Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[Drunk Tank]

I have not gotten my Traeger higher than 400-425. They do make a higher RPM auger for the Traeger that allow you to get higher temps, but I dont have it. Truth be told, I wish I had the Money for a Memphis. The Traeger is great for smoking and easy, but the Traegers are light years behind every other pellet smoker manufacturer out there. Memphis and the others keep temps better and can get hot enough to grill, etc... On Pelletheads.com, people are modding their Traegers in hopes to acheive what the others can do out of the box.

I am seriously toying with the idea of selling mine and getting a BBQ Guru or a Stoker for my Egg. They would make the egg about as "set it and forget it" as they could be.

[TripletDaddy]

I have not gotten my Traeger higher than 400-425. They do make a higher RPM auger for the Traeger that allow you to get higher temps, but I dont have it. Truth be told, I wish I had the Money for a Memphis. The Traeger is great for smoking and easy, but the Traegers are light years behind every other pellet smoker manufacturer out there. Memphis and the others keep temps better and can get hot enough to grill, etc... On Pelletheads.com, people are modding their Traegers in hopes to acheive what the others can do out of the box.

I am seriously toying with the idea of selling mine and getting a BBQ Guru or a Stoker for my Egg. They would make the egg about as "set it and forget it" as they could be.

How does size compare between the traeger texas and the Memphis? Is there enough room to get a couple of pizzas fired up in the memphis?

Also, side note but where do you buy full birds? I want to cook some chickens and some of your pics make them look delish!

[Drunk Tank]

How does size compare between the traeger texas and the Memphis? Is there enough room to get a couple of pizzas fired up in the memphis?

Also, side note but where do you buy full birds? I want to cook some chickens and some of your pics make them look delish!

The main grate on the Memphis Pro is 25 X 17 1/2 (437.5 sq. in.) and I believe it comes with a smaller upper shelf wich is 25 x 5 1/2 (137.5 sq. in.). You can add an optional 3rd shelf which is 25 x 10 3/4 (268.75 sq. in.)

You can see them clearly in the attached image.


The Traeger Texas has a main grate which is 646 sq. in. (19" x 34"). You can add their "smoke shelf" which measures 30 ¼” L x 7 ½” H x 11 ½” (360 sq. in.) but it is really only good for smoking ribs or fish becasue of the height issue.

I dont have any experience cooking pizza on the Traeger. I will do them all on the egg. I have a 22" pizza stone for it and I can get it up to 7-800° and cook them in a couple of minutes. Next best thing to having a true pizza oven.


As for whole chickens, I get them at Costco. They come in a 2-pack.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I dont have any experience cooking pizza on the Traeger. I will do them all on the egg. I have a 22" pizza stone for it and I can get it up to 7-800° and cook them in a couple of minutes. Next best thing to having a true pizza oven.

That would be fun.

We found that we like to lower the temp to 350 or so (my Traeger will go up to 450) when doing pizzas as it gives it more of the smoky flavor. We always go with light crust ("de-Lite") at Papa Murphy's. I am too lazy to make from scratch.

Speaking of Papa Murphy's, they did a Thai chicken pizza this summer that was awesome. Sadly, it was temp thing and it just ended. They might bring it back next year.

As for whole chickens, I get them at Costco. They come in a 2-pack.

Ditto.

[Jeff Lebowski]

How does size compare between the traeger texas and the Memphis? Is there enough room to get a couple of pizzas fired up in the memphis?

Also, side note but where do you buy full birds? I want to cook some chickens and some of your pics make them look delish!

With the extra rack insert on my Traeger I can do up to three pizzas at a time.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I have not gotten my Traeger higher than 400-425. They do make a higher RPM auger for the Traeger that allow you to get higher temps, but I dont have it. Truth be told, I wish I had the Money for a Memphis. The Traeger is great for smoking and easy, but the Traegers are light years behind every other pellet smoker manufacturer out there. Memphis and the others keep temps better and can get hot enough to grill, etc... On Pelletheads.com, people are modding their Traegers in hopes to acheive what the others can do out of the box.

Light years? Other than hotter temps, I am wondering what I am missing. I added some fire bricks in the bottom to keep temps stable but to be honest I didn't notice much variation before.

As I mentioned before, I am still partial to charcoal for grilling/searing certain things (steaks, grilled onions, grilled pineapple, and certain types of marinated chicken). I keep a cheap charcoal grill around for that. I probably use my Traeger 70% of the time and my grill 30%. I would love to get a BGE for my charcoal grilling, but I can't pull the trigger yet due to the cost.

[TripletDaddy]

With the extra rack insert on my Traeger I can do up to three pizzas at a time.

knock it off. basically, your pizza posts and Drunk Tank's naked chicken pics are going to cost me $1,000-$2,000 and a lot of grief from MMM.

