I just bought a Pro 22, thank you for this video, I had no idea when or how to use that "Smoke" setting, the instructions included with the smoker did not explain any of this! And thanks for that additional info about the P setting! Great video!!
No one gives you the 101 help when you first get a Traeger. At least now you know what the issue was and sounds like you're on your way to making awesome smoked food from now on :-)
Thank you for finally explaining this, because I sure have wondered. I always put my meats on the Smoke Setting for an hour or so, then I would crank it. But, I realize now that I wasn't cooking it hot enough, I think. Because it took far longer than it should, so we always took it inside and finished it -- just because it was taking forever.
Thank you for explaining everything with how the settings are. I recently bought the Traeger pro34. Did the initial start on the grill. I have a pork shoulder (6Ibs) rubbed down and ready to throw in the Traeger in the morning. Weather in Cali is pretty good so I’m going with a 225-250 cook.
225F is the magic "low and slow" cooking temperature that tends to always work out great. Sometimes I'll use 250 or 275 to cut down on the cook time a little bit but I love starting off slower in the beginning. Here's a guide that might help with smoking your pork shoulder at 225F: www.catchgrowcook.com/smoking-pulled-pork-at-225f/
@@catchgrowcook Really, thank you for sharing these instructions. I am going to read them and follow them on my next cook. Because store-bought stuff is TOO EXPENSIVE now. So, we are trying to learn how to make BBQ at home along with homemade lunch meats and deli meats. We just can't pay $16 per pound for stuff now, and it's so easy to do it at home, if you will spend the time to do it yourself.
@@catchgrowcook Also, can you (one day) write up the instructions on how to cook a brisket, exactly as you did the pulled pork? I think that would benefit a lot of people.
Making jerky on the Traeger is incredible! Although I've noticed my jerky will get smokier in flavor over time so next time I might try using a lighter wood like apple or cherry instead of mesquite. Let me know how yours turns out!
Thanks for the information. I inherited a Traeger with the same control panel as in your video. The recipe I found said to cook my chicken at 300, but I think I'll try a lower temperature and let it go longer. This is my first attempt; your video and comments below really helped.
Glad it could help and welcome to the Traeger life! I think you'll want to sear or cook your chicken with high heat at the end since chicken fat & skin will be rubbery in texture unless you hit it with high heat at the end. Here's a guide that'll help you get familiar with all of your Traegers capabilities: www.catchgrowcook.com/how-to-use-a-traeger-pellet-grill/
Thanks man! New trager owner. Was wondering why it would smoke on the snoke setting and when i was seasoning the grill on high it seemed like there was barely any smoke. Now i know.
On the traeger website, it says the smoke setting is 60C, it's just the lowest temperature available. I always use the smoke setting for jerky, it doesn't fluctuate more than any other temperature setting. As for cold smoking, use a smoke tube, 60C is too hot for that.
@@antmod1 nice it sounds like your traeger holds temp pretty well on the smoke setting. Mine might be too old but it swings pretty big especially during winter ☹️
[Moving additional comment where other people can see it too ...] Really, thank you for sharing these instructions. I am going to read them and follow them on my next cook. Because store-bought stuff is TOO EXPENSIVE now. So, we are trying to learn how to make BBQ at home along with homemade lunch meats and deli meats. We just can't pay $16 per pound for stuff now, and it's so easy to do it at home, if you will spend the time to do it yourself.
The issue is that S setting will swing anywhere from 150 to 225 as to 180 or any of the numbered setting it will stay at or around a 5/15 degree difference, it wont have that huge temp swing
*Use* smoke setting until internal meat temp is 20 degrees less than internal goal, *then* switch to a fairly high temperature setting of your choice to get some browning and remove the meat when internal reaches 5 degrees less than the goal. In other words maximize time on the smoke setting, then work on the surface browning (sear or bark)
Your firebox might have ash buildup. Might need to vacuum it out but usually the temperature will reduce after the pellet grill stays on for 10 minutes or so
I had this same issue. Ash build up can cause this but usually if it’s been 20 hours of cook time between clean out. When using the smoke setting leave the lid open for 10 minutes first to burn up all the old pellets then close lid and temp will settle at the 150-180 range. Hope this helps.
