Did smoked poblano peppers; unexpected results

[Scott_R]

Very new Traeger user, only a few smokes under the belt. I saw this recipe for Smoked Poblano Peppers and decided to give it a try.

With some minor changes I prepared the peppers as directed. I decided to smoke them the next day and so put them in the fridge. I took them out about 20 mins before the Traeger (Pro Series 575 ) was ready. I also put them in the microwave at 50% for a minute or so, to take more of the chill off. Temps here are around 30F, so it took a while to heat up.

20 minutes at 275; I raised it to 300 (as directed), changing the temp a few minutes before the first 20 was up.

I didn't use a probe: the way I saw it, all of the ingredients were already cooked, so I just needed the peppers hot. After the 40 minutes (and a minute or two) I pulled them.

As I plated, I decided to do an internal temperature check with my Thermapen.

Just 105 degrees! Not much more than warm. Is that... normal? Is it because of the difference between his smoker and a Traeger?

I put the two I planned to serve in the microwave at about 70% for 1-1/2 minutes, and that did it.

 

[traeger860]

Have you ever used a 3rd party probe in your Traeger to measure the ambient temps? In other words, to make sure 275 is 275 and 300 is 300. It's not going to be, but this will at least give you an idea of how far off you are so that you can make adjustments. If you were really only cooking them at 225-250, I could see them needing more time. Especially with the insides being stuffed and cold.

How did the outside of the peppers look after 40 mins?

 

[Scott_R]

I'd blistered them with a torch (propane) beforehand to blacken and blister, then put into a container for 10 minutes and peeled the skins. So the outside was already somewhat cooked. The peppers were softened but with a bit of bite.
Very smokey; I suppose the Traeger was burning a lot of pellets to keep the heat in this outside temp.