Wood pellet BBQ smokers such as Traeger ?

[grsthegreat]

The yoder sears steaks. Sears them nicely. I smoke steak in upper rack at 180 until meat interior reaches 95 f, then install sear plates and crank up smoker to 500 . In a few minutes i place steaks on grate and cook for 2 min, rotate 90 degrees and cook for2 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 min, rotate 90 deg and cook till internal temp is 150. This usually happens in 2-3 minutes. Steaks are seared nicely and have amazing flavor and smell. I use mesquite pellets for steaks. I have the heat diffuser plate and the 4 smokeing rack removed entire time

 

[Gunny]

grsthegreat - Thanks for that recommendation, I'll guide my looking towards the yoder.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

grsthegreat - Thanks for that recommendation, I'll guide my looking towards the yoder.

I cooked a cowboy steak in the BGE, and was pleasantly surprised. It was about 3" thick; I seared it on both sided, reduced the temp of the Egg to about 250 and finished it out at that temp for about an hour or hour and 1/2. First attempt; and it was great. A bit pricy though! :laughing:

 

[grsthegreat]

the big green egg is nice. our neighbor has one. i am too lazy and liked the convenience of setting temp and forgetting it.

here is my yoder 640 today preheating for 2 racks of ribs.

im using the Traeger 3-2-1 recipe for baby back ribs. i leave them at 180 for 3 hours, then i will encase them in foil and apple juice at 250 for 2 hours. then i unwrap them and cover them in bbq sauce and cook uncovered for 1 hour. i can only do this recipe when im at home, but i only really have about 20 minutes of labor. the taste is unbelievable.

i also use the welding cloth in winter. the digital temp is seen on the left.it stays within a few degrees with no effort on my part. i also love smnoking tritips. they take about 1-1/2 hours

 

[Dadnatron]

I have a MAK 2star pellet grill and it is great. I use it for regular grilling more than smoking. But it does make smoking extremely easy. IMO, other than for the novelty and feel good thoughts of regular wood stoked smokers, it makes far more sense to use a pellet machine. They are consistent, easy, and overall produce better results for me.

I always tend to forget to 'tend' a wood fed smoker well enough. I know it can be done, but there is a lot to say about programming the smoker to smoke a butt for 8 hrs at 130 then bump to 220 for a couple hours to finish it off. All while I am either sleeping or out on the farm.

And I second the thought about getting to know the 'Pelletheads' website, however, it is no longer in service as the owner passed away and it was sold. Apparently to someone who has let it become defunct. The 'NEW' site most have migrated too seems to be Pelletfan.com. I would check them out. They talk about the good, bad, and ugly of pellet smokers.

 

[ray66v]

im using the Traeger 3-2-1 recipe for baby back ribs.

I used to do that. It does work. They will always be "tender" And, can easily made to "fall off the bone". Which, though many like them that way, is technically, over cooked.

The problem I found with 321 is, you build this nice bark and smoke flavor, then wrap them, boiling and steaming some of it away. This causes them to shrink dramatically, and really changes the texture.

I got up the nerve one day to do them the old fashioned way. I rub them, and smoke them at 250F, until they are done. It was scary at first. But, once I realized that I just have to wait on them, they will get tender. I like the results much better.

Sometimes, I baste them a couple of times, with apple juice after 2 hours. Sometimes I don't. I do always use a water pan.

I pick up one end of the rack, starting at about 3 hours, and watch for it to start to break in the middle. Recheck every 15 minutes until desired level of tender.

Nice thin layer of bark, little to no shrinkage, very tender, and a different texture.

 

[grsthegreat]

I used to do that. It does work. They will always be "tender" And, can easily made to "fall off the bone". Which, though many like them that way, is technically, over cooked.

The problem I found with 321 is, you build this nice bark and smoke flavor, then wrap them, boiling and steaming some of it away. This causes them to shrink dramatically, and really changes the texture.

I got up the nerve one day to do them the old fashioned way. I rub them, and smoke them at 250F, until they are done. It was scary at first. But, once I realized that I just have to wait on them, they will get tender. I like the results much better.

Sometimes, I baste them a couple of times, with apple juice after 2 hours. Sometimes I don't. I do always use a water pan.

I pick up one end of the rack, starting at about 3 hours, and watch for it to start to break in the middle. Recheck every 15 minutes until desired level of tender.

Nice thin layer of bark, little to no shrinkage, very tender, and a different texture.

i might try your way next time...just to see. i really dont see much shrinkage. here are the ribs from last night. first is after taking them out of the foil steam

and here they are after the 1 hour smoking with BBQ sauce on them. this time i used the Cabelas St Luis Rub sauce.

 

[ray66v]

i might try your way next time...just to see. i really dont see much shrinkage. here are the ribs from last night. first is after taking them out of the foil steam View attachment 544233

and here they are after the 1 hour smoking with BBQ sauce on them. this time i used the Cabelas St Luis Rub sauce.View attachment 544235

They look good.

You get a more of the coveted "mahogany color" when you do the straight smoking method.

Once they start to get tender, (where they start to show signs of breaking in the middle, if you lift one end), every 15 minutes they stay on, they get noticeably more tender. You can in fact get them to "fall off the bone" for those who like that.

I want them tender. But, I like them to have just a little bit of chew.

 

[shaeff]

No mention of Grilla Grills in this thread. If you're considering a pellet smoker or Ceramic cooker, check them out.

I have a Grilla Silverbac. It's awesome, foolproof, very high quality, double walled, and less expensive than the competition. The controller is awesome, and the customer service is second to none. The engineer is the guy who answers the phone if you have an issue. He knows it inside and out.

First ribs I smoked on it. No wrap, done at 250*.

 

[RickB]

The yoder sears steaks. Sears them nicely. I smoke steak in upper rack at 180 until meat interior reaches 95 f, then install sear plates and crank up smoker to 500 . In a few minutes i place steaks on grate and cook for 2 min, rotate 90 degrees and cook for2 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 min, rotate 90 deg and cook till internal temp is 150. This usually happens in 2-3 minutes. Steaks are seared nicely and have amazing flavor and smell. I use mesquite pellets for steaks. I have the heat diffuser plate and the 4 smokeing rack removed entire time

150 internal temp is well beyond the point I want my steak cooked.