One thing you need to know is Traeger Juniors smoke like crazy but the larger ones do not. Costco apparently has the rights to the Junior 20 name and the Tailgater used to be a kit on the Junior with foldable legs. So a larger Traeger on 225 degrees typically doesn't smoke as much as a Junior or Tailgater on the same setting. Big problem with the Junior/Tailgater is the hopper is too small. I am giving my LIl Tex to my buddy, but I got this idea. 1. Open lid to the hopper and put a bucket that is larger than the hopper and use black marker to trace the outline of the square hopper in the bottom of the bucket. 2. Cut an "I" beam shape to make two flaps like the bottom of a cardboard box. Make them smaller than the hopper so they go inside. 3. Place bucket on hopper with lid open and open the flaps inside the hopper and wedge them with a piece of wood. This should hold the bucket on. 4. Fill the bucket with the amount of pellets you want. Obviously the hopper will fill up first and then the bucket. 5. Put the lid on and go to bed because you can extend your cook time based on how big your bucket is. 6. Enjoy your sleep for once without having to do a 3AM top up
I've heard of that mod so you can have more than 10 pounds of pellets in the hopper at once. I recently got a Z Grills and the hopper holds a 20 pound bag of pellets. Such a game changer! No more waking up in the middle of the night to make sure theres still pellets in the hopper
I find I'm trying to replicate the amount of smoke I get from stick burner and my electric wood chip smoker. Was hoping at 225 I'd have more smoke than my traeger has but can't seem to get it to produce more
Ive been a wood/charcoal smoker for years. I recently bought a used Traeger for the -10 winter months, its far from a smoker..basically just an outdoor oven. i used it to "smoke" something yesterday and there was little to no smoke flavor at all.
You need to use a cooking thermometer so you can pull the turkey as soon as the breasts reach 160F. Cover and let rest and the turkey will reach at least 165F. Wood flavor comes down to personal preference but common wood flavors used when smoking turkey are cherry or oak.
Great to know about the P setting! Had no idea!
I just bought a Pro 22, thank you for this video, I had no idea when or how to use that "Smoke" setting, the instructions included with the smoker did not explain any of this! And thanks for that additional info about the P setting! Great video!!
Welcome to the pellet smoker world! It's nice once you know how they work and keep them up and running
I have exactly the same Taeger model and didn't know about the P settings. This is very helpful. Thank you!
Great info! Thanks for solving a problem that I thought was my traeger! Turns out or wasn’t the smoker, it was the dummy using the smoker!!
No one gives you the 101 help when you first get a Traeger. At least now you know what the issue was and sounds like you're on your way to making awesome smoked food from now on :-)
Thank you for finally explaining this, because I sure have wondered. I always put my meats on the Smoke Setting for an hour or so, then I would crank it. But, I realize now that I wasn't cooking it hot enough, I think. Because it took far longer than it should, so we always took it inside and finished it -- just because it was taking forever.
Thank you very much; this answered all of my questions!
I had no idea this was available on my Traeger. Thanks for a great video and keep up the good work. Stan.
@@Ebs685 you don't know what you don't know. Happy to help!
Really well done--long overdue for someone to explain what is actually happening at different temp and smoke settings
Amen, he sure taught me a lot in just 5 minutes of instruction.
Well im using the smoke setting to that a tri tip, it gets up between 160 amd 180 , that should do a lot
Perfect, Xactly what I was looking for and more, Subbed
Thank you for explaining everything with how the settings are. I recently bought the Traeger pro34. Did the initial start on the grill. I have a pork shoulder (6Ibs) rubbed down and ready to throw in the Traeger in the morning. Weather in Cali is pretty good so I’m going with a 225-250 cook.
225F is the magic "low and slow" cooking temperature that tends to always work out great. Sometimes I'll use 250 or 275 to cut down on the cook time a little bit but I love starting off slower in the beginning. Here's a guide that might help with smoking your pork shoulder at 225F:
www.catchgrowcook.com/smoking-pulled-pork-at-225f/
@@catchgrowcook Really, thank you for sharing these instructions. I am going to read them and follow them on my next cook. Because store-bought stuff is TOO EXPENSIVE now. So, we are trying to learn how to make BBQ at home along with homemade lunch meats and deli meats. We just can't pay $16 per pound for stuff now, and it's so easy to do it at home, if you will spend the time to do it yourself.
@@catchgrowcook Also, can you (one day) write up the instructions on how to cook a brisket, exactly as you did the pulled pork? I think that would benefit a lot of people.
Thank you for the advice. I am watching your video and turned mine down and the smoke increased. Thanks again.
@@acjmathis nice great job!
Great video! Simple and concise! I want to make jerky, this will help A lot!
Making jerky on the Traeger is incredible! Although I've noticed my jerky will get smokier in flavor over time so next time I might try using a lighter wood like apple or cherry instead of mesquite. Let me know how yours turns out!
Thanks for the information. I inherited a Traeger with the same control panel as in your video. The recipe I found said to cook my chicken at 300, but I think I'll try a lower temperature and let it go longer. This is my first attempt; your video and comments below really helped.
Glad it could help and welcome to the Traeger life! I think you'll want to sear or cook your chicken with high heat at the end since chicken fat & skin will be rubbery in texture unless you hit it with high heat at the end. Here's a guide that'll help you get familiar with all of your Traegers capabilities: www.catchgrowcook.com/how-to-use-a-traeger-pellet-grill/
@@catchgrowcook Thank you, Thanks for the information and I'll remember that tip :)
Well done Steven!! Good basic infomercial!
Thanks man! New trager owner. Was wondering why it would smoke on the snoke setting and when i was seasoning the grill on high it seemed like there was barely any smoke. Now i know.
Glad I could help! Welcome to the delicious world of pellet grills
If my smoker has that controller on it originally and I swapped it to the updated 2 probe controller do I still need to worry about the p setting?
