Up to the Minute review of Traeger Grill

If you really know me you know I love to cook over a flame. I’ve loved to cook on a grill or smoker since I moved out of my mom’s house. I remember buying my first charcoal grill at Lowe’s and making great meals. But I hated using lighter fluid to start the briquettes and the uneven cooking temperatures. Next I got a propane grill. I liked that it maintained an even temperature but really felt it lacked the flavor of charcoal and hardwoods.  While walking around the Irish Festival at Clement park last year I came upon a booth and the guy had some neat looking grills. I asked what they were and he explained they were pellet grills. He was a very smooth talker and proceed to take the grill apart and show me how it worked from the ground up. Fill a hopper full of pellets, an auger takes a few at a time and drops them into a cup that has a heating element in the bottom and a blower that circulates the heat.  I wanted one. I wanted it bad but played hard to get. I told him I’d think about it and went walking around the rest of the festival. I kept talking to my gf about what a cool grill it was and thinking about all the amazing stuff I could make with it. I knew I wanted it so I looked it up on Google and saw it had good reviews and so I went back to get one. One of the few things I don’t like about my Traeger experience was the salesman. I wasn’t a hard sale I went up and told him I wanted it. He licked his lips and went over his speech. He told me I couldn’t have this one onsite but I could come back the following day after the festival was closed or that they would delivery one for free to my home on Monday or Tuesday.  I live across town from the Irish Fest so opted to have it delivered. He then told me if I bought 2 bags of pellets he would throw in 2 for free. Sounded like a good deal to me as I love free. So he wrote it all up and told me to expect a call Monday to setup a time for delivery. Well Monday came and went. Tuesday at noon I called him and inquired about my purchase. He insisted they would be calling me soon. Wednesday morning I got an email saying that my Traeger was being shipped from Oregon and my tracking number showed it would be at my house the following Monday.  I wrote the company back and explained what the sales guy had told me and asked why it wasn’t going how he had told me it would. The person on the receiving end of the email was even less helpful. He explained that all orders get filled this way. He then told me I could refuse shipment and they would refund my money. I’m not going to lie I was very pissed off with their customer service. I tried my hardest to find the President or CEO of the companies email address because I really wanted to have a word with them. I contemplated refusing it when it arrived but had been watching YouTube videos of how amazing this grill was and I really wanted to try it. I decided to accept it but refuse to do business directly related with them again. When it finally showed up it only came with the 2 bags of pellets I had paid for. Again I was pissed off. I called the sales guy and he told me to drive across town and they would give me the 2 free I was missing. Again brilliant customer service so I said I wouldn’t be making a special trip just for them but would grab them when I was on that side of town in a couple weeks. The grill itself was easy to put together even for someone like me who is horrible at building stuff. I got everything set up and fired it up. It worked great and made wonderful and flavorful food. I use it all the time and love most of the recipes. My only complaints about the grill itself are that the hopper has a flat bottom so sometimes it will stop feeding pellets into the auger when you still have a fair amount piled up on the sides. I also wish they would make a rotisserie for it. But otherwise I feel it’s an amazing grill and would get one again just not from Traeger itself.  I would love to hear what you like to grill and share some recipes so make sure you leave a comment. And Check out my Traeger Grill video Up to the Minute Review