Wood-Pellet-Fired Smoking/Cooking

[jhagedon]

FYI, before I started this thread, I posted that I was installing a Traeger Jr. in our rig on the PelletSmoking forum (www.pelletsmoking.com). One of the posters asked for photos and it has brought out some more RV'ers on that site, too. I've found there are a lot of good cooking ideas and recipies there as well.

Bill Cannon at Texas Barbeque Rubs (www.texasbbqrub.com) has some great rubs and recipies as well. He has a sampler pack of four of his rubs and I like 'em all. Bill replies personally and quickly to all of their emails. I suspect it is pretty small operation, and he seems like a heck of a nice guy.

(Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in either of these sites and they aren't sending me any freebies. Darn!)

[rebel4963]

Hi So which size grill did you buy? What is the cost? My husband ha a birthday coming up. Thanks Beth

[a k]

Just pick up the bottom tray and slide it a little to the right.

Whats nice about the Traeger, you just plug it in and turn the dial. That's it.

The only thing is that the original control, not the digital, won't work on a modified sine wave inverter.

There are no binders in Traeger pellets. If they get damp they just crumble. You can't use regular wood pellets because they contain resins.

[jhagedon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebel4963 Hi So which size grill did you buy? What is the cost? My husband ha a birthday coming up. Thanks Beth

We got the Traeger Jr, which is a great grill for RV use. You are looking at the mid $300 range for the grill. As mentioned by another poster, I would definitely get the digital thermostat. These run around $100,

My wife purchased my Traeger for my birthday from a local Tucson, AZ dealer, so I don't know the exact prices she paid, but I know she got a price that was considerably below the list prices - and I know she shopped around.

Other posters here have mentioned dealers, and I would definitely check them out. I also know a fellow Newmar owner in NY who is a Traeger dealer (Grills & Accessories). Since I was already hinting pretty heavily about getting the Traeger for my birthday, however, and this was supposed to be a surprise, I was not in a real good position to recommend a dealer.

[jhagedon]

At "home" in Tucson. Prepping a pork shoulder to go in the Traeger tomorrow AM. Pulled Pork sandwiches by Game Time (go Green Bay!)

[jhagedon]

Still in Tucson and the Traeger Jr. is sitting on the back deck.

I'm throwing in this recipe because it cooks up quick, which is nice if you want to put something tasty together at the end of a travel day.

Recently we discovered that Costco is carrying Chicken parts in bulk Freezer Packs. We like their boneless thighs, which come in six packs. Each pack can be individually cut off and opened separately and contains five boneless thighs weighing about 20 oz. per pack.

Yesterday, we marinated a pack of these using one of our favorite BBQ rubs and threw them on the Traeger at about 325 degrees over hickory pellets, as that is what I had in the hopper.

These de-boned thighs are pretty thin, so they cook up in about 15 minutes. I left 'em in the smoker as it cooled down for another 5 minutes or so. There is a risk of these thin pieces drying out, so I sprayed them a couple of times with apple juice.

MMMmmm . . . Good! These picked up a fair amount of smoke flavor, even they weren't in the cooker for that long. A cross-section of the meat showed just a slight tinge of smoke color. Served 'em up with my home-made Apricot-Maple BBQ sauce on the side, although they really didn't need it.

One pack of these thighs makes about three servings. I had planned to save the leftovers for a sandwich, but somehow the third portion just disappeared!

[jhagedon]

On the road at the Newmar Service Center in Nappanee, getting some routine service work done. Whipped up a batch of Country Ribs yesterday using the 3-2-1 Ribs recipie in the Traeger cookbook. Works just as well on these as it does on the Baby Backs! From here we head for upstate NY, VT ME and Newfoundland. Ken Tolin, one of my wood pellet smoking mentors is also here. He has three Traegers and has been at it for over 10 years!

[Perry White]

Just ordered 36 bags of hickory for mine.