The Best Pellet Grill Recipes - Traeger Grills (2024)

FAQs

What is the best thing to cook on a Traeger first time? ›

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).

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Place the steaks directly on the grill grate. Flip them every 6 minutes. Cook for 14 to 20 minutes or until steaks reach an internal temperature of 132℉. Remove steaks from the grill and serve immediately.

Brisket is very flavorful on its own, you don't need any elaborate seasoning or saucing. The trick is getting the smoke flavor to penetrate the rich meat without overcooking. The good news is that your Traeger makes it easy to add the natural smoke flavor that otherwise requires stoking a fire for most of a day.

The best meats to smoke are meats with a high amount of collagen and fats such as pork shoulder, beef briskets, beef cheeks and rib. The connective tissues and fats breakdown during the cooking process which will keep the meat moist and tender.

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.

Once you have opened your bag of pellets, it's even more crucial to protect them from moisture. 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.

Can I leave pellets in Traeger overnight? ›

You want to remove pellets when you're not grilling because moisture can reach them when left in the hopper for an extended period.

If a Traeger is stored outside during wet weather, water can get into the Pellet Hopper. When pellets get wet, they expand and can clog the auger. Additionally, a Traeger cannot cook with wet wood. If you do not have a cover, take extra care to keep the pellet hopper covered and away from any water.

You can use any oven-safe baking pans on the Traeger. No matter the pans you use, be sure to leave 1 inch of clearance on each side of the sheet to allow for airflow. Also, you will see smoke residue on the pans, but it washes off easily from most surfaces.

WHAT IF I DON'T WANT EVERYTHING TO TASTE SMOKY? You can actually decide how smoky your food will taste. The higher the temps the grill is set to, the less smoke there will be. Food cooked at temps between 165° - 225°F is going to have more smoke flavor than food cooked at higher temps.

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.

One-Time Initial Firing Process

Before cooking the first batch of food in your new Traeger, you will need to season your grill.