Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:45:40 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.

Thanks for the report. Bill suggests a longer cook. Do you think that
would help? Maybe two or three
hours at 225 or so and then up the temp to 325? Or maybe just leave it at
225 for five or six hours
until the loin gets up to 135 (which seems a bit low to me).


6 hours the temp will most likely be 160 on that size meat.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 20:16:08 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Tim wrote:
Bill
Its Me wrote:
On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.


JohnÂ’s recipe probably requires a long, low slow cook, to render the fat.
I have had pork belly topped pizza and loved it. Did not seem greasy.
That was in New Zealand. So there has to be great ways to cook he big junk
of pork belly, instead of making it in to bacon. Admittedly the pork belly
I had several different ways in NZ and Australia was not big chunks.

......


Bill, IÂ’d probably agree with you. I might be too impatient because IÂ’m
not the type to watch a slow roast all day.

I do enjoy delicious and simple recipes. I just canÂ’t spent all day
prepping and working an oven...


The nice thing about a pellet smoker is make sure there is a hopper full of
pellets and set the temperature. Go do other things for 6 hours or so.

I don't trust my Traeger that long. Had it shut down too many times. I
check it about once an hour
or so and give the pellets a stir every couple hours so they don't 'bridge'.


Contact Treager. Mine had the controller do some funky stuff and they sent
me a new one. Couple screws and plugs and easy replacement.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

Bill wrote:
John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:45:40 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.

Thanks for the report. Bill suggests a longer cook. Do you think that
would help? Maybe two or three
hours at 225 or so and then up the temp to 325? Or maybe just leave it at
225 for five or six hours
until the loin gets up to 135 (which seems a bit low to me).


6 hours the temp will most likely be 160 on that size meat.



Seems as if hard to wrap pork belly around a loin. Maybe slice PB in 3/8�
or thicker slices and wrap the loin.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

On Monday, December 3, 2018 at 6:10:47 PM UTC-5, Bill wrote:
Bill wrote:
John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 09:45:40 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.

Thanks for the report. Bill suggests a longer cook. Do you think that
would help? Maybe two or three
hours at 225 or so and then up the temp to 325? Or maybe just leave it at
225 for five or six hours
until the loin gets up to 135 (which seems a bit low to me).


6 hours the temp will most likely be 160 on that size meat.



Seems as if hard to wrap pork belly around a loin. Maybe slice PB in 3/8�
or thicker slices and wrap the loin.

That wasn't hard. The issue is that the butcher had already cut the belly into slabs that were about 5x7, and didn't have anymore to cut the way I wanted. It took two of them to cover the two loins I put inside. I prepped with spices, placed the loins on top of one piece, then put the other one on top. Slid the twine under and cinch it up. Easy.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 23:09:20 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 20:16:08 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Tim wrote:
Bill
Its Me wrote:
On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.


John?s recipe probably requires a long, low slow cook, to render the fat.
I have had pork belly topped pizza and loved it. Did not seem greasy.
That was in New Zealand. So there has to be great ways to cook he big junk
of pork belly, instead of making it in to bacon. Admittedly the pork belly
I had several different ways in NZ and Australia was not big chunks.

......


Bill, I?d probably agree with you. I might be too impatient because I?m
not the type to watch a slow roast all day.

I do enjoy delicious and simple recipes. I just can?t spent all day
prepping and working an oven...


The nice thing about a pellet smoker is make sure there is a hopper full of
pellets and set the temperature. Go do other things for 6 hours or so.

I don't trust my Traeger that long. Had it shut down too many times. I
check it about once an hour
or so and give the pellets a stir every couple hours so they don't 'bridge'.


Contact Treager. Mine had the controller do some funky stuff and they sent
me a new one. Couple screws and plugs and easy replacement.

I'm on my third controller. Am thinking of switching controllers, but this one seems to work - most
of the time.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 23:09:20 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 20:16:08 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Tim wrote:
Bill
Its Me wrote:
On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.


John?s recipe probably requires a long, low slow cook, to render the fat.
I have had pork belly topped pizza and loved it. Did not seem greasy.
That was in New Zealand. So there has to be great ways to cook he big junk
of pork belly, instead of making it in to bacon. Admittedly the pork belly
I had several different ways in NZ and Australia was not big chunks.

......


Bill, I?d probably agree with you. I might be too impatient because I?m
not the type to watch a slow roast all day.

