What would make the Traeger perfect?

[Bill Rogue V.]

Thanks to all the talk here at Ifish, we bought a Lil Tex about a year ago. In that time, we have had some memorable chow. Our favorite is probably smoked pork tenderloins with garlic and basil.
We've also had some disappointments in two departments -- not smokey enough, and limited temperature range.
When I want a steak, I either fire up the old Weber kettle or, more frequently these days, pan-sear and oven finish.
When I want to slow smoke fish, I am really missing my old Little Chief (except for in cold weather and when it is time to clean up).
And I have had a hard time getting a really big pork butt up to dissolving-the-collagens temp without finishing in the oven.
I think a perfect Traeger would be able to get hot enough to sear on steak night, and stay cool enough and smokey enough to produce perfect salmon and trout.
So I am thinking of buying a Masterbuilt smoker to complement the Traeger and the Weber. There probably isn't a single cooker/smoker that does it all perfectly, except perhaps the very expensive Big Green Egg.

[pdxkevin]

WHat would make it perfect would be a solar adapter! I would love to be able to take it with on some campouts but we camp in primative areas where there is not electricity and I don't want to run a generator.

[Slow Ride Willie]

I bought a Traeger in 2007, still made in the USA.I think the learning curve is the most important thing. Smoking fish can be done with thick cut chunks,is what I had some what of good luck. I prefer my little chief that has 25 years of seasoning.Baby backs turn out great,but my stand up vault is great too,but that's what I started with. I feel the one thing to make it perfect is not to give up on it and love it for what it can do to make your taste buds happy.

[DogZilla15]

I wish the smoke setting had a high and low range. The one setting keeps mine at 190 to 220 degrees, depending on the weather. Waaay too hot for general smoking but I didn't expect to be able to retire my Big Chief or stop using my large homebuilt smoker.

Last evening, I was doing a whole brisket and after the initial smoke period, I turned the heat to 275 and sometime during the cook phase, the fire went out but the auger kept turning and dumped a huge load of pellets into the bottom. ????? I emptied the fire can and cleaned up the spill then restarted and it appeared fine.

I think asking a Traeger to do steaks is asking a bit too much for something that wasn't designed to do them. I have eaten steaks cooked on them and they were good but they weren't cooked like a steak ought to be cooked.

[Oregon-Jet]

Add a Smoke Daddy smoke generator to it, cold smoke, and smoke at cooking temps as well.I can smoke cheese/fish, and sear a steak on high and smoke at the same time.

[wilsonriverfisher]

if it was made in america still that would make it perfect

[Thumper]

Originally Posted by DogZilla15

Last evening, I was doing a whole brisket and after the initial smoke period, I turned the heat to 275 and sometime during the cook phase, the fire went out but the auger kept turning and dumped a huge load of pellets into the bottom. ????? I emptied the fire can and cleaned up the spill then restarted and it appeared fine.

DogZilla15 --- Do you have the digital thermostat?

[foxer]

Originally Posted by Shorty Phillips

I got a Traeger that does it right. I've not been disappointed since I went through the learning curve. There are pellets on the market that burn hotter than the Traeger pellets do and you can actually sear a steak. With these pellets I have actually got mine up to 500 degrees.

Also, down by your temp control dial there is a little hole that you can change your temp settings to burn hotter or colder. Service says not go beyond P4, but I would call Traeger service so you get a better understanding of what I'm saying.

I believe you can do it all with a Traeger, but that's just my .

What brand are these pellets?

[Tilla]

I must be a magician, I managed to destroy a steak with their Oak pellets the other night. Way beyond sear in less than 10 minutes.

I should just let my wife handle it as usual.

[Phillipscrew]

Buy a Green Mountain Grill. It has all of the options you wish your Traeger came with. Temp range is 150-500. I smoke a steak for 1 hr at 150 then turn up to 450 and sear it. The best steak ever. It smokes fish perfect as well.

[freshbackstraps]

Battery and inverter works well.

Originally Posted by pdxkevin

WHat would make it perfect would be a solar adapter! I would love to be able to take it with on some campouts but we camp in primative areas where there is not electricity and I don't want to run a generator.

