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Neighbor Like My Egg So Much He Bought a Traegar

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SteveWPBFL
SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
edited September 2012 in EggHead Forum
For $1000 you get a metal grill about 2x the size of the LBGE. It utilizes an automatic pellet feed system. He didn't want to diddle with the vents or have to go the extra $$$ mile to get a BBQ Guru. He's cooking a Costco pork shoulder on it right now and it looks fine. He's trying to 'duplicate' what I give him off the Egg. We'll see. 
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  • chrisnjenn
    chrisnjenn Posts: 534
    edited September 2012
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    My buddy bought a Traeger a few years ago. They are nice and can produce great BBQ in capable hands like the Egg. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Plus it is the person more than the equipment that produces good Q. Hope your friend enjoys it. There is a big community of Traeger owners like Egg owners.
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  • tjv
    tjv Posts: 3,830
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    I'll be curious to see how the cost of pellets compare to lump and availability of pellets in your area in winter.   t
    www.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc.
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  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668
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    I'm convinced that the Egg is not for everyone.  Most of them will come around to realizing the Egg is for them though.    Lots of people want a cooker that is easier....gas/pellets fit that profile.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

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  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
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    My brother liked our egg so much he bought a knock off from Lowes.  We went for dinner last night and the shoulder he smoked was very good.

    Gerhard

    image



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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,349
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    How I landed with the BGE-short course-exposed to the BGE in 1994-too stupid to recognize right answer when told (and a 2K mile distance)-same friend has a Traeger and a Weber gasser-bottom-line all except the BGE are now rust buckets. But everyone is different-and the BGE does require some effort to produce the great results.  Not exactly "fire and forget".  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
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    The BGE'ers on here with WiFi remote control ought to be able to compete with a pellet pump. From what I saw the pellets are wood only, no charcoal . That could be a strike against, the charcoal taste is a big part of BGE!
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  • Botch
    Botch Posts: 15,473
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    I know the Traegers are A/C powered; can they be used in the rain?   :-/
    _____________

    Remember when teachers used to say 'You won't have a calculator everywhere you go'?  Well, we showed them.


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  • scottc454
    scottc454 Posts: 94
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    A Traeger is not exactly fire and foreget because you have to keep an eye on the hopper. If it empties, it's bad. Good luck doing an overnight cook.

    I had one before I got better and got an egg. I found that it didn't produce much smoke flavor at all and tended to dry out meat.  I sold it a year ago. I'm sure it's rusted away by now.




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  • chrisnjenn
    chrisnjenn Posts: 534
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    Funny.
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  • SteveWPBFL
    SteveWPBFL Posts: 1,327
    edited September 2012
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    Neighbor brought a sample over a while ago. I'd given him some Bad Byron's Butt Rub. Costco was out of boneless shoulders so he ended up with a Sam's bone-in shoulder. He cooked it on 'medium' until my Thermapen read 200F I.T., and, the probe went in everywhere nice. It was good but I think the Egg pulled pork is a little better (you knew that was comin') due to the charcoal flavor. He used mesquite pellets and I like to use hickory. Might be fun to do a side by side. The Traegar's an interesting approach.
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    gerhardk said:
    My brother liked our egg so much he bought a knock off from Lowes.  We went for dinner last night and the shoulder he smoked was very good.

    Gerhard

    image



    I looked at these, Char Griller I think. It was nice looking unit, but i did notice it is metal inside and the racks did not look to be the best. I'm sure it will work just fine, the question is for how long? The gasket looked like it was made to last vs the until the first cook of the BGE, reminded me of the Broil King Keg. Enjoy trading smoker tricks with each other, hope it last a long time.... 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Aviator
    Aviator Posts: 1,757
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    Skiddymarker said:
    gerhardk said:
    My brother liked our egg so much he bought a knock off from Lowes.  We went for dinner last night and the shoulder he smoked was very good.

    Gerhard

    image



    I looked at these, Char Griller I think. It was nice looking unit, but i did notice it is metal inside and the racks did not look to be the best. I'm sure it will work just fine, the question is for how long? The gasket looked like it was made to last vs the until the first cook of the BGE, reminded me of the Broil King Keg. Enjoy trading smoker tricks with each other, hope it last a long time.... 
    Absolutely right. I would not buy it. One of the reasons I came back to buying the egg was longevity. I got tired of replacing grills every 2 - 3 yrs of rusted POS.

    ______________________________________________ 

    Large and Small BGE, Blackstone 36 and a baby black Kub.

    Chattanooga, TN.

     

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  • cookingdude555
    cookingdude555 Posts: 3,194
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    Traegers are fine. I have four eggs, if I had room I wouldn't mind trying one. Eggs aren't magical. I have a bubba keg that cooks exactly the same (although with a little less fuel). I like variety though I guess.
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  • chrisnjenn
    chrisnjenn Posts: 534
    edited September 2012
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    cookingdude555 said:
    Traegers are fine. I have four eggs, if I had room I wouldn't mind trying one. Eggs aren't magical. I have a bubba keg that cooks exactly the same (although with a little less fuel). I like variety though I guess.

    I agree. I like variety also as you can tell from my signature. Eggs are my favorite, but I enjoy Qing/grilling on all my toys. The BBQ team I'm on competes with my large Egg and a Lang stick burner. If you got the patience, the Lang easily produces better BBQ IMO than the Egg. The Egg is our chicken cooker.
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  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
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    cookingdude555 said:
    Traegers are fine. I have four eggs, if I had room I wouldn't mind trying one. Eggs aren't magical. I have a bubba keg that cooks exactly the same (although with a little less fuel). I like variety though I guess.
    Nothing wrong with variety. I love my Egg....but I have been wanting to get another offset for awhile now. I had one some time ago, and it produced awesome Q.....though it did require much more baby-sitting than an Egg does.

    Nothing magical about the Egg at all.....you can produce great results on other cookers too. What sold me on the Egg was it's versatility. Not too many other cookers are quite as versatile as the Kamado style cookers.

    After looking at the Traeger website, I am considering getting one for my Dad as a gift.
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  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
    edited September 2012
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    I don't know how long it will last but it seems well built and like I said the shoulder was great.  He has just a tad over $300 invested in his set up, mine is just shy of $1500.  one hopes the egg is a better quality product but his seems to be a pretty good buy.  I think the ceramics of the egg will probably maintain steadier heat, the feel when opening the egg gives an impression of higher quality.  I don't know if his can maintain a fire for 20 hours on a single load of charcoal like the egg, can you trust it keep a steady temperature while you sleep?  I can't answer those questions but the egg does everything I want well from low and slow to high heat pizza, this morning we baked bread on the egg.

    image


    image


    If I ever wanted a second egg I could consider one of these.  You can buy a lot of meat for the difference.

    Gerhard
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  • Duganboy
    Duganboy Posts: 1,118
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    I have a Cookshack that is great.  Electric, digital temp control and very well built.  I like fooling with the Egg, but if I want to put something in and leave I usually go with the Cookshack.
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