Help me choose a smoker/grill

[fredridge]

My propane barbecue is almost dead and I would like to replace with a smoker/grill.
So many choices I'm a little lost.

I'm currently leaning toward the RecTeq B380, but I'm open. I looked at the Campchef woodwind 24" when they were $500 and regret not buying it.

Needs/wants

Just the wife and I with the occasional guest. So doesn't need to be big, but I'm open to a pellet/charcoal and propane combo.

I want to smoke and grill so 200-500 temp

Easy to keep clean and use

a bonus if it's easy to move, but

not sure what else is important.

I'm thinking of under $700 but the cheaper the better.

if you see any good sales link them please

thanks

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[Alexx1401]

RecTeq, The damn automated smokers are not as fast as a grill for most things but DAMN the food is amazing and easy. Have an older Treager that when it dies will get a RecTeq. The guy who started mine moved on to those and made some improvements. The main thing is they are so damn easy to use. Even bacon. I never thought you could improve bacon. I was wrong. Bacon cooked on one of the pellet grills is to die for. Wife often puts a whole chicken in one. When done they are so damn good. It's all so simple too.

 

[bionic knees]

according to the rec teq website the b380 you mentioned is on sale as a package deal. you get the grill, 120 lbs. pellets, a 20-quart cooler, and 4 koozies for $599

 

[fredridge]

Yep, that is what I was thinking of getting

also right now looks at the cuisinart twin oaks dual that's gas and pellet. Each side is small, but would work for us.

 

[ORhutner]

Buy once, cry once. Started with a cheap pellet smoker and loved it so much I wanted additional features and a nicer unit. Wish I would have stepped up and bought a quality unit from the start. I went with a Memphis Grill for the double insulation for better heat retention (less pellet consumption) but they have since outsourced production to China and quality has been severely reduced. If I was in the market right now I would be looking hard at an Oregon company https://makgrills.com/ or Yoder another USA made well regarded unit: https://www.yodersmokers.com/

 

[bionic knees]

Buy once, cry once. Started with a cheap pellet smoker and loved it so much I wanted additional features and a nicer unit. Wish I would have stepped up and bought a quality unit from the start. I went with a Memphis Grill for the double insulation for better heat retention (less pellet consumption) but they have since outsourced production to China and quality has been severely reduced. If I was in the market right now I would be looking hard at an Oregon company https://makgrills.com/ or Yoder another USA made well regarded unit: https://www.yodersmokers.com/

yikes! I thought Traegers were spendy!

 

[fredridge]

I agree with the sentiment, but I don't have a firstborn to give up for one of those.

My last grill I paid like $600 from Costco and lasted me 12+ years.

This one is probably going to be a little more exposed and spending $2200 for the small one is a little out of my realm.

I'm thinking Sig Sauer not STI

Buy once, cry once. Started with a cheap pellet smoker and loved it so much I wanted additional features and a nicer unit. Wish I would have stepped up and bought a quality unit from the start. I went with a Memphis Grill for the double insulation for better heat retention (less pellet consumption) but they have since outsourced production to China and quality has been severely reduced. If I was in the market right now I would be looking hard at an Oregon company https://makgrills.com/ or Yoder another USA made well regarded unit: https://www.yodersmokers.com/

 

[STUKA]

I've had a couple of Traegers, sold them off after having girlfriends who didn't like to cook.
(How's that for some misogyny?!)

Current GF loves to cook, so we bought a $450 Pit Boss, and it's every bit as good as a Traeger.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

I have a Traeger and named it "The Magic Meat Machine "

 

[monks]

Don't get a green mountain. It took forever for me to make mine cook correctly. That being said I'm going to venture out on a limb and say I wouldn't replace a gas grill with a pellet smoker. I ended up buying another gas grill after I did the same thing you did. It was like having a rifle for pistol work or vice versa. The gas grill works best for burgers, dogs and steaks, especially when you don't have all night for the pellet grill to get up to temp. The pellet grill is great though for prime rib, brisket and pulled pork.

 

[chukar]

Buy once, cry once. Started with a cheap pellet smoker and loved it so much I wanted additional features and a nicer unit. Wish I would have stepped up and bought a quality unit from the start. I went with a Memphis Grill for the double insulation for better heat retention (less pellet consumption) but they have since outsourced production to China and quality has been severely reduced. If I was in the market right now I would be looking hard at an Oregon company https://makgrills.com/ or Yoder another USA made well regarded unit: https://www.yodersmokers.com/

Have a MAK and love it. It is bullet proof and cooks like a champ. I considered it an investment.

It sits outside, exposed in all seasons.

 

[BBQ Guy]

Rectec or since they had to change it, Recteq.

I can control temps at the office. Football field. Soccer field. Grocery store.

When my life settles down and I have time, I will go back to a stick burner.

 

[pdxjimbo]

Barrel smoker and grill... No mechanical or electrical components to break and some of the best tasting smoked and grilled meats friends and family said they have had.

Barrel Smoker & Charcoal Grills | Pit Barrel® Cooker Co.

We have created the versatile Pit Barrel Cooker as the original vertical drum smoker and charcoal grill. Get your barrel smoker and charcoal grill today.

pitbarrelcooker.com

 

[Alexx1401]

Don't get a green mountain. It took forever for me to make mine cook correctly. That being said I'm going to venture out on a limb and say I wouldn't replace a gas grill with a pellet smoker. I ended up buying another gas grill after I did the same thing you did. It was like having a rifle for pistol work or vice versa. The gas grill works best for burgers, dogs and steaks, especially when you don't have all night for the pellet grill to get up to temp. The pellet grill is great though for prime rib, brisket and pulled pork.

