I'm new here too

Nirro_2001

New member
I've been smoking "stuff" since 1965. I've always made my own smokers,,, from Garbage cans to old freezers stood on end (almost brunt the house down with that one). I just bought a Traeger 07E. BOY am I going to have fun NOW!!! I have a few ideas for those of you who like to smoke jerkey with a Traeger. I'm not sure about how you smoke jerkey,, but I never let my temps get over 180. Meat starts to cook then. Traegers are NOT set up for that temp,,, at least MINE wasn't,,,, untill now!! So I'm off to the market. Later
 

Rip

New member
Welcome! Smoking jerky is on my list of things to try, bring on the tricks and tips!
 

Nirro_2001

New member
Welcome aboard.

And please share your low temp Traeger trickery!

Smoking jerkey and fish alike,,, they require temps NEVER over 180. My Arizona smoker "was" a Brinkman electric. I cut a hole in the top to vent the heat. It did not work. Still to hot. So I had to keep pulling the plug (about every 5 minutes). My gas smoker in WI. (home built) has a thermostat to shut off at 160 and back on at 150 and it works GREAT! So I bought a "Line Volt Heat or Cool Thermostat" model 1760K77 from McMaster-Carr ($65.95). It can be set at a "power off" temp (160) and a "power on" at 10 (adjustable) degrees under power off setting (150). All of the settings are programable even while is running. It worked GREAT on my Brinkman. When I first tried my Traeger I found 180 was the low temp. This was NOT acceptable! So I connected my in-line switch and now I can hold 160 without monitering. Both jerkey and fish take from 3 to 4 hours to smoke. If you want to make it lazier yet,,, add an in-line timer. Set it to shut off power in 3 hours and go fishing or something. By the way,,, the in-line timer WILL NOT work on a Brinkman because you need to add chips all the time. I hope this helps.
 

Nirro_2001

New member
Smoking jerkey and fish alike,,, they require temps NEVER over 180. My Arizona smoker "was" a Brinkman electric. I cut a hole in the top to vent the heat. It did not work. Still to hot. So I had to keep pulling the plug (about every 5 minutes). My gas smoker in WI. (home built) has a thermostat to shut off at 160 and back on at 150 and it works GREAT! So I bought a "Line Volt Heat or Cool Thermostat" model 1760K77 from McMaster-Carr ($65.95). It can be set at a "power off" temp (160) and a "power on" at 10 (adjustable) degrees under power off setting (150). All of the settings are programable even while is running. It worked GREAT on my Brinkman. When I first tried my Traeger I found 180 was the low temp. This was NOT acceptable! So I connected my in-line switch and now I can hold 160 without monitering. Both jerkey and fish take from 3 to 4 hours to smoke. If you want to make it lazier yet,,, add an in-line timer. Set it to shut off power in 3 hours and go fishing or something. By the way,,, the in-line timer WILL NOT work on a Brinkman because you need to add chips all the time. I hope this helps.

You WANT the fire to go out. The box must NEVER get over 180 degrees! Smoking means DRYING the food. The smoke is for flaver. You do NOT want to cook the jerkey/fish! I leave the Traeger setting on "smoke". This is the start-up setting. So when unit shuts off (160) the fire will stop, the box temp will drop slowly. When the temp hits 150 the "smoke" (start-up) will begin again. This cycle keeps repeating. I am going to put some firebricks in it today so the box should hold temps longer. I also forgot to mention,, the probe for the thermostat is 1/4 inch. Drill a 1/4 inch hole on the business end of the box but keep it BELOW the chimminy height because the temps ABOVE the chimminy will be higher. With a 1/4 inch hole, the probe will STOP when it gets to the crimp so no further work needs to be done. Also be sure the hole is NOT in the way of the bin door when it's opened.
 

squirtthecat

New member
You don't have any problems with the 5 minute auger run while the Traeger starts up? I guess you wouldn't if you cut the power.. It would just start over at 5 with the hotrod going again.

Interesting. Almost 'mad scientist' interesting.. ;)
 

CarterQ

Moderator
Welcome aboard, with that intro you definitely need to share your experiences! Great group here and looking forward to seeing your creations, especially that jerky!
 
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