Smoked Meat is Awesome!

[Stephen]

I got my first smoker the other week and finally gave it a try last night. I've been intruiged by them for years, but never was willing to spend the money on one because if I really wanted a smokey flavor, I could throw some wood chips on my Weber and be happy enough with the results. But my wife's co-worker had an old broken Traeger 22-series which she gave to us for free because her husband had, "neither the skills or the desire to fix it." All that was broken was the auger motor, so for $60 and removing five screws, it was working again. Who knows how long it'll last, but now that I have one if it breaks again I can justify buying a newer fancier one.

It ain't pretty but it smoked up a tasty tri-tip last night!

 

[Greg]

Man, that thing is sweet looking!

I got my first smoker the other week and finally gave it a try last night. I've been intruiged by them for years, but never was willing to spend the money on one because if I really wanted a smokey flavor, I could throw some wood chips on my Weber and be happy enough with the results. But my wife's co-worker had an old broken Traeger 22-series which she gave to us for free because her husband had, "neither the skills or the desire to fix it." All that was broken was the auger motor, so for $60 and removing five screws, it was working again. Who knows how long it'll last, but now that I have one if it breaks again I can justify buying a newer fancier one.

It ain't pretty but it smoked up a tasty tri-tip last night!

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Those old ones are the best ones to get, IMO! Once Traeger moved all their manufacturing to China and they started sourcing the cheapest electrical components to maximize profits after they really took off, is when the quality went downhill... IMO.

Glad you're enjoying it, smoked meat is awesome! 🤤

 

[Stephen]

Those old ones are the best ones to get, IMO! Once Traeger moved all their manufacturing to China and they started sourcing the cheapest electrical components to maximize profits after they really took off, is when the quality went downhill... IMO.

Glad you're enjoying it, smoked meat is awesome! 🤤

All day today I've been reading about how to smoke stuff. I'm thinking ribs for Memorial Day.

The guy at BBQ Pit Stop who I got the new auger motor from suggested smoking funeral potatoes. I think that's an interesting option.

 

[Greg]

All day today I've been reading about how to smoke stuff. I'm thinking ribs for Memorial Day.

The guy at BBQ Pit Stop who I got the new auger motor from suggested smoking funeral potatoes. I think that's an interesting option.

Ribs are awesome, I use the 3-2-1 method. Just make sure to seal them well with foil, you're essentially steaming them when they're wrapped up. That's when they get tender and fall off the bone.

 

[Tonkaman]

For Ribs I do 225° for 2 hours, then make a foil boat fill with butter & honey meat side down for 1.5 hours, then flip and slather with bbq for 1.5 hours.

Smoked pineapple, pork belly, and brisket are crowd favorites at my house.

 

[Hickey]

All day today I've been reading about how to smoke stuff. I'm thinking ribs for Memorial Day.

The guy at BBQ Pit Stop who I got the new auger motor from suggested smoking funeral potatoes. I think that's an interesting option.

Cheese takes the smoke REALLY well. Mac and cheese on the smoker is stupid yummy.

 

[Coco]

Unfortunately, ribs are my least favorite thing I have done. I have tried several different seasoning options with the 3/2/1 methods. IDK what it is, but I just haven't enjoyed them. Recently did a pork belly and that was good though, and have had great success with my beef and chicken stuff.

I did two pork butts a week ago. Started at 7 am and ended at midnight. They were for the family at the trials meet and they were a huge hit. This was my first LONG cook, and it did great.

 

[nnnnnate]

The dollar to meat ratio on ribs is why I haven't smoked any. I did 20 lbs of pork shoulder ($40, 12 lbs cooked) for my nieces graduation bbq last night. It was tasty.

I did another shoulder for us at the same time and have a quart freezer bag full of it for another meal later this week.

 

[Kevin B.]

Cheese takes the smoke REALLY well. Mac and cheese on the smoker is stupid yummy.

I came to say this. Gouda and provolone make an AMAZING smoked mac and cheese.

Ribs have a particular flavor to them that is high on my list. Pork butt is nice, but I don't think it compares.

 

[frieed]

3 pork butts (2 of them in tubular form (Andouille)) ready to go on the new Pit Boss smoker...

 

[frieed]

..... Pork butt is nice, but I don't think it compares.

With pork butt it's all about the sauce.. I have two main ones I use.. one that's vinegar base and another with Dijon mustard.

 

[Greg]

Poor mans burnt ends with a chuck roast on the Recteq today, using the app I can monitor the internal temp of the meat, get an alert when the target temp is hit and change the temp of the grill... from anywhere!

 

[Stephen]

Chuck roast, hmmm... I have a bunch of those in the freezer...

 

[The_Lobbster]

Poor mans burnt ends with a chuck roast on the Recteq today, using the app I can monitor the internal temp of the meat, get an alert when the target temp is hit and change the temp of the grill... from anywhere!

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Is the 160° the temp which you’re you going to cube it? I’ve done these before, but I cubed before I even started the smoker. Curious how they turn out!

 

[Greg]

Is the 160° the temp which you’re you going to cube it? I’ve done these before, but I cubed before I even started the smoker. Curious how they turn out!

At 160* I'll pull it, wrap it tightly in foil and add some liquid and cook to 203*. At that point, I'll pull it and cube it, put it in a pan and add BBQ sauce to finish it off.

 

[Kevin B.]

At 160* I'll pull it, wrap it tightly in foil and add some liquid and cook to 203*. At that point, I'll pull it and cube it, put it in a pan and add BBQ sauce to finish it off.

 

[Greg]

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Poor Man's Burnt Ends - Hey Grill, Hey

Poor Man's Burnt Ends are a great way to get the classic BBQ flavors you love in burnt ends without having to smoke a whole brisket.

heygrillhey.com

And last time...

Epic food porn

Making some Poor Mans Burnt Ends on the smoker today. Started them at 6 AM, using cheap Chuck Roasts. These are going to be decadent, they should just melt in your mouth. Lots of seasoning, butter, brown sugar and sweet BBQ sauce. 😋

www.rme4x4.com

 

[Stephen]

First attempt at 3-2-1 ribs.

 

[BCGPER]

This is my favorite way to cook ribs, but I do mine slightly differently. More like a 6-2-1 method.

Also, I was reading through all of these Traeger horror stories. Maybe I’m just lucky, but I have yet to have a single part fail. Maybe because it’s 15 years old? It’s definitely not from a lack of use. I cook on it 4-5 days a week.

But reading the horror stories has me concerned. I’ve since purchased every possible failure component so I can have the items on hand.

 

[Greg]

End result of today's Poor Mans Burnt Ends and the 2nd cook on the Recteq... not quite as tender as I'd like, but amazing flavor.