Noticed the ThermalWorks MK4 was on sale last week. Guess what arrived today. Yet another BBQ tool. 
Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion
- Thread starter Statefan515ISU
- Start date
I love my Thermoworks stuff. I treated myself to a Smoke and a billows this year, and have been very pleased with it.
No pictures to show, but we did some St Paddy's clearance corned beefs over the weekend. Only had to mess with the smoker 3 times during the cook: Meat on, adding fuel, meat off.
No pictures to show, but we did some St Paddy's clearance corned beefs over the weekend. Only had to mess with the smoker 3 times during the cook: Meat on, adding fuel, meat off.
I recently made 10 pounds of beef sausage with two pounds of brisket trimmings and eight pounds of 80/20 ground beef (though I probably could have gotten by with 85/15 ground beef). If you have sausage making equipment this is a great way to use up the trimmings.
Noticed the ThermalWorks MK4 was on sale last week. Guess what arrived today. Yet another BBQ tool.
View attachment 85811
I splurged and have the Signals coming tomorrow. Always liked their stuff in the past so expecting more good results.
What’s up smoker peeps, Just bought a gently used Traeger Pro Series 34. Please tell me this was a good purchase. Shoot me straight though and tell me what I need to know.
I had a mastercraft mini fridge smoker but figured I needed an upgrade for Father’s Day.
I had a mastercraft mini fridge smoker but figured I needed an upgrade for Father’s Day.
Last edited:
See edit above
little worried about cleaning it, everything working right. Used the old mans traeger that’s a pro series 22 but that is theextent of my traeger knowledge
wheres the cheapest place to get pellets?
I'm a charcoal barrel w/offset smoker box guy, but there are plenty of pellet smoker guys in here that will have great advice. I'm considering making the move soon myself.
Farm & Fleet, Menards, Lowe’s and even Sam’s Club are the probably the first choices. Hy-Vee and Fareway carry an assortment to, just the 20 lb bags. You can also search for pellet dealers. I’m 100% Lumberjack pellets and have not had any problems sourcing them.
If you can find 20 lbs for under $10 you are getting a good deal. Best deal is to go in on a group purchase of a pallet. I know they’re was a thread about that on CF at one time. Probably the cheapest as LJ pellet are is $10 for 20 lbs at Hy-Vee and Fareway.
BTW- Nice purchase!
I figured there were plenty of places to get them but wondered if there were certain brands to avoid anything like that. I’m fine with buying in bulk if it’s cheaper. 20’lb for under 10 bucks is helpful to help me gauge.
Appreciate it. Found the grill through someone I know. I struggle to buy stuff used that has any kind of mechanical components because I don’t want it breaking and wasting my money. They have used it less than 10 times and wanted 350 for it so I decided that was too good to pass up. There is some rust on the bottom plate under the grates so any tips on getting that off would be useful. It’s not bad. Just should be cleaned.
I was using Traeger's Signature Blend but found they had a lot of dust compared to the Pit Boss Competition Blend. Switched this past weekend. Noticed on the Traeger Forums that many others have had similar findings.
Make sure you keep your pellets away from moisture, especially if you buy in bulk and don't use them within a few months.
I read on the some of the forums that Lumber Jack is the way to go as they are 100% made of what type of wood they claim to be. Traeger bag doesn't state what % of actual wood is included in their pellets. No idea if it is true or not, but have been itching to try Lumber Jack once my traeger pellets run out.
I tried using the cheap amazon ones for years and finally bit the bullet on the Mk4 when it was on sale for 25% off. Boy is that thing quick and precise. Completely changes the way i cook. Pulling things off the grill or out of the oven when they're perfectly done is amazing. Never have dry chicken ever again haha.Noticed the ThermalWorks MK4 was on sale last week. Guess what arrived today. Yet another BBQ tool.
View attachment 85811
Just bought a 40lb bag of PB competition blend for 15 bucks. It was only kind Menards had and I didn’t have time to check other places
There was some comparison of various pellets and their dust content and type of wood makeup (can't find link at the moment). PB actually came in first for least amount of dust, most consistent size of pellet, and was 100% the true wood type. I was surprised based on what I had heard about Lumber Jack that it had more dust content - but it was also really good and I think came in second.
Traeger apparently uses a lot of Oak in all of their wood flavors but both PB and LJ apparently use 100% whatever type of wood they label (i.e. Hickory is 100% from hickory logs, etc). I usually like to stick to big brands like Traeger as you typically get what you pay for, but clearly not on pellets.
I know it's not a "smoker" (I don't get to buy one until we get into the new house next month) but I have an Ooni pizza oven that uses pellets. I really struggled with the oven on getting a consistent clean smoke while I was using Traeger pellets. Frustrated by my experience and the fact that I've tried to change just about everything I could think of, I picked up a bag of LJ at HyVee and have had great experiences since.