I do enjoy delicious and simple recipes. I just can?t spent all day
prepping and working an oven...


The nice thing about a pellet smoker is make sure there is a hopper full of
pellets and set the temperature. Go do other things for 6 hours or so.

I don't trust my Traeger that long. Had it shut down too many times. I
check it about once an hour
or so and give the pellets a stir every couple hours so they don't 'bridge'.


Contact Treager. Mine had the controller do some funky stuff and they sent
me a new one. Couple screws and plugs and easy replacement.

I'm on my third controller. Am thinking of switching controllers, but
this one seems to work - most
of the time.


Sounds more like the auger drive is bad.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

On Tue, 4 Dec 2018 16:12:53 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 23:09:20 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 20:16:08 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Tim wrote:
Bill
Its Me wrote:
On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.


John?s recipe probably requires a long, low slow cook, to render the fat.
I have had pork belly topped pizza and loved it. Did not seem greasy.
That was in New Zealand. So there has to be great ways to cook he big junk
of pork belly, instead of making it in to bacon. Admittedly the pork belly
I had several different ways in NZ and Australia was not big chunks.

......


Bill, I?d probably agree with you. I might be too impatient because I?m
not the type to watch a slow roast all day.

I do enjoy delicious and simple recipes. I just can?t spent all day
prepping and working an oven...


The nice thing about a pellet smoker is make sure there is a hopper full of
pellets and set the temperature. Go do other things for 6 hours or so.

I don't trust my Traeger that long. Had it shut down too many times. I
check it about once an hour
or so and give the pellets a stir every couple hours so they don't 'bridge'.


Contact Treager. Mine had the controller do some funky stuff and they sent
me a new one. Couple screws and plugs and easy replacement.

I'm on my third controller. Am thinking of switching controllers, but
this one seems to work - most
of the time.


Sounds more like the auger drive is bad.

It rotates at exactly the rpm called for by Traeger.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 11:24:00 AM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Tue, 4 Dec 2018 16:12:53 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 23:09:20 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 20:16:08 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Tim wrote:
Bill
Its Me wrote:
On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.


John?s recipe probably requires a long, low slow cook, to render the fat.
I have had pork belly topped pizza and loved it. Did not seem greasy.
That was in New Zealand. So there has to be great ways to cook he big junk
of pork belly, instead of making it in to bacon. Admittedly the pork belly
I had several different ways in NZ and Australia was not big chunks.

......


Bill, I?d probably agree with you. I might be too impatient because I?m
not the type to watch a slow roast all day.

I do enjoy delicious and simple recipes. I just can?t spent all day
prepping and working an oven...


The nice thing about a pellet smoker is make sure there is a hopper full of
pellets and set the temperature. Go do other things for 6 hours or so.

I don't trust my Traeger that long. Had it shut down too many times. I
check it about once an hour
or so and give the pellets a stir every couple hours so they don't 'bridge'.


Contact Treager. Mine had the controller do some funky stuff and they sent
me a new one. Couple screws and plugs and easy replacement.

I'm on my third controller. Am thinking of switching controllers, but
this one seems to work - most
of the time.


Sounds more like the auger drive is bad.

It rotates at exactly the rpm called for by Traeger.

It seems that the problem isn't how fast (or slow) it turns, but rather it's not turning at all. If your burn cup is going out due to lack of pellets, it seems that there are only two primary reasons that would happen.

1. The controller fails to turn on the auger.
2. The auger fails to turn when told to.

I'm assuming that you've verified with a separate thermometer that the grill is dropping below the set temp and then auger does turn? Does the temp "run away", and then there is no need for pellets and the fire burns out before more heat is needed? You mention bridging... do the pellets have a tendency to bridge and the auger just runs out of pellets and then the grill goes out? Could the auger motor have a bad spot on the armature and it just doesn't start when it lands on that spot?

Just thinking out loud with some troubleshooting steps.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

On Tue, 4 Dec 2018 10:41:45 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 11:24:00 AM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Tue, 4 Dec 2018 16:12:53 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 23:09:20 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

John H. wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 20:16:08 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Tim wrote:
Bill
Its Me wrote:
On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 5:49:39 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Sat, 1 Dec 2018 12:54:46 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:

On Saturday, December 1, 2018 at 12:27:31 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
Do I want to give this a shot? Looks damn good, and I'd bet all the
fat from the pork belly would
turn that otherwise dry pork loin into a connoisseur's dream:

https://www.traegergrills.com/recipe...oked-porchetta

Wife brought a loin home yesterday, and I just checked with the local
Lowes Foods and they have pork belly. I'll be cooking one of these
tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Please do! Our Costco carries both also.

