"Cabellas Brand" Pellet Smoker vs Traeger

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

I am almost ready to pull the plug on a pellet smoker. Yesterday I saw the Cabellas brand ones. Can anyone speak to how they compare to the Traegers? Clearly, the less-than-half price tag is compelling (note: not "attractive", it's still darn pricy).

[pnbrock]

I am on my second traeger now and couldn’t be happier. I think warranty is the deciding factor.

[RambleOn]

I have a traeger, had a Pitt Boss and just upgraded to a Louisiana Grills. They are all very good now. You will be happy with any one. The Traeger was the first to the show. The rest came later and had to produce good products to compete. Happy shopping. Like buying a boat, go bigger than you think you need!

[Firstblood]

The new ones have wifi and and app so you can BBQ without even going outside....... Honest question, what is the appeal of a electronically controlled pellet smoker?

[RambleOn]

Taste and the cooking experience for me. Big fan of the backyard bbq experience but if I could only choose one I would go pellet smoker.

No flare ups. Can cook everything perfect every time. Very versatile and easy to use. Easy to store pellets of different sorts/flavours. Can cook using many different methods.

Had beef ribs tonight.. Dry season, rest, low temp smoke, braise in foil pouch, back on the grill for a high heat crust up and enjoy!

[jac]

After a lot of research i bought a green mountain grill 2 months ago. We love it our propane bbq has not been used since!!

[ajr5406]

Ive been interested in these too. When i see people using the Traeger's, it seems like their steaks dont have a great "sear"? More like a hot smoke than an actual sear. Im sure they taste great, but when I cook a steak or a burger on the BBQ, i like nice grill marks and the taste of the crust.

How do you get that with a Traeger et al?

[albravo2]

Traeger is not for steak in my opinion. I do better steak on a gas grill for exactly the reason you mention-- sear.

Traeger is for bacon, brisket, chicken, ribs, fish... tons of things.

For what it is worth, I got rid of our behemoth Costco gas grill last summer when we started a deck renovation and I still haven't replaced it (doing steaks in my cast iron grill) but I've used the Traeger countless times in the interim. I'll buy a new grill this summer but I wouldn't have gone 10 months without my Traeger.

[tyreguy]

Cooking a steak on a Traegar is like cooking in the oven. I tried a real nice Ribeye one time and it was OK but prefer the real BBQ grill for the hot sear. Heard it can be done on Traegar but.....I like my steak a certain way and it wasn't for me.
The wood cooking keeps everything very moist. Salmon comes out amazing, Chicken the same - on hunting trips i make Pizza, Lasagna, scallops wrapped in bacon, Chicken wings, chocolate chip cookies and even the brown & serve buns on the traegar and they don't taste of smoke (unless you want it to). Whole chickens cook without flaring up
For smoking, the ribs are amazing - when in deer camp i will cook bacon on the traegar as well like a 3x smoke its all good.
The electric pellet cookers are awesome and i just run mine with a small Honda 1000 in camp.

Highly recommended!! Prefer the electric smoker over the propane one, brands - to each their own as i can only vouch for the traegar.
One thing i did like is i bought an early smaller model that only had a Smoke/Med/High temp setting controller which i updated to an actual temperature controller from smoke to 450 - this is much better and was a retrofit by Traegar - ordered from the USA and easy to install.

[ROY-alty33]

Save your money the Cabelas grills are made by Traegar!

[Firstblood]

It is a smoker not a BBQ and they state that, cant sear a steak but thats not what its for. My issue is consumer affairs reviews 3/5 stars. Many stating warranty issues and mechanical/ electrical problems, operating problems and consistency. I know two people who have had them and in less than two years had to replace them completely. For a smoker that costs over a grand some closer to 2 even 3 thousand dollars I expected more, A LOT more. Saying that I have had good food off of one, but much better off of wood charcoal smokers and grills.

[DStewart]

I’ve had zero issue searing steaks on my pit boss, just slide open the grill grate and it’s direct flame. I just reverse sear it instead, cook on low till desired internal temp, remove steaks, crank it up full throttle, sear.

Best deal I could find was at Crappy tire

[bennya]

After a lot of research i bought a green mountain grill 2 months ago. We love it our propane bbq has not been used since!!

GMG for the win. I bought one a few summers ago (no fancy WiFi or anything) and feel the same way

[RambleOn]

My traeger doesn't get that hot. My Pit Boss will bury the needle and keep going. I am sure, as stated above, if you expose the burner you will have more than enough heat.

[Dirty Steve]

I bought a Louisiana, they have the sear grill for steaks, I get it ripping to 600 and sear away..... The Louisiana's are built a little beefier, the gauge of steel in the deflector plate below the grill is thicker, in my opinion this will be the first thing to rust out or burn through. Shepherds in Armstrong gave me the lowdown, the Louisianas are built just a little better and the sear grill is a bonus... I picked mine up used off facebook marketplace for $375.00 . I also missed out on the Cabellas big one in the bargain cave for $400 that retailed at $1,100. Kicked myself for that.... I don't think anything has touched the propane BBQ since I bought the smoker... Pulling a Homer Simpson and drooling on the keyboard now.....

[Deaddog]

Had a traeger for ten years. Love it. No issue cooking steaks at all. Smoke for 20 minutes then cook. Juicest meat I have ever had. Never dries out hamburgers etc . No issues at all. Kept outside even in snow. Can’t go wrong in my mind and would never go back to propane or gas

[Greenthumbed]

GMG for the win. I bought one a few summers ago (no fancy WiFi or anything) and feel the same way
I'm very happy with my GMG. I did go for the wifi model. It's kinda cool but not necessary.

[j270wsm]

Bought a GMG last summer and love it.

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Save your money the Cabelas grills are made by Traegar!

For real? How do you know...?

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Hmmm so now, unfortunately, Green Mountain is in the mix as well. Which model did you get?

[j270wsm]

I bought the Daniel Boone, with wifi. Smoked 2 whole chickens( 7-8lbs each ) and had lots of extra room.

[Sitkaspruce]

I will be purchasing a new grill next year and have been looking at a lot of different models.

This one just came on my radar

https://www.campchef.com/pellet-grill-smoker-dlx.html

Lots to look at: choices to be made

Cheers

SS

[jac]

I bought the new prime Daniel Boone with wifi. It goes a bit hotter and can run on both 12volt and 110. Will set you back about a grand!