Occurring when temperatures are extremely high, searing is a cooking skill that shows great skill and mastery. Searing is the marking, charing, and branding of the surface of food using extreme heat.
While it refers to the process of burning a food’s surface, it is actually an excellent way to seal in natural flavors and create beautiful combinations.
The flavors produced from this highly technical skill are what leave your guests licking their plates clean.
Despite being a widely used skill, most people are under the impression you can’t sear on a Traeger grill. The fact you’re here would suggest you share these thoughts. This is something we beg to differ.
So much so, that we want to do everything we can to change perceptions.
Therefore, in this post, you’ll find everything you need to know about searing on a Traeger.
Let’s get straight to it, shall we!
Is It Possible To Sear On A Traeger?
To put it simply, yes, you absolutely can sear meat on a Traeger grill. In fact, Traeger grills are one of the best brands of grills to do it on.
It doesn’t matter which Traeger grill you own either.
As long as your Traeger grill is capable of reaching temperatures around 400° to 450° Fahrenheit, you can sear your meat, creating food that will impress all your friends and family in the process.
Whether you can successfully sear on a Traeger is another question. Searing is one of the more advanced cooking techniques, requiring high levels of experience and precision to get it right.
If you don’t have experience with searing, you could quite easily burn your meat.
No need to worry though, now you know you can sear on a Traeger we can start showing how it works and how to do it correctly.
How Searing On A Traeger Works?
If you want the best results in regard to searing on a Traeger, we recommend using one of the brand’s wood pellet grills.
Not only will your meat be given divine black marks, but it will also develop different flavors and textures compared to when you sear it using other methods.
The convection fan inside the Traeger wood-fired oven speeds up the searing process by up to 20%.
When the meat is placed on the hot grate, it begins to warm up, with the cold of the meat reflecting back onto the grill. This slows down the heating of each part of your meat that doesn’t touch the grate.
This is how the part of the meat touching the grate browns, forming the seared grill marks we all love.
This part of the meat will cook much faster than the rest of the meat, resulting in the meat having to be flipped.
How To Get The Perfect Sear?
Before we show you exactly how to sear your meat, we’d like to take you through some of the key things that affect how perfect your final sear will be.
To do this, we will now show you some of the most important things to do to get the best sear. Make sure you follow each of these things carefully.
Prepare Your Meat
The first thing to do before searing any piece of meat is to prepare it properly. When searing larger pieces of meat such as tenderloin, you should first trim the meat to remove excess fat.
You then need to try and get the surface of the meat as dry as possible. This can be done by blot drying the meat with paper towels.
If you plan on searing steak, you might also want to leave it overnight in the refrigerator first.
You can also salt the meat in order to dry it. After about an hour of soaking in salt, the meat should be a lot dryer.
Use The Right Amount Of Oil
A lot of cooks use oil to add flavor, whilst others use it during cooking. Either way, you have to be careful not to overdo it with the oil. Going overboard with the oil can lead to it sticking to your grates.
This can make it more difficult to flip the meat and also increase the time it takes for the meat to brown. By using less oil and by giving the meat time to brown, you’ll end up with a better sear.
Use The Right Temperature
For the best sear, you need to do everything in your power to use the right temperature. Ideally, you should preheat your grill to 500°F. If that isn’t achievable, set your grill to 425° or 450°
General Searing Tips
Here are some extra, more general tips that will ensure you sear your meat successfully.
- Clean your grill – regularly cleaning your grill will prevent any sticking.
- Use cast-iron grates – Investing in a cast iron grate will increase temperatures.
- Don’t touch the meat – Only flip your meat when it’s time to flip. This will keep the meat nice and juicy.
- Gently place meat – Gently place your meat on the grate for 3 to 5 minutes.
How To Sear Meat On A Traeger?
Now you know everything you need to know about searing meat on a Traeger, let us show you the step by step of doing so.
Follow the below instructions to sear meat on a Traeger grill.
1. Prepare your meat by trimming it and drying it off.
2. Add your favorite spices and flavorings to give the meat plenty of flavor. You should at least add salt and pepper.
3. Preheat the grill to 500°F.
4. Carefully place your meat on the grill grate.
5. Sear the meat for 3 to 5 minutes before flipping it over.
6. Wait for another 3 to 5 minutes.
7. If necessary, sear the ends of the meat by carefully pressing the meat against the grill using a pair of tongs.
8. Finish cooking the meat by letting it sit on a cooler part of the grill.
9. Take your meat off the grill, cut it, and enjoy.
Final Thoughts
As you can see from this post, you can sear using a Traeger grill.
While it may be a technical skill and one seen as a sign of mastery, by using the correct techniques, preparing your meat correctly, using the correct grill settings, and by following a simple, yet effective process, searing meat on a Traeger isn’t all that difficult.
In fact, with practice and care, anybody can learn to do it.
Now you know you can sear on a Traeger and understand what it takes to do it successfully, why don’t you get the grill fired up and give it a try for yourself.
We’re sure you won’t be disappointed.
