Brand spanking new to smoking

[Biff]

Hi there, my name is Biff. I cook out on a propane grill just about every day through most of the year, but this is my first smoker. I bought a PRO 22. I thought about getting a larger one but my wife vary seldom eats my simple food, and she is not much for meats of any kind, so I felt the small one would be fine and dandy.
I did baby back ribs for the first time yesterday and they were not anything I will making again the way I did them anytime soon. They were eatable but 3-2-1cooking for 6 hours and tough...........
So that is why I am here!!! I plan on learning and maybe some day helping.
I am still excited about having my first one and ready for my next meal. I bought the best and plan on using it as much as possible.

 

[Like Smoke]

Hi Biff and welcome to the forum. Don't get frustrated on your first shot of ribs. The 3-2-1 cooking method never worked fro me ether, but it looks good on some of the videos. My family prefers spare ribs, more protein and less price. Smoking for me is a learning curve, keep good notes of your temps and cooking times, and you will hit that magic combination that give you the best end result. To wrap or not to wrap, when to sauce, there are a lot of varibles that may take a few smokes to figure out your best end result. Use an aftermarket temp probe and don't totally rely on the Traeger readout. There is an earlier post a few levels down the forum,

St. Louis Style Ribs and 3-2-1 Cooking Method , Read RayClem's responce, much better that I could explain.

 

[RayClem]

While the Traeger can be used for higher-heat cooking, it excells at "low and slow" cooks. They take time. With very few exceptions, you cannot come home from work, throw something on the Traeger and expect to eat it that night for dinner. Many of the guys here love cooking brisket. They put it on the Traeger right before bedtime one night and finish it off the next day. It might take 18 hours of cooking.

Authentic BBQ takes time. Unfortunately our culture has tried to redefine BBQ as burgers cooked on a charcoal grill in 15 minutes. That is grilling, but it is not BBQ.

Hopefully, as you refine your BBQ skills over time, your wife will come to love the meals you cook on your Traeger. Tonight, my wife and I enjoyed some pork chops I cooked on the Traeger a few months ago and then sealed in vacuum bags for storage in the freezer. I reheated them this evening. They were wonderful. My wife, like yours, is not a big meat eater, but she enjoyed every morsel.

 

[Hogan]

Here's a 2 hr smoke recipe to try: In Ronnie Shewchuk's book "Barbecue Secrets Deluxe" he describes the method for cooking a Hot Smoked Salmon fillet (or 2 or 3) - not planked - over a 220* alder smoke. Depending on the size of the fillet, it takes between one and a half to two and a half hrs. A 5★ recipe IMHO.