Looking to get into pellet grills and wonder if anyone had experience with this model. I’m particularly interested in the size, is that enough? But that I mean, is it big enough to fit in 15lbs brisket? How was y’all’s experience with the traeger in general? Reliability, ease of use etc
Traeger 575pro
- Thread starter parshisa
- Start date
Any particular negative experiences with Traeger?
As stated, Traeger was the first but others are as good or better for less money. I had been looking at a Pit Boss as it had a window in the lid, direct sear from the firepot and when caught on sale, just over 900 bucks. Wasn't interested in wifi connection at the time.
Now, my wife got me a Traeger Pro 780 as a surprise gift. It was pricey. About 1800 all in. We had to buy a cover separately and it comes with no shelves. With a Traeger you pay more and you have to pay even more to get the features. My buddy has the 575 and loves his. Same as mine but smaller cook area.
Now in saying this..... I love my Traeger hands down. Its solid, it fits whatever I throw in it and it works! The wifi feature is awesome! I love monitoring cook temp, time and having the ability to control what I make. For example, I was making back ribs one day and had to run to town with my wife. We took longer than expected and would take us past my planned cook time. So I crack out my phone and adjust my temperature to allow me more time.
I found the supplied meat pyro or whatever its called probe to be optimistic. I did the calibration on it but find it can vary 5 to 10F during a cook. So I only use it as a reference when monitoring my cook. I still check with my trusty little analog probe.
Mine does not have any super smoke settings but I find it does a great job without it. I also picked up a welding blanket for 30 bucks that I drape over it during cold weather cooking. She works like a charm down to about -25C. After that I don't care to be outside cooking anything.
I stuck mostly with apple wood pellets. They are the mildest and we prefer them with all kinds of meat.
My family is not a fan of heavy smoked foods so I was worried about how much I might use it. After playing with cook temps and times, I found that I use more than anything else to cook with. Other than the odd time I cook a couple burgers or small amount of chicken breast, I use it for much of everything. Ribs, steak, roast, pulled pork, whole chickens, mac and cheese, finishing baked potatoes, mixed vegetables etc. It all goes on the Traeger. In fact, my family says I ruined steak and ribs for them. When we eat out at a restaurant, its a waste for them to order steak or ribs because nothing touches the homemade stuff.
In summation, I love my Traeger, it is a touch on the large size for I need but when I do need rhe size, its there. It was expensive but it was one of the best buys we have made. As stupid as it sounds, cooking for me can be therapeutic. I deal with a lot of stress at work and using my Traeger has made cooking really fun and not a chore. One of my most favorite things to do is cook for my family. Anyway, get it, get a bunch of bags of pellets and have fun!!
Now, my wife got me a Traeger Pro 780 as a surprise gift. It was pricey. About 1800 all in. We had to buy a cover separately and it comes with no shelves. With a Traeger you pay more and you have to pay even more to get the features. My buddy has the 575 and loves his. Same as mine but smaller cook area.
Now in saying this..... I love my Traeger hands down. Its solid, it fits whatever I throw in it and it works! The wifi feature is awesome! I love monitoring cook temp, time and having the ability to control what I make. For example, I was making back ribs one day and had to run to town with my wife. We took longer than expected and would take us past my planned cook time. So I crack out my phone and adjust my temperature to allow me more time.
I found the supplied meat pyro or whatever its called probe to be optimistic. I did the calibration on it but find it can vary 5 to 10F during a cook. So I only use it as a reference when monitoring my cook. I still check with my trusty little analog probe.
Mine does not have any super smoke settings but I find it does a great job without it. I also picked up a welding blanket for 30 bucks that I drape over it during cold weather cooking. She works like a charm down to about -25C. After that I don't care to be outside cooking anything.
I stuck mostly with apple wood pellets. They are the mildest and we prefer them with all kinds of meat.
My family is not a fan of heavy smoked foods so I was worried about how much I might use it. After playing with cook temps and times, I found that I use more than anything else to cook with. Other than the odd time I cook a couple burgers or small amount of chicken breast, I use it for much of everything. Ribs, steak, roast, pulled pork, whole chickens, mac and cheese, finishing baked potatoes, mixed vegetables etc. It all goes on the Traeger. In fact, my family says I ruined steak and ribs for them. When we eat out at a restaurant, its a waste for them to order steak or ribs because nothing touches the homemade stuff.
In summation, I love my Traeger, it is a touch on the large size for I need but when I do need rhe size, its there. It was expensive but it was one of the best buys we have made. As stupid as it sounds, cooking for me can be therapeutic. I deal with a lot of stress at work and using my Traeger has made cooking really fun and not a chore. One of my most favorite things to do is cook for my family. Anyway, get it, get a bunch of bags of pellets and have fun!!
I have an Ironwood 650, which has the same main cooking grate dimension as a Pro 575. It will fit an 18+ lb. brisket with no problem.
As far as the Traeger as a whole: I've cooked with it for four summers without an issue. It's turned out great bbq and has been completely reliable.
With any pellet cooker, take care of it. Clean it regularly. Use liners or foil where necessary to contain grease drips as much as possible. Wipe it down inside and out after use. Vacuum the ash out of the fire box after every long cook or every third short cook. Empty the pellets if the cooker is kept outside and store the pellets indoors to keep them moisture-free.