Tim, John... I wanted to like it, but I just don't like the pork belly
that much. I followed their directions, and the loin is certainly moist
and tender, but the belly didn't render as much as I'd like. I've had
belly before and the fattiness of it just turns me off.

Trimmed of the excess fat and sliced up, it makes a pretty good sandwich.


John?s recipe probably requires a long, low slow cook, to render the fat.
I have had pork belly topped pizza and loved it. Did not seem greasy.
That was in New Zealand. So there has to be great ways to cook he big junk
of pork belly, instead of making it in to bacon. Admittedly the pork belly
I had several different ways in NZ and Australia was not big chunks.

......


Bill, I?d probably agree with you. I might be too impatient because I?m
not the type to watch a slow roast all day.

I do enjoy delicious and simple recipes. I just can?t spent all day
prepping and working an oven...


The nice thing about a pellet smoker is make sure there is a hopper full of
pellets and set the temperature. Go do other things for 6 hours or so.

I don't trust my Traeger that long. Had it shut down too many times. I
check it about once an hour
or so and give the pellets a stir every couple hours so they don't 'bridge'.


Contact Treager. Mine had the controller do some funky stuff and they sent
me a new one. Couple screws and plugs and easy replacement.

I'm on my third controller. Am thinking of switching controllers, but
this one seems to work - most
of the time.


Sounds more like the auger drive is bad.

It rotates at exactly the rpm called for by Traeger.

It seems that the problem isn't how fast (or slow) it turns, but rather it's not turning at all. If your burn cup is going out due to lack of pellets, it seems that there are only two primary reasons that would happen.

1. The controller fails to turn on the auger.
2. The auger fails to turn when told to.

I'm assuming that you've verified with a separate thermometer that the grill is dropping below the set temp and then auger does turn? Does the temp "run away", and then there is no need for pellets and the fire burns out before more heat is needed? You mention bridging... do the pellets have a tendency to bridge and the auger just runs out of pellets and then the grill goes out? Could the auger motor have a bad spot on the armature and it just doesn't start when it lands on that spot?

Just thinking out loud with some troubleshooting steps.


In order for it to be turning at the proper rpm, it has to be turning. I can measure that by setting
a temp and having no pellets in the bin.

Traeger mentioned that the pellets may be 'bridging' and therefore recommends stirring the pellets
every couple hours to prevent same.

No, I've not verified anything with a separate thermometer, except that the grill thermometer
accurately reads the ambient temp when I start the grill. That's the first check on the whole
system.

This latest controller seems to be doing the job - so far. Traeger controllers catch a lot of flak,
even on their Facebook page.

Smoked Classic Porchetta
 

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 4:44:14 PM UTC-5, John H wrote:
On Tue, 4 Dec 2018 10:41:45 -0800 (PST), Its Me wrote:


It seems that the problem isn't how fast (or slow) it turns, but rather it's not turning at all. If your burn cup is going out due to lack of pellets, it seems that there are only two primary reasons that would happen.

1. The controller fails to turn on the auger.
2. The auger fails to turn when told to.

I'm assuming that you've verified with a separate thermometer that the grill is dropping below the set temp and then auger does turn? Does the temp "run away", and then there is no need for pellets and the fire burns out before more heat is needed? You mention bridging... do the pellets have a tendency to bridge and the auger just runs out of pellets and then the grill goes out? Could the auger motor have a bad spot on the armature and it just doesn't start when it lands on that spot?

Just thinking out loud with some troubleshooting steps.


In order for it to be turning at the proper rpm, it has to be turning. I can measure that by setting
a temp and having no pellets in the bin.

I probably wasn't clear. It's obvious that it turns *sometimes*. The problem of it going out is intermittent, so maybe the problem is that it
intermittently doesn't turn? :)


Traeger mentioned that the pellets may be 'bridging' and therefore recommends stirring the pellets
every couple hours to prevent same.

No, I've not verified anything with a separate thermometer, except that the grill thermometer
accurately reads the ambient temp when I start the grill. That's the first check on the whole
system.

This latest controller seems to be doing the job - so far. Traeger controllers catch a lot of flak,
even on their Facebook page.

Hopefully this latest controller has fixed the problem for you.