Traeger Smokers

[rmlowz]

Hello forum freinds,

I frequent this forum most always lurking reading etc. I am interested in feedback from forum members from Texas BBQ. I have a XL BGE and a Lyfetime pit out of Uvalde TX. horizontal and vertical pit smoker. I always like trying different techniques. The question is any forum member using a Traeger and how do they like it?

Thanks,

Rich

[egghead]

Can't comment on a Traeger but if you have a BGE why would you want anything else Obviously just kiddin

Xl, small, and mini here

[Gator]

Papa Tom uses one, you may send him a PM -> I know he really likes his.

[Papa Tom]

Yeah I like my pellet cooker a lot. I have had an assortment of smaller cookers and a Old Hickory to compare it to and well it works well. Like any pit you have to get used to cooking on it but if you like sleep it's great. Now Traeger has worn out their patents (actually they expired) so there are several other pellet cookers available now. The MAK grill is getting good reviews but is expensive.
Google:
Louisiana Smokers
Country Smokers
Fast Eddy
Fat Boys
Royall
MAK
Green Mountain Grill

There are some You Tube videos out there as well.

[rmlowz]

Thanks for everybody help I think I found what I am looking for a Cookshack Smokette Elite. I want to make sausage and summer sausage and smoke them with this type of smoker.

Rich

[Papa Tom]

Thanks for everybody help I think I found what I am looking for a Cookshack Smokette Elite. I want to make sausage and summer sausage and smoke them with this type of smoker.

Rich

Good choice for sausage. I had a similar smoker and it did a good job on sausage but I didn't care for it on anything else (when compared to the Traeger). It was too slow to heat and recover when the door was opened for normal cooking. But for sausage no problem, however keeping the exhaust open applies to this guy as well creosote can form kind of fast since there is no through flow like a wood burning pit.

[wtf6316]

I have a traeger jr and love it. it is almost fool proff once you get times and temps down. Also there customer service is the best. i have my thermo go out and they sent me a new one fast. then i got the new digital one and i screwed up and fryed it. sent me a new one. every time i invite people over they ask how i cooked whatever so good. i show them the traeger and how it works and then they want one. i say go treager i dont like some of the other brands as much. they cost some $$$ but for what you get they are worth it and they have rebates. i even got mine new in box from ebay.

[Konrad_Haskins]

Pellet cookers are great when they work. But they are elecro-mechanical devices and they are failure prone. My ex still has a Traeger Pig and we had two IQ-4 FEC-100's. My opinion is based on a lot of experience, 4,500 pounds of pellets worth of experience. The pink pig when it's working has won us first place in Chicken and Ribs at the State Fair cook off. I helped another cook fix his pink pig at 2 am in a blizzard at a cook off in Lake Tahoe. Fun times. Just my $0.02.

[Papa Tom]

I too have lots of experience with a Traeger cooker (15 years). So if anybody here has a Traeger and wants some tips on running one of these things and avoiding the electro mechanical problems contact me I will share. My experience is limited to Traeger but some may apply to other auger fed pellet cookers.

[jmcrig]

The only down side to Traeger smokers is they are made in China now. I have a Louisiana Grills Country Cooker. It works great, and I've had no problems with it.
As far as using a pellet pooper for sausage and summer sausage, they don't run at 130 to 160 degrees. I believe the lowest they operate is 180 degrees. I use a Sausagemaker 30 lb electric smoke house and I've adapted an external smoke source. (Easier to control temperature and smoke).

[NewBQ]

Is a kamodo similar to a BGE?

[Papa Tom]

The only down side to Traeger smokers is they are made in China now. I have a Louisiana Grills Country Cooker. It works great, and I've had no problems with it.
As far as using a pellet pooper for sausage and summer sausage, they don't run at 130 to 160 degrees. I believe the lowest they operate is 180 degrees. I use a Sausagemaker 30 lb electric smoke house and I've adapted an external smoke source. (Easier to control temperature and smoke).

I respectfully disagree. I will hold a sausage making session pretty soon come and I will demonstrate.

[jmcrig]

The only down side to Traeger smokers is they are made in China now. I have a Louisiana Grills Country Cooker. It works great, and I've had no problems with it.
As far as using a pellet pooper for sausage and summer sausage, they don't run at 130 to 160 degrees. I believe the lowest they operate is 180 degrees. I use a Sausagemaker 30 lb electric smoke house and I've adapted an external smoke source. (Easier to control temperature and smoke).

I respectfully disagree. I will hold a sausage making session pretty soon come and I will demonstrate.

As we all have our own ideas and methods, the established method for cured smoked sausage and summer sausage has been temperatures below 180 degrees so as not to melt the fat. Smoked fresh sausage is a horse of another color. You can smoke it at whatever temperature above 225 you're comfortable with.
Now if you've come up with a better process, please enlighten use. I may be old, but not too old to learn something new.

[Papa Tom]

Mark when I hold my sausage making session come join and I will demonstrate. Traeger has a non temperature controlled setting the "Smoke" setting it is controlled solely by a timing interval. That timing interval is adjustable and further controllable by the type of pellets used. I have no trouble running it at 120°-130°.
Here is a shot of some andouille sausage I smoked on my Traeger.

<img src="http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z114/bahlto/IMG_2215a.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

[DATsBBQ]

Is a kamodo similar to a BGE?

The short answer is yes. The basic design is a thousand years old, though the fire boxes may differ. An Imperial Kamado is earthenware, a true flower pot so to speak. BGE and Primos, kind of the diff between a Chevy and Ford pickup. Both with get you there, high tech ceramics etc.

That said, they are not pellet cookers.

If I were looking to buy a pellet cooker, I tale a serious look at the FATBOYZ pellet cooker.