I know, I know. A Traeger electric BBQ smoker may sound like just another toy that will get tucked away in some forgotten corner of the garage – like that exercise machine Dad swore he’d use. A Traeger grill is different, though. My wife bought me one a couple of years ago and I still use it regularly, whether I’m cooking a family dinner or entertaining. Read my review and these five reasons to get a Traeger electric smoker for Dad for Father's Day or any time of year.
Create memories with family barbecues (Photo credit: AlexLipa, Depositphotos.com)
1. Any man will be proud to cook with a Traeger electric smoker.
The Traeger smoker operates like a slow cooker but makes meals that any dad would be proud to serve. Seriously, no man is going to boast about anything that came out of a slow cooker. There’s nothing manly about tossing a bunch of ingredients into a pot, turning it on, and letting it set all day. Where’s the sweat and workmanship in that? There isn’t any. Besides, most of what slow cookers produce are casseroles. And most of us men equate those to quiche… just saying. Instead, a Traeger produces smoked meat!
Traeger Pro Series 34-Inch (Gen 1) Wood Pellet Grill (Photo credit: Traeger Grills)
2. A Traeger smoker produces restaurant quality BBQ at home for a fraction of the cost.
Whether you’re Texas proud and claim beef brisket as the official meat of barbecue, Alabama faithful and prefer smoked chicken with a white sauce, or Carolina smart and know true BBQ comes from a pig, a Traeger doesn’t BBQ discriminate.
A tasty beef brisket smoking on my Traeger (Photo credit: Bryan Richards)
From brisket and pork to chicken and even seafood, I’ve cooked it all on my Traeger electric smoker. And, to my credit, most people don’t need to put sauce on my smoked meat. It comes off the grill moist, tender, and with just the right amount of smoke.
Barbecue a variety of foods on your Traeger electric smoker (Photo credit: Traeger Grills)
3. A Traeger pellet grill is easy to use.
I will admit that some may claim a Traeger smoker is not real BBQ because it’s electric and uses pellets instead of wood. They call it cheating. To a point, they are correct. But who has the time to sit around and monitor a real smoker all day? You'd need to constantly monitor temperatures and add more wood as necessary. With a Traeger, you pretty much set it and forget it. Simply add more pellets occasionally – maybe two or three times for an eight-hour cooking cycle. The cooking system maintains a steady temperature while you tend to other things.
Also, since it is electric, a Traeger smoker is safe to use almost anywhere, from traditional backyards to townhouses where space is limited. Traeger even makes a Tailgater grill to take with you on college or NFL game days.
A beer can chicken hot off the Traeger! (Photo credit: Bryan Richards)
4. Grill dinner outside while doing other things.
I store my Traeger electric smoker in the back of the garage. When it’s time to use it, I pull it around to the driveway where it safely smokes my meat outside while I do other chores like wax the car, trim the hedges, or pick weeds. Every couple of hours, I check to see if it needs more wood pellets. Or I spray the meat with cider if I’m cooking something that tends to dry out.
For example, last weekend I smoked a beer can chicken for 1.5 hours while I cleaned out the garage. To prepare the chicken, I opened a can of beer and drank a third of it (because why be wasteful). I filled the freshly emptied portion with barbecue sauce and sat a chicken on top of the can. Then I doused the chicken with a BBQ rub and let it sit on the medium setting. I also sliced up three potatoes and an onion, wrapped them in foil with olive, salt, and pepper, and smoked a side of potatoes.
Traeger smokers are for more than just meat — they also make great side dishes like these smoked potatoes! (Photo credit: Bryan Richards)
5. A Traeger electric smoker is great for entertaining!
Football game watch parties are all the more delicious now that I have a Traeger. In fact, I take pride in waking up early, pouring a strong cup of coffee, and firing up my smoker to slow cook a pork shoulder for eight hours before the Panthers’ kick-off. I normally pull the meat off as our guests arrive. There’s a showmanship of pulling apart the pork in front of your buddies and snacking on the bark before adding the meat to the buffet. Oh, and the five-pound brisket I smoked last Father's Day? There weren’t any leftovers.
As you can see, a Traeger electric smoker is not only a gift for Dad, but it’s also a gift for the entire family.
A Traeger electric smoker is a gift for the whole family (Photo credit: ArturVerkhovetskiy, Depositphotos.com)
Buy now!
Read reviews and view the array of Traeger grills and products of all different price points on BBQGuys.com, where shipping is free for any purchase over $49! Or, buy direct from Traeger.
Learn more!
Getting hungry? Take a look at my tips for hosting a backyard barbecue party and read my tips for creating a delicious tailgate burger bar.
Not sure how a smoker differs from a regular grill? Learn the difference between smoking vs. barbecuing vs. grilling.
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What meal will your family enjoy most on a Traeger electric smoker? Leave a comment below!
