Smoker was working great. Went to smoke some ribs this morning and my controller won't go above 90. Help!

I'm not sure how the pellets got there, but grease in the bottom of the Traeger can catch fire and cause all sorts of problems. One way to minimize this is to make sure the drip tray is level, so that it bleeds into the bucket instead of over the lowest edge of the tray.

Make sure the smoker is clean, that would be the obvious cause

Not necessarily. It depends on what you're smoking. Some meats require moisture or they will dry out. Pork is one that quickly comes to mind, as does white meat fish. However, something like beef jerky, no you do not need water. And then, there are times you can add flavor to meat by using a dark beer instead of water Really good for smoking Baby Back Ribs.. The beer should be at room temperature before using.

There are some great websites that great smoking recipes. Just do a Google search for smoking meat, pork fish, etc. Or search for "How to use a smoker."

Hope this helps you come up with some great smoke food.

Depends on how many pounds you're smoking, as well as are they pork or beef? Country style or Baby Back? And how much smokey flavor to you want?

Baby Back Pork Ribs require the least amount of time, as they don't have as much beat on the bones as Country Style Beef ribs Never-the-less, my own personal theory of smoking meats is "Low and Slow." "Low" meaning no more than 225 to 250 degrees. "Slow" meaning at least 2 to 3 hours for Pork Baby Back Ribs. 4 to 6 hours for Beef Country Style Ribs.

The first 30 minutes to an hour time the crucial for smoking. That's when the fibers or the meat are most open and will absorb the most smoke. After that, you're basically slow cooking for tenderness.

Always wait until the last 30 minues to brush or mop on any BBQ sauce.

Seasoning the ribs prior to smoking is very important. Whether you use a dry or wet rub. The choice is yours. Once the rub is applied, warp it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Over night is better. Take the ribs out of the frig, unwrap them and allow them to come to room temperature before placing on the smoker. That way, the meat fibers will open some.

Once on the smoker, DON'T PEEK! Every time you open the lid, you loose smoke and heat. You want to try to maintain that 225 - 250 degrees without loosing it and having to bring the smoker back up to temperature.

Once you remove the ribs or any kind of meat, for that matter, let it rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting it. That way, you won't loose all those delicious juices.

The weekend is not that far off, so start planning now and enjoy the fruits of your labors, this weekend.

Hope this helps to get you started. Please let me know how they truned out. Or better yet, send me a sample to taste. :-)

I'm smoking a turkey right now and I'm using this method:

http://www.smoker-cooking.com/using-smoker-woodchips.html

This electric smoker wasn't designed (in my opinion) for chips. In fact, the manual suggests chunks and sticks. Too bad though since my local Bass Pro Shops store sells a great selection of chips.

We'll see. It seems the above method is working so far. Just let the element heat up to glowing first.

You will want the lid closed, the longer you can hold the heat/smoke in the better the flavor. What makes it smokey is wet wood chips on your coals, a smoker box works great for that but I think this model has it built in. You can get different wood types of wood chips at places where you can buy grills in the same department. You can usually get hickory, oak, cherry and such. Hope the ribs turn out good! :)

If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/forrest_f5a3e9d21691ce99

Google "Smokering" and you will find a lot of forums dedicated to smoking food. It is an art in itself but many of these forums are helpful in learning.

The answer to your question is basically put as many racks of ribs that fit without touching and as long as the temperature is maintained they will all cook at the same time. I typically smoke my ribs at 225 for 4-5 hours.

Ah, the age old question. Basically the meat only absorbs the smoke for the first hour to two. This is when the smoke ring is created in the meat. I would use enough soaked wood to keep a slight smoke coming out for the first two hours. After that charcoal is enough in this type of smoker.

You can Google "smoking meat" and find tons of info and forums but be forewarned. You may get hooked in the art of smoking meat.

use a drip pan with some water or apple juice, they should cook approx. 2 1/2 hours at 325.

I notice you have an offset smoker. The idea is to get the coals going in the firbox (the smaller circular chamber). The heat from the coals will rise into the main smoking chamber (the large circular chamber) where the food is.

It is difficult to keep your temp set right (about 250) when smoking ribs, brisket or pork **** on a less expensive offset smoker. I don't know what kind you have but it looks like a Brinkman or Charbroil. I'm not being snobby about this as I have a Silver Smoker myself ($185 at Menards).

The solution is to modify it. Search the web for terms like "smoker mod/s". You should be able to find directions on inserting a heat deflection plate, extending your smoker pipe, even adding bricks to the bottom of the smoker chamber to hold the heat. Good luck.