Bought a Traeger...

[lokidog]

...for the new house.  It is just the small one. Costco is having a sale this weekend in Burlington on them.

Anyways, I see all of the things that can be done with them, but what is everyone's experience with the DON'TS?

[Todd_ID]

I steer my wife by those every year trying to get one for father's day. I love good venison that's cooked to perfection, and I'm certain a muley doe tenderloin done in one of those would be beyond belief. As for a don't, I'd say ice cream would have to be near the top of the list.

[lokidog]

I steer my wife by those every year trying to get one for father's day. I love good venison that's cooked to perfection, and I'm certain a muley doe tenderloin done in one of those would be beyond belief. As for a don't, I'd say ice cream would have to be near the top of the list.

Ice cream... haha.

My wife does not like to grill meat or fish as she feels she does not have the experience to get it just right. I think with the thermostat, that should take some of the guesswork out of it for her.

[KFhunter]

Don't let your wife run it 


J/K I've been training my wife and she's getting good with it, when I get home today off work I'll have a dry rubbed smoked pork loin waiting for me 


DON'T - let it run out of pellets ever, always check and make sure you have enough pellets in when you start it.

[Halo]

The things are very idiot proof, its hard to ruin a piece of meat on one. Just watch the front and back edge of the grill where the heat comes up around you can burn things there if not careful, that's where you toast the hamburger buns etc. A good meat thermometer is helpful also.

[Alex4200]

I second the "don't let run out of pellets".

Get a good thermometer. I use a dual sensor remote one. I was always over cooking everything until I did.

[ironhead14]

...for the new house.  It is just the small one. Costco is having a sale this weekend in Burlington on them.

Anyways, I see all of the things that can be done with them, but what is everyone's experience with the DON'TS?

Don't get addicted to it like I am!

[Bill W]

Get a fitted cover for it.  You don't want those pellets to get wet.

I have a GMG pellet grill and it's pretty much hands off.  Set the temp and a timer and wait.

Only thing I've learned so far is it's possible to get too much rub on chicken legs.  The cayenne pepper does build up. 

[JLS]

I steer my wife by those every year trying to get one for father's day.

That's a bummer.  My wife asked me if I wanted one for our anniversary, and I happily accepted.

I smoked a cow elk tenderloin for a couple of hours and it was amazing.

[jrebel]

It is really hard to mess things up with a traeger.  It is much different than a grill.....and there is a small learning curve to cooking with one but once you figure it out...... they are amazing.  And very addicting.  welcome to the club.......

Oh yeah....one don't!!!!  Don't open the lid to look.  You will be tempted to.....but don't!!  Trust it is doing it's job and leave the lid closed.....unless you need to do a quick baste. 

[NOCK NOCK]

Don't forget to clean it out every so often. Ashes will build up and eventually choke out the ability to keep a fire going.  I use a shop vac to suck out the inside base and the hot pot after about every 4 uses, unless long cooks like brisket you will need to do it more often.

Cooked 16 cheddar pork burgers on it today...

[Wolfdog2314]

It is really hard to mess things up with a traeger.  It is much different than a grill.....and there is a small learning curve to cooking with one but once you figure it out...... they are amazing.  And very addicting.  welcome to the club.......

Oh yeah....one don't!!!!  Don't open the lid to look.  You will be tempted to.....but don't!!  Trust it is doing it's job and leave the lid closed.....unless you need to do a quick baste.

Exactly this. I have a green mountain grill. Pretty much same deal.

But it did take a few trial and errors with some meals until I found the right groove for cooking on it. I now cook on it just about every other night.

Cleaning it out every few uses with a shop vac (as mentioned) is also a must. If you notice your smoke not being as billowing as it once was, clean er' out and she'll start really smoking good again.

There's a bunch of good recipes online, good luck!

[lokidog]

Get a fitted cover for it.  You don't want those pellets to get wet.

I have a GMG pellet grill and it's pretty much hands off.  Set the temp and a timer and wait.

Only thing I've learned so far is it's possible to get too much rub on chicken legs.  The cayenne pepper does build up. 

The deal at Costco comes with a cover.   

[CLARKTAR]

Yep, clean with shop vac. I added a cloth gasket around lid to have more of an airtight seal. I noticed lots of smoke leaking out from around lid.

Wrap the big drip pan in foil, allows you to pull off dirty foil and replace with clean foil.

I upgraded the control module to a Savannah smoker. Pretty happy now I can smoke things st lower temps and don't have the same temperature swings I used to have.

Check out smoking meat forums and pelletheads

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[KFhunter]

I seen an advertisement for a campchef pellet bbq with a sear box on the side,  anyone seen one in person?


It's woodwind by campchef.

https://www.campchef.com/woodwind/woodwind-grills/camp-chef-woodwind-pellet-grill-with-sear-box.html




It's got some neat features, one I like is you can dump the firebox ash out of the bottom of the burn pot instead of taking everything out and using a shop vac.