I received this as a gift from a friend. I have never done anything with pellets. Anybody do a lot of grilling with this unit or something similar? Traeger seems to be a common name.
https://www.traegergrills.com/shop/grills/town-travel-portable-series/scout/TFT18PLDO.html
Thank you.
Sorry, can’t help with the grill info…But maybe if I befriended your friends, I could eventually tell you all about em?…
I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about all of the Traegers.
Not familiar with that one, but looks cool! I know a bunch of people that have full size Traegers, and they pretty much all love them.
I’ve heard they are great for smoking but grilling on them is just so so. Doesn’t get that really hot sear
Great unit for what it is meant for, traveling or being mobile.
Don’t know much about that unit, but if anyone is considering a full sized Traegar unit, start considering Rec Tec instead. Far superior construction, far superior temperature controller, far superior…well just about everything for not much additional cost. I’ve read way too many poor customer reviews on Traegars with regards to temperature fluctuations, construction quality, customer service, etc.
Amazing customer service as well, upon order you’ll receive the owners personal cell phone number should you ever have a problem.
Dutchboy, once you cook on a pellet grill, you will likely not go back to a gas or charcoal grill for longer cooks/bigger cuts of meat. I get much more accurate and consistent temperature in my pellet grill than I do in my oven, and WAY better than I’d be able to manage on gas/charcoal. Which means pork shoulder, brisket, ribs, prime rib, tenderloin(pork or beef), all get put on the smoker for real wood burning flavor and absolute perfect temperature/doneness.
Those portable models look interesting and potentially great for campers/trailers/cabins, but if it’s a cabin or something that gets used really often, I’d go to a full size pellet smoker if you have the interest, as I’m not sure how much food you’ll fit on that one.
It’s not a tabletop grill I don’t think, but I’d be more inclined to go with something like this:
https://www.rectecgrills.com/rec-tec-grills-bullseye/
for a similar price point.
If all you’re grilling is hot dogs/burgers, then a pellet grill might not be worth it. I will say though, the best steaks I’ve ever cooked were super thick, reverse seared NY strips that I cooked to ~115 degrees on my smoker and finished on a cast iron skillet on my gas grill.
Some companies do sell ‘sear grates’ for smokers that allow you to sear steaks/burgers much more effectively, but I haven’t tried them as I currently just pop them on my gas grill for a quick sear.
they are the best pellet grills/smokers out there imho. a good friend of mine has one and it works great! I am saving up to get one!!!! cant beat charcoal but the babysitting gets to be a lot.
with the traeger its pretty much set it and forget it.
they are the best pellet grills/smokers out there imho. a good friend of mine has one and it works great! I am saving up to get one!!!! cant beat charcoal but the babysitting gets to be a lot.
with the traeger its pretty much set it and forget it.
I’m not saying you can’t make fantastic food in a Traeger, so don’t take this the wrong way. But do yourself a favor and research a few other brands while you are at it.
If you look at Rectec I think you will realize they are far superior. Unbelievable build quality, built in the USA, better temperature control, outstanding customer service, etc. I have friends with Traegers and they are just not in the same league. I’ve read dozens of reviews on Traegar grills complaining about large temperature fluctuations, problems holding temperature in cold weather, poor customer service, etc.
I cooked a full prime rib on my RecTec last Christmas when it was like 10 below zero and I don’t think my temp ever moved more than 5 degrees off the set temperature.
This is a rec tec produced video, but I found it to be a pretty good comparison. They don’t bash the Traeger, they just compare a lot of the components and design features.
Hopefully this doesn’t come off as condescending, just trying to help you out! I had my heart set on a Traeger until I did more research and I could not be happier with my decision. I play with the Traeger’s every time I see them in a store now and they just feel flimsy and cheap.
Again, that’s not to say you wouldn’t be perfectly happy and cook some dang good food on them!
I will have to check them out! thanks for the info…. I too had heart set on a traeger but I am open to others, especially now.
not condescending at all.
I am not a fan of having my temp change while in mid smoke. I need something that will stay the same temp weather its -10 in july or 90 in January. thanks for the heads up!
No problem! If you are ever in the Mahtomedi area you’re free to come look at mine. I noticed someone a block down my street just bought a rectec as well!
That’s the only downside, they sell direct from their facility in Georgia, so there aren’t any showrooms to go look at them. That also means there is no middle man, so positive in a sense as well.
Like I said though, if you’re in the area or ever want to stop by and look at mine let me know!
