Got my Traeger home

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:34 pm

I got the used Lil Tex that was for sale here.Monday did a pork meatloaf and today put 2 buckboard bacons and a butt on,5 hours on smoke max temp 105 4hrs at 225 bacon is ready.The butt was was at a higher inner temp than the smaller bacons.Bacons were brined butt wasnt.Stuffed some Roxul in the under side and used 2 bats to cover it,temp swing was about 35 degrees,for low and slow or smoking I didnt mind.Anyone else got a Lil Tex,2 cooks and used 3/4 of a bag of maple.Is that normal?Gonna need cheaper pellets,$30 a bag in Brandon at the dealer.I love being able to do something else while cooking.Tommorow will be the taste test.

Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 7:47 pm

$30/bag for pellets seems a little high. I know that they are cheaper in Winnipeg but not by much. Sounds like you will need to fill that cooker each time you use it to get the most for your pellet dollar.

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 10:08 am

Traegar pellets go for about $19-20 in Wpg & area. 30 is definitly high. Sounds like you are burning about the same amount as I do with mine

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:02 pm

Ya gotta get rid of them Treager brand pellets...I switched to Cookin Pellets and BBQrs Delight pellets this summer. I've found them to offer a better smoke, way better burn, and a bit better price as well (buck a pound is usual I think). Personally, I like the BBQr's hickory and the Cookin' Pellets perfect mix. I found a dealers in S'toon for both but not sure what might be in your area.

I did back to back butt cooks and found it used almost twice as much traeger brand pellets as it did the other two I've mentioned. There was NO variable change that could account for that much difference. If you head over to pelletheads you'll find allot of the same comments.

Just to add, I have found now with the colder temps arriving the fuel burn has gone up. I use 5 firebricks and a welders blanket over top when it's cold. Keeping it out of the wind helps as well.

Keith

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 3:46 pm

I'll echo what Keith said. Moving blanket over the Traeger during the winter is a must-have.

You Winnipeg guys need to pool your resources and get a couple pallets from BBQers delight or Cookinpellets.com. Sask has 3 different people now who have brought in a lot of pellets and that has brought prices down somewhat for the heavy pellet burners...

$30 for a 20 lb bag of traeger pellets is high... Retail in Sask. is $23.00. Co-op Hardware in Regina has brought in Backwoods pellets (from Dansons in Edmonton) and they go on sale for $15/ 20 lb bag from time to time.

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 11:11 am

Ah to agree the traeger pellets use more

Also the welder blanket from Peevy mart works a treat for maintaining a even temp up too the dome. Although one thing to remember don't let it cover the handle itself (ouch it hurts)

I've got fire bricks and welder blanket on mine and found i can burn less that half a hopper when doing long cooks also using the cookin pellets as well

Also if you've got the digital thermostat check the p setting for it I found in winter it was alot better at p0 or p1 but it takes a little to figure the best one for conditions