Traeger Vs Green Egg: Which Is Better for Your Grilling Style?

Traeger and Green Egg are high-end grill brands. But is there a ‘best’ grill you should invest in? As with many of the best BBQ smokers and grills, it’s all about matching features to your specific needs. Therefore, either of these may work for you.

It’s wise to do your research before you purchase any grill because the quality of this equipment WILL impact the smoke flavor and your food. Also, you want a long-term solution that gives you value for money without breaking the bank. Which of these will meet your grilling and budget requirements?

 

If you already own a pellet smoker, know that it’s definitely worth getting one of these. And if you’re deciding between the Traeger vs Big Green Egg pellet grill, you’re on the right track. These were made after careful research and they’re quality units that do perform better than many standard grills on today’s market. You’ll be happy you upgraded. Now you simply need to decide which one, right?

We did a thorough investigation of these grills, so you have enough information to make an informed choice. You can look forward to the perfect meals, from steaks to veggies if you pick correctly. So, let’s help you with that decision.

Why is Your Grill Choice so Important for Cooking?

Everything you use during the cooking process will affect the outcome of the food. Even a non-stick pan vs an outdated old skillet will result in different outcomes for fried eggs. Now imagine how your grill affects a piece of matured steak! 

For starters, you need a quality grate that’s easy to keep clean, and maintaining a consistent temperature is also valuable. But the type of grill you pick is one of the most important decisions to make.

You can pick an electric grill, a gas grill, or even an infrared grill but with food, it’s all about flavor and that’s why charcoal, lump wood, and pellet grills are so popular. Pellets and lump wood charcoal are your best bet since they can add unique aromas to the food. This is much more alluring than the foul taste you may get when using propane gas grills. Also: don’t make the mistake of lighting any fire with lighter fluid, since that taste may end up in your food too.

You may have guessed that Traeger Grills and the Big Green Egg grills use these much more desired types of grilling. We’ll explain each one in detail. 

Traeger vs Green Egg: The Grills in a Nutshell

The Traeger vs Green Egg decision is made even more difficult by the fact that they don’t operate the same. They use different heat sources for starters, which means they’re bound to appeal to different buyers’ unique needs. 

Is Big Green Egg a Smoker or Grill?

While the Big Green Egg is officially known as a grill, you can also smoke your food in this cooker. Inside the Egg you place lump charcoal which is a hardwood that has been charred. This removes the wood gases and this type of charcoal burns clean. 

The Egg is a ceramic grill and this material benefits your cooking process because it holds heat well. Even if you have the top open it won’t quickly lose the heat. The grill is made in the Kamado style, which refers to a type of Japanese stove.

This appliance is based on ancient cooking methods, but it’s combined with new technology to make cooking easy. The Green Egg’s design allows fresh air to enter at the bottom. Inside you’ll find a sealed firebox and the heated air escapes at the top. There’s a lot of control over the cooking process thanks to an innovative regulator at the top and a flow draft door near the firebox.

It does take practice to use the Green Egg since you have to determine the best way to regulate the heat. Some people may enjoy this learning process, since it’s part of the cooking experience, right? And once you’ve figured out the best temperature for your dish, it can maintain it for hours, so you can focus on other activities. It’s also helpful that you can cook at both lower and higher temps, where many other grills don’t enable you to go as low as 150 degrees. Being able to set your desired temperature could be a huge selling point for you?

Because you’re using pieces of wood, they bring their own flavors to the cooking process. This is excellent news for adding unique tastes to meat and other food items. The Green Egg also makes it easy to keep food juicy and there are many accessories to enhance your cooking process, such as the convEGGtor that’s used for indirect cooking. 

While grilling and smoking are the most popular cooking options, a Big Green Egg can also help you make pizzas, roast meat slowly and do much more if you’re in the mood to get creative. 

The brand sells many different sizes, so you can pick one that fits in your available space outside.    

What is a Traeger Grill?