My RecTec gets delivered today, Never owned a pellet grill so we’re excited to give it a try. Anyone need a poorly designed, used propane grill that constantly flares up and burns your meat??
This is a rec tec produced video
I swear, if I hear “304 Stainless Steel” one more time…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>philtickelson wrote:</div>
This is a rec tec produced videoI swear, if I hear “304 Stainless Steel” one more time…
Haha, those rectec guys are a little much sometimes, but man do they stand behind their product. You read through their reviews and there’s people who called the owner’s personal cell phone on weekends/holidays because they had trouble with their grill and he takes the time to walk them through a solution over the phone.
My RecTec gets delivered today, Never owned a pellet grill so we’re excited to give it a try. Anyone need a poorly designed, used propane grill that constantly flares up and burns your meat??
Nice! I think you’ll love it. What model did you go with? They’ve really added some sweet features to their new models that I wish I had on mine!
Only advice I have is to line the drip bucket and the drip pan with aluminum foil, that way cleanup is just a matter of rolling up and replacing the foil as opposed to scrubbing grease/grime off a pan/bucket. I usually clean my smoker out after 3-5 greasy cooks. Less often if I’m doing something like jerky, smoked nuts, etc.
I got a Rec Tec two weeks ago and really am impressed. Didn’t love the price tag, but the CS has been awesome. I had some issues with the shipping and they sent a new bag of pellets no question asked and helped me make sure the grill had no bumps from shipping. This thing is a beast. It took 2 guys to move the parts as it weighs like 230 MT.
Thing heats up fast and glues the temp to the selected.
The grill came with a 6 year warranty also, which in my mind is worth a lot. I hate dropping 100 here and there on parts a year later when I just bought something.
I have never owned another but a buddy who had a cheaper similar sized grill said he wished he had initially paid the premium to go to a better grill -for what it’s worth.
Which model of the Rec Tec lineup are you guys recommending?
Horns? Really????
I splurged on the Rec Tec RT 700 and don’t plan to ever buy another grill.
I have the RT-680, which was replaced by the RT-700. That RT-700 looks absolutely amazing.
It is a beast, definitely will want a second set of hands when assembling it. It becomes apparent very fast the quality of the components though, I also don’t plan on having to replace mine for decades.
It looks like they offer quite a few sizes now which is nice, I could see the bullseye being a great little pellet grill for a cabin or someone looking to dabble in smoking.
I think I’ve ran about 400 pounds of pellets through mine in a year and a half. What I love about it is that it’s so versatile. It’s basically a wood burning oven with extremely precise temperature control. Here are some of my favorite recipes for anyone interested:
Smoked Nuts(I add pecans)
https://www.traegergrills.com/recipes/baked-goods/sweet-n-spicy-smoked-nuts
smoked baked beans(I use a combo of Bush’s baked beans, northern beans, kidney beans and butter beans). These are seriously awesome and you should make them, even if you just have an oven:
Beef Jerky(I will often just use a teriyaki recipe and add crushed red pepper + sriracha to add some heat):
https://www.rectecgrills.com/homemade-beef-jerky-on-the-rec-tec-rt-680/
This rub on a whole chicken:
https://www.the-greatest-barbecue-recipes.com/chicken-rub.html
Whole chickens might be my favorite thing on the smoker. Forget everything you’ve heard about beer can chicken and learn how to spatchcock a chicken or turkey:
https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/chicken-recipes/how-spatchcock-and-butterfly-poultry
Another tip, if you end up smoking a lot of meat, make your own rubs as you will save a lot of money. I’d recommend finding the basic spices at Costco or a restaurant supply store if you have access(paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt, pepper, sugar are the staples in most rubs).
I splurged on the Rec Tec RT 700 and don’t plan to ever buy another grill.
Same here. Man it’s expensive, but a sweet grill!
Just arrived…
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Nice! I was lucky that they delivered in February and my driveway was mostly ice, I just slid the pallet right up into my garage 
(I have a flat driveway).
Also, post a pic when you have her all setup! The all stainless cooking chamber looks sweeeet.
I can’t grasp the whole pellet grill thing. When I want to “grill” I use the weber, got three of the bigger ones plus a smaller one for the boat. For “smoking”……I have had the MAterbuilt electric unit and it was easy but still not a real smoker. Now, having a real stick burner, made out of an old fridge, the meat produced now is 10 times better than I ever did on an electric smoker or a gas grill. Great BBQ requires a little extra effort.
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