Pellets will depend on what you are smoking/cooking. Yes, you can absolutely smoke salmon on a pellet grill. Like with anything else, switching smoker styles/types will mean there is some learning involved. I use alder pellets for smoking fish, but apple will also work well. The best help I can give you is to look at Traeger's recipes. They've been in the game longer than any other pellet smokers, and because of this, have amassed a huge assortment of recipes. I no longer have a Traeger, I have a different brand, but often refer to their website when cooking something new. I've been using pellet grills for many many years. Green Mountain grills will do a fine job. If you are looking for help with a specific thing/recipe, list it and I'm sure you'll get lots of help. I'd be happy to help when possible. You can use a pellet grill for a huge variety of food.

LC

 

Put aluminum foil down on the heat plate. Makes cleanup much easier. You need an instant read thermometer. I did a chicken tonight, for camping trip snacks. I spatchcock the bird now. Cooks much faster and is moist. I use Camp Chef competition blend pellets. Get from Amazon. Store the extra pellets inside the house or garage. Moisture is mucho bad. Will turn them to sawdust. Get a smoke tube. Works great for cheese, and the smoke stays in the pellet grill, when the grill is not on. I also reverse sear my thick ribeye steaks. Then get a Blackstone to fo with the pellet grill.

 

Some things are easier to cook on a pellet grill than others. For the most part, cooking in them is simple! There are a bunch of BBQ message boards with endless information and help on them. They do an excellent job smoking fish. It takes me less than half the time to smoke salmon as it did on my old Little Chief and the end product is just as good if not better. If you like chicken, whole chickens, either spatchcocked or not, are the best. You can slow smoke them or cook them over a hotter firebox, both turn out a product that won’t disappoint you or your guests. Turkeys are another easy thing to cook/smoke with excellent results. Pork shoulder, pork and beef ribs, brisket, leg of lamb on the rotisserie are all big winners. I have an old school Weber grill that’s better for cooking a steak than the pellet grill in my opining. Most of them say they get hot enough to sear a steak but the ones I’ve had (3 Traegers and 2 Smoke Chefs) didn’t.

 

Really can do all kinds of things except those that need high heat. We don't use ours on steaks or burgers (although you can do burgers.) They really shine on slower cooking (pulled pork, ribs) and chicken and fish.

 

Keeping the firebox cleaned out is super important.
Shop vac is your friend.

 

Some good suggestions above. Absolutely do the foil over trick, you won't believe the mess slow cooking a pork butt will make.

1. Get yourself a decently thick welding blanket for winter months. You can just drape it over, or get fancy with some cutting and sewing/magnets.

2. Your grill may already have this, I'm unfamiliar with the model. You need a monitor of some sort (I liked the MEATer) that can be left in the meat while it cooks, you want to avoid opening it every 40 minutes.

3. Get a Papa Murph's pizza pronto!!! Scientists have proven they are at least 77-83% better on a pellet grill, I think 100% though. Cook it according to the bottom crust, not the time, it should be a little darker than golden brown and have a crisp texture. No one wants it doughy, scientists also proved that. Ohhh and in case you get into the beer to early, cook the pizza on the provided tray...

They're fun, if you can cook it in an oven, you can most likely cook it on a pellet grill. Nice in the summer months to not have to fire up the over for an hour at the peak heat of the day.

You have a newer model so this may not be an issue. I used to see +/- 30 degree swings on the digital readout from desired setting. Ambient temperature actually stay very consistent inside the smoker based on my thermo readings though.

 

You're coming from a gasser (hot and fast) to a pellet smoker (low and slow).
First thing to realize is that a pellet smoker isn't a grill, although they are sometimes called a grill.
A pellet smoker is more like an oven that infuses smoke.

As the others have said, there are tons of recipes on net.
Get used to longer cook times because this is the world of low and slow cooking.

 

I prefer my Big Chief to my Traeger when smoking fish. You can purchase grease pans versus using aluminum foil off Amazon for a buck a piece. Easier, cleaner and more efficient. I cook everything on there with the exception of steak.

 

DO NOT LET IT GET WET! Get a decent cover for it or youll be sorry my cousin made the mistake and what a mess/chore to fix

 

I'm not big on covers. Your grill is sitting on the back porch or side of the house and it's cold outside. The sun comes out and warms that cover up which creates condensation under it, which after awhile creates rust. I've had my grill outside uncovered for the last three years. It still works just like it did three years ago.

If you are primarily summer time griller and not so much year around, don't leave pellets in the hopper during the wet months or you may earn the ability to become much more intimate with the internal workings of said grill.

Costco is your friend for pellets. 40lbs./$12.99. They are good pellets and a good deal.