As an analogy, a Traeger pellet cooker is like a BMW M3. People will tells you not to buy an M3 and to instead buy a Mercedes Benz AMG C63, or a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, or a Kia Stinger GT, or a Audi RS5, or a... you get the point. They're all good cars, but there's nothing wrong with buying an M3. Same thing with pellet cookers. There are lots of good ones and Traeger fits into the description too.
As far as the Traeger as a whole: I've cooked with it for four summers without an issue. It's turned out great bbq and has been completely reliable.
With any pellet cooker, take care of it. Clean it regularly. Use liners or foil where necessary to contain grease drips as much as possible. Wipe it down inside and out after use. Vacuum the ash out of the fire box after every long cook or every third short cook. Empty the pellets if the cooker is kept outside and store the pellets indoors to keep them moisture-free.
As an analogy, a Traeger pellet cooker is like a BMW M3. People will tells you not to buy an M3 and to instead buy a Mercedes Benz AMG C63, or a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, or a Kia Stinger GT, or a Audi RS5, or a... you get the point. They're all good cars, but there's nothing wrong with buying an M3. Same thing with pellet cookers. There are lots of good ones and Traeger fits into the description too.
I really appreciate you taking the time and writing this, exactly the kind of the feedback I was looking for!
Haha, great analogy! I think I’m too scared of Germans cars to buy one, but will pull the trigger on the Traeger!
I’m at the point where I don’t think I enjoy too much smoke flavor any more. I’m still a fan of red meats, ribs, pork chops etc, but cooking them on my old workhorse Weber kettle feels like a bit of a hassle at times and smoke flavor can be overwhelming. With that said, I’m hoping traeger will fit my needs well. What about alternative pellets not by Traeger? Which brands do y’all prefer? I’ve been reading the Traeger was actually in a lawsuit over artificial oils used for the their pellets and not disclosing them
From what I heard from friends with traeger, to clean the pellet auger as they can get build-up and stick. I just use my trusty Weber kettle.
I haven't bought them yet but my boys use the Costco pellets and recommend them.
Personal experience? God no. But I belong to a couple different pellet smoker groups on FB and Reddit. Traeger is not highly regarded at all. QC issues, etc.
Yup, they are pretty highly regarded. Same with pit boss, bear, and camp chef.
My pit boss has the option where I can open the shield to sear.
I am on a Canadian Traeger Facebook page and while a variety of pellets work, sounds like Traeger, Pit Boss and Kirkland. All work great but the Kirkland is the best value and it sounds like the same company that makes Pit Boss makes them. I don't have a Costco card or a store nearby so I haven't tried them yet.
I don't normally reverse sear my steaks but when I do I just heat up my cast iron griddle on the gas grill. Same when I braze the BBQ sauce on my ribs.... thats if they don't fall apart moving them.
My buddy with the 575 reverse sears with cast iron on the Traeger, he just cranks the heat for a bit.
I cook my steaks around the 390 to 400F to the desired doneness and they come out fantastic!
The other note already brought up is keeping it clean. The Traeger has a little condescending reminder that pops up to clean the firepot and drip rails. Its easy, just pop a few things out and vacuum out the ash. I don't cook a lot of greasy things so the drip rails stay decent. But really, just spray it with the Traeger brand spray and wipe her down. For instance I cook a whole chicken in a shallow tinfoil pan so no greasy drippings to clean.
In saying this, my office bought a Traeger to replace the worn out gas grill. Seeing as I have been riding the pine for a bit, nothing brings up office morale like 3-2-1 ribs.
I don't normally reverse sear my steaks but when I do I just heat up my cast iron griddle on the gas grill. Same when I braze the BBQ sauce on my ribs.... thats if they don't fall apart moving them.
My buddy with the 575 reverse sears with cast iron on the Traeger, he just cranks the heat for a bit.
I cook my steaks around the 390 to 400F to the desired doneness and they come out fantastic!
The other note already brought up is keeping it clean. The Traeger has a little condescending reminder that pops up to clean the firepot and drip rails. Its easy, just pop a few things out and vacuum out the ash. I don't cook a lot of greasy things so the drip rails stay decent. But really, just spray it with the Traeger brand spray and wipe her down. For instance I cook a whole chicken in a shallow tinfoil pan so no greasy drippings to clean.
In saying this, my office bought a Traeger to replace the worn out gas grill. Seeing as I have been riding the pine for a bit, nothing brings up office morale like 3-2-1 ribs.
Now you have me going on about the **** Traeger. When I do my ribs, I'll use some yellow mustard as a binder and then some various seasoning and a spritz of lemon juice, then overnight rest. Then 225F for three hours. It gets a perfect amount of mild smoke flavor and stays juicy. I don't spritz during this as I have a tin pie plate with water in there. Then I wrap in tinfoil, add water, some lemon juice and apple juice and use the oven in the house for this as it saves 2 hours of pellets. Usually around the 260 to 270F mark. They come out falling apart and just need the sauce to be brazed on.
Sorry, I'm running on but I really like the thing.
Sorry, I'm running on but I really like the thing.
Rec Tec make the Traegers seem like tin foil buckets.
have you had any experience with rectect? any pros and cons to share?
