A giant improve for the entry-level pellet grill

Grill corporations are taking a special strategy in 2025. As an alternative of refining premium good pellet fashions and including much more options, they’re aiming to offer a strong out of doors cooking expertise for much less cash than standard. Weber did so with the Smoque earlier this week and now Traeger is following swimsuit. With the Woodridge collection, Traeger presents an all-new look and simplified controls, and even essentially the most inexpensive choice is supplied with Wi-Fi connectivity. Plus, you may improve all of them with further equipment.

The common Woodridge is the most cost effective choice of the brand new trio. At $800, it’s the identical worth because the smallest Professional collection mannequin, the Professional 575, and $1,000 lower than the mid-range Ironwood grill. All the Woodridge collection has a novel design that differs from the pricier Timberline and Ironwood grills, and Traeger ditched the touchscreen for a simplified setup. However don’t let the worth idiot you, the corporate didn’t reduce many corners to maintain prices down. The Woodridge is a workhorse, and in some methods it’s higher to cook dinner on than Traeger’s dearer grills.

Design

The very first thing I seen in regards to the Woodridge is that Traeger removed the touchscreen controls. I don’t doubt that part was costly, and in my view it was pointless. As an alternative, there’s a easy set of buttons for timers, meals probes, ignition and menu. Subsequent to them is a multi-color show with giant numbers that make temperature, time and different stats straightforward to see, even from a distance. On the far proper of the panel, a single knob permits you to scroll by and alter temperature settings and extra.

Like different Traeger fashions, the controller is put in on the pellet hopper, which doubles as a small facet shelf. On the Woodridge, the hopper has a 24 pound capability, greater than sufficient for many low-and-slow smoke periods. These new grills even have Traeger’s Pop-And-Lock (PAL) rail system across the outdoors. These help you customise your grills with issues like cabinets, paper towel holders and condiment baskets. There’s additionally ample rack storage inbuilt, with spots to retailer each the longer prime rack and the smaller backside ones, too.

The Woodridge is essentially the most fundamental of the brand new grills, and it doesn’t have any type of shelf or cupboard beneath. As an alternative, there’s simply an X-shaped bracket that retains the legs cosy and tight. On the hopper finish, there are two wheels with rubber tread and two legs on the opposite. There’s no deal with to raise the grill to maneuver it, so it’s a must to use the side-mounted PAL rail. On the underbelly, you’ll get Traeger’s so-called EZ-Clear Grease & Ash Keg that collects all of the waste from the cook dinner chamber for simple removing.

Even the lid and cook dinner field on the Woodridge have a brand new form. The lid is flatter and appears extra like a fuel grill than the oval tops of the Timberline, Ironwood and Professional collection. You continue to get two ranges of grates inside overlaying 860 sq. inches of cooking space, however there’s much less vertical area to stack meals. Traeger redesigned the parts below the cooking floor too, putting in handles on the drip tray for simple removing and a canopy for the grease keg. The trail for grease is now extra enclosed, so errant embers ought to be much less of a priority.

General, I’m impressed with the construct high quality on the entry-level Woodridge. It could’ve been straightforward for Traeger to make use of low-cost supplies to scale back price, however the grill is sturdy and will final for years. The legs are rock strong and every part feels hefty and powerful, which is a welcome shock in comparison with different funds pleasant choices.

Cooking with the Woodridge

If you happen to’re in search of a simple pellet grill that will get the job achieved, the Woodridge is a superb choice. It isn’t loaded down with options you won’t use, however does every part from low-and-slow barbecue to high-heat searing with a temperature vary of 180-500 levels Fahrenheit. I sometimes use pellet grills for smoking, so most of my testing targeted on that, however I can vouch for the Woodridge’s skill to take care of temperatures of 500 (and barely above).

The Woodridge doesn’t have Traeger’s signature Tremendous Smoke mode, however the grill nonetheless imparts a number of smoke into your meals. I notably loved the layered taste on a double-smoked, glazed ham over the vacations. The convection air move contained in the cooking chamber strikes smoke round to blanket your meals with the nuance of the wooden pellets. Even at larger “smoking” temperatures of 300 levels and above, the grill was nonetheless producing important quantities of smoke.

A giant characteristic on the Woodridge is Traeger’s WiFire tech. This Wi-Fi connectivity sends important cooking stats to the corporate’s app in your cellphone, permitting you to maintain tabs on the method from anyplace. For the Woodridge, this implies you may see knowledge from wired or wi-fi meals probes, alter grill temperature, set timers, activate Hold Heat mode and shut down the grill in your cellphone. As all the time, the Traeger app has a wealth of recipes while you want some inspiration, full with steerage for newbies. The app is without doubt one of the greatest instruments on Traeger’s grills, so it’s good to see the core options from the software program can be found on this base mannequin.

Different Woodridge choices

The common Woodridge is the bottom mannequin within the new trio with the Woodridge Professional and the Woodridge Elite above it. The Professional has 970 sq. inches of cooking area, Tremendous Smoke mode, a folding facet shelf and a backside storage shelf. It additionally presents an upgraded controller with a pellet-monitoring sensor contained in the hopper. These upgrades price $200, because the Woodridge Professional is $1,000.

On the Woodridge Elite, you get a few of the greatest facets of Traeger’s most costly grills — the Timberline and Timberline XL. These conveniences embrace insulated development for higher warmth retention, a 1,100-watt infrared facet burner and an enclosed cupboard base. The additions come on prime of the 970-square-inch cooking space and different key specs from the Woodridge Professional. You’ll pay much more for this grill, although, because the Elite is $1,600. So, it’s a lot much less enticing than the opposite Woodridge choices.

The Woodridge, Woodridge Professional and Woodridge Elite have been simply introduced immediately, however the first two can be found now at Traeger’s web site or from retailers within the US and Canada.

Ultimate ideas on the Woodridge

After Traeger went much more premium with its Ironwood makeover in 2023, the corporate had a giant hole between its most inexpensive fashions and its dearer ones. The unique Ironwood was a pleasant bridge between the Professional collection and the Timberline, however all of these upgrades killed that worth proposition. The brand new Woodridge collection reclaims a few of that territory, and even the bottom trim provides you every part you’d need in a fundamental pellet grill. Actually, I’d argue it goes past that. The Woodridge and Woodridge Professional are huge upgrades in comparison with the Professional 575 and Professional 780.

Each time I exploit the Woodridge I’m amazed by the sturdy construct high quality Traeger delivered whereas holding the price down. The brand new look is actually a departure from the corporate’s different grills, so it’ll take some getting used to. However, while you’re utilizing it, that does not matter. I desire the brand new simplified controls to Traeger’s affinity for a touchscreen and the Woodridge carried out properly each time I cooked on it. If you happen to assume most of Traeger’s lineup is just too costly, and that the Professional collection has been round too lengthy to put money into one, the Woodridge could be best for you.