The last fish I smoked I tried something new and it turned out excellent. I used my Amazin Smoke Tube in the chamber without turning on the grill. Full tube went about three hours, then I put it into a dehydrator for six hours. It was fantastic.

Also, second the MEATER. Costco has another brand on sale right now that does the same thing, but I don't have any experience with them.

Have fun with your new toy. A lot of good eats on the horizon!

 

Welcome to the dark side........so many grilling possibilities await you. I've been cooking with my Traeger for many many years and absolutely love what you can do with a pellet grill. However, there definitely is a leaning curve. Probably the one thing I learned right away is that you don't cook by time, rather you cook by temperature. That is why a really good quality meat thermometer setup is very important. Some of my favorite things to cook are, spatchcock turkey (see my "What's your turkey recipe this year" thread in the Recipe board), pork tenderloins, pulled pork (see Jettin' Fool's "Traeger Pulled Pork w/ S.C. Mustard Vinegar Sauce" recipe in the Recipe board, absolutely fantastic), beer can chickens, and deserts. Yep, I said deserts. I cook all my apple pies on my Traeger and they turn out fantastic if I must say so myself. I also do cobblers as well, blackberry and peach turn out really good as well. Next up for me is to lean the smoked cheese process. Lots of good info here in the recipe board for how to do that. Hope you enjoy the learning curve, and get ready to be puttin out some good eats......

 

I'd echo the earlier comment about getting a pellet tube. Often when you're on a low temp setting, you're not going to get a ton of smoke. Fill a pellet tube, use a propane torch to get them lit, and you'll get a ton more smoke during your cooking. Amazon has a ton of cheap options.

Then just start making stops at Cash and Carry/US Foods ChefsStore a regular occurance and go to town. Baby back ribs are about the simplest thing to start with. Pork belly burnt ends have become a huge favorite as well.

 

Congrats!

Make your own rub as store bought are expensive. Below is my favorite (I think I got it off ifish years ago) for wings, ribs and pork shoulder.

3 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs smoked paprika
1 tbs white sugar
1 tbs salt
3/4 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp chipotle powder
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Keep it clean. Give it time to get up to temp. Most things will take longer to cook than you think. Outside temp makes a big difference.

Anything that is supposed to go into the oven at 350 or less, goes in my smoker.

Mac N Cheese
Casseroles
Potatoe dishes
Bacon!

 

My GMG has 2 built in meat thermometer probes that live in the product until done. I can monitor it on an app on my phone, as the grill has wifi capabilities. I'm very interested in doing briskets and turkeys. Low and slow cooking yields very juicy and tender meats, do I'm down. Once @Artwo mentioned deserts, i got VERY intrigued. 😅 It sounds so crazy, it might be epic. I never would have thought of doing a smoked cobbler. Cheese is easy. Just wait for dead of winter temps, buy a smoke tube, and load your cheese to smoke. You needn't even turn on your grill for that. Buy some cheesecloth so smoke can penetrate and make removal easy. The colder you can smoke cheese, the better.

 

I tent to NOT run the pellet grill on low or smoke for flavoring with smoke. I use a smoke tube burning alone to do that. I think PGs run a little too hot for a good smoke. They tend to cook a little more than I like. The smoke tube has solved that for me. Then, I set the PG to whatever temp is appropriate for the meat. When I got mine 14 years ago, Tilla gave me the following advise. "Set it on the lowest setting for flavoring and the highest for cooking." That has held true for most of what we cook. Clearly pulled pork or brisket are a different story. My final advise is to be creative and adventurous. Have fun with it. Almost everything is better when cooked on a BBQ!

 

If you want to sear on your pellet grill, get some Grill Grates. I pull the normal grates and the drip tray so I can set mine directly on the heat shield over the burn pot. Plenty of videos online where guys just set them on top of the normal grates. Game changer!

 

Bear Mountain pellets are a winner for flavor and price. There have been comparisons by YT folks on various pellet brands, and Bear Mountain ranked high. You can get them at Wilco or Coastal Farms for $8/bag on sale.

Sounds like many have the same advice, and some have new to me ways for cooking on the PG. I have traditionally only smoked smoky kind of things (pulled pork, ribs, brisket, etc), I'll have to reinvent my thinking for deserts and pizzas though. I also have a smoke tube and use it for fish, pork butts, briskets, etc as it dumps in a lot of extra smoke.

One great thing about PG's is you can set and forget while you do other things. I now do an overnight brisket, where the night before you put the brisket on the smoker at around 180 degrees, then go to bed. In the morning you turn the temp up a little and finish out the process. Reference Meat Church for how to do the overnight brisket. Meat Church has some killer seasonings that I pretty much only use now.

