6AM:
Fired up the WSM with a heaping ring of Real Flavor Lump MM style. Time to 225* with a load of 2 butts, about 25 minutes. Loaded the Traeger with pellets and started using the ON switch method, set to high to fire up and then drop to low, holding steady at 160*. Took about 10 minutes. I too was concerned with all nighter at 160* decided to start early morning and see what develops. I was told that it is near impossible to oversmoke the meat in the Traeger so I think I will run at 160* for about 2-3 hours and then switch to med, I want to sleep somtime tonight. I have no expirence with smoke at this low a temp but since I want to end up with 190*-200* in the meat clearly I would have to shift temp sometime. THE HEAT IS ON!!! ALLEZ CUISENE!!
7:10 AM:
I put a Therm in side the Traeger to see if it agreed with one in hood. At low temp varies a little , between 140 and 160. 140 seems too low for me, I am not intrested in health issues so I have switched Traeger to medium.
8AM:
It took all of 10 minutes for the Traeger to show 220* at the hood. Inside the temp on the grate shows 270*. When I was on low the difference between the 2 therms was less, about 20*. I am sure the butts on the Traeger will finish sooner that my WSM, it is showing 245* at the lid. Will check butt temps on Trager at 10-11 and the WSM at 12-1. As an added option I see that Traeger has another temp controller, I think that might come in handy. I would prefer more temp options.
On this smoker the hopper is smaller than the one on the smoker Bo uses. I filled it so I will see how long it takes to empty.
noon:
When I first switched to medium temp was about 275* in Traeger. Stabilized at 290* at the grate. It jumps a little as it burns a pellet but otherwise steady. Butts look great. I felt no need to baste yet, outside looks plenty moist. I was thinking about flipping them but when I looked at the bottoms of the butts there was no need. Internal temp of butts around 165* I put my probe in one and when i hit 195* will pull them. So far I have used about 3/4 of a hopper full of pellets in about 4 hours. Added water to WSM at 11, will check it after this post.
1PM:
The butts in the WSM look real good also. This must be a moist batch of butts I went ahead and basted them just to feel like I am doing somthing but they really did not need it. I like apple cran juice with some spice added. I rotated butts bottom to top, top to bottom. I added water to make a full pan. While the butts were off I checked the lump. Ring was down to about half way so I leveled it and added about 10 handfuls of fresh lump while butts were off. I prefer to not remove center section, dropped a pan of water into the coals once would prefer not to do it again. IMO while this lump burns faster than Kingsford I like the look of these butts better at this stage. Temp of butts in WSM around 158*.
The Traeger comes back to temp fast and I was getting hungry so I threw a few hot dogs on to heat for lunch. When I checked them after 30 minutes I noticed the ones on the left side were done more. Sure enough there is a difference of about 40* from left to right side. I shifted the butts left to right, right to left. Temp in meat is 178*. The ramp is higher on the left side perhaps this is the reason.
6 PM:
The pork in the Treager reached 195* at 3PM. Total time in smoker 9 hours. I let it rest for an hour and pulled. The texture was firmer IMO but it pulled easily. The bone came out clean. The bark was very good, a lovely Mahogany color. Tasted wonderful. I had a little trouble telling between the 2 rubs I used but there a difference. The quality of the smoke flavor was good, I feel with more use I could get more smoke flavor. I am not sure but I think the way to use the Treager is to start medium or high and get the meat past the danger point and then switch to low to get more smoke flavor. This is just a theory. Don't get me wrong, this was good Q, I am thinking on how to make it better. I was going to smoke the Spares tommorow but I think I will wait until later in the week and perhaps try to contact Traeger and get their input on how they feel the best way to cook ribs on their grill/smoker. There was 3/4 of a hopper left when I stopped, so for 9 hours it took about 1 1/4 hoppers of pellets.
Currently the WSM is at 240* and the butts are at 190*, will pull at 195* and compare. I had to add water but still plenty of lump left. I am sure I will make it without any need to add more.
8PM:
The WSM hit 195* on the butts at 7:30, total time 13 1/2 hours. The bark is MUCH darker, close to a dark chocolate and IMO tastier. These are the best butts I have made in the WSM to date. They are resting right now, will pull in 1 hour. I think if I was more familiar with the Treager it would have done just as well.
9 PM:
They pulled wonderfully, the smoke ring was more pronounced and taste outstanding. IMO a better pulled pork. Again I belive it's my fault for not being as familiar with the Treager. I think more time at low would have produced equal results from both smokers. Both smokers clean up easy but the Porcelin grills from the Treager are real easy. Just empty the bucket and replace the foil on the ramp You are ready to go. I
The next battles will take place later in the week, battle BBs and Battle Spares. This was a real fun day for me I hope you enjoy the info. Will work on my web site tommorow and have photos there. If I did not give you some info you need please let me know.