About Bryan Richards, The Hungry Travel Daddy
This is not considered an “electric smoker.” It’s a “Wood Pellet Smoker Grill” which cooks and smokes with Wood in the form of compressed Wood Sawdust Pellets as fuel . It is electric in the sense that electricity runs the fans, temperature controls, ignition source , and auger which delivers the fuel into the combustion chamber. “Electric Smokers” cook with heat generated from an electric heating element, and smoke with with smoke from burning or smoldering wood chips/chunks added by hand.
Interesting. Thanks, Ron!
Traeger is a good product, used to be much better when they all were made in Oregon though. Now that the entry models are Chinese they arent what they once were. Rectek is a much better product for a little more and a Mak is legit if you can afford them.
What a great idea for a Father’s Day gift – and the entire family gets the tasty dinners!!
Right?! I was thinking of getting one for my husband for Father’s Day this year but I already bought him a few things. Maybe for his birthday instead?!
My husband and I bought one and I LOVE it! I cook almost every weekend in it! Food is always delicious and very tasty
Mary – Yay! So glad you and your husband are loving your Traeger BBQ Smoker!
Hey Bryan, did you end up with the portable Traeger smoker built for tailgating? Curious to hear how you’re liking the smaller model. Have you felt limited by the grill size in any way?
My dad would absolutely flip over this! He loves anything BBQ!
If we had a Traeger Smoker, I won’t be seeing my husband until right before winter comes around. LOL. Oh he will love this. I am sure my sons would love it too. They may want to use it to cook food for when their friends come over. Yay. Less work for me. They can prepare their own food!
Actually, there isn’t much work once its going. For example, I smoked a pork butt on Sunday for six hours. I only had to refill the pellets ever two hours or so.
I would love to have this smoker. I would be giddy with happiness grilling my favorite fish or other seafood. Pork belly and/or beef brisket is my second favorite to grill or cook in that smoker. I’m checking this out.
Let us know what your first meal is when you buy it!
My husband would LOVE one of those. He loves to grill out. If it were up to him every meal would made outdoors.
Shouldn’t all meals be cooked outdoors? I’d say we grill or smoke nights a week. The others are for leftovers or eating out…
My husband has a Traeger Smoker that we bought a few years ago and he loves it! He’s made an amazing smoked turkey for Thanksgiving as well!
Mmm…smoked turkey for Thanksgiving sounds amazing!
I did a brisket for Christmas dinner. It’s totally useful for holiday dinners.
My husband has been looking for a new smoker. I am glad I ran into this, it looks legit!
It’s totally legit. I use mine all the time.
I can think of a million reasons to get it for mom too, haha! If we get it for dad, I reap the benefits too lol!
How come all the guy things I write about on Travel Mamas the women want to….
I like that it’s not as bulky as most grills and it would be a lovely gift for dad! I sure love that it’s convenient to use and it has all the features that you want your grill to have too.
It’s not a grill so it won’t replace your family. It’s more of a supplement – like the slow cooked doesn’t replace the oven. Think direct heat versus indirect heat. They both cook differently.
How neat. i don’t think we’ve ever considered a smoker. I think my husband would really enjoy it as he loves to grill and entertain..
Given that its electric, it’s an easy way to venture into smoking.
This smoker looks right up my husbands ally! He loves to grill and smoke things especially when we entertain our friends. I know just what to get him for Father’s Day!
Awesome! Let me know what he thinks!
Oh man, I want one! But I need to buy a house first! I would love to have one of these as part of my cooking tools! Thanks!
I own one and live in a townhouse. Mine has wheels so I just roll it out of my garage when its time to tease the neighbors with my barbecue!
My brother in law has one of these smokers. He likes to use it for family meals!
Thank you for your feedback. I smoked a brisket for Christmas dinner once. Nobody ate the turkey my mother had cook….
These are great reasons! I know it would open up a lot of delicious meal possibilities for us. It would be a lot of fun to use too.
You can get creative or be a traditionalist with it. I prefer using it for traditional barbecue like ribs, pulled pork, and brisket. My Dad uses his for EVERYTHING. I have to admit, his creative ways to change up food is quite tasty.
Oh my goodness, I am betting a traeger smoker would go down really great here as a gift this Father’s Day. I will look into the option of getting one for Dad, he loves to BBQ for the family during our summer months!
I hope your dad loves his Traeger smoker, Brandy!
Hands up I would love something like this for our backyard, I’m not sure my Dad would be too happy if I brought him one and said now cook for us though.
But it’s smoking. There’s nothing more manly than smoking barbecue.
Thank you! I just found my husband’s Father’s Day gift. He loves to grill, and the one he has now has seen better days. He’s also been talking about a smoker for about a year now. WOOT!
A Traeger is a wonderful way to start exploring the art of smoking. Let me know how it works out!
My husband would love me for life if I bought him one of these. He’d use it every single day!
Then you should buy it from him. Plus, imagine the delicious meals he’ll cook for you. When you think about it, it’s more of a gift for you…