Our Leading Wood Pellets Grill Picks
Traeger Ironwood 885 : Traegers Ironwood 885 is a strong, durable pellet grill that boasts terrific adaptability
Traeger Pro 780 : The Traeger Pro 780 takes the top position if you are searching for a grill that is easy to utilize and that uses premium features
Traeger Timberline 1300 : The Timberline 1300 pellet grill is a competition all set pellet grill that is best for the serious yard BBQ guru
Z Grill Master 700E : If you want a simple to use smoker without a lot of bells and whistles then the Z Grills 700E is a great entry point into the world of pellet grills
Z Grill L6002E : The L6002E has all the quality materials and engineering that you see in the prominent wood pellet grills. It also has a very accountable and friendly price tag point
Z Grill Pioneer 450B : The Z Grill 450B is an excellent economical option for individuals, couples, or small households
Z Grill 1000D : The Z Grill 1000D has the internal cooking capability to prepare a massive quantity of food for hosting big groups of people
Traeger Beer Can Chicken
Mop up some major flavor! All it takes is our Chicken Rub, a can of beer, and some Traeger mesquite heat for moist & tender poultry perfection. Our Beer Can Chicken uses no fancy equipment to hold your bird on its leg while smoking-you doesnt even need wood chips.
This dish relies heavily on the chicken legs forming a tripod that cradles in between two metal bars over an open fire pit below. Supermoist with a delicious taste youre going love from both ends, this whole grilled chicky will make all other chickens look dull by comparison.
Pit Boss Classic 700 Wood
This 7,000-square-inch pellet grill from Pit Boss is a great no-frills grill. If you can live without Wi-Fi connectivity and integrated meat probes, this is grill will deliver delicious smokey foods at an affordable price. This grill has a 21-pound hopper capacity for long smokes. A common-sense feature we liked about this grill was the analog thermometer in the lid which you find in most grills, but many pellet grills tend to not include. It allows you to confirm that the LCD temperature control setting is correct.
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Features Of A Traeger Pellet Smoker
- Advanced Grilling Logic®: Maintain consistent cooking temperatures from start to finish, no matter what kind of foods you’re grilling.
- WiFIRE® Controllers: Get the freedom to control temperatures and set timers for your grill with your phone by installing the Traeger app.
- Smoke Science: Patent-pending Traeger Smoke Science technology circulates high-quality, blue smoke that lets you create optimal flavor.
Plan How Much Cooking Real Estate You Need
Before deciding how big your cooker needs to be, you need to ask yourself a couple of questions. How many people will I be cooking for? Do I plan on cooking large cuts or even a whole pig?
Remember that bigger doesnt always mean better. Purchasing a huge pellet cooker can really just mean wasted pellets.
A standout feature of pellet smokers is that the temperature is relatively even across the cooking area. As a result, there should be no temperature difference between the top rack and the bottom rack while cooking.
Keeping this in mind, lets discuss the difference between the primary cooking area and the total cooking area.
The primary cooking area refers to the area on the main cooking plate. The total cooking area takes into consideration secondary racks.
Therefore, a large pellet grill with a primary cooking area of 500 square inches, might actually be of less use to you than a smaller cooker with a total cooking area that includes a 450 square inch primary rack and a 125 square inch secondary rack.
If you couldnt be bothered doing the math, thats 575 square inches of total cooking space.
The bottom line is this take stock of what you need, and dont be fooled into thinking that bigger is better.
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Alleviate To Establish Up And Usage
The simple setup and also usage features of the grill has made the setup and arrangement jobs a lot easier for beginners to experienced people. The one-button starts up conveniences gets rid of the problem for each customer to make it useful. Besides this, all the digital control systems have actually made the system user-friendly for all, from beginners to professional.
Understanding The Different Models Of Traeger Grill
Because there are so many Traeger Models with different names, it can be intimidating to shop for a Traeger Grill in the beginning. But have no fear, we can help you understand the differences between the Traeger Grill models.
At the time of this article, Traeger currently make 4 models of pellet grills. They are:
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Traeger Signature Wood Pellets
The flavors of hickory, maple, and cherry hardwoods combine for a blend that can take on just about anything you cook. From classic BBQ meats, to fish and veggies, this versatile blend gives you full-bodied flavor youll go back to time and time again. Try this Beer Can Chicken next time you are looking to add that perfect wood-fired taste with your Signature pellets. Shop Signature.
What Makes A Good Pellet Grill
Pellet grills are a no-brainer for cooks and certified carnivores, but because pellet smokers only became mainstream quite recently, many shoppers dont know where to start. To help out, weve rounded up some of the best pellet grills to help upgrade your backyard and your dinner table. Below are a few things to consider while shopping for the best pellet grills.
