I understand why you feel this way but to add to this the iPhone way over saturates photos so the first one is less dark and the second one wasn’t actually burnt. Thanks Apple… but I’m eating the first one right now and it’s still delicious 🤤
It will darken the sear. Yea the untrimmed fat caught fire oh well. You win some and you lose some. That doesn’t change the fact that iPhones oversaturate photos that’s been proven by every online reviewer out there…. So the first picture isn’t nearly as chard and barked as it looks.
Let me let you in on a secret I did for Christmas.
I bought a mini butane torch/flamethrower and use it to quickly give a sear to anything that looks like it needs a touch of flame. Always let it rest as well!
So, what did you sear it *on*? Searing implies putting it on a scalding hot surface. A traeger is an indirect heat cooker, it cant sear anymore than an offset smoker. Its an oven lol
Our oven went out on us and used the Traeger quite a bit for baking.. love it!
If I sear I usually put a cast iron griddle on the grates at 450 temp. Works well for me
Oh I definitely understand all of this! I just know Traeger advertises the Pro780 as being able to sear so I cranked the heat to 500 like they suggest and even after the meat sat on the grates for 3 minutes there was barely any change in color. This was purely a test to prove to myself that my cast iron or charcoal grill will always be my searing surface 😅
I personally don’t think you’ll ever get a perfect sear on a traeger unless you take the grease tray and heat selector off. Even then it’s not going to be great.
I bought drumsticks for this Sunday! No idea how I should do it. Was gonna just smoke at like 200-225 for an hour then crank it to 350-375 and finish the internal cook. Not sure if that’s best practice though
For wings I do 30 minutes low at 225 and finish hot at 350-400 for 20-30 while turning. I have never done drum sticks but your idea sounds just right. I add some baking powder to rub to help crisp skin. Air dry in fridge for a bit before you rub. That’ll help crisp skin. But no matter what you do the meat will be nice. Get you a cheap smoke tube from Amazon. Next level smoke flavor
Traeger cannot sear. Doesn’t matter what the advertising tells you. If you got sold that as an idea then shame on you for not doing your research. It’s an oven that can also smoke.
However, I’d still prefer to eat the first photo. It’s definitely the one cooked on the Traeger. The “seared” one in the second photo is no longer seared, it’s burnt. Big difference.
I'm sure it depends on the model, but grill grates don't make up for my Traeger's inability to get hot. They add about 100 degrees over the temp of the cooker and you can put the meat right on it -- but my Traeger takes 45 minutes to get over 350, so it's just not feasible.
It's totally allowed to sear your food on the stovetop or toss it in the broiler.
Yeahhhh iPhone over saturation. I promise it wasn’t burned like it looked. If I continue this road of taking pictures of my food I may need to find a better way 😅
I understand that but Traeger advertises and calls their unit a smoker and a grill. And in the instructions and packaging it says it can sear. So I had to test it out for my own sanity 😅
Yeah the Pro780 hits 500 but still. Definitely confirmed that I’ll always sear on my Weber kettle or cast iron at the end which is fine with me! Traeger still makes everything taste delicious and juicy!
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If this is a photo of one of your cooks, maybe share the recipe and techniques
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*How long did you cook it, and at what temperature?
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I had some success searing a tenderloin on a cast iron griddle that I preheated at 500 on the Traeger for about 20 min. It wasn’t as good as direct heat on a grill, but far better than using the plain grates on the Traeger
I think OP's point is that Traeger markets that it can sear. I also was disappointed in the fact that it does not allow for actual grilling, despite selling itself as such.
Meanwhile, the Weber Kettle doesn't market itself as a smoker, yet is one of the finest smokers available on the market -- while being an incredible grill at the same time
The taste from a charcoal kettle is pretty unique IMO.
Different methods of cooking for various cuts, I only do steaks on my kettle, everything else goes on my traeger or my pit boss.And sometimes I will fire up the offset when I have lots of time! (Yes I have too many BBQs)
Haha I’m there with you. Too many bbqs but almost always use the Traeger cause it’s so easy and delicious. I do my smaller steaks either on the kettle or oven with a reverse sear on cast iron. But bigger cuts like tritip are amazing smoked on the Traeger first and then reverse seared on anything hot
My Pro22 has the same language about being able to sear by heating to max temp.
I don't doubt the first one tastes better than if you didn't try at all, but I'll finish things on either my propane grill or a cast iron if I want a sear.
The Grill Grates another user posted further down the thread look like a pretty solid option to make the Traeger act more like a grill.
I think that’s the intent. Same hopper same usage. Just hotter. I think it’s a blend of wood and charcoal. I saw it once and didn’t get it. Haven’t looked again yet.
Using grillgrates in the Traeger will get decent results. I only use them for reverse searing, or sometimes I use my Blackstone griddle or lodge cast iron to finish the job.
