I am in the market for a new grill and have my eye on the Traeger or Weber grills. I am not talking about the Weber Smokey Mountain- just the regular one. Sway me either way to buying one of them. Discuss-
I have a Weber kettle grill that's around 30 years old and I still use it. I have another newer one of the same model for instances where I need more grill space. IMO they are great and will last forever. That being said, I've never owned a Treager.
I know at least one of the grandsons of the inventor of the Weber grill went to ISU. Hope that helps.
I own a Weber Genesis, WSM, Weber Performer, and Traeger Lil Tex. So any questions ask away. What gets used the most? Genesis What do I prefer for grilling taste? Performer What smokes the best flavor and creates the best bark? WSM What is nice to walk away from for hours? Traeger If I started over and had the money, I'd buy a Weber Genesis and a Weber Summit Charcoal.
It's two different types of cooking. Traegers are pellet grills, meant to cook at lower temps and impart a bit of smoky flavor. Weber grill (charcoal or gas?) are more of your all around outdoor cooker. You can kind of go low, but they are meant more for actual grilling. I actually have both. I have a Louisiana Grills pellet smoker and a classic Weber Kettle grill. They both do different things and both get plenty of use. I use the pellet smoker for ribs, chicken, roasts and BBQ. The Weber I used when I want that high heat searing method of cooking. In fact, it's not rare for me to have both fired up at the same time, slow cooking on the Louisiana, then transferring to put a sear on the Weber. My Louisiana does have the option to open up the heat damper to get some direct flame on a small area, so it will grill and works OK, especially when using the reverse sear method on thick steaks, but it's still no replacement for the true grilling action you get when you want that high heat grilling. I do a ton of outdoor cooking, but I couldn't live without both the Pellet and regular kettle grill.
I assume you're buying non-propane. At least I hope you are. For straight grilling it's tough to beat Weber kettle, basic and beautiful.
Same here. We have a Weber Genesis and Traeger Lil Tex. I'd say we use both pretty equally. Weber for normal, quicker grilling (burgers, steaks, veggies, some pork and chicken), the Traeger for smoking (chicken, ribs, brisket, pork, fish, bacon). I really enjoy having both of them. If you were only wanting to get one grill though, I might say do the Traeger for the versatility. I've done normal grilling on it before and it works great. Our neighbor only has a Traeger and does all grilling/smoking on there and he loves it.
You're kinda asking us what type of vehicle to buy? A Prius or an F150? If you want quick, after work meals you'll want gas. And the Weber gassers are GREAT grills. The Pellets will be quick, but not as quick as gas. A friend of mine got rid of his gasser after he got his pellet grill, but will admit it is slower. Worth it, but slightly slower. SO the real answer, like always, is both.
We do this a lot in the Spring and Summer time. We'll have a brisket or a bunch of chicken/turkey/pork butt cooking on the Traeger all day, use the Weber to do some lunchtime burgers and stuffed peppers.
As much as I would like to get both, my wallet can't handle it..... I really am leaning towards the Traeger because of the smoking function- never done it but I want to try it. Otherwise it will mainly be hamburgers, steaks, brats, pork burgers.... what kind of maintenance is there with the Traeger?
The traeger is nice cuz you can set it and leave. My WSM requires checking and adjusting. Love the wood and charcoal flavor though.
Empty the grease bucket when necessary, refoil the grease slide pan when necessary or like me, after about every 5 uses when I vac out the fire box. Other than that, not too much.
I have the Green Mountain Daniel Boone pellet grill/smoker. It has a phone app that you can connect to their servers. I love the WiFi option!! I have done steaks, burgers wings, brisket, ribs, prime rib. Steaks are fork pull apart tender. Super nice to put 4-6 eight lb pork butts at once and a freeze it for the crock pot later. You can also get a pizza oven for it. Get a thermal blanket for it and you can smoke/grill all winter long!
Have a Green Mountain Pellet Grill. With meat probe and remote control. Don't have to leave the recliner to know meat temp and can change grill temp with remote and not leave the recliner. Have a Weber Baby Q for grilling burgers and steaks and quick stuff. Great grill. Old Classic Weber Kettle is old and just sits now. Great grill. For the money and as a first grill this is what I would recommend. You can get them for around $100 and possibly less. Wouldn't spend the big money on a Big Weber Gas. Just not a fan of those.
I was lucky enough to get gifted a medium sized Big Green Egg. I try to do something on it every weekend but have lately been pretty obsessed with smoking pork bellies into bacon.
Where do you get your pork bellies? Do you also cure them yourself? Pretty much the last thing I've yet to smoke and really want to take a stab at it.