Cooking Space: How many people will you be feeding? If its just your family or a few friends, something with a cooking area of around 700 to 900 square inches is best. If you want to cook for larger parties, go with a pellet grill that has over 1,000 square inches of cooking area.
Materials: The build quality of a pellet smoker not only dictates how long it will last while sitting outside, but also how well it will cook. The best pellet grills have stainless steel throughout not just on the exterior.
Hopper: The size of a pellet grills hopper dictates how long the grill can cook. Generally speaking, more pellets equals longer cook times. Some grills burn pellets more efficiently than others, but most pellet grills burn a pound of pellets in about one to three hours, depending on the heat setting.
Cooking Options: As mentioned, most pellet grills can do more than just grill. The best pellet grills feature an array of cooking options such as baking, braising, BBQing and smoking.
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Traeger Pro Series Grills
In our opinion, the Pro Series line is the best representation of the Traeger brand. These grills are convenient, easy to use, and offer great value for money, as they have all the features you could possibly need for aBBQ cookout.
They may lack the more advanced functionality of the Timberline and Ironwood options, but we don’t think the add-ons are absolutely necessary for the average Joe.
Pro Series Grill Models
- WiFIRE technology for remote control via the Traeger application or Amazon Alexa
- D2 controller with digital display
- Built-in meat probe to monitor food temperature without having to lift the lid
- Durable wheels to withstand rocky or rough terrains
- Hopper cleanout trapdoor for easy swapping of pellets
How To Use Wood Pellets On A Pellet Grill
Simply pour your wood pellets into the hopper and set your desired temperature.
The main advantage pellet grills have over their alternatives besides convenience is optimal temperature control. The fuel burns well, and fans inside the pellet grill circulate the heat and smoke around the meat evenly so it cooks just right.
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Rd Contender: Pit Boss 150pps Tabletop Pellet Grill/smoker
Here is the third offering from the Danson group in the form of the Pit Boss 150PPS. This model is a relatively new addition to the Pit Boss lineup and is currently the cheapest Pit Boss you can get. Now, youre going to notice some similarities between this Pit Boss tabletop and the ASMOKE below. They feature the same control panel for instance. However, ASMOKE is not actually part of the Danson group, Ill explain more below.
The Pit Boss tabletop pellet grill smoker is available in a black/mahogany finish: Image Pitboss-grills.com
Why You Should Trust Us
I love cooking meat over fire. Its one of my greatest joys in life. Cooking over mesquite wood fire is my favorite, but who am I kidding? Ill gladly grill over charcoal and propane gas flames, too. This affinity started when, at 23, I began working the wood-fired grill at a restaurant. It was my responsibility to build and maintain the fire in that grill from the moment I started my shift until the end of dinner serviceabout 10 hours a shift for two and half years. Every night I walked out of the restaurant a smoky, sooty mess, and I loved every second of it.
Now my scrappy line-cooking days are behind me, and as a senior staff writer for Wirecutter I help review grills and grilling tools, along with all kinds of other kitchen tools and appliances.
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Green Mountain Grills Vs Treager
Green Mountain Grills have been gaining a lot of popularity since they launched in 2008.
They were ahead of the game when it comes to including WiFi as standard option with their wood pellet grills. No other brand offers WiFi at this low price point.
Well built and competitively priced, they are a strong alternative to Traeger.
A lot of their fame comes from the excellent Davy Crockett grill, which we named our best portable pellet smoker. This grill competes with the Traeger Tailgater, but with the GMG you get WiFi which is really handy when you are camping.
If you arent interested in a portable grill, they also sell the popular Daniel Boone model which has 468 square inches of cooking space.
For the price, Green Mountain Grills make an excellent Traeger alternative. You just dont have the full range of features and sizes available.
Temperature Controls And Heat Efficiency
Another feature that gives the Traeger profile 575 an edge over its competitor is its D2 drive system and easy digital control panel. Hence, with this feature, you can easily set the temperature and time as per your desire and demands. The wifi function included in the package makes it even more easy and convenient to use. So, this grill allows you to monitor the cooking process from your smartphone. Likewise, the pallet sensor included in the device offers great heat and energy efficiency.
Here the Joe Rider DLX has some compromised features when it is compared to the Pro 575. However, when observed in isolation, it is also a great investment as it comes with a sear mode that allows you to use the grill for smoking, bbq, roast, and much more. It also has a digital display that is easily understandable and allows you to conveniently adjust the temperature as per your needs. All in all, the temperature ranges from 500 to 650 degrees.
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A To Z List Of The Best Bbq Wood Pellets
A pellet grill/smoker is only as good as the BBQ pellets you put into it. The type/quality of the BBQ wood pellets you use will impact temperature performance and smoke flavour. There are many pellet flavours including Apple, Hickory, Mapel, Oak and Walnut to name but a few. However, some brands are hardwood blended pellets whereas others are 100% single wood species.
