As someone who enjoys a lot of good food, there's something about smoked meat that's always enchanting. There are no shortcuts, just a lot of time and effort, and the scale required often means bringing friends and communities together to eat. You might think it's odd that someone from Portland would love barbecue so much, but you can thank our unique food culture. Oregon is mostly known for inventing fried foods like corn dogs and tater tots, honors I hold dear, but without a distinct cultural anchor, we're particularly open to other traditions. As a result, you're likely to find the best Texas-style barbecue outside of Texas floating in a deliciously spicy white curry, or pork belly burnt ends dripping with sticky gochujang. We also have a unique spot in the world of smoking appliances: Traeger and modern pellet smokers as we know them were invented in Oregon in the early 1980s, though the brand is now based in Salt Lake City. When the opportunity came along to review Traeger's...
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