This is why we long ago bought a cheap propane grill made to take and go. It just stays set up but its small enough to fold up and toss in the car. Wife bought a nice little outdoor table for it to sit on. Bought a hose to hook it to the little exchange tanks that last a hell of a long time with it. When I want a burger or two its perfect. Now if I was having several over for a feed it would not work but for empty nester's like us its perfect. Have the smoker for when we want to make something really good, gas grill for the quick burger or dogs. Burgers are great on the smokers but as mentioned it does take a while to make one. So if its a quick meal the gas grill is just as fast as the pan and still tastes a LOT better.

 

[Alexx1401]

Don't get a green mountain. It took forever for me to make mine cook correctly. That being said I'm going to venture out on a limb and say I wouldn't replace a gas grill with a pellet smoker. I ended up buying another gas grill after I did the same thing you did. It was like having a rifle for pistol work or vice versa. The gas grill works best for burgers, dogs and steaks, especially when you don't have all night for the pellet grill to get up to temp. The pellet grill is great though for prime rib, brisket and pulled pork.

This is why we long ago bought a cheap propane grill made to take and go. It just stays set up but its small enough to fold up and toss in the car. Wife bought a nice little outdoor table for it to sit on. Bought a hose to hook it to the little exchange tanks that last a hell of a long time with it. When I want a burger or two its perfect. Now if I was having several over for a feed it would not work but for empty nester's like us its perfect. Have the smoker for when we want to make something really good, gas grill for the quick burger or dogs. Burgers are great on the smokers but as mentioned it does take a while to make one. So if its a quick meal the gas grill is just as fast as the pan and still tastes a LOT better.

 

[bionic knees]

I use a Traeger and old-school Weber charcoal grill. will never own another gas grill.

 

[Hawaiian]

I use a Weber Genesis for grilling and a Weber Smokey Mountain for smoking. This set up works well for me.

 

[Jasonanddeonna]

This one by Camp Chef. After MANY HOURS/WEEKS of research, I bought this for $800 when it was the flagship model, and now around $500 with improvements:

DLX 24 Pellet Grill - Black

Say goodbye to the world of guesswork and hours over a BBQ pit—the DLX Pellet Grill brings you an easy, reliable smoke, every time. The newly added Gen 2 controller is easy to use and introduces Smoke Control + PID technology. Tailor the amount of smoke your meal gets by adjusting your Smoke...

www.campchef.com

You will not be disappointed and warranty service is great (replaced two thermometers).

In just over 3 years:

- At least 5 full packer brisket (around 25 lbs. each)
- Jerky (around 75 lbs. or more)
- At least 4 smoke salmon (around 5 lbs. each fillet)
- 3 pork butts (around 8 lbs. each)
- 6 pork belly (around 8 lbs. each); Done like candied burnt ends (Meat candy FTW!)
- 8 10" individually made pizzas (fire smoke and grilled pizza, Oh My Goodness!)
- At least 5 London Broil Cut Round Steak (around 3 lbs. each)
- At least 5 Tri Tips (around 3 lbs. each)
- 1 chicken
- Countless porkchops, burgers, steaks, corn on the cob, pineapple

Biggest learning curve is learning to cook to temperature, not by time, based on what you want.

 

[Member 34319]

Pellet grills are not grills. They don't cook like gas or charcoal grills. They are more of a smoker than a grill in my opinion. At that, smoke only penetrates most meats for the first hour or two of cooking, after that they are a really expensive oven. I learned that I could smoke a brisket or two for 1-2 hours in the Camp Chef I owned, and finish it in the oven for the remainder 8-12 hours. The brisket would taste exactly the same as when I used to cook it entirely in the smoker, wasting a ton of pellets.

If you normally cook steaks, chicken, etc. I say stick with charcoal or LP.

If you normally smoke foods, a lot, buy pellet grill.

Ive tried "grilling" on multiple brands (Traeger, Camp Chef, Green Mtn) and in my opinion they suck at cooking steaks the way I like a steak cooked. IE seared good and medium rare on the inside. They do however, hold low temps really good while pumping out high amounts of smoke. They don't do searing high temps well in my opinion, which I was disappointed with all the ones I've tried with.

Ive had a stainless steel forge master from Lowe's for over a decade. Great grill. Recently replaced all of the internals.

Metallurgy, what causes this?

My grill is old, beat up and at least 10 years old. The stainless grill bars are starting to split? What would cause this?

www.northwestfirearms.com

However, pellet grills do make great smoked yummies.If you do stick with a pellet smoker, I'd say get one with blue tooth so you can get alerts from the phone when meats are at temp etc, they didn't have those really when I got mine, would have been a nice feature. Another nice feature of new ones is the pellet hopper dump gate, so you can remove the unused pellets for cleaning or switching to different woods. They all sort of suck to clean if you smoke a lot and use sugar rubs or brines, they get sticky! Some say your not supposed to clean them? There are smaller pellet grills out there, which I've actually been interested in lately, as they don't take up a ton of room for smoking purposes as I'll never replace my LP grill with a pellet grill.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

If you even remotely like lamb a shoulder on the pellet smoker no matter the brand with Walkers wood seasoning is a life changing event ! I also enjoy doing cobbler and pies on the pellet grill they come out amazing do some peaches and top with vanilla ice cream serve hot and you can be a SUPERHERO.