On the traeger website, it says the smoke setting is 60C, it's just the lowest temperature available. I always use the smoke setting for jerky, it doesn't fluctuate more than any other temperature setting. As for cold smoking, use a smoke tube, 60C is too hot for that.
@@antmod1 nice it sounds like your traeger holds temp pretty well on the smoke setting. Mine might be too old but it swings pretty big especially during winter ☹️
[Moving additional comment where other people can see it too ...]
Really, thank you for sharing these instructions. I am going to read them and follow them on my next cook. Because store-bought stuff is TOO EXPENSIVE now. So, we are trying to learn how to make BBQ at home along with homemade lunch meats and deli meats. We just can't pay $16 per pound for stuff now, and it's so easy to do it at home, if you will spend the time to do it yourself.
The issue is that S setting will swing anywhere from 150 to 225 as to 180 or any of the numbered setting it will stay at or around a 5/15 degree difference, it wont have that huge temp swing
Thank you so so much
Thank you! That was a very helpful video
I hope your next smoke out with your Traeger goes well! Personally I use 225F and it seems to smoke everything really nice
Thank you! for this info!!!
Any time!
What is the default P setting?
Typically P-2 is the default P setting
thank you
Thank you. You are very helpful. No one ever verbally instructs us on how to use the Traeger grill that makes sense.
I hope it helps out this 4th of July weekend!
Thanks for the tip
Anytime! Hopefully this helps you successfully smoke more food "low and slow"
Need more info or a link about the P Setting please
Hey Marv - checkout this article for more info about the Traeger P Setting
www.catchgrowcook.com/traeger-p-setting/
This video was definitely helpful
*Use* smoke setting until internal meat temp is 20 degrees less than internal goal, *then* switch to a fairly high temperature setting of your choice to get some browning and remove the meat when internal reaches 5 degrees less than the goal.
In other words maximize time on the smoke setting, then work on the surface browning (sear or bark)
The classic reverse sear method is the best
Thank You
Subscribed 👍
When I turn mine on to smoke on initial startup my temp rises to 220 + within 2 minutes. Any tips?
Your firebox might have ash buildup. Might need to vacuum it out but usually the temperature will reduce after the pellet grill stays on for 10 minutes or so
I had this same issue. Ash build up can cause this but usually if it’s been 20 hours of cook time between clean out. When using the smoke setting leave the lid open for 10 minutes first to burn up all the old pellets then close lid and temp will settle at the 150-180 range. Hope this helps.
One thing you need to know is Traeger Juniors smoke like crazy but the larger ones do not. Costco apparently has the rights to the Junior 20 name and the Tailgater used to be a kit on the Junior with foldable legs.
So a larger Traeger on 225 degrees typically doesn't smoke as much as a Junior or Tailgater on the same setting. Big problem with the Junior/Tailgater is the hopper is too small. I am giving my LIl Tex to my buddy, but I got this idea.
1. Open lid to the hopper and put a bucket that is larger than the hopper and use black marker to trace the outline of the square hopper in the bottom of the bucket.
2. Cut an "I" beam shape to make two flaps like the bottom of a cardboard box. Make them smaller than the hopper so they go inside.
3. Place bucket on hopper with lid open and open the flaps inside the hopper and wedge them with a piece of wood. This should hold the bucket on.
4. Fill the bucket with the amount of pellets you want. Obviously the hopper will fill up first and then the bucket.
5. Put the lid on and go to bed because you can extend your cook time based on how big your bucket is.
6. Enjoy your sleep for once without having to do a 3AM top up
I've heard of that mod so you can have more than 10 pounds of pellets in the hopper at once. I recently got a Z Grills and the hopper holds a 20 pound bag of pellets. Such a game changer! No more waking up in the middle of the night to make sure theres still pellets in the hopper
absolute clickbait. Feel free to smoke on smoke setting for more flavor. It's NOT just for starting.
I find I'm trying to replicate the amount of smoke I get from stick burner and my electric wood chip smoker. Was hoping at 225 I'd have more smoke than my traeger has but can't seem to get it to produce more
I use smoke setting all the time. Low and slow
If it works for you then keep on doing it! Smoke setting is great in warm weather but can fluctuate too much in cold weather
@@catchgrowcookI use the insulated cover on mine. Never have an issue in cold weather
@WibbyKDX so, you use the cover to combat the cold temp affecting the smoke setting functionality?
Ive been a wood/charcoal smoker for years. I recently bought a used Traeger for the -10 winter months, its far from a smoker..basically just an outdoor oven. i used it to "smoke" something yesterday and there was little to no smoke flavor at all.
My smoke setting got up to 300 degrees….what the heck?
At 225 how do I know how long to cook a turkey breast? Also which wood flavor is best?
You need to use a cooking thermometer so you can pull the turkey as soon as the breasts reach 160F. Cover and let rest and the turkey will reach at least 165F. Wood flavor comes down to personal preference but common wood flavors used when smoking turkey are cherry or oak.
Thank you
You're welcome Dustin! I hope it helps you with your Traeger :-)