 

 

At a glance, this may look like any old grill, but Traeger actually designs state of the art equipment that uses electricity and wood pellets to make grilling effective yet easy. 

You need to plug the Traeger into power it up, so you can only use it where you have a safe power outlet. The wood pellets you’ll add in the hopper yourself, but a lot of the process will happen automatically:

• The Traeger moves pellets to the fire pot thanks to the unit’s auger
• A HotRod ignites the pellets
• Heat gets circulated by a fan, which keeps the cooking process consistent
• Temperature is controlled throughout, based on what you set the grill’s settings to at the start

You can see this is an effortless way of grilling since the Traeger pellet grill does most of the work on your behalf. You can sit back and enjoy the company of friends while your equipment monitors the cooking process. There are also handy extras such as a drip tray so any fat or moisture that may fall won’t cause flare-ups.

It’s also a benefit to using wood pellets since they’re another way of adding wonderful flavors to your food. Even though your equipment does most of the work, you can have fun experimenting with different wood pellets to discover your favorite smoke flavor. This keeps grilling still interesting but with the Traeger, it’s much more relaxing.

The Traeger pellet grill range is versatile because apart from grilling and smoking you can perform tasks like baking too.

The Traeger brand sells various models from their different series. You may wonder whether it’s the Traeger Ironwood 885 or the 650 models you need? This video will quickly show you the differences so you can see which one is suited for you.

 

 

Traeger Grills vs Green Eggs Grills: A Comparison

Knowing the basics about these grills, which one will really be the best?

Know that both brands do ask for high-end prices for their merchandise. But you can see that they’re meticulously designed and help you deliver excellent meals, making it worth the investment.

Green Egg vs Traeger Pellet Grills Features

To give you a summary of how the two brands compare in terms of features, here’s a list of the most important differences and similarities:

• Temperature control: You have automatic temperature control in the Traeger grill. With the Green Egg, you need to make adjustments to the vents to find the right setting.
• Size: The Traeger grills are much bulkier than the Green Egg grills. Of course, a larger unit gives you a bigger cooking surface. Both come in various models and sizes so there is some freedom in picking a grill that suits your available floor space outside in the garden.
• Versatility: With both of the units you can grill and smoke and even try BBQ or baking such as making a pizza in a Big Green Egg. The Green Egg is also versatile in cooking temperatures, with a wider range than the Traeger.  
• Price: These are high-end units that don’t come cheap. You can pick the model size according to your budget if you can’t afford the most pricey, large units. A drawback is that the Big Green Egg gives you a smaller cooking surface at a high price.
• Cooking process: With both, you use a version of wood since the Traeger uses pellets and the Green Egg uses lump coal. Since both of these heat sources can affect the taste of your food, this matter is up to personal preference. Note that lump charcoal is more expensive than normal charcoal. Some people may appreciate lump charcoal since it’s one of the oldest forms of heat sources for cooking. The wide temperature range of the Green Egg and its ability to reach impressively high temps mean you’ll sear meat more effectively.
• User-friendliness: If you enjoy working with gadgets, you’ll love setting the temperature on the Traeger and allowing it to do its job. The Big Green Egg may be fairly easy to understand but does take more effort since you have to face the heat and regulate the temperature manually. You also need to clean out the ash, which isn’t really necessary after each time you use the Traeger. Then again, the Traeger needs cleaning of the grease while it simply burns away inside the Green Egg.
• Learning curve: The Green Egg will take longer to master since temperature control happens manually.

Green Egg Pros

• Ceramic holds heat very well
• Excellent for searing
• Small and compact
• Can keep the temperature consistent for a long time
• No electricity required—use it anywhere
• Ceramic heats up fast

Green Egg Cons

• Lump charcoal is pricier than wood pellets
• Small grill area
• You can burn yourself on the hot ceramic
• Heavy to move around
• Must keep an eye on the cooking process to prevent burning
• Different stands are available but they’re not included, so you’ll have an additional expense
• You can only purchase it from dealers, not from an online store

Traeger Pros

• Digital controls ease of use
• Large grill area
• Automated processes
• Can adjust settings via Wi-Fi and a mobile phone app
• Heats up quickly in as little as a few minutes
• No cleaning ash after each session

Traeger Cons

• Bulkier unit
• A smaller range of temperatures
• Must be connected to a power outlet

Should You Use Big Green Egg or Traeger for Smoking?

