My daughter has asked the family to come to her house for Christmas dinner. Her family loves my brisket (I cook on a BGE). Her husband just bought a high end Traeger (he’s only done three cooks on it-all bad according to the family) and wants me to show him how to cook a brisket on it. I have no clue on how to cook on a pellet grill and I don’t want to ruin Christmas dinner. I can’t transport my BGE across country, so I’m asking for advice on cooking a brisket on a Traeger. Thanks to all and stay safe!
The OmegaDog
How do you cook it on the BGE? I pretty much cook them the same on a pellet grill vs my WSCG. The only difference usually is I cook for 2-4 hours at 200-225 on the pellet grills to get more smoke then turn it up to 250-275.
Does you SIL have an instant read thermometer? If not, might make the perfect Christmas gift along with a good book like Meatheads. I doubt the grill is the problem, so hopefully some knowledge and practice will get him going.
Also, depending on what he’s trying to cook on it and if he has any other grills, you might want to show him GrillGrate.com. I don’t rave about them on all cookers like many, but they’re a game changer for ‘grilling’ on a Traeger. https://www.grillgrate.com/shop-by-brand/traeger/
Last edited by glitchy; November 14, 2021, 09:17 PM.
Reason: Typo
I cook on a pellet cooker. Brisket couldn’t be easier IMO. I have never cooked on a BGE, but I would think that you would cook on the Pellet cooker the same way BUT without and need to worry about cooker temp control. Set it and forget it. It will hold temp like a rock. At least my Recteq does.
For the brisket itself, follow the same process you’d do to prep and cook it on the BGE. Set the smoker to what you’d cook it on the BGE (275?) and let it do its thing.
I expect the cook is the problem versus the smoker, so be confident. I would probably test the smoker out first and make sure you can get it running at 250-275 easily. Like glitchy said, running for 180-200 for a few hours initially can generate more smoke before ramping it up to 275.
If GrillGrates are out of your budget as a gift , a smoke tube off Amazon would help with your brisket cook and be affordable.
Meathead’s book could be welcome or not by the owner depending on their own opinion of their expertise. Hopefully, this is a situation where the owner will listen and learn from your experience!
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Yup, as the folks above said, prep it and cook with the same method/temps as you would the BGE with the exception of running the pellets pooper in its "smoke" temp setting for the first 2-3 hours. Make sure he has enough pellets to load up the Traeger’s hopper, make sure it has been cleaned before you start. That means fire pot cleaned out, grease bucket empty and the drip tray below the cooking grate cleaned and maybe foil lined.
I agree with all of the above. You will notice a difference in taste, however, the technique pretty much is the same. Just less maintenance with the pellet cooker.
A pellet pooper is by far the easiest to do just about any L&S cook you'd ever want to do. All of the same guidelines apply, and whatever method you use at home will work there. Don't sweat it.
Set your temp and forget as others have mentioned. You will likely notice less smoke flavor. Remember to check temps as you would and wrap or not, spritz or not, and otherwise do as you usually do. Good luck!
Thanks to all who responded. I think all of you are correct that the cook and not the cooker is the problem. I will stick with my BGE technique and cook at 250 till probe-tender. One more question… is using the Amaz-N-Tube better than the "Smoke" setting on the Traeger for getting more smoke flavor? If so, then that will be his Christmas present. Again, THANKS to all. This forum has DEFINITELY made me a better outdoor cook!!
The OmegaDog
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