Traeger: Pros and Conns

[Duane D]

I have heard nothing but good things from people I know that have Traegers. I have a 20+ year old Big Green Egg and decided to order a Traeger last year. Unfortunately their customer service let me down and I never even received a grill. I know my situation is rare and they usually have fantastic service.

At the time I placed my order they must have been waiting on a shipment from their manufacturer (yes, China) and no one could tell me when my grill should arrive. I waited over two weeks and called a couple of times to check the status. Each time I called one of their reps and a "supervisor" promised me they would find out and call me back with details. I never had one person follow up and call me back to let me know what was going on. I ended up cancelling the order and keeping my old trusty Egg.

[Ski-me]

I've had great customer service with Camp Chef....just FYI.

[shepherd]

Traeger or Green Egg?

I'm looking to replace my Green Egg after the hurricane blew it off my deck. The obvious choice would be to get another Egg, but I was looking at some Traegers in the store and have a couple questions.

Is this mainly just a smoker or can you actually grill steaks, burgers, fish, and shrimp on it?

If I wanted to smoke some fish, how low of a temperature can you get on it? The Green Egg is great for smoking but I can't seem to get the temperature down much lower than 250 or 225.

[Dd24skater]

Had our Traeger for 4 years, no complaints, customer service is above and beyond all expectations. Get the Traeger.....Happy Wife, Happy Life.

[Reedus]

I'm looking to replace my Green Egg after the hurricane blew it off my deck. The obvious choice would be to get another Egg, but I was looking at some Traegers in the store and have a couple questions.

Is this mainly just a smoker or can you actually grill steaks, burgers, fish, and shrimp on it?

If I wanted to smoke some fish, how low of a temperature can you get on it? The Green Egg is great for smoking but I can't seem to get the temperature down much lower than 250 or 225.

The newer traegers with updated digital controller will maintain 160 degrees for smoking pretty accurately. Traeger will cook steaks, burgers, chicken and what have you, just don’t plan on a flame broiled steak or any searing. Not designed to do that

[Ski-me]

Camp Chef has the primary smoker and then a side burner for steak searing.

https://www.campchef.com/woodwind.html

[kscrib]

Pellet smokers can get hot (how hot depends on brand). I have a Yoder YS640 and like it a lot. It is a heavier gauge of metal (10 gauge cooking chamber) than most other brands. I like that because it keeps the heat more consistent. I don't use mine to grill, I have a Weber charcoal grill for that. The YS640 has a temp range of 150 - 600 degrees Fahrenheit. They offer a direct grill plate that allows you to sear steaks and cook in temps around 700 degrees. I don't have the direct grill plates, so I can't speak to that.

[BudmanV24]

Any of the guys with yoders have any complaints or reccomendations? Also, what are the must have accessories...grille grates and two piece diffuser?

[BrooksfamX2]

The newer traegers with updated digital controller will maintain 160 degrees for smoking pretty accurately. Traeger will cook steaks, burgers, chicken and what have you, just don’t plan on a flame broiled steak or any searing. Not designed to do that

It can sear in a way. Let temp get to highest (450-500) and then put meat on, the hot grate will sear meat, but it wont be flame seared.