Traeger wood pellet grill....anybody here have one?

[2porscheguy]

Traeger Wood Pellet Grills & BBQ Smokers | Traeger Wood Fire Grills

I was invited by a buddy of mine to sample one of his neighbour's BBQ creations.....good Ol' brisket. It was AMAZING!

He showed me his weapon of choice....a Traeger grill.

I've been using my Kamado Joe smoker (a Big Green Egg knock off) to cook many things including brisket BUT this gentlemen's creation was quite simply out of my league.

Gotta get me one of those!

Edumacate me guys!

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

Edumacate me guys!

Briskets are dumb (and dead too)....they don't give a damn . 14 hours @ 225 or there abouts...heat source is just a personal bias imo...YMMV.

[flipper35]

We suis vide for 12-24-48 hours at low temp (depends on the meat) and then smoke it a while. Tender and not dry. Ribs are good that way also.

[JJ 911SC]

Saw the demo at Costco. Here is the other recent tread: Traeger pellet grill/smoker

Also if you do and advance search using " traeger " and search entire post, you will get about 20 threads.

[2porscheguy]

^^^Thanks JJ...my bad....should have checked!

Esti d' tabarnac!

[JJ 911SC]

Lmft4u mon ami

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

^^^thanks jj...my bad....should have checked! ostie de calice de tabernacle

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

Lmft4u mon ami

Oh, I forgot to tell y'all the real secret to great brisket....you've gotta talk to it while it's smokng.....

In Engish however.....low & sloooow

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by KC911

Oh, I forgot to tell y'all the real secret to great brisket....you've gotta talk to it while it's smokng.....

In Engish however.....low & sloooow

Would that be in a southaaan' draaawl......y'all?!?

Ok, I've perused through the other threads on this.....my question for Traeger owners is can you use it on a rainy day seeing as it's an electric smoker?

The website says that you can use it in "light rain but be careful with connections as it is an electric appliance". Do you leave yours outdoors all the time (with a cover on) or do you have to bring it in under cover after each use?

[Rickysa]

Not what they used to be.

Original owner sold out to the Chinese when the competition grew (his business was home heating and did the grills on the side). Cheap steel now, etc...pellet grills rock btw, no doubt, but I'd look elsewhere at this point. I own one from I don't know how many years ago and absolutely swear by it. Nowadays, I see them at ACE hardware...that tells me all I need to know.

[JavaBrewer]

We bought a Trager wood pellet grill about 4 years ago from their kiosk at the local mall. It was expensive...$600 delivered to our home and self assembled. I have a friend who got one from Costco and he loves it. Had a couple baseball parties at his home and all the grilling was done on his Trager. He has a big custom gas grill built into an island but does not use it anymore.

Quality of materials is ok. The leg brackets were tweaked from shipping but I got them installed and it did not affect the operation, stance, or rolling around so I said whatever.

That said I'm not a fan of smoking meat. Having grown up in SoCal the holy grail for me is Tri Tip and my various attempts on the Trager were terrible. Ditto for pork chops. I feel like I need a very hot grill to sear the roast prior to cooking it on the Trager. What this thing excels at is fish, bratwurst, and veggies. The indirect heat is awesome and you don't need to worry about flare-ups. Well, speaking of flare-ups, my Korean friends were over with thinly cut rib meat that was marinated for days. They cooked it on my Trager on tin-foil. The marinade eventually hit critical mass and my grill was totally on fire. It got so hot that the black finish on the main unit blistered off. Almost burned down my patio cover. The next day the grill would not produce smoke. I did a proper cleaning, reload the pot, and boom its working fine again. It just looks beat up at this point but still does it's thing.

I would buy it again if I could manage a redo. Not for my favorites but for general use. I picked up a Craigs list $50 gas grill that is used for Tri Tip and we are happy again.

[flipper35]

Tri tip is awesome. Have a hard time getting it here in the upper midwest.

[porsche4life]

I have a char broil brand pellet grill. Cooks the meat damn fine and was only like $400 at lowes!

[Curt K]

Alex, sorry I'm a few days late. I have owned a Traeger for almost ten years, bought it at a home show.

I've used it in the rain (but not a downpour), I just park it just outside the OH garage door. The issue in the rain is you must keep the pellets dry, they expand when wet and will jamb the auger mechanism. I typically cover it during use with a fiberglass welding blanket to hold temp when it is cool, and then an old blanket over the welding blanket for insulation when cold. I use it all year, and I live outside of Buffalo, NY.

