Looking to buy a smoker...Traeger?

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'73 Root Beer

'73 Root Beer

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Anybody have a Traeger Smoker?
Being in the NW we dont have an ample supply of actual wood to make fires and smoke with. I can buy a 10lb bag of hickory at Home depot for $20. Guh.

The Traeger seems decent, though not traditional.

Thoughts, debate...

Thanks.
 
Use a pellet based smoker. Doesn't take a lot and it quicker to start and stop the smoking process.
 
Too rich for my cheap ***.
 
My go-to smoker is an Orien Convection smoker.
No flame on the inside, all outside.
Works like a charm, succulant and juicy every time.

4 racks of fall off the bone ribs in 1hr 45m,wait any longer and you will be picking them off the bottom rack

5lb butt in 3 hrs

Stack in the meat,cover, light, come back at required time, perfect every time.

$126.00 delivered to my door..............
 

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Traeger used to be the leader in pellet grills. A couple years ago they sold out and now they have moved the operation to China. The quality has plummeted as they found numerous ways to cheapen them; lower quality parts, lighter gauge metal, not reliable, etc.

There are many makers of pellet grills now, and several well built, USA manufacturers. A couple that come to mind are Green Mountain pellet grills, and MAK pellet grills. MAK grills have recently won their fourth (four years in a row) Vesta award at the international BBQ trade show.

MAK grills are superbly made, they are head and shoulders above others. But they are not cheap. A "One Star" goes for about $1,395.00 and the "Two Star" goes for around $2,300.00. You would have to be pretty serious about smoking meats to justify buying one, but the do sell quite well.

Making me hungry just thinking about it...
 
I have an electric smoker. Master built from sams. Works like a champ. Can smoke a chicken in 1 1/2 hrs. Speedy and delicious.
 
THAT looks very nice. Thanks for posting!

65BCODA said:
My go-to smoker is an Orien Convection smoker.
No flame on the inside, all outside.
Works like a charm, succulant and juicy every time.

4 racks of fall off the bone ribs in 1hr 45m,wait any longer and you will be picking them off the bottom rack

5lb butt in 3 hrs

Stack in the meat,cover, light, come back at required time, perfect every time.

$126.00 delivered to my door..............
Click to expand...
 
I had a treager and had occasional problems with the feed. I went back to my UDS (ugly drum smoker) and added a big green egg! my ribs take 4 hrs and I may smoke pork butts for over 12 hrs, The UDS and the Egg do this effortlessly.
If i were buying today I would look at the knockoffs of the Egg since they are half the price. You may want to join the BBQ Brethren forum for lots of great information on smokers and recipes.
Cooking ribs in an hr is like taking a Chevy for a drive, you can't wait to get back and no one remembers,
Smoking ribs over a fire in an Egg is like driving a Mopar- you can't get enough and everyone remembers!
 
I've been using a CharGriller with a side smoke box for a couple of years now. The price was right, and I love the results from it.
 
I have two of these....http://www.biggreenegg.com/.... We use the Extra Large one daily. Also have a Mini that we used to use when we went shooting.....as well as for roasting peppers. Use Royal King Charcoal from Wally World. Even Costco hockey pucks, aka frozen burgers, are juicy off of the egg. Once you figure it out you can keep the temperature under 200* for smoking. Have never even bothered with any of the flavored wood chunks on it when smoking ribs or anything.....Not cheap, but there is nothing to break on it as it is just a big ceramic bowl. If you ever need to move it just take it apart, the ceramic fire ring may crack while moving it....does not affect the function of it.....
 
$2300 for a smoker around here gets you one with 15" wheels that tows behind your truck and fits a whole 200+ Lb. hog. Scalding and scraping not included. Hickory sold separately.
 
Excellent! Thanks for the input.

I made a smoker out of a terra cotta pot once. Worked great! Til it broke. Looking for something little more permanent.
 
65cuda360 said:
$2300 for a smoker around here gets you one with 15" wheels that tows behind your truck and fits a whole 200+ Lb. hog. Scalding and scraping not included. Hickory sold separately.
Click to expand...

...not every one has the need for a whole pig....from experience with using the two eggs....the bigger the fire box the more charcoal it takes to cook with....having to feed it bags of charcoal to bbq a couple tri-tips....aint gonna be much of a bargain in the long run.....not to mention steel rusts....ceramic don't....I'll stick with the Egg..
 
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