 

Tip #1 keep it dry. you get the thing wet and you'll have nothing but problems. if the pellets get wet they turn to mush then once they dry they turn to concreate .

#2 let the thing warm up and come to temp. I have a cheaper camp chief and i have to let it run for about 15-20 min befor its ready to cook on.

#3 you can try using different brand pellets but once you find one that works good i would stick with it. ive used a few different brands and sometimes they will burn HOT AF when im trying to smoke and sometimes the fire would go out.

#4 if your going to do a lot of smoking I would get a dedicated pellet smoker and not the BBQ.

#5 turn the grill on high. wait till the grill stops making dirty smoke. once the dirty smoke has stopped and your getting clean smoke I load it up with bacon. 10 to 15 min later your bacon is done and so so so good.

 

If you don't already have I would recommend the book "Smoke & Spice". Lots of great recipes. The rub recipes alone are worth the purchase price imo.

I've had my Traeger from when they were still building them in Mt. Angel. One of the best things I've added is a two tiered rack that fits over the main racks. It really increases the amount of food you can cook.

 

Yes, I also purchased a warming rack that mounts above the main grill. It seemed a waste of space notnto have that kind of system. I also am very intrigued by the grilling grates, as I watched a few videos explaining their functions. It looks to me like with those, there's no issues with cooking steaks on a pellet grill.

 

Have had my Lil Tex since about 2001 - in 23 years I have cooked about everything you can possible cook on a PG.

I have had a grill fire so hot when I opened the lid it backdrafted and burnt off my eyebrows and singed my lashes.

Pro tip - after a long slow pulled pork cook DO NOT crank it to 450 and cook some ABTs...it can cause a grease fire...

I have three thermometers in my grill - one on the hood, an oven thermo that sits on the cooking grate and the one(s) in the meat.

I want to know all the different temps so that I can maintain 225, 250, 275 or whichever.

Cookbook recipes - even Traeger books tend to think the product is going to cook sooner than it usually does.

Always cook to temp...not time.

Some of the probes that come with the grills aren't calibrated appropriately and can be off by several degrees - I use a meater+ - 100 bucks, but well worth it.

I also use a cheap instant read digital thermometer that I buy from Amazon for like 20 bucks...the ones that light up are very nice to have at night.

I like to make my own rubs, but the meat church ones are really pretty good and aren't too expensive considering all the various spices you would have to buy to make your own.
It's good to learn how the various spices interact with each other.
If you are going to make your own rubs, there is a lot of flavor to be found in toasting your herbs lightly.

Clean it more frequently then you think.

All parts are replaceable - I have rebuilt mine once and twice have replaced my hot rod/igniter.

Ambient temp will absolutely affect your cook times and ability to hold temp.

In the summer, I can get my grill to 475 - in the winter I can't hold more than 400 - welding blanket helps this.

The most important thing is to have fun with it...mess up a few times but learn from it.

 

If you want a hot sear, put the meat at the far back or far front, so the heat coming around the heat deflection plate goes directly to the meat.

 

As mentioned earlier, get a quality thermometer, I love thermoworks products. Don't assume the temperature of your grill, is what is showing on the display until you have verified it with another thermometer. I also recommend a smoke tube for smoking cheese during the winter months. During longer cooks, I try to put other stuff on to take advantage of the smoker when I have extra room. Usually it is some appetizers, cream cheese, meatballs, almonds or cashews, my latest is bacon wrapped onion rings. There are lots of recipes online to test out, have fun experimenting.

 

Cheap cotton gloves and your nitrile fishing gloves are perfect for pulling apart that pork butt.

Keep it covered in the elements. Mine took a poop a couple weeks ago, most likely because I was lazy a few times and didn't cover it up.

Keep the catch tray clean.

When you start it up, keep the lid open until the fire gets going. There are a couple videos floating around online of pellet smokers "popping" (I call it this because "blowing up" is a little dramatic).

I have a searing grate on my pit boss, but I'm not a fan of it. I believe it creates hot spots and it makes slow cooking things a little harder.

 

I bought the cast iron grills for my Traeger. They do just fine.

 

"........... Always cook to temp...not time. "
Great advise. If nothing else, this is the way to cook

 

1) I only do long cooks on my smoker, and I like to keep the meat as far from the heat source as possible. I use a couple of landscape bricks and a small grate to keep the meat up away from the firebox on my traeger. This helps keep the bottom of my brisket from turning into pot roast.

2) Long cooks are usually overnight. I used to get up every couple of hours to monitor the situation, but I bought a remote thermometer with a temperature alarm. That thing is awesome. It has two probes to monitor the temperature inside the smoker and inside the meat. I sleep much better now.