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The Traeger Pro-22 is a mid-sized pellet smoker with straightforward controls but no interface with smart apps that reside on phones and tablets. Traeger calls this older model โGen 1โ. While lacking in some of the fancier features of their contemporary offerings, it nevertheless provides all the functions needed to produce excellent barbecue. Letโs check it out.
Traeger invented and patented the basic pellet smoker design and owned the market for many years. But once the patent expired, other players quickly popped up fostering innovation and a wider range of price points from low entry-level models to pricey stainless steel outdoor kitchen units. Traeger hasnโt been oblivious to the market changes. Hence, the product category constantly evolves.
A pellet smoker burns extruded pellets made from hardwood sawdust. This allows a choice of many different flavor profiles associated with oak, hickory, mesquite, apple, cherry, maple, and others. Aside from being able to choose the fuel wood, a pellet smoker eliminates the need to babysit the cooker during long smoking sessions. Itโs more or less โset it and forget it.โ Like your kitchen oven only outdoors with smoke, simply choose the temperature, and the digital control system will do the rest.
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Though this control system is an older design, it works just fine. The control panel allows the cook to specify the cooking temperature by automatically controlling the pellet fuel flow and the fan motor. The temperature selection dial is stepped in 25ยฐF increments from 180ยฐF to about 400ยฐF. Above the temperature control knob is a digital readout. It displays the internal cooking temperature. There are two jacks that accept input from external temp probes inserted into the food. A push-button selector allows the readout to display the temperature of the cooker or one of the food probes. One probe is supplied with the unit and extras are available from Traeger.
The Pro-22 weighs 125 lb. (57 kg.) The dimensions are 27″D x 41″W x 49″H (69 cm D x 104 cm W x 125 cm H). It has two porcelain-coated steel rod cooking grates with a total of 572 square inches cooking capacity that are said to accommodate 4 chickens, 5 racks of ribs, or 24 burgers. The exterior finish is durable powder coating. Two of the legs have wheels to make moving it easier. It should be noted that this is primarily a smoker, not a grill. To get the nice browning we expect from a grill, you need higher temps. Donโt be disappointed if burgers look like theyโve been boiled instead of grilled. The smoker is best-suited for roasting and smoking.
The pellets are added to a container called the hopper that feeds the fuel to the auger.
The hopper on this smoker holds 18 lbs. of pellets. The rate of pellet consumption depends on the cooking and ambient temperatures. It has a trap door on the back that allows you to dump the pellets if you want to use a different type of wood fuel or store it away when not in use. The auger, a rotating screw driven by the controllerโs motor, delivers the pellets to the fire pot where they burn. A fan blows the heated air around the cooking chamber where the food is placed, and it exits via the chimney. It should be noted that you MUST NOT use pellets designed for heating systems. You MUST use food-grade pellets. The former may give off toxic fumes and/or impart noxious flavors.
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Assembly is relatively easy. All you really must do is mount the legs and screw on a couple of handles. Itโs heavy, so two people might make the job easier, but one person can do it alone. The packing materials are voluminous, so be prepared for a trip to the dump. Iโve seen some reviews that said that the units they received had been damaged in transport, but the unit I have arrived without any damage.
Before cooking the first meal, the unit must be seasoned. This was nothing more than cranking the temp up to the maximum and letting it burn off manufacturing residue for an hour. At the end of the seasoning, and after every cooking session, the control knob should be turned to the shutdown cycle. This purges the firepot, preparing it for the next cook.
Many newer-model pellet smokers use Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in conjunction with a phone app to control the cooker. There are advantages to having this connectivity, the most important of which is that it makes it simpler to monitor the cook. The unit Iโm reviewing here is a basic model that lacks this connectivity, but I used a workaround: a Fireboard 2 Thermometer system that monitors cooker and food temp, and uploads it to the cloud. I monitor my cook via the Fireboard. If you have similar equipment, you can save some money by buying a non-Wi-Fi cooker like Pro 22. The temp vs. time graph was taken from the Fireboard feed.
I had to manually change the temperature settings using the controls on the Traeger, but this was a minor inconvenience. Over the course of a 14-hour cook, I only changed the temperature twice.
Contacting the manufacturer is easy; just visit their website for a range of options. Traeger sells aluminum sheets that fit over the drip tray under the primary cook surface and can be discarded if youโd rather not clean the tray by hand.
There are also aluminum foil baskets that can be inserted into the grease pail and discarded after use.
I bought this cooker from a neighbor who got it as a gift with a new car purchase. He didnโt want it, so he sold it to me in the original shipping box. Iโm keeping it!
I have cooked several batches of St. Louis-style pork ribs and a 9.5 lb. pork butt. Everything came out well with nice smokiness and a good smoke ring. There was little to fuss over. Temp control is good as shown in the Fireboard graph. There were a couple of spikes in the temperature graph, but the temp always settled down quickly. Cleanup was simple enough, just brush the grill grate and toss out the drip tray liner. Traeger advises vacuuming the fire pot and bottom of the cooking chamber after 20 hours of use. I prefer to do this after each cook so I donโt have to worry about forgetting it. To protect the smoker, I bought an aftermarket cover from Amazon for $30 โ a lot cheaper than the branded Traeger version.
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While not the fanciest, most automated smoker on the market, this basic unit still does the job. If youโre willing to manually pay a little more attention to the cooking process, you can save significant money with a pellet smoker like this one. Itโs an attractive price point and a well-made product. Iโm giving it a Gold Medal for performance and value.
Product Information:
Manufacturer:
Traeger pioneered and popularized the pellet smoker and remains the best known brand since it is in wide distribution. And they aim to keep it that way even though competition is growing. New owners took over in 2014 and invested heavily in product development and marketing. In 2021 Traeger went public.
They offer a full line of branded extras from Traeger Pellets and rubs to Traeger insulation blankets and cold smoker add-ons. Recently they introduced a gas burning griddle called Flatrock.
Published On: 7/28/2024
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When you make rubs at home we recommend you add salt first then the herbs and spices because salt penetrates deep and the other stuff remains on the surface. So thick cuts need more salt. We put salt in these bottled rubs because all commercial rubs have salt and consumers expect it. You can still use these as a dry brine, just sprinkle the rub on well in advance to give the salt time to penetrate. For very thick cuts of meat, we recommend adding a bit more salt. Salt appears first in the ingredients list because the law says the order is by weight, not volume, and salt is a heavy rock.
Sprinkle on one tablespoon per pound of meat two hours or more before cooking if you can. Called โdry brining,โ the salt gets wet, ionizes, becomes a brine, and slowly penetrates deep, enhancing flavor and juiciness while building a nice crusty โbarkโ on the surface. Sprinkle some on at the table too!
Are they hot? No! You can always add hot pepper flakes or Chipotle powder (my fave) in advance or at the table. But we left them mild so you can serve them to kids and Aunt Matilda
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