Tailgating/Grilling/Pellet Smoker question (title edited)
Taste the meat, not the heat.
I don't know the answer to your question. But I would check for updated guidance at some point this summer. The AAFD did some checks during the OSU game and found multiple instances of above acceptable amounts of CO in and around RV's. There is talk of banning RV's from pioneer this year, so there may be some spill over impact to grills and other sources of CO.
Didn't the fire chief shut down RVs at Pioneer?
Yes. The official statement from the schools below.
https://www.a2schools.org/Page/15402
It appears there was a reasonable amount of due diligence based upon the statement from the fire chief. However, what confuses me is that the Fire Chief's statement talks about elevated levels in trailers but the parking restriction is for RVs. Maybe I don't understand the terminology, but why are they disallowing RVs when the issue is trailers? Are trailers considered an RV, so all types of RVs are no longer allowed?
I'm confused...
Good question/topic, but I'll be editing your thread title.
I know it wasn't your intent, but the title "Pioneer tailgating" is a bit misleading for at least a few reasons, first of which is that the tailgating rules at AAGO and at all University of Michigan-controlled lots are very similar to that at Pioneer High School when it comes to fires/grilling.
Open flame fires have been prohibited for quite a few years because of the smoke and especially the difficulty in properly disposing of hot embers/coals from spent charcoal and fire logs. I don't know as a fact whether this also applies to pellets but I suspect that it does.
Just got back from a few weeks of camping and my brother in law had success with the electric pit boss pellet smoker from walmart. At campgrounds in Canada that prohibited camp fires, it drew a bunch of attention because of the excessive smoke. It cooked food fine btw, but frankly foods weren't as "smoked" as we'd have liked.
Good smokers dont produce a lot of visible smoke, you want clean smoke hitting your meat and that will produce the best smoke flavor.
A common complaint about pellet smokers is that the smoke flavor isn't very strong.
I used to dabble in competitive bbq and while I tend to agree, it comes down to the pellets and smoker itself. I’ve got a req tec and a couple of traegers and with some cherry and hickory mixed, I can produce some almost competition style brisket. While certainly not the smoke ring from my old pit, it’s still dam good. I just did 20 whole chickens and 10 racks of ribs for the 4th and no one could tell which came off of the smoker or the pellet grills.
Also have a reqtec, and it is damn good. You have to be very choosy about pellets. I have used Shuping mesquite pellets, and they produce an incredible smoke flavor. But, they also create way more ash than typical pellets.
For "clean" pellets, I really like Lumber Jack.
Thanks mgolund,
I also have a rectec, love the thing but have had up and down luck with the pellets. I am going to try the Shuping mesquite.
If you use them on a long cook, like a brisket, you'll need to thoroughly clean the machine afterward. That is the only negative. Hope to hear your review after you've tried them.
On cooks less than 4 hours I have that issue with my RecTec, a good solution is to use a smoke tube placed in the bottom of the pellet smoker.
Semi related question to the Traeger people... trying to decide if the 575 Pro is big enough for a family of 4 or should I bump up to 780?
if you're thinking it's too small, it probably is. buy for what you want to be able to do if friends/family are coming over
i have a grill that can cook like 32 hamburgers at once and it's just my wife and i. it's not too big. no such thing when it comes to cooking meats.
I don't have firsthand knowledge with Traeger, though I almost pulled the trigger on this model last year. But if you want a review, check out Amazing Ribs (click for review). They're my goto for anything BBQ related.
If you're cooking only for 4 people, then it's more than enough. From the Amazon description: "575 sq in of grilling space that can accommodate twenty four burgers, five rib racks, or four chickens effortlessly". My question would be whether it can fit a full brisket without cutting it, but that's a moot point if you don't smoke brisket.
I use my traeger ironwood 650 for a family of 3 and the odd family holiday meal (think thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) and it is more than enough for up to 10-12 people sized meats. I smoked turkeys in the same sized smoker that you’re looking at without issues.
So I don’t have a traeger but I do have a different brand’s pellet grill. I have a 700 sq inch and it fits plenty and more for my family of 3 plus friends. It fit a 9 lb brisket in it on the fourth so plenty of room. If you can afford the price bump I would go with the 780. Always better to have/do than to wonder what if.
As others have said, the Pro 575 will probably be big enough if you are strictly cooking for your immediate family, but if you can swing for another model with more grill surface area I would suggest that - as another poster said, if you're worried about space / capacity on a model before you buy, you're probably going to run into space / capacity issues at some point (e.g., you have folks over for a bbq).
I recently purchased a Traeger Ironwood 885 - got it with a $150 off deal Traeger was running for Father's Day, was my personal treat after a grueling 2021 at work, and I've been really pleased with everything I've cooked thus far and it's a lot of fun. My first brisket came out amazing, and I've done wings twice now and the Traeger works well for those too (first cook was pulled pork, which was pretty good). The Ironwood 885 comes with an upper grill rack that is pretty small, so it's useful to cook one big protein like a brisket (or fit 30 wings on the lower grate), but I haven't been relying on the upper rack for multiple items to cook simultaneously.
If you're thinking about diving in to a Traeger, and I would give a thumbs up after my experience with the Ironwood 885 (won't speak re the new Timberline XL, I think that 1st Gen pellet grill seems to have too many issues)...would strongly recommend you look into and watch some YouTube videos from professional and semi-pro smokers. Meat Church and Mad Scientist BBQ on YouTube have been really good resources explaining their cook approaches in a really straightforward way that is easy to replicate, and maybe give a look into the Traeger reddit community, lots of helpful folk there too.
enjoy and good luck!
