HELP! big cook with OBS and new traeger.....

[firerescueman]

Hey all!

I have 8 butts to cook next Friday.  The most I have ever done is 4.  Each butt weighs atround 8 pounds.  I usually try to do the entire process in the Bradley,  but I am thinking that since I have a new Traeger LIL Tex coming,  I may do 4 butts in the Bradley and 4 in the Traeger.

I have done big smokes in the Bradley before,  but am not familiar enough with the Traeger to be comfortable putting the extra butts on there not knowing how it cooks.  Anybody here offer some insight?  When on the "smoke" setting,  roughly what temp is it set to cook at?  Is this adjustable by a few degrees,  or is it a preset temp?  Do you place a water pan on the grill surface to hold in some moisture?  any tips or suggestions?   My wife will be using the oven most of the day so moving the butts to the oven is not a good option unless I want the wife to neuter me!   LOL

Thanks for the help!

Jeff

[Smokin Soon]

Habs will be along shortly for the Traeger Info. He's the influance to make me WANT ONE NOW! .....curse...curse... ;D

[NePaSmoKer]

Hey all!

I have 8 butts to cook next Friday.  The most I have ever done is 4.  Each butt weighs atround 8 pounds.  I usually try to do the entire process in the Bradley,  but I am thinking that since I have a new Traeger LIL Tex coming,  I may do 4 butts in the Bradley and 4 in the Traeger.

I have done big smokes in the Bradley before,  but am not familiar enough with the Traeger to be comfortable putting the extra butts on there not knowing how it cooks.  Anybody here offer some insight?  When on the "smoke" setting,  roughly what temp is it set to cook at?  Is this adjustable by a few degrees,  or is it a preset temp?  Do you place a water pan on the grill surface to hold in some moisture?  any tips or suggestions?   My wife will be using the oven most of the day so moving the butts to the oven is not a good option unless I want the wife to neuter me!   LOL

Thanks for the help!

Jeff

Hi fireman

I didnt know Habs had a Traeger but i have had my Lil'Tex for almost a year and love it.
I suppose you have the 3 position switch? If you do here is a break down of the temps (they are approx)

smoke is at around 140/150* + ~ - 10* depending on weather.
med is at 150/225
high is at 225/375

Remember weather has alot to do with temps, and the temp will fluctuate.

I have a digital 180 LV controller on mine which gives me better control. If i set it to smoke the temp ramps to 170* then levels down to 150*
If i set it to 375 or even 450 it will hold steady there.

I have done 3 butts with no problems. you could prob do 4 if they were small. Just do your normal rub, put them in a foil pan and let em go. The traeger will do the rest.

I have also used all the Traeger pellets too but stay with the hickory. Prob gone thru 360 lbs of wood. I got the texas wheel kit for the legs also, makes moving easier. Traeger does have a 070 smoke rack that adds an extra 250 sq inches to your bbq.

Let me know if you need any further help

nepas

[firerescueman]

Thanks guys,

My traeger should be here tomorrow.  Maybe I will feel better about it once it gets here.  It has the digital control as well.

I am fairly comfortable with anything that I do in the Bradley at this point,  but I have been tasked with cooking alot of meat at once and had some reservations about cooking on a new grill.

Does the traeger have any quirks that I should know about?

Thanks again for the input.

Jeff

[NePaSmoKer]

Season your traeger just like you did your bradley. Do this for around 2 hrs with the grill in. Dont worry about the lid and smoke comeing from around it, its supposed to do that. I have not had to use a water pan in my lil tex.

Here is a good link to use for more tips and tricks and recipes. They are good people too.  http://traegeroutlet.com/home

just dont let your hoper run out of pelets, it takes around 15 mins to recharge the auger. Also you might experiance what i call a pellet poop  ;D  This is where the ash from burnt pellets has built up around the inside of the fire box and insulated the hot rod. This keeps the wood from catching fire thus the auger just keeps pushing the pellets out of the box. You will know if the poop happens when your digital readout starts to rapidly come down in temp. I have to vaccuum the fire box out every 7 to 8 bbq's which is no biggie.

nepas

[Habanero Smoker]

SS;

NePas is correct. I don't have a traeger. I'm saving up for a Caldera Del Fuego.