[MacEFL]

I built a PID controller for my Texas and it has made a huge difference. I can dial it in and hold to a five degree or so temperature swing. Or I can make it swing a bit more and get more smoke. With good heavy grates, remove the rack and the deflecter, put some deflectors from a gas grill across the firpot and lay the heavy grate on that. Let it heat for a bit and it will get a good sear. I have added fire bricks to mine and it helps hold the heat in as well. I have heard they really help the lil'tex. Check out pelletheads website, they have a lot of information and recipes.

[Da Bank Maggot]

Originally Posted by Phillipscrew

Buy a Green Mountain Grill. It has all of the options you wish your Traeger came with. Temp range is 150-500. I smoke a steak for 1 hr at 150 then turn up to 450 and sear it. The best steak ever. It smokes fish perfect as well.

And the Green Mountain Grill is made in the USA.

Having said that, I do wish Traeger could come up with some kind of camp grill. If they could pull it off, I believe they'd have a big seller on their hands.

[LimpNoodle]

I've had a Traeger for several years. If money were no object I would have a Mak.

Bear Mountain pellets work great and they are less than $10 per bag.

[glengieg]

Originally Posted by Bill Rogue V.

Thanks to all the talk here at Ifish, we bought a Lil Tex about a year ago. In that time, we have had some memorable chow. Our favorite is probably smoked pork tenderloins with garlic and basil.
We've also had some disappointments in two departments -- not smokey enough, and limited temperature range.
When I want a steak, I either fire up the old Weber kettle or, more frequently these days, pan-sear and oven finish.
When I want to slow smoke fish, I am really missing my old Little Chief (except for in cold weather and when it is time to clean up).
And I have had a hard time getting a really big pork butt up to dissolving-the-collagens temp without finishing in the oven.
I think a perfect Traeger would be able to get hot enough to sear on steak night, and stay cool enough and smokey enough to produce perfect salmon and trout.
So I am thinking of buying a Masterbuilt smoker to complement the Traeger and the Weber. There probably isn't a single cooker/smoker that does it all perfectly, except perhaps the very expensive Big Green Egg.

I use the Memphis Grill by Heartland. Does it all. Gets up over 650 degrees for searing.

[Metal Head]

buy a digital thermostat if you dont have one and a smoke daddy cold smoker. That should make you as happy as me and Im really happy with mine.... You can adjust the digital thermostats too she'll burn at about 125 it will go lower but likes to go out below that.....The cold smoker is a really great ad on only like $40 if i remember right.

[Thunnus]

Originally Posted by foxer

What brand are these pellets?

Yeah, what kind of pellets burn hotter????????????????????????

[Trouble854]

I've had many Traegers with the same wants and concerns. Around 6 months ago I stumbled onto a Mak grill. It does everything I want and then some. It gets up to 500 and sears steaks, and puts out 40% more smoke than My traeg on the lower settings. Also has an auto relight feature in case of the wind blowing it out, low pellet alarm, and a control module with meat probes that basically takes all the guess work out of cooking.

[dlgobeavs]

Originally Posted by Phillipscrew

Buy a Green Mountain Grill. It has all of the options you wish your Traeger came with. Temp range is 150-500. I smoke a steak for 1 hr at 150 then turn up to 450 and sear it. The best steak ever. It smokes fish perfect as well.

+1 for that! Love my GMG!

[fishboys]

My big tex was made in the U.S.A but it still isnt perfect. I am not sure I can get it to do everthing I want it to do. It does do well for most things I ask of it. I use it for smoking my pork butts but I finish them with foil in the oven like many others here.

If I want a steak I get out the brikets and fire up the weber. I look at it the same way as a boat. I dont know of any boat that can go 60 miles off shore for tuna then the next weekend drift the Clackamas for summers.

To me its just a tool that works well for smoking a 90lb whole pig or smoking my salmon or most anything inbetween. But when I need a steak I open my tool box and reach for another tool.

[Phillipscrew]

For all you pellet guys check out pelletheads.com. This is a great forum for all makes of grills.

