not big on the dig. therm. Still learn'n

glad your here, join in

 

[bigal]

I am the "repair man", don't leave the house ..............or else!!!!!!!!!!

 

[deejaydebi]

Rik -

Congrats on the new Treager Lil-Tex! Let us know how it fairs. I was wondering about the pellets and pucks ... do they glue them together or what?

 

[rik]

Debi,
Not sure about the pucks but the pellets seem to be pressed together w/o glue or anything. I guess glue would leave a after taste or something.
My twice smoked pulled pork came out great, my in-laws loved it so much I had to hide the left overs or they would have taken them home with them.

 

[rik]

Yeah the dig therm can take a little geting used to. In the future I plan on using my remote therm to montitor the inside temp better. The littel tex is perfect for me and the wife, I still have my Char if I need bigger and want to go traditional. I have to say I did enjoy having it run w/o me having to hover over it all day.

 

[flatbroke]

hows the grill working out? I am thinking of getting the Deluxe model, but and not sure if its worth the extra money over the texas.

 

[bigal]

Broke, check out the Louisiana Country Cooker line of smokers. I really like mine better than the Traeger. Their web site seams to be down right now, but here is some info http://www.louisianagrills.com/

Here are some pics of mine http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z2/lonefarm/

Both good smokers/grills. I still use traeger pellets.

 

[flatbroke]

very nice big al. I like the seperate compartments, what is it that you like better about the louisiana grill than the traeger

 

[wavector]

I was going to design my smoker with seperate compartments for differing temps.

 

[bigal]

Broke, one nice thing is there is no auger to bind up. I had a little trouble w/this on the traeger. The Lou's pellet are dropped into the burning "pot" by a rubber "gear". Even though the fire is next to the hopper, it is actually warmer in the middle due to the convection fan.

The lou also is taller(from ground to grate) and as simple as this is, it is very nice.

Temp stays more steady, once set it stays until meat gets really warm then you do need to turn it down just a little(I may be splitting hairs there)

I really like the two compartment system. I can use half, both halves w/different "needs" on each half, or I can use the whole length by take'n out the divider.

Paint is MUCH better on the lou. And the smoker is just heavier built.

Another major factor is PRICE! I got the 1320 for less than a 1008 sq in traeger.

Traeger has one nice feature and that is the dig temp control. It can be both "+" and a "-". The traeger also holds more pellets, but as soon as I have time I'm gonna make a hopper extender for the lou, shouldn't be hard.........famous last words.

If you want more pics I can get them for ya, just email or pm me.

Ask me all the questions you want, I'll do my best to help ya out.

 

[flatbroke]

thanks for the info.

 

[rocks]

I have a few question. I am looking to go to the Louisiana country smoker (the WH-1320). My question, does this grill/smoker replace the gas grill and cook hamburgers and other quick items. Or is more for the longer cook-times main courses?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[pitrow]

they aren't glued... they're made by compressing the wood shavings under high pressure until they basically hold their shape. My aunt used to have a machine that made "presto" logs which is just a bigger form of the traeger pellets, you basically put sawdust in one end, and out the other end comes the log. It's fun to get 'em wet and watch what happens... they bloat and swell and basically just turn into a lump of wet sawdust.

 

[bigal]

Rocks, the 1320 gets VERY hot and can do hamburgers quick or slow. That is what I really like about the pellet smokers/grills, it's all in one. I have the whole hog, and here are some pics http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z2/lonefarm/

If you want more pics or have questions, email me at [email protected] or call me at 620-874-1033(cell) or 620-872-2513(home). I'll answer as many questions as I can, I have a mental problem and tend to talk too long about smokers.

If I can help, use me. I've had a ecb, traeger, and the "Lou" WH-1320.

 

[rocks]

BigAL,
I picked up the 1320 and im cooking my first rack of baby back ribs. one thing I noticed is that the vents on the hopper are different. The vents on the left hopper are on the side like in your picture http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z...tSmoker003.jpg. The vents for the right side hopper are on top between the pellet holder and the main grill. Is this correct?

 

[zgnf05]

Congrats on the new grill I love mine. Would you mind shooting me the recipe for the twice smoked pork?

Jason