Traeger unveils their newest line of grills, and we get our hands on the Traeger Pro 575.
I don't often put myself in the category of a chef. I know that is hard to believe, especially for my wife. My skills in the kitchen usually ended somewhere around 90 seconds or however long most things take to cook in the microwave.
Grilling was often just a term I change out with "burned again," and "smoking" had never been used to describe a cooking method of mine.
That all changed about a year ago.
I first started using a Traeger Grill last year when I got my Traeger Pro 34 and my neighbor got his Traeger Pro 22. We loved the Traeger Pro series and fell in love with the idea of a pellet grill altogether.
Having a wood pellet grill allows me to smoke, grill, bake, roast, braise, and barbecue just about everything, all with one grill. Outdoor cooking in both the summer and winter months has never been the same since.
The New Traeger Pro 575
If you own a Traeger Pro Series, you truly think that when it comes to food, it couldn't get any better. That is until they just dropped the new Traeger Pro 575.
At first, it looks much like the Pro 22 or the Timberline 850 model, but you can see the hopper and smokestack have swapped locations in this particular grill. It also added some new features, never seen before in the Pro series.
The Traeger Pro 575 is built to last and makes cooking simple. The fan operates at variable speeds and stokes the fire while simultaneously circulating the smoke and heat around your food, allowing full wood and smoke flavor for your food and yes, even beverages.
So what's new?
Since this is a Pro Series grill, you will notice the digital pro controller, or Pro D2 Controller, that offers some advanced grilling logic. Under the hood is a larger cooking capacity that's been updated to a DC powered, brushless motor system. The unique precision design now allows the auger and the fan to run simultaneously on the Pro 575, allowing your grill to get hot faster.
Another addition to the new Pro Series is the Traeger WiFire app. WiFire allows you access to your grill from your phone after connecting to your home WiFi network, and you can access your grill from anywhere, whether it's an interior room in your house, or across town while you run an errand. As long as your wireless device has cellular service, your pellet grill is within reach.
Not only can you control the set temperature of your grill, but you can see the internal temperature of what you are cooking using the probes. WiFire allows for temperature control and will also notify you when your hardwood pellets are low.
Traeger Pro 575 vs Pro 22
One noticeable difference between the 575 and the 22 is the start up time.
The older Pro Series Traeger grills require you to start the grill and wait for it to warm for about 10-15 minutes. Once the initial warm-up process is complete, you can set your time to the temperature you desire, up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
The new Traeger Pro 575 simply allows you to set the temperature from the beginning, and it goes through its very own warm-up process, saving you from the previous two-step initiation.
Testing them both side by side, the difference in time to reach max temperature didn't vary too much; the Pro 575 took less than 12 minutes to reach 450 degrees. The Pro 22, after a ten minute warm up, took an additional seven minutes to reach the top temperature of 450 degrees, a difference of five minutes.
I also let some heat escape by lifting the lids on both Traegers, and the new Pro 575 recovered in a much greater time. I dropped the temperature down to 200 degrees on the Pro 575, and down to 218 degrees on the Pro 22. Once I closed the lids, it took only six minutes to bring the Pro 575 back to 450 degrees, and (although it started 18 degrees higher) it took 11 minutes for the Pro 22 to recover back to max temperature.
Would this alone be enough to upgrade from the Pro 22 to the new Pro 575? Personally, for me, it's not a big enough difference maker. However, when I look at the package overall, I love the idea of having the capability of walking away from my grill and being able to monitor the temperature from my phone.
Not only can I monitor the temperature, but being able to control the grill from wherever I am (including shutting the grill down completely) is something I truly love. I am constantly on the go, and even though I love my grilling and smoking days, the thought of smoking a beef brisket or pork shoulder if far better. Knowing I can monitor my meat remotely makes the Pro 575 quite the amazing piece of cooking mastery.
When it's time for you to choose, going with a Traeger will make cooking from home more amazing than you thought possible.
Now when I turn my Traeger grill on, I like to refer to myself as a chef, and the wife is finding it tougher and tougher to argue. When I remove my grill cover, I own every square inch of my Traeger, and use the recipes available online and through their app to make some great tasting dinners, lunches, snacks, and even adult beverages.
You can't go wrong getting your family a Traeger, and the new Traeger Pro 575 pellet grill might just make you never want to go out to dinner again.
NEXT: THE ULTIMATE WILD GAME NUTRITIONAL GUIDE
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