[GreatWhiteHunter]

My Tex smokes at a cool 110-120 Degrees. Adjust the setting on the back of the control to get yours to smoke at a cooler temp (digital thermostat, or not). The dial is numbered - the higher the number, the cooler the temp.

Happy smoking.

[wannacatchem]

You could upgrade to a MAK. Made in Dallas, OR., too

they are spendy tho.

For cold smoking google amazn pellet smoker. I have one and it's pretty cool. I can get 12 hrs of cold smoke out it. Cost 39 bucks

[blacktail rattler]

If its legs were sturdy and would store power so you could ditch the dang cord.

[Kyleb100]

The Louisiana grill we have at work will go up to 600 degrees in about 20 mins. The quality compared to Traeger is extremely noticeable and if I were to buy one I'd be inclined to get a Louisiana or a Yoder. Wonder if I can get a smoke daddy for my gas weber... $800 bucks can buy a lot of wood chips

[Oregon-Jet]

Yea a smoke daddy mounts to any bbq, you have to drill a hole is all.

[Pinecone]

I've never understood the draw to the pellet grills myself. (though I admit I've never actually used one.) All smoking, searing, grilling, bbq-ing can be done on a Weber kettle grill with real wood chunks if you know what you're doing. Or a gas grill and a normal gas or electric smoker. (that's what I do just because I happen to have both.)

Why pay the extra money for an expensive treager, plus extra for wood pellets?

Just out of utter curiosity, what made you guys decide to go pellet grill?

- Joseph

[Herm]

Boobs, boobs would make the traeger perfect...

[maniacmikey]

Originally Posted by Herm

Boobs, boobs would make the traeger perfect...

You mean chicken breasts right ............?

[Rubber Boot]

what would make the treager perfect? Return the manufacturing to the US and get it out of china....Just saying

[Trouble854]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

I've never understood the draw to the pellet grills myself. (though I admit I've never actually used one.) All smoking, searing, grilling, bbq-ing can be done on a Weber kettle grill with real wood chunks if you know what you're doing. Or a gas grill and a normal gas or electric smoker. (that's what I do just because I happen to have both.)

Why pay the extra money for an expensive treager, plus extra for wood pellets?

Just out of utter curiosity, what made you guys decide to go pellet grill?

- Joseph

I do a lot of comp cooking and used to use a Backwoods smoker. I lost a lot of sleep cooking with this for fear that it would blow out, or get to hot. It required constant monitoring even when hooked to a digital thermostat and fan. I ended up trying out Traeger, and liked the idea of the pellet grill, but decided that Traeger had to many flaws so stayed with the Backwoods. After trying some food cooked on a Mak grill I decided to give it a go. The Mak was easy to use and produces great smoke flavor similar to what I was using. I can do 16-20 hour cooks on a bag of pellets, which ends up being the same price as briquets/wood. I just program the grill, and it does all the work. It keeps the temp with in 5 degrees, relights if the wind blows it out, etc. I found that with a pellet smoker you get more consistent results, and the flavor is just as good if not better (depending on the grill). When I was buying I looked at every grill and narrowed it down between the Mak and Memphis. Both are great, but Mak was made in Dallas,OR so that played into my deciding factor.

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Shorty Phillips

Don't knock it till you try it!

Definitely not knocking it! I've heard a lot of good things about them. I was sincerely curious. Thanks for your take on it Trouble!

And didn't mean to hijack, I really don't know what would make a Traeger perfect, cause I've never used one!

- Joseph

[Captain Kirk]

If we had a perfect set of tools we would not need to have both Phillips and Flat blade screw drivers. I cannot see why people try to get a pellet grill hot enough to sear a steak when the cook time is so short it does not benefit from smoke flavor. A good hot gasser has a place in the tool box. And for those of you who have never used a pellet grill you should try cooking chicken or pork on one. No babysitting flair ups. Traeger is the Chevy of Pellet grills it is cheap (in pellet standards) and can be completely rebuilt electrically for under $150. Sure other brands hold temps better and have less swing but the Traegers out there have cooked a lot of very good food over the years.

