Bradley or Traeger portable? Which one should go buy?

Wildfire

Wildfire

Well-Known Member
R.O.C. (Radio Operator's Certificate)
1658070462229.png vs. 1658070525270.png??

Help me out here guys. I'm looking for something easy to use, requires minimal supervision and will hopefully last a long time. I want something small only for smoking fish since I'll still be using the gas grill primarily for BBQing. Needs to be small and somewhat portable since I'd like to put it in the shed when not in use. I know the Bradley hits all the marks but I'm really not super thrilled about being locked into buying the Bradley pucks. With the Trager you can use different fuel sources right, or does it have to be Traeger pellets? Just some noob questions but are the wood pellets the only fuel or does it require charcoal or something as well? Do you have to light it with starter fluid and a lighter or something?

Or am I best considering something else? My only other requirement is no propane.

Thank you!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
RHYBAK said:
Stomp

4 hours at 225 is way to much for rainbows
I do mine 3-3.5 hours at 180 or 220

you are on the edge of making rainbow jerky
Click to expand...
You might be right @RHYBAK . I need to try a few more pieces to confirm I botched it. I had a probe in one of the biggest pieces on the lower rack and was looking for an internal temp of 160 degrees. The smaller pieces on the upper rack came of sooner when they reached 160 degrees.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Here's my brine.
I like mine a little dryer, there's only a few things I like wet.😁 This isn't to salty.

4 cups water, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/8 cup salt, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup Soya sauce, and 1 table spoon of Lemon juice.
Soak fish in brine minimum 6 hrs. Remove and pat dry with paper towels, place on racks and let sit in frig for 30 to 45 minutes. Smoke for 4hrs at 225 degrees.🍺👍
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B7CC333C-580A-4B9E-825B-FB07788812EC.jpeg3343BA78-7E70-4CA6-B413-5A05AB4C9256.jpeg
Christened it today. Lake Erie rainbow and Lake Ontario coho. I had problems maintaining temperature. Had it set to 180 but the temp was well over 200 for most of it. Peaked at 240.

Is this because it was in the sun on a 32 degree day?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It should back pedal the pellets based on the temperature it reads.

Dbl check the internal probe for position etc.

I always use a backup temp probe inside my Treager and for the meats. 🌻
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I do most of my smoking early morning on the weekends.
Before the sun gets at my traeger and the outside air get to hot.

this weather is great for making pizza.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
stomp said:
Jury is still out @hvyhaul . Ironwood 650 was jammed with 3.5 rainbow. Brined overnight, which may have been too long. Smoked about 4 hours at 225°… turned on Super Smoke for about 40 minutes. Some pieces looked a bit dry and the little bite I had wasn’t lacking for salt.

My key advice: brush some oil on the grill before placing on fish!
Click to expand...
|My Dad used to make them in his Big Chief. those were my favorite pieces.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Upvote 0 Downvote
I had an overheat problem and talked to Traeger about it. I was putting in way more pellets in the fire box before lighting using the prime function than required. Now when I vacuum out the firebox (I do that every time) I only put in about 10-12 pellets, just enough to cover the tip of igniter and no more.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
RHYBAK said:
Wow
I never put pellets in the fire box.
I just let the auto feeder do it's job.
Wait until I see smoke , then set my temp, close the lid and walk away
Click to expand...
check the instructions, just following orders. I will try that the next time. I do notice that when I vacuum it always pulls a few pellets out of the hopper when I am cleaning so I stuff a couple in the hopper and then put a few around the igniter.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
✖
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Advertising is what keeps Channel 6-8 on the air. To this end, please take a moment to disable your AdBlocker. If you would prefer an ad-free experience, but would still like to help support site operations, please consider making a donation.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks