Let’s talk Pellet Grills/Smokers

[01rednavigator]

I have always grilled/barbecued on a Weber Natural gas grill. I had some brisket last year that my Neighbor did on his Traeger, I had never had anything cooked on a pellet grill and it was delicious.

Ever since then I have wanted to get a Pellet Grill/Smoker.

My mind automatically went to Traeger but after research and looking at them it seems the build quality is lacking.

I just want a small Pellet Grill to start out with. I have looked at the Traeger Tailgater and the Pit boss 340.

The pit boss is $100-150 cheaper than the Traeger and it seems way more heavier and better built. I also work where I can get a discount on the Pit Boss.

So anyone that has a pellet grill/smoker what would you recommend?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pit-Boss...te-Camp-Pellet-Grill-w-Folding-Legs/374371411


Tailgater Pellet Grill - Blue

Read More

 

[Stomper]

Green Mountain Grills

Davy Crockett..... you can run it on 110vac or 12vdc from your cars cigarette lighter.

Davy Crockett - Green Mountain Grills


You can get them at Coastal Farm & Supply.

 

[eightyeight mag]

Love my Daniel Boone green mountain grill.

 

[DirectDrive]

The Pit Boss from Wally World is getting a good reputation.
I have two friends that love theirs.

It's good to step away from grilling everything like 90% of Americans and learn Low 'n Slow cookery.
It will be a milestone in your cooking career.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Thickness of the steel is everything. Holds temp and gets hotter. Also. The onboard computer/controller is key.
Hopper size also.
Treager are garage. But they work good.
I have a sawtooth. It's about $1,300, but it's nice. MAK grills out of Dallas Oregon are high end. But there like $3,000.
Get one that can achieve 600 degrees for normal bbq.
If it's cold in your hometown in the winter, the trager will not work. Can't achieve and hold temp.

 

[Used To Hunt]

I have had a Traeger for about 7 years and would strongly recommend you find a DIFFERENT brand. It has never been exposed to the elements but the finish started peeling back and rusting after the first year. I was also upset when I discovered that they are made overseas. Why did I pay so much for an import? I will give it credit in the function category but would not reccomend to a friend.

 

[01rednavigator]

Green Mountain Grills

Davy Crockett..... you can run it on 110vac or 12vdc from your cars cigarette lighter.

Davy Crockett - Green Mountain Grills


You can get them at Coastal Farm & Supply.

I have been considering the Davy Crocket but it is on the small side compared the Pit Boss.

I also don't care for the Leg design in the Davy Crocket, I want something with wheels so I can wheel it around my patio.

It does seem to get better reviews than the Pit Boss and I like the stainless lid.

 

[B5Ben]

I was also recently looking for one and Costco has a Louisiana box style I like. My wife doesn't care for Smokey flavor so it would just be me and hopefully the kids that would use/eat from it. I like the smaller footprint of the box style vs the barrel type. My buddy ended up giving me his old electric smoker after he got a traeger so I will try that out for a while. Looking to do my first pork butt this weekend. Hopefully it turns out well and earn some points with the wife

 

[LMT10mm]

I'm a charcoal guy and spent a lot of time researching and thinking smokers over. I ended up getting a Webber Smokey with a pit masteriq controller and therma pro temp probes... If you consider going this route, you won't be disappointed.

 

[Dwesson]

I have had a Traeger and currently have a Yoder YS640.

I got the Yoder as it has thicker steel plus some other benefits the Traeger did not have. If I were to do everything all over I would likely "buy once, cry once" and get either a Memphis Grill or MAK as mentioned above.

The newer Yoder's might be quite improved over my model but the main deficiencies were:

• The finish is terrible, mine began flaking off inside and rusting quickly. If you bring this up in any Yoder forum they defend it by saying they essentially designed it this way so it's easily fixed (sand and paint). Pretty telling to me...
• The wheels are horribly undersized for the smoker. I believe it weighs around 350lbs empty and the bubblegumty caster wheels work terribly. Fine if you never have to move but virtually unusable on anything but paved surfaces.
• The original heat deflector and burn grate that holds the pellets warped like crazy, to the point they sold a re-inforced burn grate replacement and heat deflector that I had to buy.
  
• The original position of the temp probe cord results in it getting smashed by the heat deflector when you take it in and out and can lead to early failure of the probe.

I have no experience with Green Mountain Grills directly but they seem like nice units. Like I said, if I were to do everything all over again I would spend the extra money and get something that is a little more bullet proof. If you want an alternative to the Green Mountain that is more in the same ballpark price wise checkout Louisiana-Grills

 

[AshWilliams]

Big Green Egg kamado with blower/thermostat, pit probe, and meat probe over natural lump charcoal.

I did a lot of research and ended up there. I've never looked back.

 

[Alexx1401]

Until a few years back I had never even heard of these. Father in Law gave us a Treager because he just wanted to make burgers and it was not fast enough. I was amazed at how good it makes food. Even bacon. I did not think it was possible to improve on bacon. Until I tried cooking some in one. Even bacon got better
Lot of them get far better reviews than ours but whichever one you buy it will make food great. The best part is they are like a crock pot. You turn them on and they do the cooking. VERY nice to have.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

cant go wrong with a traeger or green mountain. i love my traeger

 

[Joe13]

Charcoal or wood for me

All those automated things are crutches for people that can't BBQ right


(Really I'm just too cheap to spend the money on a pellet operated one)

 

[Dwesson]

Charcoal or wood for me

All those automated things are crutches for people that can't BBQ right


(Really I'm just too cheap to spend the money on a pellet operated one)

Truth be told a pellet grill won't impart the same level of smoke flavor that running some quality lump charcoal and some hunks of hickory or fruit wood in an offset. However, I don't have the palette to tell the difference, certainly not for things I traditionally have sauce with.

While "tending a fire" is a great reason to sit outside with beer in hand and have a cigar, it's also not very pleasant in the winter or when it's raining.

Being able to throw a pork shoulder on at midnight and go to bed then wrap it in a foil/towel into a cooler when I get up is pretty awesome and the potential flavor trade off is worth it in my opinion.

 

[Joe13]

Truth be told a pellet grill won't impart the same level of smoke flavor that running some quality lump charcoal and some hunks of hickory or fruit wood in an offset. However, I don't have the palette to tell the difference, certainly not for things I traditionally have sauce with.

While "tending a fire" is a great reason to sit outside with beer in hand and have a cigar, it's also not very pleasant in the winter or when it's raining.

Being able to throw a pork shoulder on at midnight and go to bed then wrap it in a foil/towel into a cooler when I get up is pretty awesome and the potential flavor trade off is worth it in my opinion.

I agree - I'm not that old but old enough that I'm not getting up at 1am to start a smoker and then check on it every 30 min for 11 hours or more.

Until my wife is done with school though my expendable income is very low so it's more guns or a pellet smoker...

I still don't have a pellet smoker

 

[Dwesson]

I agree - I'm not that old but old enough that I'm not getting up at 1am to start a smoker and then check on it every 30 min for 11 hours or more.

Until my wife is done with school though my expendable income is very low so it's more guns or a pellet smoker...

I still don't have a pellet smoker

Don't worry, a helpful politician will be along shortly to work on banning smokers since carbonized meat causes cancer and/or you'll have to buy carbon offsets to run it

 

[DirectDrive]

I was also recently looking for one and Costco has a Louisiana box style I like. My wife doesn't care for Smokey flavor so it would just be me and hopefully the kids that would use/eat from it. I like the smaller footprint of the box style vs the barrel type. My buddy ended up giving me his old electric smoker after he got a traeger so I will try that out for a while. Looking to do my first pork butt this weekend. Hopefully it turns out well and earn some points with the wife

I would get a new wife.

 

[DirectDrive]

I'm a charcoal guy and spent a lot of time researching and thinking smokers over. I ended up getting a Webber Smokey with a pit masteriq controller and therma pro temp probes... If you consider going this route, you won't be disappointed.

Weber Smokey Mountain
Not many people know about these and Weber doesn't market them heavily.
They are good enough to be used in BBQ competitons.
I have an 18.5" and it can smoke a lot of meat.
It will run 12 or 13 hours on one setup.

I use my Weber 22.5" kettle more than anything.
These will run for 5-6 hours once you learn how to set them up.
I am a reformed chucklehead that only knew how to grill on these.

Here's a shot of some Memphis Style ribs on my 22.5"




Learned from Malcolm Reed who has a deep BBQ site :HowToBBQRight-Barbecue Recipes
You will not need any other BBQ site to get easy and awesome recipes.

 

[LSWC]

Pit Barrel Cooker - The Original Vertical Smoker Barrel Cooker