Traeger smokers

[J.4knee]

Has anyone here ever used or currently use one these. If so what is/were your eperiences/opinions of it? Which one did/do you have?

http://www.traegergrills.com/

[Daddy Dee]

J,

The Traegers are well regarded, though I'm sorry to say I don't have experience with them.

I've cooked for seven years on one of the heavy Dave Klose Texas style offset firebox cookers. I've still got the log burner out there, but had decided to go the lazy man's way to see how I liked it. Last year I got an electric smokehouse style cooker from Sam's Club. I've been pleased with the results. It just takes a handful of hickory chips to drop in, set the temp and the timer and let it go on autopilot.

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=379806

[oldtimer]

Next thing you know you'll be moving to new york city.

[J.4knee]

????? is there a point to your response?

[jamesV]

http://www.traegergrills.com/

J.

First off never used one of these but funny this post is here. I was at a cook out and one of the people was talking about their new grill. It sounds like one from the web site, the one that moves the wood chips in as necessary. All I know, if that is the same one, that they love it and have had no problems.

James

[mark1101]

I agree with Dee. The Traegers are really nice. When I was in the market for a cooker the Traeger was one one of my final choices. My only issue was that I had to buy the pellets from them and I really didn't know how much would be consumed and what the long term cost and availability would be. I was just looking at the lil tex model and I really like it a lot still. I don't know anyone who has one or I would have found out more about them.

[Brac]

A pig shaped Que, and a longhorn, very cool.

[oscarsear]

I don't own one but I am researching them for a prospective purchase. They are a hybrid product using wood pellets, not chips or charcoal. The pellets are made the same as heating wood pellets but are made strictly for grilling. They have hickory, cherry, mesquite, etc.... Wood pellets have a high heat output that is predictable, plus they burn completely leaving no ash residue. The system works as follows. There is a burning chamber for the pellets. An initial load of pellets is ignited using a built in electric element. Once started the pellet load defines the level of heat. The load is refreshed from a pellet bin using an electric feeder motor. The lower the rate of feed to lower the temp and vice versa. This results in a constant, predictable and nearly reproducible temperature for the unit. (it will vary with extreme outside temps.) The smoke and the heat is circulated through the entire cooking chamber by an electric fan. In summary it is a wood pellet driven convection outdoor BBQ. I am very interested in getting one. My biggest bugaboo about charcoal is temp control and even heating. This fixes both problems without sacrificing genuine wood smoking. Another manufacturer is Louisiana Grills. They're not cheap but they do have many sizes all the way up to those massive outdoor stainless steel kitchen set-ups. My concerns are maintenance, clean up and how well it might grill as opposed to BBQ (smoke).

[oldtimer]

????? is there a point to your response?

Sorry for your confusion, I was joking with Dee over the use of electric versus traditional wood fire smoking. No joint worthy of a write up would use anything other than the old fashioned methods down here. For further explanation, there was this commercial for pace picante sauce (made in san antonio, texas) where the cowboys notice the salsa their cook served them is made in new york city. One of them then says "get a rope." I would guess that dee understood if he has read the post.

[J.4knee]

????? is there a point to your response?

Sorry for your confusion, I was joking with Dee over the use of electric versus traditional wood fire smoking. No joint worthy of a write up would use anything other than the old fashioned methods down here. For further explanation, there was this commercial for pace picante sauce (made in san antonio, texas) where the cowboys notice the salsa their cook served them is made in new york city. One of them then says "get a rope." I would guess that dee understood if he has read the post.

LOL Got it

[Daddy Dee]

me, too!

[EM3]

Sorry I have heard of them but I needed something I could get locally so I bought a propane one from Wally World that I put wood chunks in. I have recently started using Jack Daniels work chips in mine.

I remember researching Traeger and people loved them.

[J.4knee]

These are the detractors I can think of off hand:

1. You have to use the Traeger pellets as your only source of fuel

2. You cannot infuse moisture into the system for long term smoking

3. Since you cannot introduce moisture into the system you cannot use the steam from the fluid as a flavor infusor either.