Here's your answer.. don't by a traeger if you want good flavor.
Pellet smokers are a joke to be honest.
Masterbuilt makes a fantastic vertical charcoal smoker that uses real wood or charcoal and feeds thr grill vertically.
I have the 560 masterbuilt and love it for smoking and the flavor is unreal.
Just make sure you clean it after long cooks
I also have the 560 and concur that it's a GREAT smoker - so easy to use it's sinful! You set the temp digitally and the controller board runs a fan over the coals (or wood) to maintain that temp, similar to a pellet grill. But you use charcoal, wood splits, or a mix of both. So much more smoke flavor than a pellet grill...
It's not quite as good at straight up grilling, though. It's more of a convection oven - so hot air blowing into the cook chamber. For grilling, upping the temp to 425 or higher and it'll work quite well - but it's simply not like cooking direct over red hot coals.
This /\ is the correct answer.
We’ve got a traeger junior 20, actually 2 of them up at the lake and I can feed up to 4 easily withone of those. The 20 only has 300 sq inches of cooking surface if that helps. But yes, go big or go home with your smoker.
just found out I might have to travel for work now. bummer, I like running my lab and not drumming up sales.
because of that, no, they will confiscate your pellet grill, fine you, arrest you, put a boot on your vehicle, tow it, sell it at auction, sue your family, use eminent domain to take your house and put a 7-11 there with a sign with your picture stating "not allowed inside." probably even kick your puppy.
or none of the above and it'll be fine idk
i'm going home to complain to my wife about the first thing i typed.
DJ - quit yer drinkin and go to bed!
I enjoyed this comment more than any other comment on this site in a long time. Maybe ever.
Well first, brisket is terrible. I've never tasted one that didn't remind me of a pressure treated board. No, I've never cooked one - so I'm not at fault here! Various BBQ joints have failed to impress, both national chains and locally reputable ones.
Secondly, I need to try cooking one myself...
I feel bad for you. Good brisket is the ultimate in BBQ.
Good brisket is great, but pork butt is sublime and remarkably easy. Also incredibly flexible depending on the rub choices.
I know Trager has an energetic following, but I firmly recommend a kamodo grill (Kamado Joe, Big Green Egg, etc.). Kamado is by far my favorite cooking tool (and I have a lot of them), as it’s construction and design are incredibly efficient and effective. W/heat diffusers, no problem to smoke at 205 F for 16 hours w/mesquite lump charcoal (incredible flavor), make authentic wood fired pizza, or crank it up to 700+ F for steak house char.
Design holds heat, moisture and smoke perfectly.
I use a big green egg to cook steaks at high heat and bone in pork shoulder/Boston butt. Excellent for both of those.
You’ve never had good brisket then.
I'll agree to this! I've tried to find it, really I have... I want to like it - I don't think I've ever heard anyone but me say it's terrible. But that has been my experience. Maybe I've only ever had it after a couple hours under a heat lamp instead of fresh out of the smoker / rest period? I dunno... But every single time I've tried it, it's been dry and chewy, like an over-cooked chuck roast.
BTW, smoking a chuck roast (ie: 'poor man's brisket') to ~205 results in awesome goodness. Which makes me want to try my own brisket. But they're so large that it's tough to justify it for, essentially, myself (my wife will eat approx 3 bites before complaining that she's full, and the kid will try one piece before complaining that it's chewy). I just need to suck it up and smoke one myself.
Smoked brisket or pork butt freeze exceptionally well. Wrap them in pink paper (or foil) stick them in a ziplock, and freeze. Easily re-heated or used differently the second time (I like to cut into 1” pieces and crisp in the oven for carnitas or burritos, after defrosting).
So good, simple “leftover” meal. The size of the cut is a bonus, so much so that I’ll sometimes make two and freeze 1.5 in three bags. Great to shove in a cooler (ice brick) and have on the first night of vacation! Doing exactly this in two weeks for trip to the San Juan Islands.
Have fun in the islands. I'm staring at them from my window right now, wishing I was on a boat!
We love San Juan’s and Puget Sound, looking for a transition to retirement property for past year. Hard to beat the beauty and tranquility of either. Stayed in Lakebay two years ago (about 10 miles from Gig Harbor) and Victor last summer (tiny town on the Sound).
Will be bringing bikes, paddle boards and my two Bernese Mountain Dogs from Portland!
dude, brisket is awesome. Go to memphis or texas and search a place. You will thank me later
Been to both places and tried it. Still not impressed...
"brisket is terrible"? I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Do you eat at dogshit only BBQ joints? If you can't find good brisket then you clearly don't like BBQ or just can't find any good places
Brisket isn't for rookies, but it is sublime when done right. But, you need a good cut of meat and good technique or it doesn't go over well.
I am the opposite of a foodie, and even I love brisket.
Just bring an empty propane tank and sit it near the smoker.
I did this near a solo stove/firepit at a place with propane only regulations. No one caught on.
I recommend something like this.
That thing reminds me of one of the carnival rides my grandkid talked me into riding recently at a local July 4th fair.
Ugh!
Rob, I never imagined you having a grandkid.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=meat+church
Worth checking out