Traeger Jr. Elite TFB29LZA 1st cook???

[jjdbike]

Hello folks,
I was gifted a used Traeger Jr Elite model #TFB29LZA a year ago and am just getting around to trying it. This will be my first time using a pellet grill. I'd like to augment my KBQ and Weber Kettle w/ Santa Maria attachment.

I would like to use it for smoking things that need a lower temp like fish and cheese. Plus, I don't want to smoke fish in the KBQ.

This week I'd like to smoke some tuna and some cream cheese this week. Can I do them together or will the cheese take on a fishy flavor?

Any tips on using this unit? Any tips on smoking tuna and or cheese?

Thanks in advance!
JD

[RonB]

I have never done tuna and anything else together, but I do know putting salmon in with any meat or fowl will result in fishy tasting whatever.

[glitchy]

I still have fond memories of my Traeger Junior Elite. It was my first pellet grill and did a good job. Cheese might be tough on it as I don’t think it will keep low enough temps not to melt it. You’d probably have to just run a smoke tube and not fire up the smoker.

Can’t help with fish, the girls won’t touch seafood (except my daughter will eat fish sticks), so I usually get that dining out.

[glitchy]

jjdbike Cream cheese will probably be fine though.

[jjdbike]

Thanks,
I’ve done cream cheese in my KBQ stick burner at 250-275 w/ good results. I see that the Traeger Jr Elite temp controller goes down to 180.
KD

[glitchy]

It probably won’t hold a steady 180°. Unless they replaced the elite controllers with a PID, the 180/low smoke setting will be a timed setting and will bounce around from 160ish to 220ish depending on conditions. If it’s still the same controller, you can tweak the timings with a P-setting, but risk of flameout increases the longer the wait you put in (but the lower the temps you can get).

[glitchy]

I had mine 12 years ago, so you might have to run some tests and see what it can do. On their site, the elite controllers look the same, but doesn’t mean they have not tweaked the logic. The P-settings are usually behind a call support sticker in case you want to play. I never went above P-4 on any of my Traegers.

[jjdbike]

Thanks everyone.
I did cream cheese and then tuna. Turned out well.
i was taken by how easy it was as compared to the KBQ which I need to feed mini splits every 20 - 40 mins.
I was perplexed at how inconsistent and intermittent the smoke was. I did keep turning the temp up and down to try to maximize the smoke. I can’t tell you for sure if it helped. As it settled into one temp, it stopped smoking. Then I turned it up or down and it would smoke fir a bit and stop again.
Can anyone explain what this happens?
JD

[Donw]

You were achieving efficient combustion as pellet smokers with their controllers can so your smoke is cleaner and clearer. All the smoke you seem to want is a result of inefficient combustion which carries with it particles that haven’t undergone complete combustion. Most of the smoke taste you are looking for was imparted on the cold or cool surface of the food during the early stages of the cook.

[jjdbike]

Thanks DonW,
I suppose that makes sense.
On my KBQ stick burner, even when it’s running super clean, you can still perceive the smoke. It’s clean blue, and you can smell it.
For more than 1/2 cook time the smoke was hardly perceptible.
What I’m keeping in mind this was my first cook on this unit.
Thanks again
JD