New to Traeger and have a question about recipes

[sd8898]

Hi there,
I'm new to smoking and Traegers. I've done and awful lot of grilling and have been in the restaurant industry forever from GM to Chef. My wife got me a Traeger Junior ( from Costco ). I know it's a little beginner deal but I'm ok with that... For now.. Anyhow my question is on a recipe and especially on the website it will say pre heat on smoke, then at a certain temp, say 180 then it will say smoke for an hour then adjust heat again, maybe higher. My question is when they say after preheat to "smoke" for such and such are they saying to turn the dial back down to "smoke", or is it just a term for continue cooking at that temp which is smoking??? I hope that makes sense. I attached an example. Cheers and thanks everyone.
Example below:

PREPARATION
Plan ahead, this recipe marinates overnight.
Marinade the tri-tip in Traeger Signature BBQ sauce overnight in refrigerator.
Remove tri-tip from marinade, and discard marinade. Lightly season with Traeger Prime Rib rub.
When ready to cook, set temperature to 180℉ and preheat, lid closed for 15 minutes.
Place tri-tip on the grill and smoke for 3-4 hours.
Remove tri-tip from grill and place in aluminum foil with 1/2 cup water. Close aluminum foil, and increase grill temperature to 350℉.
Place meat back on the grill for 45 minutes. Remove from grill and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
*Cook times will vary depending on set and ambient temperatures.
Access this, and over a thousand other recipes on the Traeger App.

 

[CampWhatnot]

My interpretation is that you preheat at 180f for 15 min, then add the trip tip and smoke it at 180f for 3-4 hours. Once it has smoked for 3-4 hours, remove the trip tip and turn the Treager up to 350f and allow the temp to settle in, then put the tri tip back on the grill and finish until the meat is at your desired internal temp. I find that Traeger rubs and sauces are very good however I find their recipes are not always accurate in terms of times and temps as they are guidelines and can very depending on your ambient weather conditions etc. Use your personal judgement on these aspects and you will turn out great food. You will get to know how it cooks as you go and enjoy the experience. If the smoker you are using has a dial knob for temps I'm sure some other will chime in as far as what temp low, med and high will run. If you have the d2 controller then just set the digital display to your desired temps. Cheers!

 

[sd8898]

Thanks so much! I am using the tri tip big ol strips of 5 from Costco so I’ll have to play with the times and check times often since I’m not using the typical big triangle piece of meat. Thanks again for your help! ( praying my temps will hold steady mostly, that’s been my biggest issue so far. Oh and little fire that peeled paint.......)
Cheers!

 

[CampWhatnot]

Thanks so much! I am using the tri tip big ol strips of 5 from Costco so I’ll have to play with the times and check times often since I’m not using the typical big triangle piece of meat. Thanks again for your help! ( praying my temps will hold steady mostly, that’s been my biggest issue so far. Oh and little fire that peeled paint.......)
Cheers!

Just keep tabs of your cook in terms of temps and times. It could take a cook or 3 to nail it how you and your family like it cooked. Just trial and error and all turn out great. Enjoy and don't over think it. Cheers.