Any traeger people out there?

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donkiez said:
Ive never heard of anyone having issues with the auger either, I know about 10 others who have one and they all love theirs and none of us have had any issues of any kind. Ive also heard though that traeger has great customer service and sends out replacement parts with no issue, if something does happen.

Traeger brand pellets are fine, they are expensive though unless you get them from costco. I recently switched to Bear Mountain pellets from cash and carry. They have a few different flavors and are a bit cheaper. From what I understand they are very similar to traeger pellets, some people even claim they are manufactured by the same company but I think thats true.

Chicken rub is tasty. My suggestion for your first meal is full chicken, its easy and turns out really good. Treager brags about their chicken challenge anyway, which is full chicken on high for 1hr 10mins I think, check out youtube for some good videos. Dont be nervous, I am very happy with my Traeger, it was the best BBQ purchase I have ever made.
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Where do you store your pellets? I've read that its very important to store them inside in a dry place.

I think I'm going to take your advice and hit up Cash and Carry for some pellets.

Is assembling it pretty straight forward?
 
I store mine in a 5 gallon bucket I got at Lowes. It's got an airtight cover.

098262012862lg.jpg
 
I bought the floor model so i didnt have to assemble it, but it doesn't look to hard.

5 gallon bucket is a good suggestion. I have a few bags in my outdoor room, with no issue. I think as long as you avoid direct exposure to water or prolonged exposure to high humidity then you are ok. Youll know if they go bad, they puff up and turn to a saw dust. Dont use them if they get like that it will jam up your auger.
 
You can mix pellets also and create your own blends. Last years turkey I did apple wood, which I found was a little sweeter smoke flavor and to subtle for my tastes. So this year I did a 50/50 mix of apple and hickory and it turned out fantastic.

Another tip I learned is to buy some pillsbury rolls and spread them evenly across your whole grill and cook them. Some will finish a little bit ahead of others or will be more done, this can help you figure out your grills natural hot spots.

Did you decide on a size? Unless you regularly cook for 4 or more people a lil tex elite will do you fine. I own the regular Tex, which is more than I need, but it is nice to put the whole dinner of meat, potatoes, aspargus or beans, and home made bread all in the treager set to finish at the same time. in the summer we rarely use our indoor oven. Here is another option to add more grill space to any size traeger, you will want one eventually. http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC268#.VH89vjHF-jI

Here are a few other random add ons that are good pick ups.

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC312#.VH8-HjHF-jI or http://frogmats.com/

I love my shelf, it is so helpful
http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC016#.VH8-uzHF-j

dome thermostat will give you peace of mind that your thermostat is working as it should, trust me you can over think yourself crazy sometimes.
http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC211#.VH8-9jHF-jI

Hopper extender, Its on my to get list.
http://www.firecraft.com/product/lo...3Y07vMM3PEwj6n1EPEjW1jl-X_auVbNvzUaAkUd8P8HAQ

This guy has some good ideas if you want to get crazy. I've heard the fire bricks are a good way to save on pellets in the long run. He also has an upgraded controller that you can look into if you want.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/132613/my-traeger-mods-so-far
 
I just don't want to become a traeger perv. I'm still in my 20's.
 
donkiez said:
You can mix pellets also and create your own blends. Last years turkey I did apple wood, which I found was a little sweeter smoke flavor and to subtle for my tastes. So this year I did a 50/50 mix of apple and hickory and it turned out fantastic.

Another tip I learned is to buy some pillsbury rolls and spread them evenly across your whole grill and cook them. Some will finish a little bit ahead of others or will be more done, this can help you figure out your grills natural hot spots.

Did you decide on a size? Unless you regularly cook for 4 or more people a lil tex elite will do you fine. I own the regular Tex, which is more than I need, but it is nice to put the whole dinner of meat, potatoes, aspargus or beans, and home made bread all in the treager set to finish at the same time. in the summer we rarely use our indoor oven. Here is another option to add more grill space to any size traeger, you will want one eventually. http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC268#.VH89vjHF-jI

Here are a few other random add ons that are good pick ups.

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC312#.VH8-HjHF-jI or http://frogmats.com/

I love my shelf, it is so helpful
http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC016#.VH8-uzHF-j

dome thermostat will give you peace of mind that your thermostat is working as it should, trust me you can over think yourself crazy sometimes.
http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/detail/BAC211#.VH8-9jHF-jI

Hopper extender, Its on my to get list.
http://www.firecraft.com/product/lo...3Y07vMM3PEwj6n1EPEjW1jl-X_auVbNvzUaAkUd8P8HAQ

This guy has some good ideas if you want to get crazy. I've heard the fire bricks are a good way to save on pellets in the long run. He also has an upgraded controller that you can look into if you want.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/132613/my-traeger-mods-so-far
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I think I'm gonna do the lil tex unless a rep talks me into a bigger one.

