Traeger Woodridge Pro Review: Fearless Smoking

Simple to use. Minimal fuss and cleaning. Great somesthesia control.

Limited app. Somewhat awkward interface.

As idiosyncratic who enjoys a batch of bully food, there's thing astir smoked nutrient that’s ever enchanting. There are nary shortcuts, conscionable a batch of clip and effort, and the standard required often means bringing friends and communities unneurotic to eat.

You mightiness deliberation it’s unusual that idiosyncratic from Portland would emotion barbecue truthful much, but you tin convey our unsocial nutrient culture. Oregon is mostly known for inventing fried foods similar maize dogs and tater tots, honors I clasp dear, but without a chiseled taste anchor, we’re peculiarly unfastened to different traditions. As a result, you’re apt to find the champion Texas-style barbecue extracurricular of Texas floating successful a deliciously spicy achromatic curry, oregon pork belly burnt ends dripping with sticky gochujang.

We besides person a unsocial spot successful the satellite of smoking appliances: Traeger and modern pellet smokers arsenic we cognize them were invented successful Oregon successful the aboriginal 1980s, though the marque is present based successful Salt Lake City. When the accidental came on to reappraisal Traeger’s Woodridge Pro, I decided it was my civic work to enactment connected the achromatic pitmaster gloves and get started. It was a humbling experience, but 1 made easier by the Traeger’s dead-simple usage and accordant somesthesia control, adjacent if the app and interface permission maine wanting thing a small much good done.

Setup

Setting up thing this ample and analyzable tin beryllium daunting, truthful I truly admit Traeger’s approach. Each signifier of the process has an carnal associated with it, truthful you tin easy abstracted the boxes and find what you’re looking for based connected which conception you’re presently in. The largest portion of the container forms a mat with a diagram of wherever everything goes.

It took astir 3 hours by myself to get it up and running, and the lone awkward portion of solo setup was having to flip the smoker halfway through. There’s an archetypal burn-off period, emblematic of each smokers and ovens, which takes different 2 hours oregon so, positive a cool-down play earlier you tin commencement smoking. The bottommost enactment present is: If you program connected having friends implicit to fume connected Saturday, commencement mounting up by noon connected Friday, and effort to bash the burn-off that evening truthful it volition beryllium acceptable for spell time.

I was disquieted astir cleaning, fixed the ample grill surface, but it’s truly casual to instrumentality attraction of. All the grease and ash drops into a single, lined compartment you tin conscionable chuck. The shield underneath pops close retired for cleaning, and you tin driblet the other pellets retired the backmost of the hopper done a hatch, which means they ne'er person to enactment extracurricular excessively agelong and get mushy.

App and Interface

Having spent clip with some the Woodridge and the Timberline (7/10, WIRED Recommends), I similar the interface connected the latter, which uses a straightforward knob and LCD screen. The Woodridge has capacitive interaction buttons and a colorful dot matrix show that looks nice, but requires a spot of deciphering the archetypal fewer times.

The app itself is good for checking connected your temps oregon keeping an oculus connected the pellet level but fundamentally conscionable replicates the controls connected the beforehand of the smoker. I’d emotion to spot a little somesthesia history, the quality to acceptable a vigor curve, oregon a mode that tin respond to probe readings. The pieces are each present successful presumption of hardware, and Traeger is successful a unsocial spot to capitalize connected them.

The built-in pellet tracker is mounted astatine the beforehand borderline of the hopper, truthful it tin beryllium a small melodramatic astir however debased it's getting. As it gets nether halfway, it starts to heap up astatine the backmost and volition pass you it's debased but often conscionable needs to beryllium shifted around.

I besides wanted to telephone retired 1 oddity I noticed successful testing, which is that dogs look precise attracted to the large knob connected the Woodridge’s power panel. Three antithetic dogs who came implicit to my location during smoking sessions pressed it with their noses, astir apt owed to the operation of nutrient odor and seeing different radical touching it. They wouldn't beryllium capable to crook connected the grill, but they tin messiness with you portion you're mounting the somesthesia if they're mischievous oregon funny similar mine.

The Smoke

Coming from the satellite of propane grills, the size of the Woodridge Pro truly struck me. You could easy fume 2 full-sized pork bellies astatine the aforesaid time, and I anticipation to precise soon. As it was, my accustomed Costco pork belly loads up fractional the smoker, which is much than capable to provender immoderate friends and person leftovers for myself.

It couldn’t beryllium easier. Set the temperature, support the hopper filled, and everything other is managed automatically. Instead of worrying astir vents oregon instrumentality speeds oregon fuel, I typically conscionable bent retired successful the backyard, get immoderate enactment done, play with the dog, and absorption connected the meat.

I’ve recovered myself much consenting to bash each the other steps that truly marque a repast great. I’m marinating and brining up of time, getting hitch recipes from friends, making pickled onions alternatively of buying them. Stuff that sounds elemental but tin beryllium casual to skip if you’re feeling lazy. Knowing I person a delicious chunk of nutrient connected the smoker motivates maine to spell the other mile.

As a result, I've made oregon contributed to immoderate of my champion meals ever implicit the past mates of months, and brought my friends unneurotic to bask them. We've eaten tender pork belly tacos coated successful a savory and spiced hitch cautiously refined by my neighbor, juicy pork chops with a crusty exterior, coppa sandwiches connected a friend's homemade focaccia. In between, I've enjoyed luxurious leftovers similar fried rice, smoked ovum salad, and elemental sandwiches. More than conscionable a grill, the Woodridge has go a portion of my room and cooking regular much rapidly and seamlessly than I would've imagined.

Temperature Range

The Woodridge Pro lone gets down to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, truthful there’s nary enactment for a existent acold smoke. Instead, there’s a Super Smoke button, which you tin usage beneath 225 degrees to nutrient much smoke. It’s meant for the aboriginal stages of larger meats, and I liked utilizing it connected immoderate ribs, but I recovered worldly gets much than smoky capable without it.

Since it goes up to 500 degrees, you tin technically grill connected it. This chews done pellets beauteous quickly, it takes a portion to get that hot, and the grill aboveground is huge, truthful it’s astir apt much apt you’ll bash this for pizza than for burgers. It works successful a pinch, but determination are much businesslike ways to get the occupation done if you conscionable privation to grill.

While I’d inactive urge upgrading to thing similar the Combustion (9/10, WIRED Review) for truly elaborate info, I was impressed with the accuracy of the included probe, which was a classical metallic instrumentality connected a wire. At 1 constituent I sent a photograph of pork chops to friends, showing that I had nailed the somesthesia wrong a grade of my goal.

I inactive person hundreds of Friday afternoons and thousands of hours spraying down pork belly with vinegar earlier I tin adjacent imagination of making barbecue similar my favourite spots successful town, but knowing the Woodridge is accordant and straightforward means I tin absorption connected everything else.

I tin spot wherefore Joe Traeger designed the archetypal 1 successful 1985. I’m impressed with however rapidly I went from smoker novice to producing nutrient that I tin truly beryllium arrogant to stock with friends and family, with fundamentally lone 1 atrocious fume on the way.

I beryllium a batch of that to pellet smokers successful wide and the Woodridge successful particular, which is casual to get up and moving and produces accordant results with minimal fuss. The cooking aspects of the Woodridge are good done, and the rarer bits person much to bash with tech and bundle than they bash with cleanable pork shoulder.