Just used my smoker for the first time last night. I have a Traeger Silverton. I smoked a tri tip and it turned out delicious. Couple of total noob questions though. On the the Traeger site there's instructions for tri tip that say to set it at 225 for 1 to 1.5 hours and then when you get an IT of 135, take the meat off, crank the Traeger to high, and sear each side for 4 minutes. This is what I ended up doing but it took me closer to 3.5 hours to reach IT 135 on a 3 lb tri tip. Does that sound right? Why such a difference? And this is a total rookie question, but should the meat probe that comes with the Traeger be left in the meat while cooking or should I periodically check?
Thanks for any help.
Hi Art, Don in Reno, NV. There are lotsa variables when it comes to smoking. I have a Treager Pro 22 and use a Treager Insulated Cover in the winter.
1. Treager probes are not accurate.
2. Meat density makes a difference, every piece of meat is different.
3. Outside temp makes a difference, so does wind.
4. Get a Thermo-Pro, you can check both meat temp and smoker temp at the same time.
5. Make sure the meat probe is inserted correctly, takes some practice. It needs to be in the middle so it reads the internal temp not the surface temp.
6. Let roasts sit at room temp for a couple hours (it brings up the internal temp reducing the cooking time). A lot of receipts do not mention this step.
7. Experiment, receipts are guidelines only.
I do my tri-tip @ 250 until about 130-135 degrees and then let set inside for 5 minutes, I don't bother to sear it (too lazy) got the treager to set and forget not have to work at it. Good Luck and have fun.