Thanks for all the help. I'll continue to take your advice. I've read that its important to get a digital thermo. I've heard Maverick makes a really good one. Do you keep yours in-doors? What about a cover? Do you mainly cook stuff on the 'smoke' level?
 
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Do you trust the traeger to slow cook stuff while you're gone and can't check on it for a couple hours?
 
If you keep your traeger clean, then it will slow cook stuff for hours without you having to do a thing.

If you don't keep it clean, the ash will put out the fire at random times.

I vacuum mine out with a shop vac before using it each time.

I've had the fire go out maybe 3 times, all my fault. Didn't fill the hopper enough and it ran out of pellets one time, ash the other two.

There's a digital thermostat on the grill. The sensor is on the left inside right next to the pellet box. The readout of the current temperature is on the LCD on the pellet box.

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However, I got a cheap oven thermometer and put it inside and move it around so I can get an idea of where the hotter spots on the grill are.

You generally cook food on smoke for 2-3 hours then crank up the temp and finish it off. Some food, like steaks, you cook at 450 degrees like on a regular grill.

I keep mine outside and cover it with the official traeger cover. We get lots of marine layer here and stuff rusts really fast. People buy cheap grills here and let them rust out each season and buy new ones. The traeger has lasted 2 years for me already and still looks great. Some of the exposed screws have some rust and the handle, but those are relatively cheap and easy to replace.

The cost of the larger traeger is only a little bit more, so it's easier to justify getting the bigger one. The times you cook a lot of stuff on it, you'll appreciate it. A couple weekends ago, I cooked 6 whole chickens for a friend's party. They barely fit, but they did fit. But there are a lot of times food only takes up maybe 1/3 of the space.

The bigger grill may also get hotter. If you want to roast stuff at high heat (which I do sometimes).
 
I cook stuff when Im not at home all the time, it is very reliable. The only thing is you want to be around when its approaching its done window. You dont want to miss the perfect temp or your meat will suffer. Smoke or cook on it. Think of the treager as more of an outdoor oven. Meat absorbs smoke up to a certain temp, beef 150ish, so if you want to save pellets you can smoke on the treager and finish in your oven but thats to much of a hassel. What I do a lot though is smoke/cook extra on my treager, then vacuum seal it and pull it out for later. Pork butts are one the cheapest meats there is per lb, and you can get a huge one and divide it up into meals for later tacos, enchiladas, soup, bbq sandwiches. Brisket is more expensive but a big one is 3-5 meals for us. I also like to smoke extra trip tips when I do one, then vacuum seal them and finish them later in the oven. Beef gets up to previously cooked temps pretty fast, so partially cooking save you ton of time later and help you eat well when you are busier. So a food saver is also a good buy with your treager, if you dont have one already.

All treagers above the tail gate model come with a digital thermostat, there is aftermarket upgrades available though but the standard one is good enough for me. I recommend a dome thermometer though just so you dont drive yourself crazy overthinking things. I store mine on a covered part of my porch, I have a treager cover but I dont need it that much where it is and I use it a lot.
 
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Most traeger recipes I see on the WWW do not have cook times. It really is about watching the temp of the food as it gets close to done. Instant read thermometer is a good idea, but it's not good to keep opening the lid to take the temperature.

They make remote thermometers that stay in the food on the grill the whole time and report the temperature via a device outside the grill.

Like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Range...065&sr=8-2&keywords=wireless+oven+thermometer

That said, the recipes for pork shoulder/butt and especially brisket say to start cooking the night before and overnight and most of the day you want to eat it. I'm not sure how you cook those while cooking something that takes way less time...
 
Denny Crane said:
Most traeger recipes I see on the WWW do not have cook times. It really is about watching the temp of the food as it gets close to done. Instant read thermometer is a good idea, but it's not good to keep opening the lid to take the temperature.

They make remote thermometers that stay in the food on the grill the whole time and report the temperature via a device outside the grill.

Like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Range...065&sr=8-2&keywords=wireless+oven+thermometer

That said, the recipes for pork shoulder/butt and especially brisket say to start cooking the night before and overnight and most of the day you want to eat it. I'm not sure how you cook those while cooking something that takes way less time...
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Thats the argument for two little tex's vs one big regular tex. Thats what my buddy did and if I could go back I would probably do that also. Smoke a brisket for tomorrow, cook hamburgers tonight. I find that problem happens more than I thought it would. Brisket and pork butt both cook about the same so you can cook them both at the same time at 225. Other than that 350 is where I cook chicken wings for an hour, bread for 35 mins, veggies for 10mins. A little timing and it all works out done at the same time. Things on high dont take that long, steaks about 20mins, burgers 15, so its easy to plan around. I have that wireless thermometer also, its like Excalibur, dont do a roast without one of those.
 