I love it for smoking and roasting.With the consistent temperature control I can do brisket and pork butts an hour a pound. Great prime rib roasts. Chicken and poultry are great as well. For steaks, chops and burgers I use a Weber grill as the Traeger doesn't brown these well.

Another brand to consider is Green Mountain. I use Green Mountain pellets in my Traeger.

I hope this helps.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by KC911

Oh, I forgot to tell y'all the real secret to great brisket....you've gotta talk to it while it's smokng.....

In Engish however.....low & sloooow

And people said I was crazy! I talk to everything that goes in my Weber Smokey Mountain.
Btw, I have had brisket on a WSM and a Traeger. I think it's all in how you prep it. There is an art to doing brisket as I was told by a pit master from Tejas.

[jpnovak]

I have a Traeger. Its awsome but not a one-stop BBQ cooker. Anything that is low/slow its like cheating. Dial a temperature, fill the hopper and come back 4 hours later to make sure the hopper is still feeding. I have a really old one I bought used. It is true that the new ones are not as well built but that does not mean they do not cook well.

Cooking in light rain is possible. The challenge is the pellets, they swell and then disintegrate if they get wet. They must be stored in a dry place as well.

I store mine out doors under the Eaves of my house with a cover. It does not get directly wet.

Brisket is like an art. Its all about how you trim, season, etc. Just about everything I have cooked on it is great. I use a gas grill for anything that needs higher temps (>400F), searing, etc.

I say go for it. MMM. Away from home now craving some good BBQ.

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by Curt K

Alex, sorry I'm a few days late. I have owned a Traeger for almost ten years, bought it at a home show.

I've used it in the rain (but not a downpour), I just park it just outside the OH garage door. The issue in the rain is you must keep the pellets dry, they expand when wet and will jamb the auger mechanism. I typically cover it during use with a fiberglass welding blanket to hold temp when it is cool, and then an old blanket over the welding blanket for insulation when cold. I use it all year, and I live outside of Buffalo, NY.

I love it for smoking and roasting.With the consistent temperature control I can do brisket and pork butts an hour a pound. Great prime rib roasts. Chicken and poultry are great as well. For steaks, chops and burgers I use a Weber grill as the Traeger doesn't brown these well.

Another brand to consider is Green Mountain. I use Green Mountain pellets in my Traeger.

I hope this helps.

So I sold my Kamado Joe grill and decided to go with the Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone model:



So far I've done a Pork Roast which turned out pretty darned good. This grill has Wifi control so that it can be programmed from the GMG app....cool! It also has a built in temp meat probe which makes monitoring your meat just so eazy peazy!

I'll be giving brisket a shot soon!

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by 2porscheguy

... So far I've done a Pork Roast which turned out pretty darned good...

You know the rule... Pics or it didn't happened

[aigel]

Friends of ours have a larger version of that GMG you bought. I was impressed by wings, burgers and baby back ribs over a long weekend. The results definitely were there, especially on a very large batch of the ribs. I wish our friend would have cooked something slower cooked or larger, like a brisket, to really see it shine.

I was very excited about this but turned off by the fan noise and its fluctuations after sitting next to it for a few hours. I would not be able to stand staying close to that unit and still be relaxed. It'd be ok if it was around the corner from the porch, but then you can't smell or see what's up!

Post back with your brisket results!

G

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

You know the rule... Pics or it didn't happened

Crap, no pics....and it's long gone!

[2porscheguy]

Originally Posted by aigel

Friends of ours have a larger version of that GMG you bought. I was impressed by wings, burgers and baby back ribs over a long weekend. The results definitely were there, especially on a very large batch of the ribs. I wish our friend would have cooked something slower cooked or larger, like a brisket, to really see it shine.

I was very excited about this but turned off by the fan noise and its fluctuations after sitting next to it for a few hours. I would not be able to stand staying close to that unit and still be relaxed. It'd be ok if it was around the corner from the porch, but then you can't smell or see what's up!

Post back with your brisket results!

G

Ya, I have to admit that the grill is quite noisy and smokey too, of course so I've placed mine off my deck but within sight and.....up wind too so that I can get a good wiff of what's cookin' once in awhile!