The Traegar Renegate Elite Pellet Grill is an official introduction to pellet cooking. Find out everything you need to know with our free review and guide.
Traeger has been supplying grills to the world since the 1990’s and during that time has built its brand as one of the finest companies in building robust yet new pellet grills. The Traeger Renegade Elite Grill is one of the pinnacle of their accomplishments, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Renegade Elite is a pellet grill that, while relatively small, is very versatile in what it can do. Not only can it be grilled, but also smoked, roasted and even baked. In reality, this also means you’re not limited to just burgers and meat, you can also experiment with foods like pizza, bread, and muffins. Ha, even muffins.
In today’s review I’ll show you what makes the grill so special, along with its best features, weak points and how it compares particularly well to other similar smokers .
In the meantime, check out the prices on Amazon here.
What is a Pellet Grill?
As the name suggests, pellet grills and smokers use wood pellets as a fuel source. What makes this grilling approach unique is that the wood pellets can be cooked at higher temperatures while allowing their flavor to infuse into the meat. With certain types of wood such as oak, hickory or maple, this even goes a step further.
The Traeger brand is at the forefront of the pellet movement and has proven they know what they’re doing with special edition grills like the Traeger Silverton.
Specifications
- LED digital controller for easy reading of internal grill temperature
- Hopper cleaning drawer for easy emptying and refilling of wood pellets
- EZ-Drain system to drain grease, keeping both the grill and patio clean
- 380 square inch cooking area
- Compatible with the Savannah Stoker Controller
Robust Build
A good sign of a good grill is how strong and sturdy it is. It might be tempting to think this is more for your peace of mind, but there’s actually a practical reason for making that assumption: strong, sturdy grills are often well insulated, meaning the grill temperature stays consistent and warm without the risk of over-ventilation can.
Proper insulation is at the heart of the design of this grill, with its 16-gauge powder-coated cold-rolled steel. It retains heat perfectly and provides a stable cooking environment for your food.
Pellet grills are particularly strong at indirect grilling, making them a great option for methods other than grilling, like baking, roasting, and smoking. Its construction helps retain heat nicely, making it perfect for indirect grilling.
Easy Fuelling and Airing.
One of the aspects of cooking with wood pellets is that unlike a charcoal or gas grill, the grill needs to be fueled regularly. This is especially true if you are grilling or cooking for a long time.
On some models, this can be a significant pain point for users, but this grill’s funnel clean-out drawer makes refueling really easy. You can remove the granules during cooking and replace them with new ones to keep the grill going.
Performance
A major disadvantage of many grills, particularly the charcoal and wood-fired varieties, is that heat distribution can sometimes be poor, resulting in uneven cooking of food. Not so with the Renegade Elite.
The grill’s auto-ignition ensures fast and efficient operation, while its convection fan circulates hot air fully and evenly throughout the drum while grilling. That means no hot or cold spots on the grill, just constant, even heat. In addition, due to the heat circulation inside the drum, there is no need to turn the meat.
It also comes equipped with a digital temperature controller that allows you to monitor and control the internal temperature of the grill. Controlling the temperature is really hard to master with the grill, so for relative beginners this is a very welcome feature.
As an added measure, it features porcelain-coated grates to distribute heat evenly across the grilling surface. An additional advantage of porcelain grates is that they do not rust and are very easy to clean.
Grease Draining
For those of you who are unfamiliar with grilling, I’ll let you in on a dirty secret: grilling is dirty.
Ash can fly everywhere, burnt food gets stuck on grates and grease finds its way into every crevice, crevice and crevice inside the grill drum. Many barbecue grills, especially charcoal models, do not have an automatic cleaning option, resulting in a tedious cleaning after each use.
Thankfully, that’s not the case with the Traeger Renegade Elite. It comes with its EZ-Drain grease system that helps drain excess grease from the grill during grilling. This is done in a small bucket that is attached to the side of the drum, not only cleaning the inside of the drum but also preventing it from spilling onto your patio.
Wooden Fuel
Wood grilling might be less revered than charcoal and gas cooking, but I’d say that’s unfair. Cooking with wood pellets actually offers a lot of versatility and possibly more than any other form of grilling.
Wood pellet grills like this not only give you the opportunity to experiment with cooking methods like grilling and smoking, but the fuel itself gives you the opportunity to play with different types of wood to get different flavor profiles
Various wood pellet options include (but are definitely not limited to) oak, maple, mesquite, and walnut. The aromas of the wood you have selected add flavor to the meat as it cooks. Different woods go well with different types of food for best results . For example:
- The soft, subtle taste of oak’s goes perfectly with fish or beef.
- Maple gives off sweet notes (no wonder it goes in syrup!) that pair well with pork, beef, or turkey.
- Pecan goes well with pork and beef.
- Mesquite provides crunch and spiciness that goes well with fish, chicken, or beef.
- Alder gives it a nice, slightly earthy flavor that goes well with all meats, especially chicken, lamb and pork.
Additional Characteristics
While grills are primarily cooking vessels, it’s always nice to have a few extra features to enhance the grilling experience. This Traeger grill comes with a few extra bonuses to make your grilling time easier.
It comes with a magnetic tool holder. If you’re clumsy and forgetful like me and lose tools all the time, this should make your life easier. The built-in caddy shelf keeps tools and sauces close by, while the magnetic hooks ensure your essentials are always close by.
It is also equipped with heavy-duty casters that help keep the grill stable while grilling without making it difficult to remove.
Criticism
It’s time to be picky. Overall, this is a heated grill, but it’s missing a few things.
One IS the lack of a shelf at the bottom. While this might seem like a minor inconvenience, many competing grills come with one, so it feels like something that’s fairly industrial practice. It feels like a missed opportunity.
A real limiting factor is also the lack of barbecue facilities. While this grill offers incredible versatility with the different cooking methods, the fact that you can’t brown it is a shame. So if you intend to grill foods like steaks where a good sear is essential, then I would recommend looking at gas or charcoal models instead. I have written a complete guide to the different types of grills which you can find here.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Ultimately, your decision will come down to how you weigh the pros and cons, so I’ve done my best to list them below to help you decide.
Advantages
- Considering the incredible versatility this grill offers you, it’s an excellent value.
- The other EZ-Clean grease system makes cleaning up afterwards much less of a hassle than grills.
- Tool and prep shelf helps keep everything organized and within reach
- Grilling abilities help ensure meat cooks nicely
- The versatility of cooking means you can grill, braise, smoke, roast and even bake
- No childcare required – you can effectively set and forget during your cooking time
- Wood pellets offer an opportunity to experiment with flavor profiles and are much more environmentally friendly than charcoal options
- The inside of the grill is easy to clean as wood pellet ash is much less messy to clean than charcoal.
Disadvantages
- It is a pity that there is no possibility to sear.
- Despite temperature control, there can sometimes be fluctuations in heat when cooking (although there are workarounds to get the smoke out of your Traeger )
- Wood pellets need to be bought regularly.
- The user manual is a little confusing on how to use the granules exactly, so it recommends a bit of user research pages.
A You
Have you had any experience with this Traeger grill? How good are you at grilling wood pellets? Let us know in the comments below!
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
