Wood Pellet Grills and Smokers - Traeger Grills® (2024)

FAQs

What are the downsides of pellet grills? ›

Con: Higher initial cost.

Prices for pellet cookers tend to be higher on average than charcoal grills, and some gas grills. Plus, they use electricity, which adds to your power bill.

The smoker burns 1 to 3 pounds of pellets per hour. Traeger says that means each 20 pound bag provides between 6 to 20 hours of cook time (at high or low heat).

Traeger, however, earns a slight edge in temperature control with smaller increment settings and more precise heat management for the duration of cooks. There's also the matter of Wi-Fi compatibility with phone apps and other smart devices for mobile grill control, which Traeger features and Pit Boss doesn't.

WHY ARE TRAEGER PELLET GRILLS SO EXPENSIVE? All Traeger's feature patented craftsmanship, premium materials, and industry-leading technology. All of our grills go through a vigorous testing process by our team of engineers.

Some food grade pellets may also contain fillers or binding agents which could be unhealthy and leave a chemical taste in your food. While cooking with wood pellets may be a healthier way to cook instead of using charcoal, it does pose some health risk related to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH).

It's easy to scoop your wood pellets into your pellet grill hopper, close the lid, and turn the switch to ON. Depending on cooking time, you may have to add more pellets to the hopper, but you never have to worry about soaking, stirring, poking, or prodding.

Can a Pellet Grill Replace a Gas Grill? Yes, anything you can cook on a gas grill, you can cook on a Traeger wood pellet grill. Plus, Traeger grills let you grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, & BBQ on one grill so you actually have even greater versatility, and they infuse your food with delicious wood-fired flavor.

If the grill is still at your set temperature, refill the hopper. You may experience a dip in temperature in the next few minutes — it is possible that there is a gap without pellets in the auger — but the grill will get back to your set temperature momentarily.

In 2018, Joe and Brian Traeger were hired by Danson's, which owned several grill companies, including Louisiana Grills and Pit Boss Grills.

Traeger Timberline – Fully Loaded Like No Other

The Timberline is the top-of-the-line, fully-loaded Traeger model. The 1300 is by far the largest of the Traeger grills and an absolute behemoth. It has a larger cooking capacity than 2 Pro 575s combined, handling 12 chickens or 15 racks of ribs or 12 pork butts.

What's better vertical or horizontal pellet smoker? ›

Because heat rises, vertical smokers can produce meat with variable tenderness or juiciness, based on where in the smoker the meat was placed. A horizontal, or offset, smoker eliminates that problem.

A great thing about the Traeger is that despite its ability to smoke delicious food at a low and slow and consistent temperature, it, unlike most smokers, can also grill foods hot and fast.

While a pellet grill still can't quite match a high-end multi-burner gas grill for frequent grilling, it does a better job at grilling than most grills - regardless of price - do at smoking. The super-consistent temps - regardless of outside conditions - also make them better for baking, roasting or braising.

... The most common concerns when producing pellets from alternative raw materials are low bulk density and mechanical strength, but also ash content and, in some cases, the presence of nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine.

Why Cleaning Your Pellet Grill Is Important. Every time you use your pellet grill, it collects ash and grease. Over time, ash and grease build-up impact how well your pellet smoker functions and can even shorten the lifespan of your grill.

Grill Safety

A pellet grill is the safest of the three grill options. Cooking on both charcoal grills and gas grills requires working with open flame.