Pellet grill advice, coming from a heavy duty wood grill

[rblnr]

Hi --

After 20 years of fantastic wood grilling and smoking on my beloved Englebrecht in NJ, moving to a place in CO where that grill won't be allowed because of wildfire concerns. Looking at pellet grills that allow for some direct searing as well. Thought I might go w/a Memphis built in, but the company seems in transition as are its products -- looking at MAK, LSG and Yoder (though lack of built in option may eliminate them) -- any advice appreciated. New to the pellet world -- thanks.

[RiverJeff]

Welcome with your first post from Nebraska! Look into Blaz'n Grill works out of Nebraska Lots of options. I have been happy with my Gridiron. Very dependable once adjusted with Brent heat will stay 5~8 degrees up or down.

[barelfly]

Welcome from south of you in the Land of Enchantment! Those LSG pellets look outstanding! But, I have no experience with them or the others.

here’s to finding what you want!

[jfmorris]

I can’t speak from experience but am paging glitchy as I know he has owned several of the grills you are talking about…

My personal advise would be to consider the pellet grill as a smoker and to pair it with a good gas grill for searing and other high heat grill duties. Most pellet grills that claim to sear have limited capability compared to a gas grill on high heat.

[rblnr]

Hey, thanks all for the advice and info! Much appreciated, and thanks for pinging glitchy.

Will def check out Blaz'n.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit.

Sorry, but I can't help with pellet grills.

[STEbbq]

The MAK, LSG, and Yoder options are really good ones to consider. I’d also consider the Grilla OG model, keep an eye on the upcoming Weber Searwood, and look at the Camp Chef Woodwind Pro with the new Smoke Box. It lets you add wood chunks. The Grilla OG has long been one of the “smokiest” pellet smokers and the Searwood is a new Weber offering and supposedly improves on the SmokeFire which offered outstanding searing capabilities.

[GolfGeezer]

+1 on these. I think you will not find many "built-in" options unless you go really high end. Twin Eagles and Coyote come to mind. I would avoid Memphis - they have really changed since moving production to China and new owners/management.

[Carolyn]

I am pretty sure I saw somebody asking about using the OG in an outdoor kitchen. Seems like there was a response that said the base can be removed, but the shape of the OG might look odd sitting in a built-in if it is even possible to do that.

[rblnr]

Will check them all out, thanks. Trying to navigate a new landscape here w/no direct experience.

[DavidNorcross]

You will get alot of options here and most are probably going to be very solid advice. Alot will depend on price point. For me, pound for pound considering, quality, service support and price, I choose Grilla Grills. I am a big fan.

[tstalafuse]

I live in Colorado and pellet grills aren't anymore welcome than your wood burner will be when it comes to wildfire and burn bans. Yes, pellet grills are treated just like wood or charcoal cookers. We go in and out of burn bans all during the summer because of high winds, low humidity, and drought. During Red/Orange Flag/burn ban days the only outdoor cookers that are allowed are electric or propane. So, don't feel that you need to buy a pellet grill unless of course MCS has struck and you want one.

Otherwise, welcome to Colorado.

[jfmorris]

What is crazy to me is that more fires seem to occur because of gas grills and grease fires, than are caused by charcoal grills or pellet grills.

[tstalafuse]

jfmorris According the national fire stats, 85% of all outdoor cooking fires are started by a grease fire. The difference is that grease fires spread by the fire actually catching some combustible by direct contact, which is why the allow them as long as there aren't any combustible materials within 10ft of the cooker. Whereas, wood/charcoal can send burning embers a long way from the cooker (mostly into the dry tender trees and underbrush).

[rblnr]

Good information, thanks.

[IdahoJim]

I have a Memphis Advantage pellet grill. It is an older model and I think was still made in the USA. It has been a mixed bag. It is a beautiful piece of stainless steel. It is a pretty solid smoker but not so great as a grill, like most pellet grills. It can get up to 650 degrees on the controller, but it tends to overshoot high temperatures. The controller also overheats at times when running at high temps.

It has a direct flame insert for doing things like searing steaks. It works pretty well, but using it is a pain. It is also only a small portion of the grill. You need to get the grill up to temp (400 degrees) with the normal insert, then swap it out with the direct flame insert. That means moving a very hot piece of metal. Their Genie tool helps in the process. Also, if you've been smoking anything on it recently, you will get a bunch of smoke getting the temperature up that high. Not great for reverse searing a steak, tri-tip etc.

I tried one overnight smoke with it, and the pellets backed up on the shoot the feeds the firebox overnight. It still managed to hold the temperature fairly well, but I had to pull the food off in mid cook and deal with the backed-up pellets.

I now pretty much use it only as a smoker. I clean it before every cook, including clearing the ashes out of the firebox. It produces good food and holds temperature very well. I now have a few charcoal grills I use for high heat cooking.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I haven't seen any reviews of the MAK built in unit, but if you go that route please share your experiences.

I really like how they redid the hopper, fan and controls for the built in, some companies dont change as much for their built in offerings and it leads to issues when designing the outdoor kitchen.

[Smoker_Boy]

I live in Colorado and pellet grills aren't anymore welcome than your wood burner will be when it comes to wildfire and burn bans. Yes, pellet grills are treated just like wood or charcoal cookers. We go in and out of burn bans all during the summer because of high winds, low humidity, and drought. During Red/Orange Flag/burn ban days the only outdoor cookers that are allowed are electric or propane. So, don't feel that you need to buy a pellet grill unless of course MCS has struck and you want one.

Otherwise, welcome to Colorado.

Are you permitted to use a smoking pellet tube inside a propane grill??

[tstalafuse]

Yes, because those (and chips) are smoldering and not actually on fire. If you take the heat shield off a pellet grill while it is running it has a really nice fan driven fire shooting off burning embers. I am not saying it necessarily makes sense especially since I have never seen a burning ember escape my pellet grill, but they are part of what is banned during fire season.

FWIW, I can't get a smoke tube to work at 9000ft, so there is that isn't an issue for me..

[Huskee]

I do believe Grilla offers a built-in (cart-less). I have limited experience with brands other than Grilla myself but I feel they're great, especially if you're in a colder weather area.

[jfmorris]

They offer the Silverbac for built in use.

[CandySueQ]

https://www.grillagrills.com/product/4000103

[jfmorris]

Sounds like you may need to think hard about the pellet grill, if those are banned in CO a lot of the year as well... personally, I didn't think the burn bans would have covered pellet grills, but shows what I know.

I see a gas grill in your future, to get you through grilling during seasons you can't smoke anything because of burn bans.

Another option, I hate to say, is a less sophisticated electric or propane smoker, where you can add smoke using wood chips or chunks inside the cabinet. Wonder if those are also banned!

[tstalafuse]

chips/chunks/pellets are allowed in gas or electric smoker because they aren't on fire. It is the live fire inside a pellet grill/smoker that gets them banned during fire season.