Finally joined the Traegerhood

After years of wanting a pellet grill (specifically a Traeger), I finally joined the Traegerhood last week. I got a Woodridge Elite from Ace Hardware and couldn’t be more excited.

Ace Hardware delivered it last Thursday but I opted to assemble the grill myself. Originally the forecast for the weekend wasn’t looking great but the rain held off for a few days and I was able to complete the initial seasoning late on Saturday night – just in time for a cookout on Sunday.

My first smoke was a bone-in New York strip and two sirloin filets seasoned with Traeger Prime Rib Rub and smoked over Bear Mountain mesquite pellets at 225F with Super Smoke. I pulled the steaks at 125F internal temp and increased the grill temperature to 500*F.

I know the consensus on here is that Traegers are not good for searing meat. This actually led me to purchase the Woodridge Elite for the side burner/searing station. That being said, we were also grilling corn on the cob which called for 500*F so I thought this was a good opportunity to test it out.

While the steaks still turned out great I’d like a better crust. Next time I plan on using the side burner with a stainless steel pan and some high heat (avocado) oil. I will say I was surprised how much smoke flavor I could taste despite only using super smoke for one hour at 225*F.