4. There is a very strong purist in me who preferes to use lump charcoal and harwood in an offset firebox to smoke and cook

5. Cannot be used as a charcoal grill where as the more traditional units such as the offset fiebox units can also function quite well as a charcoal grill

These are the strong points as I understand them:

1. Simplicity, you load the pellets and set your temp and let it work. Temp control is very simple with these units.

2. You can infuse flavor using the wide variety of flavor enhanced pellets.

3. They are extremly well built.

4. The optional digital control allows you to hold the temp fairly low with relative ease for longer smoking poeriods (Sub 200 degree)

5. Since you can set it as high as 450 degrees you can use the unit as a wood fired oven as well, this versatility is nice.

6. Nice availabiltiy of aftermarket accessories if you want them.

Hmph.....decisions... decisions... decisions

[Daddy Dee]

J.

I think you've got a pretty good analysis pro and con on the Traeger.

They are indeed versatile units. Tough call, in a way, since it won't do for conventional charcoal grilling. I use my old offset cooker for cooking on charcoal and the little smokehouse unit for longer cooking chores. Trying to keep the fire right for 8 hours or more for some meat cuts takes time and work. The Traeger, or my little electric are a set and forget type operation.

One point on which I'm not sure how the Traeger works, is on the continuous pellet feed. Are the burning pellets the only heat source? If it's an electric element like mine, the elec provides the heat and burns the chips which don't provide much heat in the mix. For a long cooking session I will drop a cup full of chips in the chute, but don't do that more than a couple of times because one can oversmoke the meat getting too dark and sometimes bitter with hickory. In this little rig that works well. That may not be relevant to the Traeger as I imagine with their excellent rep they have the cooker fine tuned for great results.

Trying out different varieties of wood for smoke is fun. When I lived out in Scott there were many nearby pecan orchards, so pecan was plentiful to pick up. I'd been using pecan for a while when someone gave me an Oklahoma Joe bbq video. He says pecan is his favorite, too. Few people can tell the difference between pecan and hickory and the characteristics of pecan make is somewhat more forgiving to cook with than hickory. One is not as likely to oversmoke the meat. Apple wood has a nice flavor, too. It's milder than hickory or pecan. I've done some cured venison hams smoked long and slow with apple and the result was pleasing.

Being able to cook conveniently at low temps would be a real asset for jerky, smoking hams or sausage, salmon and such.

The Traeger's inability to infuse moisture I don't take as much of a liability. When I'm cooking on the offset I haven't been able to discern a difference in the product when I had a water pan or without.

The research phase is great fun, eh.

[J.4knee]

Dee,

Yeah the Traeger pellets are the only fuel source once the intial pellets are ingited, electricity only drives the auger after that. I have added my homebrew beer to my water pan found a taste difference when I smoke ribs, also foudn apple juice works well to sweeten smoked pork. But as you indiacted it is not a serious enough liability to preclude secetion of the Traeger. I have heard a lot of glowing reviews of the unit.

One big issue I forgot to mention,which is a serious liability, is the 300+ lb offset units all have to be shiped from Texas and further for me to get them. I can just drive down the street and get a Traeger.

Yeah the research is a lot of fun.

If I could acquire the land to build a house like I want, I'd have a traditional kitchen but I'd also build a serious outdoor living space and cook outdoors most of the time.

[dtel]

Here is another company from Texas, they also look nice.

http://www.tejassmokers.com/smoker.htm

Here is a nice site full of everything for smoking, BBQ and just about anything like that.

http://www.thesmokering.com/default.jsp

EDIT: I went to the smokering site just to look around, had to leave, DONT go there if your hungry !

[J.4knee]

Thanks dtel, I have been to http://www.tejassmokers.com/smoker.htm already nice stuff but needs to be shipped from Texas. I'll check the other site too.

[jacksonbart]

I am gonna move to New York City

[bonz44]

Love my Traeger, getting pretty good on ribs and butts, still working on brisket. Also cook brats, porkburgers and steaks on it all the time. Definitely upgrade to the themostat control instead of the three position switch, had problems while smoking with the three position switch while on the smoke setting where the fire would go out on a long smoke, now that I have the 225 degree thermostat, no problems at all.

[J.4knee]

Welcome to the forum, did you consisder the LV 180 degree controller?