Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I have never noticed such a problem.

[TripletDaddy]

I think this is part of what the fire bricks help with. I saw a post somewhere online where a guy had built up with fire bricks around the firepot and put a cast iron griddle setting on top of the. So there was an inch or two between the griddle and the firepot. That would certainly distribute the heat evenly.

I have fire bricks laid out on the bottom of the smoker, although no cast iron griddle. I use the steel heat deflector that came with the unit. I just noticed it recently, maybe the last 3 or 4 cooks. Maybe I will nose around on pelletheads and see what they say. When cooking shoulder, it can result in a 8-10 degree difference after 5 or 6 hours.

[kccougar]

I need some input. I've been a grill guy until now, but you people almost have me convinced to get a smoker. Thinking about tailgating last night got me going again so I was looking at the Traeger Junior. It seems like it would be perfect for tailgating, but I don't know if it would be of any use at home.

What do you think? It has a grill area 15"x20" How often do you guys smoke something bigger than that? Obviously, you would for a large party, but for general home use or family get together?

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/grills/BBQ055


With tailgating kit...

[TripletDaddy]

You are a grill guy because you have never owned a smoker. Grills are mostly pointless for cooking meat unless you are firing up a hot dog or a quick burger patty. Beyond that, there is almost no reason to use a grill as your main method of cooking meat.

The Junior is perfect for tailgating, unless you are tailgating for a lot of people. Then it isn't perfect anymore. It also isn't perfect for use at home. get the bigger smoker, smoke at home, and bring to your tailgate. That way you have a versatile machine that can feed few or feed many with ease.

[kccougar]

You are a grill guy because you have never owned a smoker. Grills are mostly pointless for cooking meat unless you are firing up a hot dog or a quick burger patty. Beyond that, there is almost no reason to use a grill as your main method of cooking meat.

The Junior is perfect for tailgating, unless you are tailgating for a lot of people. Then it isn't perfect anymore. It also isn't perfect for use at home. get the bigger smoker, smoke at home, and bring to your tailgate. That way you have a versatile machine that can feed few or feed many with ease.

I still say a grilled tri-tip is much easier and quicker than a smoked one. But you are probably right about the rest.

[TripletDaddy]

I still say a grilled tri-tip is much easier and quicker than a smoked one. But you are probably right about the rest.

You could have the makings of a good challenge there. Tip is pretty easy on a smoker and takes about 60 mins. Grilling it is still pretty tasty, though. And I sear my tip on the grill () because it takes too much time and fuel to crank up a smoker that high.

I use my gas grill to sear tip, cook veggies, cook shrimp, and heat dogs and patties when the moment strikes us. Buying a smoker was a revelatory experience for me and my family. As Coach has said before, it is worth every penny and makes meat so much better....ribs, roasts, hams, chicken, shoulders....wow.

Take the plunge and spend the extra couple hundred to get a bigger smoker. You will find yourself wanting more shelf space, not less....you want to smoke apps or various items at the same time. If you go for the Junior, you won't have as much space. And keep in mind, you can't effectively use every inch of shelf space in smoker. Due to the convective nature of the oven, the edges of the grill are much hotter and will char your food, making the Junior even smaller (albeit not prohibitively smaller).

[Shaka]

I think the grill is better for steak. My smoker simply will not attain the temps I require.

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[kccougar]

Maybe I need to broaden my search...

[Drunk Tank]

The Jr. is just too small and it doesn’t have the digital controller that the Lil' Tex or the Texas has. You will be disappointed in no time. At minimum I'd recommend the Lil' Tex. I don’t think it would be too hard to have a tailgating base fabricated like the one you pictured. I often thought about that when I had a Traeger.

[CJF]

You could have the makings of a good challenge there. Tip is pretty easy on a smoker and takes about 60 mins. Grilling it is still pretty tasty, though. And I sear my tip on the grill () because it takes too much time and fuel to crank up a smoker that high.

I use my gas grill to sear tip, cook veggies, cook shrimp, and heat dogs and patties when the moment strikes us. Buying a smoker was a revelatory experience for me and my family. As Coach has said before, it is worth every penny and makes meat so much better....ribs, roasts, hams, chicken, shoulders....wow.

Take the plunge and spend the extra couple hundred to get a bigger smoker. You will find yourself wanting more shelf space, not less....you want to smoke apps or various items at the same time. If you go for the Junior, you won't have as much space. And keep in mind, you can't effectively use every inch of shelf space in smoker. Due to the convective nature of the oven, the edges of the grill are much hotter and will char your food, making the Junior even smaller (albeit not prohibitively smaller).

I just got a raise so I'm trying to figure out which additional smoker I should invest in. Grills are great for exactly what you mentioned, but smokers change your life.

[kccougar]

The Jr. is just too small and it doesn’t have the digital controller that the Lil' Tex or the Texas has. You will be disappointed in no time. At minimum I'd recommend the Lil' Tex. I don’t think it would be too hard to have a tailgating base fabricated like the one you pictured. I often thought about that when I had a Traeger.

You can add a digital controller to the Junior.

[Joe Public]

And I sear my tip on the grill () because it takes too much time and fuel to crank up a smoker that high.

I think the grill is better for steak. My smoker simply will not attain the temps I require.

The kamado-style smoker can hit 700F degrees or hotter pretty quickly, and it doesn't cost much in fuel (lump charcoal) to do so. From the posts I've seen here, the Yoder may be able to get sufficiently hot, too, although I don't know how much fuel it takes to do so. I don't know how either of those rate in a tailgate environment, but I imagine it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

[TripletDaddy]

The kamado-style smoker can hit 700F degrees or hotter pretty quickly, and it doesn't cost much in fuel (lump charcoal) to do so. From the posts I've seen here, the Yoder may be able to get sufficiently hot, too, although I don't know how much fuel it takes to do so. I don't know how either of those rate in a tailgate environment, but I imagine it wouldn't be too much of a hassle.

Good point. The eggs definitely can get hot enough inside to sear a nice steak. But I don't have an egg

I also don't have grill grates, which I am told really help bump the temps. Absent that, I don't see much success in searing on a pellet smoker. It takes awhile for it to get hot enough (if it gets there at all) and you have to burn pellets to get it there. Or just turn on the gas grill while you are smoking your meat to temp, transfer the meat from the smoker to the grill, and you can sear it instantly.

I really should give the grates a try, though.

[Drunk Tank]

You can add a digital controller to the Junior.

Yes, you can but in the end you are still stuck with an undersized smoker that you will outgrow in no time.

[Coach McGuirk]

Yes, you can but in the end you are still stuck with an undersized smoker that you will outgrow in no time.

Like after the first cook.