# Traeger Smokers?



## dewman29 (Jun 16, 2009)

I just bought the GOSM (BB) for myself, so this question is for a co-worker of mine who is looking into getting a Trager Grill that uses smoker pellets.

What are everyone's opinions of those? Are they good/worth the money (they are expensive)? How do they compare to other smokers?

I didn't have feedback for him since I have only used a charcoal & now gas smoker, so I thought I'd reach out to all of you.

Thanks.


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## heliboydoesbbq (Jun 16, 2009)

this might help.. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ghlight=trager

Others have wondered the same.. 

I always thought there was a better mouse trap.. BUT I just love playing with fire... 

CHeers!


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## flatbroke (Jun 16, 2009)

I got a Big Block and a Traeger.  the Big Block is sitting on the side of the house collecting rust.  

I love the Traeger.  If I had a complaint it would be that the temps fluctuate quite a bit because the pellets drop into the fire pot and keep dropping until the desired temp is reached before stopping.  Then then when the unit goes below the desired temp the process starts over again.  not too bad,  I keep mine on the digital 225 setting and it gets up to about 245 degrees before starting to go back down to 225.  so it is still within a usable range for me.

I smoked two tri-tips last weekend using the smoke setting, you can see my tri tip post to see how they came out.  I put them on before midnight, went to bed and checked on them in the morning.  Very little pellets were used .

The unit is so easy and simple to use, you don't have to monitor it very often.


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## jonmeskeete (Jun 16, 2009)

I just recently bought the 124 pro model, it has the digital control ( a real necessity) it was standard on mine but is available as an upgrade on all models. I would defiantly recommend the Traeger to anyone who is thinking of buying one I have smoked a few things already such as ABTs chicken thighs and quarters and some stuffed portabella mushrooms and all came out awesome. Tomorrow I will be smoking a couple of small beef briskets which I will be posting with q-view.

the things I like most about the Traeger are the ability to get it going and then let it do its thing while I do the many things on my honey-do list (this is a good and a bad thing depending on how you look at it)
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






   and the food still comes out delicious, also there are is a large variety of different wood  pellets available to give all kinds of flavors.

yes they are pricey but i think they are worth every penny.


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## countrysmoked (Jun 17, 2009)

I have the country smoker 450 pellet smoker.  I love it is works on the same principle as the traeger.  I think your co worker would be very happy with it.


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## oneshot (Jun 17, 2009)

I've had my Traeger for 2 years now and I love it!!! Best money I ever spent!!!! You can do everything with it!!!!
Did I mention that I love it??? LOL


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## charlottetavern (Nov 5, 2010)

A quick question from a new Traeger owner.  When I set the Traeger on "smoke" the temp reaches about 160 degrees.  Most smoking recipes call for higher temps-225 to 250.  If I raise the temp to those higher temps, am I still "smoking" my meats or do I need to keep it on the "smoke" setting to do that?  In other words, will the meats still "smoke" if I raise the temp up?


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## pineywoods (Nov 5, 2010)

charlottetavern said:


> A quick question from a new Traeger owner.  When I set the Traeger on "smoke" the temp reaches about 160 degrees.  Most smoking recipes call for higher temps-225 to 250.  If I raise the temp to those higher temps, am I still "smoking" my meats or do I need to keep it on the "smoke" setting to do that?  In other words, will the meats still "smoke" if I raise the temp up?


Welcome to SMF glad you joined us. A smoker temp of 160 is much too low for most of the things we smoke and it would allow the meat to spend far to long in the "Danger Zone" The vast majority of people recommend smoking at temps of 225 and some things at 250. Most of us shoot for a range rather than an exact temp. Personally I'm usually trying to keep my smoker between 215 and 245 rather than at 225


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## pokey (Nov 5, 2010)

There's a lot to know about how these things work. A good source is Pelletheads.com:

http://pelletheads.com/index.php?topic=5294.msg46137#msg46137

The smoke setting is basically the way the controller manages the feeding of pellets into the firebox when it's trying to hold a specific temperature. The fact that yours is holding at 160* is something that will change based on ambient temperature, wind, pellets, anything. When you set it to 225* or 250*, you're still smoking. When the temp drops below whatever you've set it for, it feeds pellets until the temp rises to the setting. Then it does whatever it's doing when in smoke mode (generating smoke) until the temp drops again. At higher temps, the pellets burn without giving off much smoke, so it's basically just a wood-fired oven, which is not a bad thing. A ribeye cooked at a wood-fired 325* is a wonderful thing.

How do you tell the pellet smokers at the BBQ competiton? They're the ones who are well rested. Set it and enjoy!

Clean it between uses, though. It's not a grill. Grills can self-clean 'cause they burn at 500*+. Smokers don't.

IRMV


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## carpetride (Nov 5, 2010)

I've cooked with one that had the three position settings, if I remember correctly Med. always got me into the 225 range or so.  I even propped the lid open slightly a few times to keep the heat.  You can absolutely cook with what you have but the rotary dial with digital read is a major improvement and well worth the expense.


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## charlottetavern (Nov 5, 2010)

Thanks very much!  20 people coming over tomorrow to enjoy the new smoker.  The feedback is much appreciated.


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## pokey (Nov 6, 2010)

Hey Carpetride - "engineered stick burner" - I like that!

Charlottetavern - 20 people for the first smoke? That's pressure. Hopefully you thrive under pressure. I don't have any idea of your experience, but may I suggest just doing ribs, Powder them up and put them in some kind of rack that will let them stand vertically, so you can get enough on for your 20 guests. Cook 'em on whatever the setting is above Smoke for 6 hours. You'll do fine. Later you'll start doing things like the 3-2-1 method for ribs, but a simple 6 hour smoke at 225 or 250 (the likely setting above Smoke) will give you excellent results,

Good luck!


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## charlottetavern (Nov 6, 2010)

Well, too late to be conservative about the cookout.  Doing ribs and whole chickens too.  I did use a rib rack to fit more in though.  Everything seems good so far.  I'll either score big points with the family or crash and burn.  I'll let you know how it turned out.  Thanks again for the advise.


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## eman (Nov 6, 2010)

Hmmmmm.

 I thought that the mbs and kcbs comps wouldn't allow pellet poopers in comps?


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## carpetride (Nov 8, 2010)

Pokey said:


> Hey Carpetride - "engineered stick burner" - I like that!


Yep, I totally think I am a stick burner ;)


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