Traeger Ironwood XL Review After Three Months of Ownership

This is hands down the best review of this smoker on YouTube. A thinking mans review, real world.

Thanks for the vid. Was useful! Just got my smoker over the weekend. A Century 885, it was a Costco model. Resembles the 885 model slightly different. I literally did 2 back to back long cooks beef short ribs followed by an overnight brisket. Experience was great now I’m itching for this IW XL love the ash tray/cup idea. Good thing I got my Traeger at Costco. Going to wait and see what the holiday sales bring. Thanks again.

Thank you for this review. Your insights helped me in my purchase for one and my Ironwood was delivered last week. Have already done 3 cooks on it in 5 days, and the convenience factor, especially during a busy work week, cannot be beat! I love my charcoal grill for steaks and stuff when I feel like burning time (no pun intended) setting up the coals, getting it ready, and enjoying fire management, etc. But, when life needs to be lived and other things need to happen, setting the temp, checking in on the app, and basically having tasty food ready in a few hours, that’s incredible! My wife and I joke this is our outdoor crockpot. This is my first pellet cooker and I am definitely a fan!

Just got one a few weeks ago and absolutely love everything about it. It doesn’t have the temp swings that my old Traeger had, and recovers quickly from opening the lid to check things.

Thanks for your video. Looking around I didn't see that it connected to the meater probes big + for me. Thank you for the info.

I use any oak or hickory pellet as fuel for heat and then I put a 6” x 6 “ steel plate on my bottom rack , I put 2 chunks of hickory or post oak on it , light it like charcoal with the lid open , let it burn for about 5-10 minutes and then blow it out. I can get a few hours of clean blue smoke coming off it. I will add another chunk whenever I spritz, hit it with the butane again , blow it out. I used a pellet tube for a while and it doesn’t work. You are just getting more of the pellet smoke which can be bitter. I then tried wood chips in a pellet tube but that was a PIA to fill with the different shapes of the chips. Diamond King makes great smoker boxes for use inside traegers. I use the lid off my 6” X 6” Diamond King as the steel plate . Here is a great tick to make your neighborhood jealous. Take an onion, chop it in half and throw it on top of the hot wood chunks in your Diamond King smoke box. Your neighborhood will love you.

Awesome video. Thanks

My man, this is the review I needed before purchasing, my main concern was will it put out more smoke than my IW 885 I have now and it sure does as you show. Thank my brother, going to get one this next weekend ! Thanks for the great review !

Thanks for the info on the Meater probes. I thought I would have to buy new ones for them to connect to it.

Regarding touch screen in winter. We just had a cold snap here in Alberta, got to -40C. Used it in about -10C, worked just fine.

I think you can run your temperature probe through the side of the grill (there is a dedicated access point) to prevent pinching the cord under the lid.

Thank you for your review. I bought this model a few months ago. Everything you’re talking about I have found true with my XL. The one issue that I have that has been really disappointing is the temperature sensor. For some reason I have to make the grill 25 degrees hotter than what I want to cook on (a cook that is 200, I need to set to 225). Have you had any issues with what the display is saying versus what the ambient temperature of the grill is? I called customer support and they said that a 25 degree shift is normal, but I find that if I don’t do the increased temperature (especially at lower temps.) the food takes a lot longer or doesn’t turn out as well. It could be a “me” thing so happy to take any constructive feedback. Everything else about this XL from the double insulation to the ease of clean out to the amount of smoke this beast puts out is really awesome.

Good review. Looking to get either the Ironwood xl or Timberline 1300 which Ace Hardware dropped the price $600

Great review. Do you know if the shelf on the left side can either not be installed or removed?

Great review thx! Think about to get rid of my WSM an get this grill instead. How do you like the smoke flavour on the ironwood xl? Is it strong? I never had a pellet before.

Awesome video! When you first got yours, did it take a while to preheat? If so did it get faster over time? Any feedback is appreciated!!!

Sold my LSG Pellet grill about 3-4 months after I received it and now find myself looking more at the new Traegers

Hey bro, good review! So how long does it take you to go from cold start to 350?

It looks like the design would keep most of the ash away from the food. Are you seeing that compared to other pellet smokers you’ve owned?

Does this grill have a pellet dump to change pellet flavor?