Thorough Cooking

[Treater Since 2008]

I have been smoking on T-grills for 12 years and have never had an issue with the thoroughness of my cooked meats. Until now…
A couple months ago I bought a new T-grill. On my old grill, I smoked baby back ribs for 3 hours at 225. I never had the need to check the internal temp of the meat. I knew that after 3 hours, they would be thoroughly cooked, tender, and tasty.
Now with my new grill, it’s hit or miss. I’ve smoked baby backs 3 times. Of those times, one was cooked to perfection, the other 2 were undercooked. I’ve been cooking ribs for a long time and I know how to choose a rack to buy. So it’s not the meat selection. I’m at a loss!
I believe that the temperature sensor isn’t accurate, meaning if I set it for 225, it’s running at a somewhat lower temp. l’m going to install a third party temp gauge on the door. I installed one on my old grill and found the temp indicator and gauge were spot on. Has anyone had issues with undercooked meats using their T-grills.
If I continue having this problem, I’ll most likely sell my T and buy a Pit Boss. I’m hearing their temperature sensors and indicators are more accurate and have a tighter control range. Anyone have Pit Boss experience?

 

[Murphy's Law]

Quick answer is the temp probes are junk. You can do some searches here for Fire Board 2 and/or Ink Bird BBQ external probes. These are much more accurate than the internal probe and meat probe.

For example, if I set my Pro 780 to 225 I am actually about 10 - 15 degrees below that temp and it sounds like you're the same, which is why you are under cooking the food.

The Fire Board 2, for example, can accommodate up to 6 different probes. I have one ambient probe next to my Traeger probe and I use that the monitor my pit temp, and then various meat probes depending on my cook.

Another advantage of the FB 2 or Ink Bird is they are WiFi so you can monitor your cook from anywhere. The FB is a better unit, offers a better app, and has more probe options but it's about 4X the cost of the very capable Ink Bird model which is usually around $50 on Amazon.

 

[Slimpicker]

Murphy speaks truth, half this forum is threads about Traeger having poor RTD to actual temp control.
Your old one didn't have that problem, then you were lucky, but most new ones do.

 

[Treater Since 2008]

Thanks! Does the Fire Board 2 hook up directly to the Traeger and operates the auger?

 

[Slimpicker]

Thanks! Does the Fire Board 2 hook up directly to the Traeger and operates the auger?

No but it don't matter, both are on your phone and all it takes is a couple clicks to adjust the temp with Traeger APP...
FireBoard 2 is the way to go IMO most definitely!!!!

Fireboard shows real time in your notifications bar, once you need to change just open the Traeger APP and boom.

 

[Murphy's Law]

Thanks! Does the Fire Board 2 hook up directly to the Traeger and operates the auger?

No, it is an external thermometer. Mount the Fire Board ambient probe next to your Traeger pit probe and then adjust the temp on the Traeger up or down until the Fire Board probe is where you want your cook to be; for example, say you want to cook at 225, you may need to set the Traeger to 250 in order to get the Fire Board to read 225.

So your Traeger app will say you're cooking at 250 but don't pay any attention to this because the Fire Board is where you want to be! After a few cooks you will get a good idea what the off set should be. For me I find that I am pretty accurate around 180 but once I start to climb in temp the grill quickly becomes about ~20 degrees off.

I have upgraded the mount but this older pic gives you an idea of the mount on a Pro 780.

A few other things to point out re: temp - get a good instant read thermometer if you don't already have one. Thermoworks has the older MK4 on sale since they just released a new, quicker, model.

Also, if you go the Fire Board route I can't recommend enough their competition probes. They are very thin and come in long and short. I probably use the short probes about 2X if not more than I use the long probes, they are great for steaks, fish, ribs, pork belly, chicken, etc.

 

[RustyJake]

If I want 225°F on my grill, I have to set my Traeger at around 195°F. Mine seems to run the opposite of most on here. So temps can be way off. If I set to 225 I would be up close to 240 actual.

My FB session for some side ribs I did

Sat Jun 26 Session Pork Side Ribs

Honey Hog Bacon meat side and Meat Church Fajita bone side

share.fireboard.io

The other great FB feature is a record of your cooks. You can enter as much or as little info as you want to for your cooks

 

[midwest]

3 hours at 225 seems like a really short cook time to me. Your new grill could have a probe that is way off or your old unit could be way off. I do baby backs using the 3-2-1 method (6 hours total cook time). If you have your grill set at 225 and they are done in 3 hours it's possible your old grill was way off........Just a thought.

 

[Stew55024]

No, it is an external thermometer. Mount the Fire Board ambient probe next to your Traeger pit probe and then adjust the temp on the Traeger up or down until the Fire Board probe is where you want your cook to be; for example, say you want to cook at 225, you may need to set the Traeger to 250 in order to get the Fire Board to read 225.

So your Traeger app will say you're cooking at 250 but don't pay any attention to this because the Fire Board is where you want to be! After a few cooks you will get a good idea what the off set should be. For me I find that I am pretty accurate around 180 but once I start to climb in temp the grill quickly becomes about ~20 degrees off.

I have upgraded the mount but this older pic gives you an idea of the mount on a Pro 780.

A few other things to point out re: temp - get a good instant read thermometer if you don't already have one. Thermoworks has the older MK4 on sale since they just released a new, quicker, model.

Also, if you go the Fire Board route I can't recommend enough their competition probes. They are very thin and come in long and short. I probably use the short probes about 2X if not more than I use the long probes, they are great for steaks, fish, ribs, pork belly, chicken, etc.



View attachment 6975

Where would you mount it on a timberline? The probe is at the top right hand side of the grill

 

[Slimpicker]

Where would you mount it on a timberline? The probe is at the top right hand side of the grill

That's where RemE mounted his