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.

 

[primeone]

Welcome to the Traeger Forum @Biff How's it been working out for you so far?

 

[Biff]

Welcome to the Traeger Forum @Biff How's it been working out for you so far?

It's getting better and better every time I use it. Not tried the ribs again yet but I will. Really having trouble with chicken. I use to live on chicken and WOW do I really suck at smoking it.
I have tried so may different ways of smoking things and it seems that this lady Urban Cowgirl really explains the how to's well. So I come here and there most of the time for help and how to.
Right now I am wondering if I can lower my chimney cap a little to create more smoke at a higher temp with out messing the whole thing up.
Anyway I really am enjoying it and probably the best thing so far I made was western ribs. Yumm!!!
Thanks for asking!!

 

[GTHDOOK]

Welcome to the forum. Great info here and a bunch of fun folks.

 

[Hogan]

Biff; welcome to one of the more useful smoking sites on the web.
I too recently purchased a Pro 22, tho I only intend to use it for low and slow. Fast and high I'll do on my Weber gasser.
Shortly after getting the Pro 22, I wondered about temp control - the control unit called for (e.g.) 225, and the Traeger thermometers in the cook chamber read 215 or 235, as did my OEM thermometers. So I lowered the cover of the chimney a good half inch, and everything seemed to line up thereafter. Give it a whirl.

 

[Rusty94582]

Hi Biff, I am not a fan of chicken on the Traeger. I still use my Green Egg for my favorite (splatched whole chicken). It's hard to get the skin done right on a Traeger for me. However I do do wings. I season them, throw them on a cold Traeger, set the temp to 400 degrees and turn it on. The smoker heats up smoking the wings, I flip them once and cook for one hour. You can then n sauce them a bit and cook for another 10 min or so. Also go to YouTube and watch a few videos on ribs, lot's of guys have good recipes with a Traeger. Also I got Grill Grates (brand name) for when cooking rib eyes or other meats that aren't long cooks. Game changer.