grills Traegers-Pellet grill/smokers?

boutros

boutros

I've been lurkin' on Traegers for a bit now- the pricey, wood pellet burnin' grill/smoker thangs. They turn out some good stuff, and I like the concept of plain wood(s) rather than charcoal. Don't get me wrong, I've used charcoal forever- just not sure what exactly is all in it. And my buddy just dropped like 7 or 8 hundo on a big stainless steel propane set-up, so I guess the cost issue may not really be that big.

Was looking at the Traeger Lil Tex Elite yesterday- Normally go for around $899, know where I can get one for $650.

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Probably gonna end up going entry level w/ the Traeger Junior setup for $399 later on. Still looking at other stuff too though, like Big Green Eggs and all that crap.

Any Traeger owners here?
 
I use the traeger wood pellets sometimes for cold smoking. The garlic flavored pellets are a bit different.
The smoker itself just looks too expensive for what you get, and for me personally I prefer using my own free/cheapo wood sources
 
I don't like the idea of sawdust pellets held together with glue. Why not buy smoking wood over the Net? Plenty of sources.
 
They don't actually use glue
"Only the finest hardwood raw materials are sourced from all over the country. The pure, raw material (sawdust) is then pulverized with hammer mills and dried. The dried material is then processed under heat and pressure. Lignin, which is the natural glue which holds plant fiber together, softens above 100 degrees Celsius, permitting the material to change shape. The hot lignin then acts like a glue to bond the pellet together. Pelleting employs a hard steel die which rotates against rollers forcing the material through the die with pressures of over 10,000 PSI. As the pellet is forced through the die it is sheared off at the specified length, cooled, screened, and bagged."

http://www.traegergrills.com/share/pellets.cfm
 
I already read that. Lignin is the glue. It's sawdust glued together like particle board but more naturally I guess. And I'm pretty sure you're not getting all one wood in a pellet, since they call them flavors. You can get apple, and it's called a flavor. It's probably a bunch of woods in the sawdust, with apple wood (or apple juice, who knows?) for flavor. They have garlic and onion too. Strange.
 
I interpret it a bit differently. Lignin is the "glue" but isn't its naturally in the wood just like logs, or is it added? I think its just natural
As I mentioned I tried the garlic pellets and they are strange. I only bought it because it was the last bag in the store. Not my favorite but definitely different.
It also mentions "flavorful species" of wood not just a flavor
 
It's naturally in wood but for it to work as a binder I'm sure they have to add a bunch more. I also bet the pellets are all mixed woods with specialty woods or extacts added for flavor. Maybe boutros should ask.
 
My hunch was correct, but it seems you can get 100% pellets also: http://www.northwoodssmokeofmn.com/pellets.htm

boutros said:
I've used charcoal forever- just not sure what exactly is all in it.
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Well charcoal (briquettes) and pellets will both have binders. Cheap brands will have fillers. I buy Stubb's 100% natural charcoal. 95% Hardwood and 5% Vegetable binder. I don't buy the other brands. You can also buy lump charcoal which does not need binders, it's chunks of wood, but it burns faster.

Stubb's rocks. Lump is good for fast grilling, like steaks.
 
How thick is that thing? Doesn't matter if you use pucks, coal, wood etc I think the most important question to me is the thickness and grade of the steel and if it can hold a temp. By the look of it, I would even wonder if it where made of steel at all. Also it does seem a bit small. I guess if you live in an upscale richy rich area and you want to impress the neighbors by how nice it looks it would be a good rig, but it looks too pretty to be functional to me. I say if your gonna smoke meat, then get a meat smoker not a work of art that "look" cool. I have a good old fashion stick burner and couldn't be happier.

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That one looks nice. I like the positioning of the box and the smokestack.

I have an offset smoker too. For me it's all you need. Gotta have patience with BBQ, it's not about light it and forget it. Tend to the smoker, drink some beer, it's all good.
 
LGHT said:
How thick is that thing? Doesn't matter if you use pucks, coal, wood etc I think the most important question to me is the thickness and grade of the steel and if it can hold a temp. By the look of it, I would even wonder if it where made of steel at all. Also it does seem a bit small. I guess if you live in an upscale richy rich area and you want to impress the neighbors by how nice it looks it would be a good rig, but it looks too pretty to be functional to me. I say if your gonna smoke meat, then get a meat smoker not a work of art that "look" cool. I have a good old fashion stick burner and couldn't be happier.
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LGHT, are you sayin' I'm lookin' at a fancy-boy smoker??? :tear:

:lol: Guilty as charged! I am a pretty big wheel 'round this town here and can't wait to upstage the poor folks who live at the bottom of my canyon!

Ah... but seriously- I don't know how thick it is, and haven't cooked on one yet so I can't say how she holds the heat. They fire up quick and seem to be fairly efficient w/ the fuel and temp regulation. Two different thermometers on her. A couple legit butcher shops I know sell them here and one uses them exclusively for their grub they sell BBQ-house style next door.

I hear ya on the holdin' heat thing, and a stick-burner sounds very interesting. How heavy a gauge is your smoker? Did they make it thicker by skippin' on one leg up front?

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:P Just funnin' ya! I ain't set on anything yet, appreciate all the input/discussion from all, I know you guys are a varied bunch with a lotta knowledge in this area. Gonna check your brand out- what's that run $-wise anyway?

I guess one thing I can assume so far is there aren't any Traeger owners on the forum.
 
Well just cause it's purdy don't mean it won't smoke good, but usually that's not the case. My rig is a kingfisher and they are made from 10 gauge steel and I think the firebox is even thicker. I love it because the water pan directly above the firebox will hold 2 quarts of liquid. This is great when you want to keep the meat moist for the first hour with water/apple cider/vinegar. This is a huge help when your smoking butts for 10+ hours. You can install up to 3 racks and smoke 9 slabs of St Louis ribs at once. I did wish it had 2 thermometers on it, but I don't rely on the one installed now as I usually check the temps with a digital anyway. Because it can hold a good amount of wood I can fill it up and let it run for about 90 minutes without having to add more wood. It's all purpose because after a long smoke I can add some coals and remove the 2 lower racks and grill burgers and dogs. I typically do ribs for about 6 hours and then get a good hot flame going then sear the sauce onto the ribs to make a "crust". Since the ribs usually have a bit of honey it makes a nice gooey caramelized crust on them. I know the leg looks kinda funny, but because that thing weighs a lot I can actually just prop it up in the front and roll it around pretty easily. It's very well designed and balanced. Hotpepper hit the nail on the head with a big smoker because it's my one get away from the old lady. When she has a list of honey doo's for me I run out and get some meat for the smoker and end up with a free pass because I have to tend the smoker for the next 6-10 hours and of course I can't leave or the food will be ruined. So I just roll up the keg from the garage, call a few buddies and enjoy the day!!

I got mine used from a competition guy who wanted something smaller that he had more control over. I paid $500, but it had a lot of extras and was practically new. I think he paid around $800, but not sure how much the total cost was with the extras and shipping because I got 3 racks, 2 rib trays, a few extra fire boxes, chip box and cover.
 
Sounds like a helluva unit LGHT- thanks for the downlow! Bonus points awarded for the spousal avoidance strategy :lol: Always good to have a few of those at the ready!
 
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