What's cooking today? 🔥 Pics are necessary!

[RustyJake]

A friend of mine tried growing tomatillos, turned out one plant won't do well on its own, needs a second plant for proper pollination.

Interesting, I didn't know that. The two I have took over the garden. They are 3'-4' tall shrubs at this point and probably that big around too. Will have more research to do on them. The bees LOVE them, we have never had so many bees before.
I'll be putting them in pots next year with tomato cages around them
Thanks for the tip!

 

[FireTechMike]

Spatchcock Chicken
Seasoned with MC Holy Voodoo and glazed with a honey bourbon glaze.
Pretty tasty.

 

[RayClem]

Spatchcock Chicken
Seasoned with MC Holy Voodoo and glazed with a honey bourbon glaze.
Pretty tasty.

That looks awesome. I wish my wife would eat the brown meat. I always purchase boneless, skinless chicken breasts as that is what she prefers. However, the brown meat has the most fat and fat is flavor.

 

[DVSCYCLES]

That looks awesome. I wish my wife would eat the brown meat. I always purchase boneless, skinless chicken breasts as that is what she prefers. However, the brown meat has the most fat and fat is flavor.

Maybe referring to it as Dark Meat might be more appetizing than BROWN meat?

 

[RayClem]

Maybe referring to it as Dark Meat might be more appetizing than BROWN meat?

Sorry for the poorly chosen words. That just shows you how long it has been since I have eaten a nice piece of dark meat like a plump chicken leg. As a kid, that was my favorite part of the chicken. However, a LOT of history has transpired since that time in my life.

 

[smokeyiowan]

Spatchcock Chicken
Seasoned with MC Holy Voodoo and glazed with a honey bourbon glaze.
Pretty tasty.

That looks delicious! I have been thinking about doing a chicken this way and you may have just convinced me.

 

[RedTeam98]

Baby Backs Honey Mustard Base and Salt and Pepper on 2016 Traeger 22 using Bear Mountain Hickory Pellets. Love my Traeger in Alaska.

 

[Hogan]

Smoked a 12 lb (5 kg after trimming) Costco AAA brisket Saturday. Twelve hours @ 250° using Lumberjack Oak pellets. Hit the stall about 6 hours in, so wrapped in paper and continued at 250° until an IT of 201°. Then into an insulated cooler for 4 hours, then the oven at 170 to hold until carving.
Nice ring, crusty bark, and wonderfully moist. One of my best.

 

[RayClem]

Baby Backs Honey Mustard Base and Salt and Pepper on 2016 Traeger 22 using Bear Mountain Hickory Pellets. Love my Traeger in Alaska.
View attachment 25771

Since you live in Alaska, you might want to consider getting an insulated cover for your Traeger. There are a couple of options. You can get an official Traeger cover or you can fashion a DIY cover from a welder's blanket. Although you can use your grill when the temperature drops below freezing, it will burn a lot of pellets if you do not insulate the drum. The grills with smokestacks are a lot easier to insulate than those that vent out a slit in the back. My Ironwood is one of the later grills.

 

[RedTeam98]

Since you live in Alaska, you might want to consider getting an insulated cover for your Traeger. There are a couple of options. You can get an official Traeger cover or you can fashion a DIY cover from a welder's blanket. Although you can use your grill when the temperature drops below freezing, it will burn a lot of pellets if you do not insulate the drum. The grills with smokestacks are a lot easier to insulate than those that vent out a slit in the back. My Ironwood is one of the later grills.

My Traeger will be stored in my heated car garage and will rest until Spring Time. Expect snow in early October and outside grilling will be over until May ! Thanks for the advice.

 

[RayClem]

My Traeger will be stored in my heated car garage and will rest until Spring Time. Expect snow in early October and outside grilling will be over until May ! Thanks for the advice.

That is an option, but one that severely limits your usage. Yes, you can cook a mess of meat in early October and place it in the freezer for use during the winter. That is what I do here in Chicagoland. I use a Sous Vide circulator to reheat the meat before mealtime. However, there are always a few days that are warm enough to do some cooks during the winter.

I do not know how many members we have from Alaska, but there are plenty from Canada. Many have learned how to cook with temperatures well below freezing. Perhaps some of them will chime in here with their methods. The nice thing about the Traeger grills is that you can cook while remaining inside a warm house without having to attend to the grill every few minutes.

 

[Hogan]

My Traeger will be stored in my heated car garage and will rest until Spring Time. Expect snow in early October and outside grilling will be over until May ! Thanks for the advice.

Although tropical Calgary is a far reach from Alaska, my two cents worth:
1) get a Traeger cover for your 22, and leave out year-round. After all, BBQ is not limited to hot sunny afternoons.
2) Get a winter blanket for the 22. In my case I picked up a 6’ x 4’ welder’s blanket and it works a charm during cold weather cooks.
3) Invest in a good remote thermometer. I’d recommend a ThermoPro TP25 650FT Wireless Meat Thermometer with 4 Probes (Amazon, $70 US). The 4 probes may seem overkill, but you can set one up to read cook chamber temps, as the Traeger temp probes are useless. The transmitter is good to -20°C, so you can sit in the house and monitor the receiver.
4) You’ll have to slip out every couple hours to check the water dish (if using) and pellet supply, but no biggie.
Rise to the challenge. Granted, a -40° (C or F) in a blizzard is when I tend to ask my wife what she’s cooking for supper, but I’ve had good results at -15° C and weirdly, it’s kinda fun.
Good luck.

 

[RayClem]

Although tropical Calgary is a far reach from Alaska, my two cents worth:
1) get a Traeger cover for your 22, and leave out year-round. After all, BBQ is not limited to hot sunny afternoons.
2) Get a winter blanket for the 22. In my case I picked up a 6’ x 4’ welder’s blanket and it works a charm during cold weather cooks.
3) Invest in a good remote thermometer. I’d recommend a ThermoPro TP25 650FT Wireless Meat Thermometer with 4 Probes (Amazon, $70 US). The 4 probes may seem overkill, but you can set one up to read cook chamber temps, as the Traeger temp probes are useless. The transmitter is good to -20°C, so you can sit in the house and monitor the receiver.
4) You’ll have to slip out every couple hours to check the water dish (if using) and pellet supply, but no biggie.
Rise to the challenge. Granted, a -40° (C or F) in a blizzard is when I tend to ask my wife what she’s cooking for supper, but I’ve had good results at -15° C and weirdly, it’s kinda fun.
Good luck.

Thanks Hogan, I knew some one from Canada would rise to the challenge of helping a new friend. Although Calgary might be warmer than some parts of Alaska, I would hardly call it "tropical"., Temperatures during January are fairly similar whether you are in Calgary or the Chicagoland suburbs. Chicago is on Lake Michigan, so it does not get as cold as the outlying suburbs which are about 10 degrees F colder.

 

[RedTeam98]

-40 F Fairbanks only Eskimo’s Traeger
My Traeger is Hibernating waiting for April Breakup just like the bears

 

[RayClem]

But it is +40F in Fairbanks this weekend. You do not have to be Inuit to Traeger in that kind of weather.