The New Revolution

So, its upgrade time here at the ranch.
I came across a slightly used but still fully functional Traeger Pellet Grill, and I had to make it my own.
A little paint and some new hardware and I was in business.
Whats neat about this grill is that you fill it full of wood pellets and it has an electric auger that automatically feeds a firepot in the center. Basically hands off. And all the cooking is done as if over a wood fire. No propane or charcoal required.
Plus its got a digital thermostat for perfect, consistent cooking temps.
And the wood pellets come in all different types. So far I've got Alder, Apple and Hickory.

Tabitha and I have been trying to buy a grill for almost 5 years now.
We hate the crap grills that are available at most home centers. The small ones are made from crappy pot metal and aluminum and are still too big for my taste, and the large ones are 87 sheets of stainless steel folded into the size of a moon lander. I don't need 200 sq feet of grill area, 4 extra burners and a beer fridge. I also don't need a grill that's going to turn into an ugly pile of scrap metal that I'm going to have to throw away in a year.
We have a small house, and a small deck and yard. Not a lot of room for an impractical grill.
Enter the Traeger.
So far I love it.
It grills and smokes and it sits on my porch and doesn't hassle me. No gas bottles, no briquettes.
I still need to practice with it a bit, but so far burgers, a pork loin and some salmon have come out great.
I haven't given up on my manual vertical box smoker yet, but stay tuned, as the new revolution gets underway.

5# Alaskan Coho 3# Alaskan Halibut

Was out toodling around, so I hit up my local favorite fish market for some fish to smoke.
Ended up with a 6# plank of frozen Coho and just for the heck of it, a slab of frozen halibut.
I have never tried smoking a white fish, and I've heard great things about the Alaskan halibut, so I thought I would give it a try.
I used the same brine recipe for both fish.
The recipe I adapted slightly from a fish brine recipe I found online that was written by an Alaskan fishing guide.
Here's what I used:
1.5 Gallons water
1 1/3 cups pickling salt
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
6 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 fresh onion (large chunks)
<1/8 cup red pepper flakes
<1/8 cup blakc pepper flakes
Splash of OJ

I put both types of prepped and de-boned fish in the brine (about 9:30PM) and then in the fridge.
Pulled it out about 8:00AM and rinsed the fish and let it dry on a rack until about noon.

Smoked it at about 225 degrees for approx 3 hours, using alder pellets.

It came out pretty good. I think maybe a bit salty on the thinner pieces. I have to figure out the salt flavor difference between kosher salt and pickling salt. I think the pickling salt leaves a much saltier flavor.
The halibut was good, but a much more delicate flavor than the salmon. I think maybe it could have done better with a shorter brine time, and maybe not such robust brine flavors.
Moisture on the salmon was perfect for the larger pieces and a bit dry on the thinner ones.
I think when I buy fish I should lean towards multiple smaller ones, a opposed to one really large one. Ill try that next time.
All in all it was a successful smoke.