Raw Meat

Chip Porter

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Location
Sonoita, AZ
Grill
Ironwood 855
I'm new to smoking. Bought an Ironwood 885, sealed the lid with tape and started smoking. Several attempts have resulted in under cooked meats. Cook temperature and probe temperature look good. Last night, I tried a 3 lb. tri-tip. After 2 hours at 225° the probe read 130°, as expected. Meat was raw. I thought the probe might be reading low so, this morning, I put the bare probe on the grate and lit the grill off with a target temp of 165°. I watched my phone app as both temps climbed very closely together. As grill temp passed 100°, probe temp lagged (as much as 20°) but quickly caught up. At the 165° goal, both were within 1° of each other within a minute. Now I'm scratching my head...if the grill temp is off, then the probe temp is, too - and by the same amount. Seems unlikely. Any ideas, guys? Thanks!
 
TYPE OF MEATRAREMEDIUM-RAREMEDIUMMEDIUM-WELLWELL-DONE
Beef125 degrees130 degrees140 degrees150 degrees160 degrees

You sure you had the probe in the center??? You say RAW, you mean rare??

The only problem I see with UNDER cooked meat is.... COOK IT LONGER!!!
scratchheadblue.gif


Sorry, I'm trying real hard not to be a smart@$$
 
Last edited:
My Tri-Tip recipe that works well for me

Dry Rub, set out for 45min
Grill at 225F, super smoke, probe to 125F
Pull meat, set grill to 500F
Sear meat 5min each side.
Rest 10min
 
Personally, I wouldn't trust the Traeger probe or the Traeger pit probe temperatures. Mine are both out when compared to my Fireboard2 probes.
If you have another household probe, use that as well and compare the temps to what the Traeger is reading
 
Like RemE say, get a Thermapen. To me, 135 is medium rare on a Tri-Tip. I like to smoke them at 225 for an hour, then crank the Traeger to 500 and sear till about 130 before pulling them and letting them rest. They will continue to cook on the cutting board and after a rest, the temp will be up to 135. Perfect for slicing.

This is what reverse sear Tri-Tip on an Ironwood 885 looks like.

 
TYPE OF MEATRAREMEDIUM-RAREMEDIUMMEDIUM-WELLWELL-DONE
Beef125 degrees130 degrees140 degrees150 degrees160 degrees

You sure you had the probe in the center??? You say RAW, you mean rare??

The only problem I see with UNDER cooked meat is.... COOK IT LONGER!!! View attachment 2471

Sorry, I'm trying real hard not to be a smart@$$
Ummm...yeah... I didn't think I had to say that I would have the probe in the right place...and NO, if I'd had meant "rare, I would have said that...
 
GrillMeister
is that a Meater you got in that nice piece of tri-tip
the $69 version is all you need and use the MEATER link thru your WIFI

I want one if they work good
 
GrillMeister
is that a Meater you got in that nice piece of tri-tip
the $69 version is all you need and use the MEATER link thru your WIFI

I want one if they work good
Yep! I use an old iPod with WiFi & Bluetooth. I can connect up to 4 of the $69 units simultaneously to the iPod which I leave plugged into a power supply and near the Traeger. It then uses WiFi to the cloud so I can get info from my phone or tablet in the house. Works great. Love em!
 
GrillMeister
is that a Meater you got in that nice piece of tri-tip
the $69 version is all you need and use the MEATER link thru your WIFI

I want one if they work good
Hi Grillmeister - Thanks for the reply. I wasn't aware of the Meater, but it looks good because of being wireless. I've been looking at these contraptions that have wires going everywhere and they look like a big mess. I might pick one up to get a "second opinion" on the doneness of the meat. Thanks again - I'll keep you posted!
 
I’ll receive my Traeger this Monday, so a newbie I am! My initial thought would be to get an instant read hand held digital meat thermometer to supplement the grill’s meat probe. Is that not adequate enough for awesome cooks on the grill?
 
Those reverse sear grill marks are impressive, right off the stock grates?

On my last Tri-Tip, I just fired up my now idle gas grill and used it for the reverse sear since HOT is what it does best.
 
Grill Grates. They make for an awesome sear. Flip em over and you have griddle tool. Perfect for searing bacon wrapped scallops.
 
Grill Grates. They make for an awesome sear. Flip em over and you have griddle tool. Perfect for searing bacon wrapped scallops.
Those are clearly better reverse sear grill marks than I've ever gotten, at 500F on my 850.
 
I’ll receive my Traeger this Monday, so a newbie I am! My initial thought would be to get an instant read hand held digital meat thermometer to supplement the grill’s meat probe. Is that not adequate enough for awesome cooks on the grill?
Hi Don -
Thanks for your input! I do have a Javelin Pro that I use for steaks on my "other" grill. And, yes, it will tell me doneness on smoked meats, too, of course. But after smoking meats for hours, and watching the progress on my phone (and planning meal time), I want it to be done when the probe says it is. I ordered a Meater today (on Grillmeister's advice). With that, I'll be able to watch the progress on my phone and it also suggests "time left". I'm interested to see how well it works and get its "second opinion" to the Traeger probe.
Good luck with your new Traeger!
 
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