The Best Pellet Grill Recipes - Traeger Grills (2024)

FAQs

What's the best thing to smoke in a Traeger? ›

First Recipes to Cook

Simply coat a whole chicken with Traeger's Chicken Rub and cook for just over an hour.

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is the perfect meat to start with when you're new to a pellet grill.

The smoker burns 1 to 3 pounds of pellets per hour. Traeger says that means each 20 pound bag provides between 6 to 20 hours of cook time (at high or low heat).

No matter what temperature you set your Traeger grill, you'll always be smoking your food. Setting your grill between 160º and 225º F will produce the largest amount of smoke, and is thus where we traditionally consider food smoked.

Simple, quick, and easy-to-cook foods like beef ribs, pork chops, turkey, duck, and salmon are the finest meats to smoke for a beginner. This will give you a solid foundation on food smoking before moving on to more luscious and flavorful meats like brisket, lamb, pork butt, and tri-tip.

Set your Traeger to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and preheat for 15 minutes with the lid closed. Place the steaks on the grill and cook for 4 to 6 minutes on each side, flipping occasionally, until the internal temperature reaches 135 degrees (medium-rare).

Smokers are designed to deliver indirect heat at low temperatures, while grilling requires direct heat at high temperatures. Some smokers, like wood pellet grills and ceramic smokers, can also be used to generate the high temperatures needed for direct grilling.

Our top choices are brisket, pork shoulder (for pulled pork), pork chops, and ribs. You can also give our St. Louis Ribs a try in your new smoker. Beef brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs are three cuts that offer sufficient fat to keep them juicy and tender when done.

Can I leave pellets in Traeger overnight? ›

While you can leave pellets in your grill's hopper for the short term when you know the weather will be dry, you should remove them from the hopper and store them airtight when prolonged rain or high humidity is forecast.

Traeger, however, earns a slight edge in temperature control with smaller increment settings and more precise heat management for the duration of cooks. There's also the matter of Wi-Fi compatibility with phone apps and other smart devices for mobile grill control, which Traeger features and Pit Boss doesn't.

If the grill is still at your set temperature, refill the hopper. You may experience a dip in temperature in the next few minutes — it is possible that there is a gap without pellets in the auger — but the grill will get back to your set temperature momentarily.

Best Cuts of Meat for Smoking

Our top choices are brisket, pork shoulder (for pulled pork), pork chops, and ribs. You can also give our St. Louis Ribs a try in your new smoker. Beef brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs are three cuts that offer sufficient fat to keep them juicy and tender when done.

Because you are grilling with a pellet-fueled Traeger grill, your food is, by definition, smoked. While you may not be able to see heavy smoke coming from your grill, you will be able to see and taste evidence of the smoke in the meat itself.

Yes, Traeger grills use a real wood-fueled fire to give you delicious results. And thanks to Traeger's simple, reliable controls, you can also use Traeger grills to smoke, bake, roast, braise, & BBQ, too.

Easiest for first run is pork butt, cream cheese, boneless chicken breast. Overnight on the butt at 225 degrees, wrap and put in cooler when it's done. Cream cheese goes on at 225, 3 hours before guests arrive. Chicken gets one hour of smoke, then crank to 350 until it's done.