New Timberline 850 Gen2

[good eats]

Have already done several cooks on it , including a brisket and 3 butts, Pretty satisfied, but not thrilled with results..

 

[good eats]

I'm liking my Timberline 850 more, each time I use it. I am a long-time Big Green Egg user, and though I still like and use the BGE, I'm loving the "set and forget" nature of the Traeger. I'm doing 2, 8 pound pork butts on it right now, they're cooking low and slow. Smiling more.

 

[Shedd]

I’ve had my egg over thirty years, never had an issue with “set and forget” after I learned how to properly use it. I got a couple buddies that didn’t quite get theirs to set right, they use a Flame Boss 500 controller and sleep all night. However I like my 780 for some things and by adding three smoke tubes, it’s putting out a decent smoke flavor for meats now. But I’m definitely not kicking my egg to the curb, it’ll outlast any pellet burner and much cheaper to use.

 

[good eats]

I’ve had my egg over thirty years, never had an issue with “set and forget” after I learned how to properly use it. I got a couple buddies that didn’t quite get theirs to set right, they use a Flame Boss 500 controller and sleep all night. However I like my 780 for some things and by adding three smoke tubes, it’s putting out a decent smoke flavor for meats now. But I’m definitely not kicking my egg to the curb, it’ll outlast any pellet burner and much cheaper to use.

I've had my BGE XL for 5 or 6 years, and I agree with you, the Egg is considerably cheaper to operate. I use a BBQ Guru "Ultra Q" controller and have had great success with it and have run many overnight cooks, mostly pork butts and briskets with great success. I'm going to start using a smoke tube too to augment the smokiness, but haven't yet. I have my XL in a Challenger cabinet and don't plan to ever relegate the Egg to a secondary role, just not use it for every cook as I have done in the past.

 

[primeone]

Have already done several cooks on it , including a brisket and 3 butts, Pretty satisfied, but not thrilled with results..

What has the disappointment been?

 

[good eats]

What has the disappointment been?

I wouldn't say that I'm disappointed with my new Traeger, I was perhaps expecting a bit more smoky flavor to the meat, that's all. However, having just done 2 more 8 pound pork butts ( I like to share my cooks with friends and neighbors and it's almost as easy to cook 2 as it is one) over the weekend my appreciation of my new grill is growing. On the last cook, I used the "Super Smoke" feature for the first 4 hours and that seemed to help add some smokiness to the overall flavor.
To your point Primeone, I was somewhat premature in my initial post. For whatever it's worth, my wife says the smokiness is just right.

 

[primeone]

That's good to hear! I think the second-generation Ironwood delivers more smoke, even at higher temperatures.

So far, my only issue has been the initial time it takes to reach the cook temp and the recovery time to return to that temp, both of which seem longer than with the first-generation model.


Have you tried experimenting with different pellet brands?

 

[good eats]

That's good to hear! I think the second-generation Ironwood delivers more smoke, even at higher temperatures.

So far, my only issue has been the initial time it takes to reach the cook temp and the recovery time to return to that temp, both of which seem longer than with the first-generation model.


Have you tried experimenting with different pellet brands?

I have not tried other brand pellets yet, in fact, my plan for today was to go to Lowe's to see what brand pellets they carry. Any suggestions in that regard? I love hickory.

 

[good eats]

I have not tried other brand pellets yet, in fact, my plan for today was to go to Lowe's to see what brand pellets they carry. Any suggestions in that regard? I love hickory.

As a follow-up, I just got home from Lowe's. They carry Pit Boss pellets, but only the "Competition Blend" in a 40 pound bag.for $16.99. Plus they gave me an additional veterans discount of $1.70. Next cook, I'll give the Pit Boss pellets a try.

 

[Shedd]

As a follow-up, I just got home from Lowe's. They carry Pit Boss pellets, but only the "Competition Blend" in a 40 pound bag.for $16.99. Plus they gave me an additional veterans discount of $1.70. Next cook, I'll give the Pit Boss pellets a try.

I’m not trying to be negative but I have tried many brands and wood types of pellets and have yet to taste anything that resembles the “true BBQ smoke flavor” I’ve been accustomed to for the 61 years of my life. My family was and some still are in the BBQ business here in SC so I know I’m not going to get even close to that with my Traeger. However I use a smoke tube and two smoke boxes and it’s good enough. Actually better than my XL green egg on some things but not like offsets or the pits I grew up around. With that said I just buy the Costco brand pellets because they burn great and cost much less than the others. My 780 Pro doesn’t have super smoke but a friend of a friend that’s been cooking with my group has a Timberline and (to me) there’s nothing super smoking about it. It does help a little just not super, but it extends the cook time, he recently switched to using smoke tubes. Again I’m absolutely not slamming Traeger, it’s just I expect more but I can honestly say I really like my Traeger.

 

[good eats]

I’m not trying to be negative but I have tried many brands and wood types of pellets and have yet to taste anything that resembles the “true BBQ smoke flavor” I’ve been accustomed to for the 61 years of my life. My family was and some still are in the BBQ business here in SC so I know I’m not going to get even close to that with my Traeger. However I use a smoke tube and two smoke boxes and it’s good enough. Actually better than my XL green egg on some things but not like offsets or the pits I grew up around. With that said I just buy the Costco brand pellets because they burn great and cost much less than the others. My 780 Pro doesn’t have super smoke but a friend of a friend that’s been cooking with my group has a Timberline and (to me) there’s nothing super smoking about it. It does help a little just not super, but it extends the cook time, he recently switched to using smoke tubes. Again I’m absolutely not slamming Traeger, it’s just I expect more but I can honestly say I really like my Traeger.

She'd, what do you burn in the smoke tubes, the same pellets that you're burning in the Traeger? South Carolina is where I first developed a taste for BBQ too. I still like the mustard based sauce.

 

[primeone]

I have not tried other brand pellets yet, in fact, my plan for today was to go to Lowe's to see what brand pellets they carry. Any suggestions in that regard? I love hickory.

I've been using B&B Championship Blend Pellets and been happy with the flavor.

Academy has a good price on the 40lb bags:

B&B 40 lb Championship Blend Pellet Grill Fuel | Academy

Need to ignite your pellet grill? Use the B&B 40 lb Championship Blend Pellet Grill Fuel. It's made from 100% natural wood without chemical additives, and it burns ...

www.academy.com

 

[Shedd]

She'd, what do you burn in the smoke tubes, the same pellets that you're burning in the Traeger? South Carolina is where I first developed a taste for BBQ too. I still like the mustard based sauce.

I don’t use many pellets, just about a handful to help keep everything burning. I put about half a handful in tube first, then a chunk of hickory then hickory chips, then another chunk, more chips working my way up then top off with pellets. I use the extended tube so I’ll have three good wood chunks and many wood chips. I also use two smoke boxes I modified by drilling holes on the bottom, ends and sides so it’ll get good airflow to burn. I put a bed of pellets, mixing in chips and chunks the adding some pellets on top to help with burning. As you can see in attached pictures, I get a ton of smoke (pics only had smoke tube and one smoke box. I recently added the second smoke box and it made a big difference for me. It’s a good smoke flavor not a nasty smoke at all. Again, the pellet type doesn’t make a difference, it’s the chips and chunks.