Congrats! If it's a decent brand like Traeger you're going to love it.
A few tips.
1. The wood you choose will flavor whatever you cook. You don't have to use the same one every time. You can use lighter woods like alder for fish, fruit and nut woods for a happy medium or intense woods like mesquite and hickory for full smoke flavor.
2. Never run out of pellets.
3. Inject/brine/rub whatever you're cooking and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before smoking. Fish is the exception.
4. Don't be a slave to 225 degrees. A lot of the recipes call for cooking at 225. It just takes longer. I almost always cook at 250.
5. Get a good remote meat thermometer. I use the Maverick so I can sit in my chair watching sports and keep an eye on the smoker and meat temps.
6. Use the Texas Crutch. There's a couple of reasons all of the competition BBQ teams do. It will shorten your cook time and keep your meat moist without mopping.
7. Go to a real butcher. The meats they have are so much better it's not funny. Yes, I'll smoke stuff the wife buys on sale, and it's good, but it's never as good as what you'll get from a real butcher.
8. Smoked chicken/turkey are not going to have crispy skin, so don't let it bother you. Focus on the quality of the meat, which will be insane. Skin is evil, so take it off after cooking.
9. Don't be afraid to smoke a tri-tip. Trim all the fat off. Smoke doesn't penetrate fat, so you should trim everything anyways. It won't have the crispy crust like if you cooked it on your grill, but it's still so good I've never gotten complaints.
10. Smoke your veggies. Take a pan and place your veggies under your meat so they can catch the drippings. Good stuff.
In the debate of sauce, no sauce, I punt. I'll lightly glaze whatever I'm cooking at the end if I'm going to use BBQ sauce and then put some extra on the table if anybody wants more.
