(Virtually) Hands-Free Pellet Grilling Under $800: Traeger Woodridge Review

I’ve been smoking meat on a Traeger for about 8 years, and I’ve cooked some delicious meals. But technology has changed vastly since I received my old-school pellet grill. So, I jumped at the opportunity to do a Traeger Woodridge review. Launching today, the Woodridge line packs modern technology into a pellet grill that starts at $799.

In a world of high inflation, the new Woodridge costs less than my non-Wi-Fi Traeger Pro Series 34 did in 2017. But how would this new Traeger perform? Could it replace my grill that’s cooked hundreds of fantastic meals, from steaks to veggies to brisket? I was ready to find out.

In short: The Traeger Woodridge is a cook’s pellet grill at a value price. The Woodridge line (including the Woodridge, Woodridge Pro, and Woodridge Elite) maintains many of the capabilities of Traeger’s premium models but costs $1,000 less. It gets hot fast, maintains steady temperatures, and offers easy cleaning. Wi-Fi control allows cooks to control long smokes from anywhere. And it gets hot enough for a good sear.

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Traeger Woodridge Assembly

The pre-release Traeger Woodridge arrived on a pallet the day after New Year’s Day. As expected, it weighed about 200 pounds, and I had to enlist the help of an office mate to load it into my truck. But I got it home in one piece and got to work on assembly.

For most users, this is where you’ll begin your journey. Expect a large box, good instructions, some heavy lifting, and a six-pack. I did the assembly alone, but I would highly recommend a buddy. It’ll be faster, more fun, and so much easier.

Traeger says you can assemble the Woodridge in about 90 minutes. I consider myself pretty handy, and it took me a solid 3 hours alone. It wasn’t bad, but be warned: There are a lot of screws.

Make sure you have a lot of space, some patience, and time. Follow the well-written instructions. I used a power drill dialed way down on its power to speed the process. If you do, be cautious not to strip the bolts. It worked for me.

Long story short, 3 hours later, the grill was ready to fire up for seasoning.

Traeger Woodridge Review

First, here is a little context about my grilling and smoking. I love to cook, but I’m not a chef. I cook for passion and fun, and I love trying new recipes.

Historically, I use the Traeger mostly for slow cooking and smoking meat — think brisket, smoked salmon, or even goose pastrami. I cook a lot of wild game and often braise meats like elk shanks for many hours to tenderize tough cuts.

So, the Traeger is one of several tools in my cooking arsenal. I also have a small Green Egg komodo grill, which I usually use for hotter grilling. And this brings me to one of the first tests for the Woodridge: Could it get hot enough? My old Traeger really struggled to get above 400 degrees.

I fired up the Woodridge and set the temp to 500 degrees. Let’s see what this shiny new contraption could do.

Good news. After about 20 minutes, the Woodridge was pegged at 500 degrees. That is plenty hot enough to sear a steak or cook burgers quickly. And it’s vastly hotter than my old Traeger ever reached. It’s also worth noting that the ambient temperature was only about 20 degrees Fahrenheit when I did this test. Color me impressed.

I dropped the temp down to 375 for my first cook and threw on some buffalo wings, following Traeger’s recipe. No surprise here; they turned out delicious.

Second Cook in the Traeger Woodridge

For my second cook, I decided to lean into the smoke and low-slow cooking of a pot roast. And in this case, I cooked a venison round steak left over from the 2023 season.

Firing up the grill, I brought it to 180 degrees and got some smoke rolling. Here, it would have been nice to upgrade to the Woodridge Pro for its “super smoke” mode, but I made do with the base model at low temp to see what would happen.

About 90 minutes later, I had a nice deep red smoked appearance on the outside of the meat. The smoker was indeed doing its job.

To complete this recipe, I pushed the temperature to 275 degrees and loaded the meat into a Dutch oven with potatoes, carrots, onions, wine, broth, and spices. I covered it, shut the lid, and went to the office.

From there, I could monitor the temperature while I took meetings for a couple of hours. I even pulled up my Ring camera a couple of times to make sure everything was safe and sound in my yard while the grill was cooking. Technology really is a wonder sometimes.

What was the verdict? Delicious.

Who Should Buy It?

Based on this early testing, I think the Traeger Woodridge is a success. It gets hotter, faster than my old smoker. It seems to be much easier to clean. I love the intuitive settings and ability to use a Wi-Fi-based app to monitor my cooking from anywhere.

I haven’t used it enough yet to need to give it a full cleaning, but I will update this review after another dozen or so cooks to provide the best information I can for those shopping for grills.

I suspect cleaning will be much improved. My old Traeger Pro Series 34 had a bucket that hung on the side to collect grease. I accidentally dumped it and its contents no fewer than five times since I’ve owned it. Nasty. It also required me to vacuum out the internal combustion area every couple of months, which was a major pain.

I hope the Woodridge is an improvement and suspect it will be.

The Woodridge has one other neat capability, which the brand calls its “Pop-And-Lock,” or P.A.L., system. This allows you to very easily add accessories like shelving. I added a front shelf with the system, and it really is slick.

I also like the price. Compared with other models, the Traeger Woodridge is relatively affordable. The base model retails for $799, and the Pro model — adding more space and a Super Smoke mode — costs $999. The Elite model comes at a more premium price of $1,599 but adds insulation to the body and a 1,100W infrared side burner.

An educated guess says the base Woodridge and Woodridge Pro models will dominate sales, catering to those who want premium capabilities at a reasonable price. It’s still early in my testing, but I already like the Woodridge’s performance more than my old model. The ability to reach 500 degrees, Wi-Fi control, and simplified cleaning are major improvements that will make this a much more versatile and user-friendly grill.

For those looking for a pellet grill capable of everything from long, slow cooks to blazing hot sears, the Traeger Woodridge offers a compelling choice. It has most of the features of higher-end models at a price that leaves room for groceries.