Blackjacks Traeger Chronicles

[Blackjack]

First cook with the new controller was strip steak and corn on the cob. 225f until 110f internal on the steak(they were a little thin) and then cranked it wide open to sear. Controller runs a touch on the cool side with a low of 209 and topped out at 228f one time but most of the time ran 212-222f. It is 52f and raining so I knew that between the weather and having the drip tray in 450f was out of the question. And I was correct hitting a high of 411f so a bit low to get good color on the steak. But for a first run I think I am going in the right direction.

Used Pro Blend pellets and Anything rub on the steak.

 

[B00mb00m]

And this thing followed me home tonight. It needs a serious cleaning and some paint but it does run. And I kept what good parts of my old one to help keep it running. But why you ask? Because I believe the Traeger and the Bradley complement each other. The Traeger cannot operate at temps below 160f and the Bradley in my climate my original never got over 210f.

So the Bradley will handle fish, jerky and other things that require low temps and very consistent smoke which is it strength. And the Traeger will hopefully fill for the rest and with a few mods as well as some downright hackery will also allow me to retire the gas grill.

View attachment 441099

The only smoker I have is a Bradley and I have only used it for salmon. I would like to hear any recipes and tips and methods you have perfected. Also where to get good price on the pucks? I just put a couple of these on ice.

 

[Blackjack]

The only smoker I have is a Bradley and I have only used it for salmon. I would like to hear any recipes and tips and methods you have perfected. Also where to get good price on the pucks? I just put a couple of these on ice.

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Right now the best I can find for pucks is Amazon 120 pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BO4GNM/?tag=wranglerorg-20

For me I treat Salmon as simply as possible. Simple brine of one cup pickling salt and two cups brown sugar per gallon of water. Cut the fish into 1/2ish pound chunks and give them 90 minute soak then rinse and rack. Pat dry and hit with fan until pellicle has formed. Do not rush this step or you will be negatively rewarded with fat leakage. Since I use frozen salmon (as a means of making use of older fish in the freezer) I usually end up with some leakage as freezing breaks down some of the proteins but I do not sweat it.

Once the pellicle has formed into the smoker. I use Alder pucks (of course I am a PNW native) and start at 90f and work my way up to a max temp of 140f. You will want some puck savers as I normally run about five hours on smoke (you may want only four if you do not want it too strong) but I have gone as much as six if I cram the smoker a bit tight. Keep the smoker at 140f max until the fish is done. You can do it by instant read thermometer and after a few batches you will be able to do it by feel. You want it to be firm but not overly dry.

Once they are done I let cool, vac pack keep a small amount in the fridge and freeze the rest. Because this is not a cured or brine and dry method refrigeration or freezing is required.

This makes a simple product that is all about the fish and some smoke. It is great to snack on, crumble over Caeser salad, or make Salmon dip. One of these days I should take the time to do some dry brining and some of the other more traditional methods but I need to be a bit less busy.

 

[B00mb00m]

Right now the best I can find for pucks is Amazon 120 pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BO4GNM/?tag=wranglerorg-20

For me I treat Salmon as simply as possible. Simple brine of one cup pickling salt and two cups brown sugar per gallon of water. Cut the fish into 1/2ish pound chunks and give them 90 minute soak then rinse and rack. Pat dry and hit with fan until pellicle has formed. Do not rush this step or you will be negatively rewarded with fat leakage. Since I use frozen salmon (as a means of making use of older fish in the freezer) I usually end up with some leakage as freezing breaks down some of the proteins but I do not sweat it.

View attachment 441858

Once the pellicle has formed into the smoker. I use Alder pucks (of course I am a PNW native) and start at 90f and work my way up to a max temp of 140f. You will want some puck savers as I normally run about five hours on smoke (you may want only four if you do not want it too strong) but I have gone as much as six if I cram the smoker a bit tight. Keep the smoker at 140f max until the fish is done. You can do it by instant read thermometer and after a few batches you will be able to do it by feel. You want it to be firm but not overly dry.

View attachment 441859

Once they are done I let cool, vac pack keep a small amount in the fridge and freeze the rest. Because this is not a cured or brine and dry method refrigeration or freezing is required.

This makes a simple product that is all about the fish and some smoke. It is great to snack on, crumble over Caeser salad, or make Salmon dip. One of these days I should take the time to do some dry brining and some of the other more traditional methods but I need to be a bit less busy.

Thanks!! I appreciate this I only do like one batch a year. This is a pink run year so I should have lots for the smoker.

 

[Blackjack]

Thanks!! I appreciate this I only do like one batch a year. This is a pink run year so I should have lots for the smoker.

