Hmm....well that was different.

cazzy

This AM, I had a thread title picked out.  This thread was going to be "It's the Indian, not the Arrow'.  While I still believe that wholeheartedly, I just thought I was in a losing battle today with an unproven rifle.  Visiting some friends in Katy and wanted to make some brisket.  My friend has a Traeger, so I figured I'd give it a go.

Traeger Pros

Ready to cook time is very quick

Easy to Use

Good outdoor oven lol

Traeger Cons

Temp swings like a fat & drunk Babe Ruth

Heat deflection sucks cow balls

Weak smoke flavor

On it's way...looking pretty good thus far.

I set the temp to 250, but the Traeger wasn't good with that. The temp would swing from 305 to 230 to 250 to 270 etc.  It was pretty horrible and definitely added to my below standard results.  I went fat cap down because the thin metal plate above the fire didn't seem substantial enough.  I was right and I had several spots on my bottom bark that were too freaking crunchy.  The next and most annoying issue is the lack of smoke flavor in my final product.  IMO, the pellets are a complete joke.  I now know what Cen Tex meant when he referred to a smokeless brisket as a roast.  

I cooked it right, just wasn't rewarded like I normally am.  At least my seasoning was spot on...

In this thread, @QDude asked if the results are comparable to a BGE.  No dude, they most certainly are not!!!!!!!!

tulocay

Still looks good from here.

SGH

Looks like a winner to me. Cazzy if you are making the jump to pellets, take a hard look at the Yoder 1500. It's king of the pellet hill right now. Again it looks fine to me.

SGH

Got a pretty good smoke ring too.

cazzy

SGH said:

Looks like a winner to me. Cazzy if you are making the jump to pellets, take a hard look at the Yoder 1500. It's king of the pellet hill right now. Again it looks fine to me.

No, I am not making a jump to pellets.  My next pit will be a 500 or 1000 gallon offset.  

Jeremiah

I had cheezits for dinner. Yeah I really feel for you. :-w

SGH

@cazzy‌
1,000 gallon. Brother that's a monster!!

NPHuskerFL

Nice review. Shall we post it on their testimonials )

theyolksonyou

Jeremiah said:

I had cheezits for dinner. Yeah I really feel for you. :-w

now I don't feel so bad about the ribeye I lost control of )

hapster

Wahhhh...

But your line about Babe Ruth almost has me wetting my pants!

Nice results; enjoy and quit complaining LOL

BYS1981

I think Traeger pellets are actually all the same wood, but seasoned with oil. That might explain lack of smoke flavor.

Hi54putty

great review

henapple

Looks better than your normal brisket. ... ~X(

DMW

I'll. Bet you could do that in an oven...

cazzy

DMW said:

I'll. Bet you could do that in an oven...

Liquid smoke would have prolly been a better option. :P

cazzy

SGH said:

@cazzy‌
1,000 gallon. Brother that's a monster!!

We shall see. My goal is to open up a spot in the next 2-3 years, so I will need the real estate. A 500 gallon is probably more realistic to start though.

fusionhq

Nice caz

minniemoh

Nice to see a comparison @Cazzy. Still looks good.

One of my buddies has been talking about getting a Traeger. He said he had the "best steak he's ever had" off of one. I do more cooking in the Winter so the lack of insulative properties would be a big draw back I would think. I saw one in a store a couple of weeks ago and it looked like it would hold heat like a screened porch. I think I'll keep my eggs.

JohnInCarolina

It's interesting that you got just a little trace of a smoke ring on this thing.  And yeah, the brisket you cooked on unproven rifle looks about ten times better than my best on the green bazooka.