I just saw one of these in person today at the hardware store where I bought my pellet stove. curious if anyone has one or one of the other brands like Mak or others? I did a little research and read some reviews about these pellet burning grills. they're really good for indirect heating, but not so much for grilling when you need hot direct heat for grilling a steak or something like that. I cook all kinds of stuff using indirect heat on my Weber but I like new gadgets - esp if you can set a temp on your grill/smoker and forget it.
I have one and I can say it's the best grill of ever owned. Easier to use them propane and taste better than Charcoal. Makes awesome burgers steaks chops turkey ham anything you would make on the grill or smoker. The only thing I don't like about mine is for smoking summer sausage or something you need to smoke really low I can't get the temperatures to consistently stay below 180. But it made to be a grill so I'm still very happy with it. I constantly get compliments with it. If you look there's a few traeger threads in the forum here.
thanks for the feedback swags. I did a search on Traeger and came across the other posts. My bad for not doing that first. Anyone got any of the other makes like Mak? I think I read that Traeger is the 'original' pellet powered grill. I'm gonna have to give this some thought. At first I didn't think I needed another grill (Char-Griller gas/charcoal combo, classic Weber) but I think I'd consider this to be a smoker rather than a grill.
I own one. Got the lil tex and added the digital controller.... It works great as is. I do want to ad the cold smoker. There are definitely better pellet grills on the market, TONS of them really. If you want to get your foot in the door to see what they are capable of before you spend some real money, this is the grill for you. Mine has cooked for two weddings so far, and I use it at least 4 days a week. Long pork cooks seems to be it's best ability and it does ribs well. I have had people tell me it was "the best bbq I've ever had" but they have probably only eaten at commercial bbq huts. I don't go out for bbq anymore lol. They work well. I suggest letting it run out of pellets every 3 bags and vacuuming the fines out of the bottom of the hopper/auger area. Clean the burnpot out every 4 cooks. Much like one that heats your home, the cleaner you keep them the better they will serve you. Also, replace the foil on the drain pan often, especially if you cook super greasy stuff. I had a MASSIVE grease fire on mine due to being lazy, don't be like me lol. Replace the foil every few long cooks or as often as you feel. Traeger doesn't make the best thing out there but mine has been reliable and fantastic, just keep up with maintenance. Don't forget to add woodstove window gasket to the lid to seal in a little more smoke....
Traeger used to have a better product and if you have or find one the models before they went overseas the quality is much better. I have one of the old ones that were built better. And still runs great, the only thing I had to change is the thermostat. I didn't realize they had a cold smoker for their grills, interesting but curious on size? And for the price I can buy a freestanding smoker right now on sale for less, I'm kind wanting to get a smoker that I can use wood chips from stuff that I cut up but that is definitely something to look into. Like I said earlier the only thing I don't like about mine is not being able to get it to low temps.
Yeah mine doesn't really go below 100 or so. I haven't played with the p settings on the digital controller yet. I think the added cold smoker could help quite a bit but I won't buy one until I hear some real world experience with them. Adding wood stove window gasket to the door has made it operate a little more stable. I also plan on getting some welding blanket and making a "jacket" for it as well. Their biggest problem is maintaining temps although there are a variety of ways to deal with it. Here is a link to the cold smoker. If yours is older I can't say whether or not it would fit correctly http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC253 I think it would be pretty sweet to have, definitely would keep the temps down etc. If you added a smoke daddy to it and added firebrick to the firebox I bet you could really go places with a Traeger. I would love to have a Yoder or a Black Olive though... just no money for stuff like that. I will have had my Traeger for a year in March and it hasn't let me down. I use it probably 4-7 days a week also.
I have the Grilla pellet smoker/grill made by Fahrenheit Technologies. Hopefully the last grill I'll ever buy. I've done burgers, ribs, brisket, various varieties of birds, pizzas, you name it. Not cheap, but it's built like a tank. I can run mine down to about 125. Any lower than that and it tends to error out due to low temp and shut down. Searing steaks is difficult, but not impossible. I usually do steaks on the charcoal grill as it's easier to get the charcoal grill hot and keep it hot.
One way to help get a better sear on a steak on the pellet grill is to get a cast iron skillet and toss it on the grill and let it rip on high for about 25 minutes. Throw the steak on the skillet and the outsides will sear nicely. If you really want to go crazy you can smoke the steak for a bit on the very lowest setting for the flavor, pull the steak then do the cast iron skillet trick. My Traeger actually sears OK, not like chacoal but good enough for me. They come out delicious even if the outer part isn't a bit crispy. Don't forget, butter is your friend on the outside of a steak for crispness, but tough on the arteries lol
I never thought about using a cast iron skillet. What I'd done a few times is smoke the steaks for flavor, then finish them on the charcoal grill. I'll have to try the skillet out if it ever gets warm enough to want to stand outside by the grill for a while.
I also have a Traeger Lil Tex going on four years. Find a good used one on Craigslist and save some money. Check on the hopper door and it should tell where it was made. There are several good pellets to use instead of Traeger.
