New Traeger 075

[Plowboy]

Just brought home my new Traeger 075. Bought it through Dean Bury of Mean Dean's BBQ Machine. Great guy! He added the digital controler for me. Wife is picking up some chicken for dinner tomorrow night. Can't wait to fire it up.

Would appreciate any tips from other Traeger grill owners.

We are putting our Kingfisher Commercial up for sale inorder to get an FEC100. We plan to go 100% pellets at comp next year. I'll miss using real wood, but the pellet cookers are so easy.

 

[SloppyQ]

Your gonna love the way it cooks. Did 1" chops today with mine, turned out perfecto. Would show pics but the chops didn't last long enough.

 

[Plowboy]

Your gonna love the way it cooks. Did 1" chops today with mine, turned out perfecto. Would show pics but the chops didn't last long enough.

I don't know if I can sleep tonight. :shock:

 

[Plowboy]

I fired up the Traeger this afternoon to have alittle chicken for dinner. I was so excited last night to try this thing out that I had dreams about it all night. Have bags of oak, hickory, and apple to try out. Using a little apple and oak on my chicken with Rib Stars chicken rub on some and Original Juan's Pain is Good Chipotle rub on some.

I'm so excited, I'll probably cook every meal on this baby for a month. :icon_clown

 

[Dustaway]

can't wait for the reviews :biggrin: I would live to have the fec 100 to use in the comps :biggrin:

 

[Plowboy]

So far, it is truly set it and forget it. The digital temp controller is sweet. Just dial in the temp you want and away it goes. I set it to smoke for an hour at 180, then bumped it up to 275. Within less than 5 minutes, it was up to 240. Seems so easy to control temp.

 

[Plowboy]

Chicken turned out great. Juicy and lots of smoke flavor. The Rib Stars rub was a lot better from the Traeger than I remember from the Weber or wood smoker. Seemed a good marriage.

The Original Juan rub was really dark, but full of heat and flavor. Reminded me a lot of the other smoke jalapeno Original Juan products. Since I love their chipotle salsa, hot peanuts, and spicy mayo/mustard, I liked the rub. Definately not for the everyday bbq eater, though.

One round on the 075 down, millions more to go. Its exactly what I was looking for.

 

[Leeper]

I love how shinny the new unit looks, I wish mine looked like that still.

I have found the digital unit keeps the temps about 20 degrees lower that the readout says. I usually end up having to play a bit with the dial and my maverick to dial in the temp but once it gets there it can run forever. Make sure you clean out the ash every so often, I usually vacuum out most of it when I change the foil on the drip pan.


Enjoy the unit all you can.

 

[Plowboy]

I love how shinny the new unit looks, I wish mine looked like that still.

I have found the digital unit keeps the temps about 20 degrees lower that the readout says. I usually end up having to play a bit with the dial and my maverick to dial in the temp but once it gets there it can run forever. Make sure you clean out the ash every so often, I usually vacuum out most of it when I change the foil on the drip pan.

Enjoy the unit all you can.

Good tip. I'm looking for a dial thermometer. Might just pick one up at the local ACE Hardware store that sells Webers and Brinkmans.

 

[Arlin_MacRae]

Well congrats, Todd!

 

[BBQ_MAFIA]

Congrats on the new addition to the family.

 

[ThomEmery]

But you need a FEC 100 also

 

[Plowboy]

But you need a FEC 100 also

That's our plan. Sell the Kingfisher and go 100% pellets with a FEC 100.

 

[Cuelio]

That's a nice looking cooker, man. SOunds like it's very convenient, too. I'll have to do some research on those Traegers.

 

[Hunter74]

That is one slick looking unit. I wonder how it would work in a Wisconsin winter? Hopefully we get a little indian summer here in the near future so I can smoke up a bunch of food to freeze.

 

[Plowboy]

Full sized brisket today. Went on at 3:15am and pulled at 1:30pm. Smoked at 180 for about 6 hours, then up to 225. So cool when you can just walk up to your smoker and turn the knob to the temp you want and then walk away.

Brisket turned out fine. Good bark and smoke ring. I used a little soy in my injection, which I didn't care for. Family went nuts for it, but I've decided that soy and brisket don't go together.

 

[chargriller]

Nice rig, what is the temp range low / hi?

What does inside of the firebox look like?

 

[Plowboy]

Nice rig, what is the temp range low / hi?

What does inside of the firebox look like?

about 170 to 425

The "firebox" is just a pellet hopper. The pellets burn in the center of the grill. I'll snap some pics once it stops raining and the sun is out. They could have made this grill look like anything. I guess they do because they have a pink pig and a steer. The "Texas" offset look is just for looks. Looks like a Brinkman, but that's where the similarities end.

 

[Plowboy]

The hotter the temp you want, the faster you burn through the pellets. However, a full hopper can yield 7-10 hours of cooking time it seems. The brisket today was my first long cook.