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Wood pellet grills are something that I’ve admired from afar. At the moment, I’ve just got a tiny propane grill that serves our family, and sometimes I’ll put a foil pouch of wood chips in there to get some of that smokey flavor. Then I visit our friends who have a large wood pellet smoker, and had the brisket off of it that had been going all day. That set my sights on getting a pellet grill one day. If you find yourself in the same boat, and want to go top of the line, these new Traeger Timberline grills are worth a look.
Purists will argue that you can get great results from a charcoal grill, or whatever home-built smoker you might have. And yes, you absolutely can get great results – but you can also end up with charred or undercooked meat if you’re not consistent and diligent. With features like what Traeger offers in their lineup, then it becomes much less of a gamble, and you can focus on the flavors in your meats and not worry as much about how to cook it. How’s that? Here’s a quick rundown on what these can do for you.
The first thing – and the key to how pellet grills work – is a mess of temperature sensors that monitor the air temperature, and tell the pellet hopper when to feed more fuel in to the fire. For the Traeger Timberline, they’ve taken things up a notch with additional sensors to watch the temperature and prevent flareups inside the grill. Frankly, being able to just set a temperature (like on your oven) and walk away, letting things just work for a long and slow cook? That sounds ideal. I mean, kick things off in the morning, spend the day doing yard work, and have a great meal ready for dinner once the work is done? Sounds ideal to me.
The other thing that low-and-slow approach gets you – aside from tender meats – is an infusion of that smoky flavor, from burning those wood pellets. Burning wood means ash, but they’ve built in catch system that captures the ash, as well as any drippings, all in one spot – easy to dump out once the work is done.
What if you need to, say, get a sauce going, make some mashed potatoes, or steam up some veggies on the side to go with dinner? Sure, you could go inside to do that. Or, if you’ve got one of the new Traeger Timberline grills, you can use the induction cooktop that’s on the side of the grill, doing whatever you need to do in that pot. We’ve seen propane grills with the side burner, but this is the first I can recall seeing the induction cooker built in.
That’s not the only tech built into the Traeger Timberline. They’ve got a rail system so you can customize how and what you’re cooking inside (accessorize to your heart’s content), but readers of this site will like the fact that you’ve got a WiFi enabled grill here. That means you can control the grill remotely, as well as monitor the temperature of your meat from anywhere (say, from inside if there’s a giant rain storm rolling through).
So, yeah, the new Traeger Timberline lineup has a LOT going for it. We’ve only covered a few highlights, the rest are in a larger list down below. All of that tech – as well as the Traeger history of making these grills – means you’re not coming up for an impulse buy at the checkout lane of the hardware store. No, these are what we’d class as a luxury grill. The new Traeger Timberline runs $3,499, and the Traeger Timberline XL is $3,799. These will be available later this spring (in time for backyard parties) directly from Traeger and key retailers across the US and Canada. traeger.com
Details from Traeger
- Consistency
- PERFECT RESULTS EVERY TIME – Traeger set the standard for precision temperature control and has taken it to an entirely new level of performance with its new smart combustion system. This system uses a series of smart sensors and cooking environment data to avoid flare-ups and provide an ultra-consistent cook for perfect results, every time.
- SET-IT-AND-FORGET-IT® – Dialing in your temperature is easier than ever before with a vibrant, full-color touchscreen display. The new Timberline controller opens more functionality with guided onboarding, monitoring temperature, and performing grill maintenance checks.
- ULTIMATE WOOD FIRED FLAVOR – Traeger’s patented DownDraft Exhaust envelopes food with wood-fired goodness and an improved Super Smoke Mode delivers even more smokey flavor when activated thanks to a new FreeFlow™ firepot capable of producing maximum smoke output.
- HOTTER MORE CONSISTENT TEMPERATURES – Full stainless-steel insulation delivers precision temperature regulation, no matter the weather. The new Timberline also features a redesigned heat delivery system thanks to radiant heat from a full stainless steel interior, resulting in hotter temperatures at the grates for improved searing capabilities.
- Convenience
- NO HASSLE CLEANUP – A proprietary Traeger technology, the EZ-Clean™ Grease & Ash Keg system channels not only the grease, but also excess ash into one convenient, accessible unit for easy disposal.
- CONTROL YOUR GRILL FROM ANYWHERE – Grilling freedom is at your fingertips with the Traeger App featuring WiFIRE® Technology allowing consumers to control and monitor every aspect of the grill from anywhere. The new Timberline grill also features a more powerful 360 WIFI antenna than previous models for easier connection.
- NO STRINGS ATTACHED – The new Timberline is equipped with two Traeger x MEATER® Wireless Meat thermometers for precise monitoring of food temperature from literally anywhere utilizing WiFIRE technology via the Traeger App.
- Versatility
- SEAR, SAUTÉ, SIMMER, AND FRY- A first-of-its kind in North America, Traeger’s outdoor-rated Induction Cooktop provides fast and efficient heating for grilling versatility when sautéing onions, simmering sauces, searing steaks, or frying hot wings.
- ENDLESSLY CUSTOMIZABLE – The patented Traeger P.A.L.™ Pop-And-Lock rail system provides endless possibilities to customize the Timberline with an entirely new set of accessories aimed at improving the cooking experience, all while ensuring cooks are seamless and efficient. ModiFIRE™ accessories allow customers to utilize a variety of cooking styles by easily swapping out the cooking surface of their grill.
- DREAM DECK READY – Consumers looking to outfit their patio with the ultimate backyard setup can now build the new Timberline grills into their pre-existing or newly fabricated spaces with ease.