[fishboys]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

I've never understood the draw to the pellet grills myself. (though I admit I've never actually used one.) All smoking, searing, grilling, bbq-ing can be done on a Weber kettle grill with real wood chunks if you know what you're doing. Or a gas grill and a normal gas or electric smoker. (that's what I do just because I happen to have both.)

Why pay the extra money for an expensive treager, plus extra for wood pellets?

Just out of utter curiosity, what made you guys decide to go pellet grill?

- Joseph

Set and forget it. Its just easy to plug it in and have smoke. Hard to ruin anything with it. When it first came out I didnt see all the other options. I would of shoped around but I paid I think $600- for a big tex maybe six years ago. From a guy here on the board. Picked it up at the factory and never looked back.

[Bill Rogue V.]

Herm, that is certainly an interesting take on the problem.

I do love my Traegered chicken and atomic buffalo turds....

[wannacatchem]

Originally Posted by Trouble854

I do a lot of comp cooking and used to use a Backwoods smoker. I lost a lot of sleep cooking with this for fear that it would blow out, or get to hot. It required constant monitoring even when hooked to a digital thermostat and fan. I ended up trying out Traeger, and liked the idea of the pellet grill, but decided that Traeger had to many flaws so stayed with the Backwoods. After trying some food cooked on a Mak grill I decided to give it a go. The Mak was easy to use and produces great smoke flavor similar to what I was using. I can do 16-20 hour cooks on a bag of pellets, which ends up being the same price as briquets/wood. I just program the grill, and it does all the work. It keeps the temp with in 5 degrees, relights if the wind blows it out, etc. I found that with a pellet smoker you get more consistent results, and the flavor is just as good if not better (depending on the grill). When I was buying I looked at every grill and narrowed it down between the Mak and Memphis. Both are great, but Mak was made in Dallas,OR so that played into my deciding factor.

Originally Posted by Captain Kirk

If we had a perfect set of tools we would not need to have both Phillips and Flat blade screw drivers. I cannot see why people try to get a pellet grill hot enough to sear a steak when the cook time is so short it does not benefit from smoke flavor. A good hot gasser has a place in the tool box. And for those of you who have never used a pellet grill you should try cooking chicken or pork on one. No babysitting flair ups. Traeger is the Chevy of Pellet grills it is cheap (in pellet standards) and can be completely rebuilt electrically for under $150. Sure other brands hold temps better and have less swing but the Traegers out there have cooked a lot of very good food over the years.

I cooked on a weber kettle charcoal for many years (chicken, burgers, dogs, steaks) before I got into doing pork butts, briskets, etc. I found that while the weber kettle is a good cooker for the bigger meats, it is a hassle maintaining temps and smoke. I started researching grills for something better and over a period of months I decided I wanted simple, quality and long lasting. I don't want to tend fires on stick burners, worry about coals/temps on a WSM/Green Egg/Kamodo or deal with having to modify things on cheaper horizontals.

So pellet it was. First thought of treager as it is popular and several friends have them as does the cafe where I work. My understanding is quality went south on the move to china and customer service is spotty at best. Next was Green Mountain and Yoder. They were about tied with reviews of the Yoder leading, but it weighs 385 lbs and shipping was quite a bit. MAK is highly rated, made locally and the CS is outstanding. That tipped the scales so I bought a MAK 2 Star General. Fantastic ... smokes from 170-180 F, steady temps up to about 500, makes a mean pizza or upsidedown pineapple cake and apple pie, has a cold smoke chamber/plate/food warmer and is ultra easy to clean. Runs three meat probes and is completely programmable. Pretty much everything that sees heat or food is 304 stainless so no rust or peeling paint.

However, I don't really like the way it cooks steak. Steaks are quick, and the MAK takes a while to heat up to sear temps and just isn't that good at it. I don't think any pellet grills are. As with anything, none do all things perfectly. Thats why I haven't sold my two webber kettles, the gas grill my wife likes to use, my big chief (fish only) nor my home built UDS. And if I can find the right parts, I'll build a wood burner..... just because I can

[Bill Rogue V.]

Nice post Wanna. wish I had known about the MAK a year ago. As far as steks go, I'm so pleased with the results I get just pan-searing and oven finishing in cast iron that I don't know if I ever really need to grill one again.