In this article, I provide details on over 20 brands of BBQ wood pellets, their range of flavours, whether they are 100% single wood species or hardwood blended pellets, their typical price and where they are available. I also provide tips on how to get the best deal when buying BBQ wood pellets and how to test pellet quality. Finally, I discuss the new kid on the block, charcoal pellets and their special attributes compared to all other hardwood BBQ pellets.
Can I Use Wood Pellets In An Oven
The oven inside your home is simply not designed to handle the sort of smoke wood pellets create, and using them inside your oven could fill your kitchen and home with smoke and endanger your family by creating a serious fire hazard. Similarly, wood chips and wood chunks, whether soaked or not, should not be used in an oven or stove.
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Traeger Grills Pro Series 22 Pellet Grill
Why youll love this:
Heres a smaller Pro Series. Its as good as all of the other Pro Series options, just a bit smaller. You get about 3 square inches less space than the one with the Echo Dot functionality, which isnt a bad trade given it costs about 2/3 what that one costs overall.
If you like this size, but dont need the wifi capability, this is an excellent deal. It comes with all the other great features that Traeger grills are known for electronic temperature control capability that makes smoking easy and efficient.
The construction is good, and it has that nice sawhorse design that makes it much steadier than the straighter legged design several of these grills share.
The only real issue with this grill is that theres not much to write home about here. Its just well made and great for what it is, but so are all of these other grills.
- Great price for the size.
What We Didnt Like
- Nothing particularly unique about it compared to other Traeger grills.
Traeger Ironwood 885 Assessment
The Traeger Ironwood 885 pellet grill is a wood-fired grill thats the most extensive of Traegers Ironwood series. Its sizable capacity of 885 square inches could fit up to 8 poultries, 5 shelves of ribs, or 6 pork butts in one cook.
The Ironwood 885 pellet grill is a smoker. Traeger grills include a downdraft exhaust system that appears special to their brand name. This feature permits old smoke to leave below the food and also enables only the very best wood flavor right into your food.
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What Is The Highest Rated Pellet Grill From Traeger
Traeger is a well-reputed and recognized brand when it comes to the grill. If you are looking for something budget-friendly and functional that can be used in your backyard, Traeger Pro 575 is a great choice. Other models from Traeger Pro Series are all decently priced with efficient and functional mechanisms that serve you with performance and convenience.
Traeger Smoked Smashed Potatoes
When youre looking for a side dish recipe that is just as delicious but has an added adventure to it. What could be better than Traeger Smoked Smashed Potatoes? These potatoes are cooked in two different ways: either on the grill or inside of your oven!
No matter how they come out whether its crispy golden brown perfection with smokey charcoals–or soft fluffy insides from being boiled-either way these bad boys will leave everyone satisfied and wanting more.
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Traeger Pro Series 780 Pellet Grill
USER-FRIENDLY PICK
Traeger
Another great option from the pellet grill gurus at Traeger is this Pro Series 780. The Pro Series isnt quite as advanced as the Timberline series, but its ideal for anyone just getting into pellet smoking and still more than enough for most grill masters.
The Pro Series comes in two variations, 575 and 780, denoting cooking space. The 575 is great, but we think the 780 is a better size for cooking family meals or stepping up for larger parties.
Although the Timberline is the Pro Seriess big brother, the latter is the techie of the two with Alexa connectivity. Thats right: this grill can be controlled and monitored with voice commands using Alexa. The Pro Series also has Traegers WiFIRE app control for changing temperatures, checking pellet levels and so on.
As youd expect from Traeger, theres no shortage of power and versatility with the Pro Series. A brushless DC motor-driven auger and a wide temperature range ensure smooth, easy cooking with any slap of meat. The hopper fits 18 pounds of pellets, which should be enough for nine hours of cooking on high heat or 18 hours on low.
Traeger’s Wood Pellet Grill Is So Good It Hurts
I still can’t stop thinking about the Traeger Timberline 850’s delicious food, but I need to.
Meat, fire and smoke, are all essential to good barbecue. Together they can combine to conjure food that’s outrageously delicious and addictive. Doing that consistently takes a lot of knowledge and practice. That said, I know of one product that makes the process much easier, and that’s a backyard cooker called the Traeger Timberline 850.
An electric grill that burns wood for heat, the Timberline adds phenomenal flavor to everything it cooks, whether it’s chicken, burgers, fish, ribs or huge slabs of pork and beef. We’ve had one at the CNET Smart Home since we reviewed it last year, and I cook on during the workday whenever I get a chance. Everything I’ve asked this grill to handle it brought to new heights. Seriously, words can’t do this grill justice when it comes to the results.
You might think that fact would make me happy. Alas, it certainly does not. Here’s why.
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