I have a cheap ($99) gas grill that I use to cook things that don't work on the Traeger due to different temperature requirements or to cook on when I don't have a lot of need to cook on the Traeger (e.g. burgers).
 
Well I finally pulled the trigger on a traeger!

I got one at Costco after work today. $699.99 for the one I got. It has plenty of room for grilling. My only question is, did I get Lil Tex? I can't find the model anywhere on the box or anything. The guy working there really couldn't help me much. The # on the box says BBQ07C.01

It came with a cover too, which surprised me.
 
The lil tex is about 2' wide. Big tex is 4'.

I cooked 6 chickens on the big tex a couple weeks ago. They all fit. 3 across, left to right, front and back.

Lil tex might fit two.
 
If you google for the chicken challenge, do it. Great first thing to try.
 
MickZagger said:
I think I'm gonna do the lil tex unless a rep talks me into a bigger one.

Thanks for all the help. I'll continue to take your advice. I've read that its important to get a digital thermo. I've heard Maverick makes a really good one. Do you keep yours in-doors? What about a cover? Do you mainly cook stuff on the 'smoke' level?
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lol tex is seriously all you need. You can still fit 2 whole chickens in it or a full rack of baby backs.

Also remember, the bigger your grill, the more pellets you burn in the same amount of time. It cost more to use the bigger grill
 
I guess mine is the lil Tex elite from what a guy I was talking to on the traeger facebook page said.

Chicken Challenge is probably what I'll do first. Is it imperative that I use the Traeger brand rub for the Challenge? Its funny to me how I keep reading that the Traeger company is adamant that we use their brand pellets.
 
The traeger chicken rub is very tasty. I bought two jars of it and haven't run out in over a year. But no, you don't absolutely need it. Poultry seasoning you can get at any grocery store will substitute ok. The traeger rub is not poultry seasoning though.

You can brine the chicken or not. If you brine it, it won't brown as much but it's very juicy and tastes great. It's great if you don't brine, too. It's a matter of preference.

Be sure to wrap the inside of the grill in foil, and the bucket as well. It'll be a mess to clean up otherwise.

The chicken challenge is going to make a lot of grease.
 
This will give you an idea of how big the big tex is:

2014-12-13%20at%208.35%20PM.png


That's pairs with balsamic vinegar on the left, sirloin roast and stuffed mushrooms in the center, red potatoes on the right.

If yours is smaller, you got the lil tex.
 
Denny Crane said:
The traeger chicken rub is very tasty. I bought two jars of it and haven't run out in over a year. But no, you don't absolutely need it. Poultry seasoning you can get at any grocery store will substitute ok. The traeger rub is not poultry seasoning though.

You can brine the chicken or not. If you brine it, it won't brown as much but it's very juicy and tastes great. It's great if you don't brine, too. It's a matter of preference.

Be sure to wrap the inside of the grill in foil, and the bucket as well. It'll be a mess to clean up otherwise.

The chicken challenge is going to make a lot of grease.
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Do you wrap the bottom of the grill in foil every time you use it?
 
MickZagger said:
Do you wrap the bottom of the grill in foil every time you use it?
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Swap out the foil every time you clean it along with vacuuming the ashes, which is every few uses or so. You know when its time to change it.

I saw the costco version you are talking about. The changed the design but its a lil tex elite.
 
donkiez said:
Swap out the foil every time you clean it along with vacuuming the ashes, which is every few uses or so. You know when its time to change it.

I saw the costco version you are talking about. The changed the design but its a lil tex elite.
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OK cool. I hope this thing isn't a pain to assemble.
 
oh yea, not sure if you know this or not, but dont use your wire BBQ brush on your traeger grill. The grill is porcelain and will scratch it up. Just wipe it down instead.
 
donkiez said:
I got one, I really like it. It helps add a little more smoke flavor to long cook outs, or is a a good presmoker but other than that I dont use it much.
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Really? Seems unnecessary to me. On smoke setting, the Traeger makes plenty of smoke. For a gas grill, it'd make sense.
 
Denny Crane said:
Really? Seems unnecessary to me. On smoke setting, the Traeger makes plenty of smoke. For a gas grill, it'd make sense.
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Its not necessary, but it has its uses. Smoke setting still heats up to 150ish, so using the amaze you can cold smoke your meat without precooking it, works great on a thick piece of steak. You can also cold smoke cheeses and such with it. Its also a nice supplemental smoker for long roasts.
 
yea good point, plus all the pellets you would burn with that add on just for cold smoking. Id just get a real smoker if I wanted to cold smoke a lot. I like it more for supplemental smoking though, one of my biggest beef's with treager is that its more of a cooker than a smoker and I want more smoke flavor. This helps with meet my tastes better, but you could accomplish the same thing with a tuna can full of pellets or tin foil tent. For about $20 its not a bad toy. (he linked an more expensive one that included pellets)
 
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