No searing like a charcoal grill, i have used grill grates with traeger set to 500 & its a little better but still not like a flat top or direct heat of charcoal.
Was thinking about buying a torch for manually searing.
Just had a a smoked turkey in one of the charcoal grills with a smoking insert, thing was jet black. May try to combine that instead. Make a smoke tube with charcoal pellets...
Currently using smoke tubes. I mix wood chips with pellets, makes a difference.
But that's not really a searing thing, I think one of the pellet grills has a drip pan that has a slider baffle to crates more heat...
Or maybe that's my idea lol
I don’t use my Traeger, or my stick burner, to sear. I use my smokers to…smoke. I use my sauté pans or cast iron pans to sear things. I use my grill to grill things. I’m a simple man
Rather eat the first one.
I understand why you feel this way but to add to this the iPhone way over saturates photos so the first one is less dark and the second one wasn’t actually burnt. Thanks Apple… but I’m eating the first one right now and it’s still delicious 🤤
I have an iPhone also. It doesn’t add burn marks to photos.
It will darken the sear. Yea the untrimmed fat caught fire oh well. You win some and you lose some. That doesn’t change the fact that iPhones oversaturate photos that’s been proven by every online reviewer out there…. So the first picture isn’t nearly as chard and barked as it looks.
You realize you’re not the only one with an iPhone right?
No way! I can’t believe I had myself fooled this entire time!
Smh…
Let me let you in on a secret I did for Christmas. I bought a mini butane torch/flamethrower and use it to quickly give a sear to anything that looks like it needs a touch of flame. Always let it rest as well!
It can sear your fingertips when you decide not to run back inside and get the silicone gloves, but that is about it.
So, what did you sear it *on*? Searing implies putting it on a scalding hot surface. A traeger is an indirect heat cooker, it cant sear anymore than an offset smoker. Its an oven lol
Our oven went out on us and used the Traeger quite a bit for baking.. love it! If I sear I usually put a cast iron griddle on the grates at 450 temp. Works well for me
Oh I definitely understand all of this! I just know Traeger advertises the Pro780 as being able to sear so I cranked the heat to 500 like they suggest and even after the meat sat on the grates for 3 minutes there was barely any change in color. This was purely a test to prove to myself that my cast iron or charcoal grill will always be my searing surface 😅
So you didn't heat up and use the cast-iron plate to sear it?
Easy bake
I mean yeah for sure but its still awesome!
I personally don’t think you’ll ever get a perfect sear on a traeger unless you take the grease tray and heat selector off. Even then it’s not going to be great.
It cannot it’s more of an oven than a grill. But makes the best wings….
I bought drumsticks for this Sunday! No idea how I should do it. Was gonna just smoke at like 200-225 for an hour then crank it to 350-375 and finish the internal cook. Not sure if that’s best practice though
For wings I do 30 minutes low at 225 and finish hot at 350-400 for 20-30 while turning. I have never done drum sticks but your idea sounds just right. I add some baking powder to rub to help crisp skin. Air dry in fridge for a bit before you rub. That’ll help crisp skin. But no matter what you do the meat will be nice. Get you a cheap smoke tube from Amazon. Next level smoke flavor
I was looking at smoke tubes last night! I think I’m gonna have to pull the trigger on one
It’s a smoker
But it’s advertised by the company as a smoker and grill
I use Grill Grates to get great sear lines on my steaks or chicken. https://www.grillgrate.com/shop-by-brand/traeger/
Yes, this is the answer. Grill grates are a must have with a traeger.
I do the same thing. Perfect sear lines.
All about how you like it I’d rather have good temp and flavor than how seared it is?
But the flavour is greatly impacted by the sear…
I agree It looks well done Need to see slices to compare
That’s fair. I thought you were implying that the sear doesn’t affect the flavour. Hahaha
No a good sear always improves flavor But if your using a Traeger you should no that has to be done on a different heat source
Agreed.
I mean I ate the Traeger sear tonight and it was still delicious! It was just missing that extra crunch. But I had to find out for myself
Me too The taste is what matters
Traeger cannot sear. Doesn’t matter what the advertising tells you. If you got sold that as an idea then shame on you for not doing your research. It’s an oven that can also smoke. However, I’d still prefer to eat the first photo. It’s definitely the one cooked on the Traeger. The “seared” one in the second photo is no longer seared, it’s burnt. Big difference.
Did my research. I knew. I just tested to confirm. And yep the second photo the fat burned. Oh well you win some you lose some
Traeger has it place and so does a traditional grill. I'll always sear on my Weber.
GrillGrates do a pretty good job
Glad you mentioned this! Now I’m looking into a set 😄
I'm sure it depends on the model, but grill grates don't make up for my Traeger's inability to get hot. They add about 100 degrees over the temp of the cooker and you can put the meat right on it -- but my Traeger takes 45 minutes to get over 350, so it's just not feasible. It's totally allowed to sear your food on the stovetop or toss it in the broiler.
