Why I love my Traeger smoker

• By Chris Knight
• October 19, 2014

Time seems to be the most expensive commodity these days.  We all seem to be running too fast and in too many directions at once.  However, more and more families (ours included) are trying to reconnect with each other and the food we eat.  These two forces are working against each other seemingly all the time.  As families, we want to be able to share great meals and great conversation with each other across the dinner table.  The problem is, those mythic meals are impossible to create without someone dedicating hours that they don’t have to a 6 o’clock feast…until now!

This is where my Traeger smoker comes in.

Delicious smoked Thanksgiving turkey coming off the grill.

Smoked meat is delicious. The smoking of said meat is shrouded in mystery or at least it was until the folks at Traeger developed what I feel is a fool proof smoker that allows even the least experienced cook to turn beef, chicken, pork and just about anything else into a masterpiece. Just last weekend, I smoked a Thanksgiving turkey Friday afternoon and it was delicious and done on time for us all to eat.  The key to the Traeger’s elegance is twofold. The first is that it uses hardwood pellets to give meat that delicious smoked flavour that makes us drool.  But, they combine that ancient art of smoking meat with a simple and elegant system that feeds just the right amount of pellets into the smoke chamber to control the temperature that you set with a dial.

It couldn’t be easier.  Dump the pellets in the hopper. Turn the smoker on to “smoke” for 5 minutes to preheat. Put on that beef brisket, whole chicken, rack of ribs or salmon filet and you are off to the races.  To be honest, while Angus beef brisket is the holy grail of BBQ competitions, all meats are delicious on a Traeger. No flare-ups, no mystery, just delicious flavoured smoke rolling out of the smoker until it is ready.  I’m so confident with this smoker that I often encourage our customers to borrow it for the weekend to try out before they purchase one.  Lots of smiles and delicious stories when they bring it back. Zero complaints.

My favourite part of the whole deal with this smoker is that you don’t have to babysit it all day.  I have literally put a brisket on at 6 in the morning, gone to work, and then come home to a perfectly cooked feast by 5 in the evening.  Prepare a couple of side dishes and your family is sitting down to a great meal in 20 minutes.  What else could you ask for?