Never done much with pinks mostly reds and silvers. They joke up here that humpies are either canned or fed to the dogs.

 

[B00mb00m]

Never done much with pinks mostly reds and silvers. They joke up here that humpies are either canned or fed to the dogs.

When cooked fresh they def got a twang but I like them fine smoked.

 

[Blackjack]

Tonight is some sticky chicken thighs two ways red and gold. Do not tell the Mrs that I shared her sauce recipes. These took us a long time and more than a few failures to get them where they are.

The red(brown?) is inspired by Longhorn BBQ out of Spokane but with a touch of heat and natural smokiness and the Gold by Tennessee Reds a joint that was in Portland but unfortunately faded away. While the recipe called for butter Reds actually used schmaltz rendered from the chicken when it was on the smoker.

The red:

The gold:

Traeger Pro Blend pellets 180f for 30-40 minutes. 54f and raining still so Traeger ran high of 178 with a max swing of about 15 degrees. Turned up to 375f and saw a high of about 367f. Did not worry about temp swings as I was opening the lid to sauce the thighs. Cooked till the largest piece hit 162f, pulled and they cruised to 165f during the rest.

A little slaw and some beans and while this may be one of the wettest summers I have seen here at least the food tastes like summer.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Man, I shouldn’t be checking this thread while stuck in a truck driving through Nebraska….

Nice work, Black. That looks delicious.

 

[Blackjack]

Time for some fab work. Needed to fix the caster legs to actually hold a caster. So picked up some one inch aluminum stock and went to work.

Drilled and tapped for caster.

Drove slugs into legs and drill/tapped for a 1/4 inch grade 8 bolt because why not.

And finally put in place. Now to find some more hardware to finish bolting the legs on and cleaning up the hopper underbelly.

 

[sab]

... and drill/tapped for a 1/4 inch grade 8 bolt because why not.

I hate it when the hardware store is out of grade 11 bolts (hat tip to Spinal Tap)...

 

[Blackjack]

Well we are finally getting some sunshine.

Today was ribs.

Keeping it simple. Same rub and Pellets as the chicken last weekend. First hour on smoke then 275f for a couple hours. Rib trimmings got put into beans that went in when I wrapped the ribs. Got distracted mowing the lawn so went a touch too long and ended up a bit Texas Roadhouse style. Flavor was good though.

Not too bad other than having to improve timing. Might try not wrapping and just do a mop to add moisture.

 

[Blackjack]

Also cracked open the smoked cheese. Not too bad could use one more week of mellowing.

 

[KennethS]

Well we are finally getting some sunshine.

We can relate to that here in Phoenix. Maybe one day I'll have to actually add pellets to the grill in order to cook on it.

 

[Apparition]

We can relate to that here in Phoenix. Maybe one day I'll have to actually add pellets to the grill in order to cook on it.

View attachment 444466

You need pellets, you just shouldn’t need many.

 

[Blackjack]

We can relate to that here in Phoenix. Maybe one day I'll have to actually add pellets to the grill in order to cook on it.

View attachment 444466

Yeah you can keep that stuff.

 

[Blackjack]

The girls have told me no bbq for a while. So last night was meatloaf. I did notice that the Traeger was having a tough time getting up and holding 375 so I think the auger motor might be wounded.

 

[Blackjack]

So FedEx showed up today with this https://smokedaddyinc.com/product/the-universal-sear-daddy-pellet-grill-searing-station/

So no better way to test my diagnosis of the auger motor than to give this a try. It is super simple to use. Remove the grate, drip pan and heat deflector. Center the cone, set in flavor bars, add lava rock (make sure to wash rock first) and put grate back in. From there fire up the grill and set to high.

 

[Blackjack]

So I gave it a good twenty minutes and unfortunately my diagnosis is correct.

 

[Blackjack]

But we have fire so I threw some hot dogs on to get an idea where the hot spots would be. Predictively it is right in the middle so on goes some chicken breasts.

This worked out just fine since you really do not need full fire to cook chicken. Give them a flip ever so often and we got dinner.

I think that once I fix the auger motor this will fun to play with and might just allow me to retire the gas grill. Only thing I can see is that overly fatty burgers might not be the best as they will make a pretty big mess.

 

[tworley]

Ive had my traeger (the small Bronson version) for maybe 4-5 years now. So far the only thing Ive repaired/replaced was the auger motor--otherwise it has been a pretty stout unit for being kept outdoors year-round with nothing but a cover. My BIL's motor went about a year after mine did too. Great thread