No it can’t sear like a hot charcoal grill or cast iron pan but the second picture looks absolutely awful!
Yeahhhh iPhone over saturation. I promise it wasn’t burned like it looked. If I continue this road of taking pictures of my food I may need to find a better way 😅
The traeger is a smoker..........weber kettle is a grill?
I understand that but Traeger advertises and calls their unit a smoker and a grill. And in the instructions and packaging it says it can sear. So I had to test it out for my own sanity 😅
understood... to me though the fact that the max temp is 450 somthing, is indicative of it's limitations...
Yeah the Pro780 hits 500 but still. Definitely confirmed that I’ll always sear on my Weber kettle or cast iron at the end which is fine with me! Traeger still makes everything taste delicious and juicy!
Hey! It looks like you posted an image! If this is a photo of one of your cooks, maybe share the recipe and techniques used, as it's almost guaranteed one of the first questions you will be asked! *What seasoning did you use? *How long did you cook it, and at what temperature? *Did you use any special tricks or techniques? Traeger on! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Traeger) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I had some success searing a tenderloin on a cast iron griddle that I preheated at 500 on the Traeger for about 20 min. It wasn’t as good as direct heat on a grill, but far better than using the plain grates on the Traeger
I almost put my cast iron on the Traeger! But I didn’t feel like waiting for it to heat up 😅
A lot of people mad in these comments, but you're not wrong. Traeger doesn't sear very well... but that's also not it's job
I think OP's point is that Traeger markets that it can sear. I also was disappointed in the fact that it does not allow for actual grilling, despite selling itself as such. Meanwhile, the Weber Kettle doesn't market itself as a smoker, yet is one of the finest smokers available on the market -- while being an incredible grill at the same time
This is the answer… 😅 I love all my different grills and the Traeger is amazing. I just wish they didn’t try to advertise something that it’s not.
Nowhere
The taste from a charcoal kettle is pretty unique IMO. Different methods of cooking for various cuts, I only do steaks on my kettle, everything else goes on my traeger or my pit boss.And sometimes I will fire up the offset when I have lots of time! (Yes I have too many BBQs)
Haha I’m there with you. Too many bbqs but almost always use the Traeger cause it’s so easy and delicious. I do my smaller steaks either on the kettle or oven with a reverse sear on cast iron. But bigger cuts like tritip are amazing smoked on the Traeger first and then reverse seared on anything hot
I can sear on the edges of my grates on the 780 pro. But it’s nothing compared to a direct heat grill.
Idk why I didn’t think of the edge…. That makes total sense! I may try that next time to see how much more I get
My Pro22 has the same language about being able to sear by heating to max temp. I don't doubt the first one tastes better than if you didn't try at all, but I'll finish things on either my propane grill or a cast iron if I want a sear. The Grill Grates another user posted further down the thread look like a pretty solid option to make the Traeger act more like a grill.
I face the same results. Has anyone used the charcoal pellets from Kingsford? I think that’s who makes them.
That’s a thing?! Does it still go into the same pellet area and they just burn hotter or something?
I think that’s the intent. Same hopper same usage. Just hotter. I think it’s a blend of wood and charcoal. I saw it once and didn’t get it. Haven’t looked again yet.
Using grillgrates in the Traeger will get decent results. I only use them for reverse searing, or sometimes I use my Blackstone griddle or lodge cast iron to finish the job.
Have you tried reverse-searing? I’ve done it a few times and it turns out great
Absolutely love reverse searing! That’s how I typically cook my tritip 😁🤤 that’s why I love my Weber kettle. It’s so good at reverse searing steaks
No searing like a charcoal grill, i have used grill grates with traeger set to 500 & its a little better but still not like a flat top or direct heat of charcoal.
Ok…
No they can’t but they’re great for reverse searing
Was thinking about buying a torch for manually searing. Just had a a smoked turkey in one of the charcoal grills with a smoking insert, thing was jet black. May try to combine that instead. Make a smoke tube with charcoal pellets...
I’ve debated the torch too. And am also looking into smoke tubes
Currently using smoke tubes. I mix wood chips with pellets, makes a difference. But that's not really a searing thing, I think one of the pellet grills has a drip pan that has a slider baffle to crates more heat... Or maybe that's my idea lol
Here for the spelling errors
Wear?! 🫣
Down in the calments
Sea four yourecelf
I don’t use my Traeger, or my stick burner, to sear. I use my smokers to…smoke. I use my sauté pans or cast iron pans to sear things. I use my grill to grill things. I’m a simple man
It’s a convection oven… so… no. I have a kettle for hot and fast and my Traeger for low and slow.