Do I Need a Second Grill for Charring Steaks?

[BigDaddyRC]

I'm new to the Traeger family...recently purchased the Timberline 850 and thus far very happy with it. My wife however wonders if it will provide the flame broil grilling that chars steaks and burgers, similar to what my Weber did. I've been coached that if I crank up the Traeger to 500 it should do the trick. Any thoughts/tips? I'd like to avoid keeping my old Weber if possible. Thanks.

Personally I have gotten great steak results using the reverse sear method. I smoke the steak for 60 minutes and then pull it off my Traeger and throw it on a very hot gas grill.

 

[John S.]

I set my 1300 to 450 and use GrillGrate’s on the left my IR gun shows 600+ on the GrillGrate’s.... the sear marks comes along nicely....

 

[mikeytee]

I kept my gas Weber and I use it for hamburgers and I actually smoke chicken thighs in it using a smoker tube. I tried to use the reverse sear for steaks but I wasn't impressed with results, so the last steaks I cooked went on the Weber. Faster and easier and makes great steaks and burgers. It's really just a personal preference. The secret to great steaks is marinate at least 3 hours.

 

[grill meister]

Thanks to all the opinions and feedback...I'm getting some great info. Now I'm glad I didn't get rid of my Weber gas grill. I'd like to just have one, (the Traeger), because of space limitations however. I'll experiment and see how things go....or sear. Thanks!

 

[YYCRed]

I found them hard to clean and I'm probably the only person on this forum that returned them. Found it easier just to use my propane grill. But other members do love them and highly recommend them.

I have only used my grill grates once, but we weren't big fans of the texture of the steak when compared to a gas grill. My original plan (hope?) was to replace not only my two electric smokers, but the gas grill as well. I am pretty sure we'll be keeping the gas. I got great grill marks, and they were done a nice medium-rare, but just weren't the same.

 

[CTWsr50]

I've been a Timberline 1300 owner for a 1 1/2 years. Reverse searing, I found I couldn't get a good sear on the Timberline 1300. I use an Otto Wilde overhead flame broiler to sear everything, steaks, hamburgers, etc.. Neither the OFB or my 1300 will do the complete cooking job (as advertised by both companies). It's disappointing since both are premium products. My OFB buying experience was a NIGHTMARE. They advertised that I would have my OFB in less than a week. The German company immediately took my money and didn't deliver the product for a month. They continually lied about when I could expect delivery The combination works pretty well, but wind and ambient temps affect the performance of the OFB.

 

[Slimpicker]

Neither the OFB or my 1300 will do the complete cooking job (as advertised by both companies). It's disappointing since both are premium products.

I don't even wait to 'sear' on my Traeger, I don't like the idea of my meat waiting for the grill to get to 500° and I don't like my Traeger to go to 500° anyway. YES I known 450° is good enough for searing but I'm in no need of my Traeger to 'sear' when I got a perfectly good WeberQ gasser...

I always cover with a foil pan and things sear and cook real fast.

 

[magoo40]

I don't even wait to 'sear' on my Traeger, I don't like the idea of my meat waiting for the grill to get to 500° and I don't like my Traeger to go to 500° anyway. YES I known 450° is good enough for searing but I'm in no need of my Traeger to 'sear' when I got a perfectly good WeberQ gasser...

I always cover with a foil pan and things sear and cook real fast.

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What's the foil pan for, do leave the lid open?

 

[Slimpicker]

What's the foil pan for, do leave the lid open?

NO, but it traps more heat obviously... the sides of a WeberQ are not shut tight, so in wind you lose heat.

 

[CTWsr50]

I agree with not waiting to let the Traeger get to temp for searing, -and when you do, in my opinion does not sear that well. I had a Weber Q for years, and it is a pretty durable grill. Since the day I got my 1300, I've had grease drainage problems. Every time I sear with my 1300, whatever's on that drip tray liner plus new drippings become fuel for a potential grease fire. Your technique for searing looks very interesting, and a lot less expensive than my system. Thanks for the post.

 

[RodeoCookies]

I found this same thing last week when I grilled some rib-eyes. I set the smoker to the highest setting and it showed 450°.
I put the steaks on and they took a while to come up to about 135°. I didn't like the pallid look of the steaks so I moved them over to the gas grill sitting next to the smoker and gave them the full flame for about 2 minutes per side.
Gave them a nice char on the outside and the smoky flavor was fantastic.
Needless to say I'll be keeping them side by side from here on out.