Need help using a Traeger smoker for a pork butt

mlamb01 · June 2016

Here's the situation... I've had my LBGE for a couple of years now, and know exactly how to cook pork butts on them. But this weekend I'm flying to visit relatives, and while there I want to cook two pork butts(about 14 lbs total) for a party that we are putting on. But I don't have access to an egg where we are going. But my brother does have a brand new Traeger junior elite pellet grill that I can use to smoke the butts. He has no experience smoking meats, and no experience with the Traeger though.

So with the LBGE, I would fill it up, add some wood chunks, stabilize it at 250, and expect the cook to take about 11 hours or so. So what would I need to do differently with the Traeger vs the egg?

1) Will it hold enough fuel to do the whole cook?
2) Will I need to use a water pan?
3) Will it cook faster or slower, assuming I cook at 250 degrees?
4) Does it use regular wood chunks like the egg?
5) Does it regulate the temperature well?
6) Will the pork butt turn out about the same?

Hans61 · June 2016

1 - yes, 2 - personal pref not required, 3 - the same, 4 - no it uses pellets, 5 - it's likely computerized set the dial, and 6 - probably about the same -

hondabbq · June 2016

I don't own a pellet but am interested in them and have done extensive reading.
They are fool proof. Drop your butts in. Set your temp walk away. The pellets get added automatically to maintain desired temp.
The smoke and heat come from the pellets but you can add extra smoke if needed or wanted but don't add wood to the burn box. It has to be done on the side in something like the AMNPS or the like.
It will take the same time give or take as what your used to.

B727 · June 2016

Traeger works great - nothing could be simpler. I've used over 1000# of pellets over the years and never had any problems. Temp regulation is superb.

bettysnephew · June 2016

"They are fool proof. Drop your butts in. Set your temp walk away. The pellets get added automatically to maintain desired temp."

Unless the power goes off, just something that happened to a pal of mine. The smoke gets rather acrid when that happens besides the cook not getting done. There are potential pitfalls with every cooker out there, including our beloved Eggs.

hondabbq · June 2016

Your a fool if you don't notice your power going off.

VanDawg38 · June 2016

hondabbq said:

Your a fool if you don't notice your power going off.

Or you're asleep.

dantnation · June 2016

Owner of a LBGE and a Traeger Junior Elite here, and have cooked pork butts on both of them. Generally they taste about the same. I will say there are two key factors with the Junior you'll have to watch: 1) the hopper (box where you pour the wood pellets in) is quite small on the Junior so I would check that once every 2 hours or so and be sure you aren't running low on pellets. Like @bettysnephew said the smoke will become very acrid and the temperature will plummet if you run out of pellets. 2) the Junior grills for Traeger do not work as well as the bigger models when it comes to the automated regulation of temperature. For ex. in my experience if you set the cooker to 225 the temp will fluctuate from 200-250, so I check the temperature once every hour to be sure it's not too high/low. You'll enjoy the taste, be sure to have the flavor of wood pellets you like to smoke with. I personally like the pecan, but have done with apple and that works well too.

mlamb01 · June 2016

So if I set the temp to 225 and fill the hopper full of pellets, would it be okay overnight? I don't want to be waking up every two hours to fill it up again.

dantnation · June 2016

I wouldn't recommend going more than 4 hours without checking the hopper, I don't fill up every two hours just check to make sure all is good. In my experience I have to re-fill once for an 8 hour cook.

SmokeyPitt · June 2016

mlamb01 said:

So if I set the temp to 225 and fill the hopper full of pellets, would it be okay overnight? I don't want to be waking up every two hours to fill it up again.

Sounds like a job for your brother since he bought this POS.

.

mlamb01 · June 2016

Unfortunately, I probably care more about the finished product than he does...

corey24 · June 2016

I just ran into the same problem. My father-in-law has a Treager. It is a full size model and I did a 8 hour cook without refilling. Surely you could do at least half of that with the Jr. Other than that one component they are fool proof. Turned out great food with no hassle. Refilling bin takes about 5 seconds....Open-pour-done!

XC242 · June 2016

Can you go turbo on a Traeger?

Need help using a Traeger smoker for a pork butt

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