[Jeff Lebowski]

knock it off. basically, your pizza posts and Drunk Tank's naked chicken pics are going to cost me $1,000-$2,000 and a lot of grief from MMM.

My wife was rolling her eyes and skeptical when I told her I wanted to buy one. You should see her rave about it now.

Chicken is maybe the easiest thing to do in a Traeger. Just get one of these wireless remote control thermometers (mine is a different brand, but similar):

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Industries-RediChek-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B0000DIU49/ref=sr_1_8?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1311620796&sr=1-8"]Amazon.com: Maverick Industries ET-73 Maverick RediChek Remote Wireless Smoker Thermometer: Home & Garden@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41XV8Q7N89L.@@AMEPARAM@@41XV8Q7N89L[/ame]

and sit in the house and monitor the temp. Pull it out at 170 degrees.

I actually prefer boneless, skinless thighs to whole chicken. Apply your favorite rub and cook at 300-350 degrees for about 25 minutes until intermal temp is 170+. I use one of these to check the temp on chicken pieces:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Splash-Proof-Super-Fast-Thermapen-Thermometer-Professional/dp/B002GE7QQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311620982&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen (White) Instant Read Thermometer, Perfect for Barbecue, Home and Professional Cooking: Kitchen & Dining@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31EGrOJpYtL.@@AMEPARAM@@31EGrOJpYtL[/ame]

Pricey, but fabulous. I use it when I grill steaks also. I bought both thermometers at DT's recommendation and they are great. No more guesswork.

[Surfah]

knock it off. basically, your pizza posts and Drunk Tank's naked chicken pics are going to cost me $1,000-$2,000 and a lot of grief from MMM.

In a BGE you can have 3 pizzas done cooking faster one at a time than cooking 3 in a Traeger at once.

[TripletDaddy]

In a BGE you can have 3 pizzas done cooking faster one at a time than cooking 3 in a Traeger at once.

set it and forget it. If the BGE can get with that, Im all in.

(did you buy stock in BGE or something?)

[TripletDaddy]

This is what Im talking about right here. Those chickens are looking pretty delish. Do you just butterfly them right down the middle? How much does a Tupac at Costco go for?

[Surfah]

set it and forget it. If the BGE can get with that, Im all in.

(did you buy stock in BGE or something?)

No but my old man has been researching this like crazy. He'll likely pull the trigger soon. That and 3 of my co-workers are all BGE owners and routinely bring stuff in to share. They're all eggheads and go to different eggfests every year.

There is going to be a bit of a learning curve with any smoker, even your set it and forget it Traeger. I just think the versatility of the egg is what puts it over the top.

[CJF]

That would be fun.

We found that we like to lower the temp to 350 or so (my Traeger will go up to 450) when doing pizzas as it gives it more of the smoky flavor. We always go with light crust ("de-Lite") at Papa Murphy's. I am too lazy to make from scratch.

Speaking of Papa Murphy's, they did a Thai chicken pizza this summer that was awesome. Sadly, it was temp thing and it just ended. They might bring it back next year.



Ditto.

I do this also. I get the crust and toppings separated and the make it myself. I had a little pulled pork left over and turned that into a pizza. Very good.

I also have the new Maverick remote thermostat. Worth every penny.

[Drunk Tank]

Light years? Other than hotter temps, I am wondering what I am missing. I added some fire bricks in the bottom to keep temps stable but to be honest I didn't notice much variation before.

As I mentioned before, I am still partial to charcoal for grilling/searing certain things (steaks, grilled onions, grilled pineapple, and certain types of marinated chicken). I keep a cheap charcoal grill around for that. I probably use my Traeger 70% of the time and my grill 30%. I would love to get a BGE for my charcoal grilling, but I can't pull the trigger yet due to the cost.

Light years may have been a stretch. . The newer smokers are more efficient, they are insulated, can grill without mods, and control temps much better. Many of them use a true PID controller and can keep much tighter control of the temp swings. The Traeger uses a timed algorithm to turn the auger on and off.


DDD, I just butterfly the whole chix. It is called "spatchcocking" the chicken. If you look that up on YouTube, there are a few good tutorials. Basically you cut out the backbone and then remove the keel bone. This allows the chicken to lay flat and allows you to get seasoning on more of the bird.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jeff Lebowski]

Light years may have been a stretch. . The newer smokers are more efficient, they are insulated, can grill without mods, and control temps much better. Many of them use a true PID controller and can keep much tighter control of the temp swings. The Traeger uses a timed algorithm to turn the auger on and off.

Interesting. Like I said, I just haven't noticed any problems with temp fluctuation. Mine has an analog thermometer on top as a check and it is always very close to the digital setting. The insulation and higher temps would be nice. I notice that the Memphis is $2K+ (yikes - I thought the Traeger was expensive). Any of the other brands comparable in price to the Traeger?