Hi, I'm Den and want to smoke pellets

Denrael

New member
I'd not discovered the concept of pellet smoking until I was at Costco today and the Traeger grill guy was there. Spent about 45 minutes talking to him and came home to start doing a bit of reading. For the last 2 hours I've been buried in this forum, and I have to say you guys are amazing and addicting.

At this point I'm tempted to go back and pick up a Traeger Junior. I'd love to get a larger one, but currently don't have the space for one. I got my start on a Weber years ago, and have done a small gas grill in recent times. I would love to get into wood, and that one seems like the best choice for my space limited current condition. It seems that those of you that have the 055 Junior have been overall pleased with them. I realize that the smoke will be light, but I figure at this point just getting to wood and lower temperatures will be a great first step.

Thanks for being such an open and fun to read group.
 

Carter13

New member
Den,

I bought a Jr about 8 months ago and right out of the gate I changed out the temp guage with a Digital 180 guage that I bought off of ebay for $75 delivered to my door.
The Jr is a great grill for feeding around 8 people. It certainly is limited as far as cooking ribs which is the downfall but it will do a Tri Tip, 5 chicken breasts and a BP sliced onion no problem. The 30+ temp swings suck but as far as I have read all the Traegers do this unless fire bricks are placed in the belly. I am about ready to go buy some so see for myself.
FWI, the pellet hopper is a joke and can only feed for about 3 to 4 hours depending on temp but at 225 it is about 3ish. The pellets stick to the sides of the hopper so if you plan on doing a pork butt or brisquit you need to start it early in the morning and plan on babysitting.
The Jr is a great grill if you don't have to cook for a ton of people and don't mind babysitting. I don't regret buying mine from the Costco roadshow at all. It is a great grill to start out with for a person getting into the scene and puts out some fantastic eats.
Good luck with whatever purchase you make.
 

Denrael

New member
Thanks all for the welcomes. Carter when you mention rib problems, are you referring primarily to the size of the Junior or something else I haven't read about yet?
 

ACW3

New member
Denrael,
Welcome from North Carolina. Once you get your first pellet grill, you will be hooked for life. Not a bad thing, either.

Art
 

CarterQ

Moderator
Welcome aboard Den, if your smoking pellets then it's all good! Lots of great people to learn from and share with here so don't be shy.
 

Denrael

New member
Well, I'd love to get a Memphis or Mak after reading everything here, but that's not in the budget at present. I was thinking about the Traeger Junior at Costco, but then my Costco rebate came so tomorrow I'll be heading down to pick up a Lil Tex with the digital thermostat. Reading here convinced me that the Junior would probably be too small, and I definitely wanted the digital thermostat. I can't wait to start playing with the new toy. I'm thinking I'll probably pick up a nice brisket or maybe a bit of pork to start with.
 

Deb

New member
the lil tex over the junior is a great move. I thought about a junior and a friend said it would be too small. That was an understatement, yesterday I was cooking and thinking I needed bigger than a Lil Tex or a second grill ;).
 

Denrael

New member
Good news and bad news, I just got back from Costco where I bought my Traeger Lil' Tex Elite. That's the good news. The bad news is they were totally out, so they have to ship it to me. They said it will be between 7 and 10 days which isn't too bad since I'm traveling all week. Still, now that I've jumped in, I'm anxious to jump in! Any suggestions for a good christening recipe to cook on it?
 

Denrael

New member
We should have another new member soon. Not only did I pick up a lil tex today, but my best friend also picked up a lil tex (well, ordered one), so the two of us will be diving in together.
 

Denrael

New member
Got my Lil Tex assembled and i have to say I'm impressed with the packaging. Very well thought out and a dream to assemble. I'm going to season it tonight and do my first smoke tomorrow. I'll take pictures for you all.
 

Koolranch

New member
Awesome, it's the same grill I got a week ago from Costco. I would recommend stocking up on the pellets if you still can. At Costco they were 13.99 a bag. At your local Traeger retailer they will be upwards of 22. I bought 14 bags. I really enjoy it so far and my wife is already sick of it. In the past week I made whole chicken, ribs, brisket, pizza and country style ribs that I will never buy again. Everything else I liked.


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