There’s no reason not to use the Big Green Egg for smoking since it’s designed to do it efficiently. So, if all its other features work for you, this is a smart investment if you’re looking for a smoker. And of course, the Traeger grills are known for their excellent smoking capabilities too.

The real difference comes in when you look at the fuel source of the two. While both lump charcoal and wood pellets can add flavor to your food, the latter will usually result in a smoother and even smokier flavor. So, if you’re trying out smoking for flavor’s sake, a Traeger pellet grill is your ideal buy.

Is Traeger Better than Big Green Eggs?

Traeger does come out on top when you consider the size grill you get for the price you pay. Also, you may want an automated cooking process with less chance of ruined food. This is possible with a Traeger that monitors temperatures, enabling cooking experts and newbies to all create exquisite meals.

That’s not the end of the story though, because for some people it’s all about the process as well as the history of cooking. Since the Big Green Egg company used an age-old cooking method—Kamado—as inspiration, this could be attractive to many consumers. You may also feel more satisfied after being actively involved in the cooking process—even if there are a few mistakes at first—instead of simply pushing a button to cook your food.

While Traeger is a winning grill brand, a Big Green Egg could give you hours of cooking joy too.

Is it Worth Buying a Green Egg?

Will your Big Green Egg be a wise investment? There are definite attractions to this type of grill, such as the quality ceramic unit that keeps warm for an impressive length of time. Also, you can sear much better than on many grills thanks to the higher temperatures the grill can provide.

Since you can do more than just grill if you use the brand’s accessories, your cooking can become diverse, giving you a lot of options. You may end up using it more than you’re using your standard grill at the moment. So, although it’s a high price tag to pay, a Green Egg could be what your cooking hobby needs.

If you end up picking the Green Egg for your cooking adventures, this video will quickly get you set up and started on making scrumptious dishes.

 

 

Meat Grill Alternatives Reviews

With cooking being a popular hobby, there are many grill options to pick from these days, apart from Traeger grills and Big Green Egg models. Let’s give you some perspective on the industry’s favorites with these comparison reviews.

Big Green Egg vs Kamado Joe

 

Here you have two Kamado grills and you can be sure both offer excellent cooking quality. One point of attraction to Kamado Joe is its Divide & Conquer cooking system, incorporating multiple tiers and blocking off of high heat from sections. You can cook different food items at different temperatures with ease, trying out more than one recipe at a time.

Which is Better Rec-Tec or Traeger?

With Traeger and Rec-Tec you have quality grills at similar price ranges, although a Rec-Tec may be slightly cheaper. The other difference is powder-coated steel vs stainless steel found in Rec-Tec. Just note that not all the Rec-Tec grills are insulated.

Traeger vs Green Mountain

When you’re comparing Traeger vs Green Mountain pellet grill models, you may be attracted to the lower price range of Green Mountain. You may also get a higher temperature. However, Traeger stays attractive with large grilling surfaces and you can choose from a wider range since the brand has a different series of grills. Both utilize Wi-Fi technology, so it’s state of the art cooking no matter what you purchase.

Final Thoughts on the Best Pellet Grills Cooking Outside

You know what YOU like about cooking. Is it the process of trial and error to discover the best techniques for your recipe and see what your equipment is capable of? Or do you simply want to press a few buttons and forget about the food for a while?

Big Green Egg and Traeger make interesting equipment for modern cooks, using either the latest tech or age-old cooking methods. They’re both quality buys for passionate grill masters. Which one will your next steak be cooked in?