Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[LA Ute]

We followed the Drunk Tank guidance on the tri tip, BTW. Smoked it for about 90 minutes, then seared it and let it rest. It had a nice smoke ring and was delicious. Coastal made up his own rub. Ingredients:



The trick to the Egg is mastering the heat control. It's not as easy as you all report the Traeger to be.

Sorry, it was devoured before I could snap a photo.

[lambdacoug]

My employer hosted an internal developers conference last week which was awesome. The first keynote was all about the open hardware revolution enabled by the Arduino and Raspberry Pi. So as a perfect upgrade to my ECB, I think I'll throw on a temperature sensor and get realtime updates on my phone about the internal temperature and things like running averages over 5, 15, and 30 minutes, high and low temperature water marks, etc... Basically, I'm a

[ERCougar]

We followed the Drunk Tank guidance on the tri tip, BTW. Smoked it for about 90 minutes, then seared it and let it rest. It had a nice smoke ring and was delicious. Coastal made up his own rub. Ingredients:



The trick to the Egg is mastering the heat control. It's not as easy as you all report the Traeger to be.

Sorry, it was devoured before I could snap a photo.

It's fun, right?
Pretty sure everyone warned you about the temp control thing. It's not as easy. But you'll get much better at it and I think that's part of what makes it fun. Also, realize you don't have to be nearly as precise with temp control as you think. I think it was the guy at amazing ribs who said the only difference between a shoulder smoked at 220 and one at 280 is that the one at 280 is finished on time. So just relax and have fun with it and realize it's going to taste great either way. My general rule is 200s for smoking, 300s for barbecuing, and 400+ for grilling. It's fun to try to nail certain temps but really, I'm not convinced it makes much of a difference (if any) in taste.
If you really do insist on temps, get a controller. You can dial in on temps as accurately as a traeger, but again, what's the point? It puts my mind at ease if I have to leave it for a long time, but I'm not even really using it for that any more.
One thing that is probably trickier is decreasing temps. I don't know how easy this is on a Traeger, but the heat sink of the ceramic makes it tough to disperse heat. So try not to overshoot.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Enumclaw's with us

image.jpg

[LA Ute]

One thing that is probably trickier is decreasing temps. I don't know how easy this is on a Traeger, but the heat sink of the ceramic makes it tough to disperse heat. So try not to overshoot.

Yeah, we have learned that it's easier to increase the heat than to bring it down. The thing heats up very rapidly when the fire's too big and I leave it for a few minutes.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

You poor thing.

The BGE didn't come with the tub, the table to go with it was on back order. So all I got were some eggcessories. image.jpg

[Drunk Tank]

Yeah, we have learned that it's easier to increase the heat than to bring it down. The thing heats up very rapidly when the fire's too big and I leave it for a few minutes.

Mastering the vents on a BGE will come with practice. I found on mine, that the bottom vent approx. 1/4-1/2" open and the top vent open approx. 1/3-1/2 would give me steady temps in the 250-275° range. Also, how you build your fire is very important. Try to use only big chunks of lump on bottom and if you have smaller pieces, keep them on top. You want good air flow. Also, if smoking, only light the coals in one spot. I used a weed burner and would only get 2-3 pieces going really good. Then shut the lid with bottom and top vent both wide open. once you hit 350-400° on the dome thermometer, shut the bottom vent to about 1/4-1/2° and the top vent to about 1/3. The temps should settle down to around 225-250°. From there it is easy to make small adjustment.

One of the biggest problems with the BGE is that it is so efficient, it is really easy to get stale smoke. That is why it is important to have a nice small clean burning fire with good air flow. Keep those air holes on the fire pot clean and free of debris!

Or just go get a BBQ guru or Stoker and then just set it and forget it.

[LA Ute]

Father's Day present:



Anyone have experience with these? I'll report on my successes and failures.

[ERCougar]

Father's Day present:



Anyone have experience with these? I'll report on my successes and failures.

Haven't you been listening? We've all moved on to the anti tech phase!

I'm pretty sure most of us have Maveriks. And most of us stopped using them much after the first little while. I think they're decent to give you an idea of how fast or slow meat temps change. Once you figure that out though, I don't think you'll use it much.

please consult before you make any more purchases.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Send it back and buy a thermapen.

[LA Ute]

Haven't you been listening? We've all moved on to the anti tech phase!

I'm pretty sure most of us have Maveriks. And most of us stopped using them much after the first little while. I think they're decent to give you an idea of how fast or slow meat temps change. Once you figure that out though, I don't think you'll use it much.

please consult before you make any more purchases.

I am learning line upon line, precept upon precept.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I am learning line upon line, precept upon precept.

That's not good enough.

[Green Monstah]

Nothing wrong with a maverick. I'd argue it's harder to get to the "feel" phase without going through the wireless thermo phase.

Also, I'd say a maverick is essential if you're using an egg or bullet smoker so you have a good idea of the smoker's temp. The guys with traegers don't ha e to worry about spiking temps like you and I.

[Green Monstah]

Send it back and buy a thermapen.

Is this the brand name? I searched amazon and there Are several instant meat therms with a wide price range. Any suggestions on brand/model?

[ERCougar]

Is this the brand name? I searched amazon and there Are several instant meat therms with a wide price range. Any suggestions on brand/model?

http://www.amazon.com/Splash-Proof-S.../dp/B002GEE4C8