I'm looking to buy a pellet smoker in the very near future and replace my UDS. I want to make the best decision possible for my needs so I'm looking for advice. I have a pretty good idea which model I plan to buy but I'd surely appreciate input from anyone who has a pellet grill or plans to buy a pellet grill.
Weber Genesis S330 with GrillGrates
Weber Summit Kamado E6
Weber Performer with SnS, DnG and Pit Viper mod
Weber 26" kettle with SnS, DnG and Pit Viper mod
Traeger Flatrock Griddle
PKGO
Fireboard (2)
Thermoworks Smoke
Thermoworks MK4 (2)
Themoworks Thermapen ONE
I can recommend a Rec Tec. I've had my RT-680 for a little over two years and have had zero issues. I use it quite frequently. Great customer service and the best warranty to my knowledge. Which ever you choose, be aware that pellet grills produce a much milder smoke flavor all on their own and produce less smoke the higher the temp setting.
I had a Traeger Texas. While it was a good cooker, it is way over priced. For roughly the same price you can get a Rec Tec which is 3x the cooker.
Also be aware that pellet cookers in climates with extreme heat have difficulty holding low temps.
I am a Rec Tec fan as well. I have the Mini which is the first gen of the RT340. No problems at all and I think it is definitely above average in design and build quality and temp control is excellent. It should be noted that this is the one and only smoker I have ever owned.
My two cents of advice (cuz I know) Make sure you buy the right sized smoker for your needs. I bought a little smoker thinking about regular cooks for my wife and I. That doesn't work for packer briskets or parties.
> Weber Genesis EP-330
> Grilla Grills Original Grilla (OG) pellet smoker with Alpha/Connect
> Pit Barrel Cooker (gone to a new home)
> WeberQ 2000 (on "loan" to a relative (I'll never see it again))
> Old Smokey Electric (for chickens mostly - when it's too nasty out
to fiddle with a more capable cooker)
> Luhr Jensen Little Chief Electric - Top Loader circa 1990 (smoked fish & jerky)
> Thermoworks Smoke
> 3 Thermoworks Chef Alarms
> Thermoworks Thermapen One
> Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
> Thermoworks Thermopop
> Thermoworks IR-GUN-S
> Anova sous vide circulator
> Searzall torch
> BBQ Guru Rib Ring
> WÜSTHOF, Dalstrong, and Buck knives
> Paprika App on Mac and iOS
Welcome from Maryland. Big generalized question as many of us pellet owners are very familiar with what we use but just have impressions of others on the market. I personally love my Yoder 640 and am totally satisfied with it.
For the money? Probably the Pit Boss Classic that was on sale for $300 at Walmart. It features internals similar to Traeger (made by same company I believe) and features that rival units that cost 3 times as much.
Stepping up it really does depend on budget, because things like double walled insulation (which is important to us) and others will determine it. We like the Grilla Grills SilverBac because it features that and still comes in at less than most Traeger and Green Mountain units.
RecTec and others make great grills too. So does Traeger for that matter and a host of others. None of them are incredibly high quality outside of the luxury units like Memphis (and maybe Yoder), in my opinion, so to me, I shoot for the features that are most important and go with the cheapest price found.
A lot should go into a pellet grill decision. I am sure you know they don't put out nearly the smoke capacity or flavor that you may be used to, but that is because they are extremely efficient with the fuel. Several tricks of the trade though can add that back to some degree. Some can run in low smoke mode, add a tube, put some chunks on top of the heat defuser etc... But I knew all that going in.
If I we're to have the top of the line in my opinion it would be this...
Pitts And Spitts. (Stainless steel, heaver gauge steel than Yoder throughout, 35 pound hopper)
Yoder. (The industry standard I think. Dang dang nice! No stainless at all, smaller hopper @20 pounds)
CookShack Fast Eddie PG 500. (VERY comparably priced and ALL stainless. 25 pound hopper. Weird looking cooker, but I will own one one day.)
The rest can go in no particular order for me, kinda the consumer market. I have cooked on Treagers, including the miss piggy. Through the Treagers, GMG's, Camp Chief, Pit Boss, all the rest I decided on the Rec Tec. I didn't need a big cooker so the Stampede will do for me. Mostly stainless, and had the biggest hopper of all at 30 pounds. The WiFi controller is just ridiculously stupid easy to use and works fantastic.
So for me my environment means a lot here in the Texas rust belt heat. More stainless the better for sure, for me that is... Other than that I treat the Pellet grill more like an outdoor oven than anything. If I want the ultimate smoke, then I fire up the stick burner. Everything else is in between these two extremes.
I would suggest consulting the product reviews section of AmazingRibs.com and selecting your future smoker based on objective reviews and in keeping with your budget.
Weber Performer, Weber Jumbo Joe, Weber Smokey Joe (which I made into a mini-WSM), Weber Q 120 (which I converted to a portable flat top griddle), Oklahoma Joe offset cabinet smoker, Lodge hibachi, Pitt Boss Tailgater
Maverick ET 733
Favorite Cook - Sausage, any kind of sausage!
When I first heard about Pellet grills, years ago, I really loved the concept of and oven that worked like the one in the kitchen but used wood as a fuel source. What I didn't love was the cost. I already owned 4 Weber kettles, original hibachi, Weber Q120, Oklahoma Joe vertical offset, and a Blackstone 36 inch griddle so spending $1,000+ on another outdoor cooker was out of the question. Then last week I saw that Walmart was selling Pit Boss pellet grills at a price that I could justify. MY best friend had purchased a Pit Boss for his son as a wedding present over a year ago and they cook on it a couple of times a week with some great results. So I took the plunge and bought a Pit Boss Tailgater.
My reason for settling on the Tailgater, besides the price, was that we could easily fold it up, toss it in the back of the truck and take it with us when we left with our 25' camper. Being retired we take 2 to 4 trips of 3 or 4 weeks each year and having a grill/smoker/outdoor oven with us was the main reason for choosing the Tailgater.
So far I am very happy with my purchase. It took less than 30 minutes to put it together (I had watched a YouTube video on how to do it a couple of times while waiting on it to be delivered to our local Walmart). Did the burn in cook with their Competition Blend pellets. Then cooked a 5 lb. chicken and a pack of 10 chicken thighs that all turned out wonderful. White meat was tender and very moist (I am a dark meat person) and the legs and thighs were truly fall off the bone. Didn't use any seasoning, not even salt and pepper, so that I could judge the smoke flavor better. When it came off and I gave a piece of the breast to my wife to sample, she thought it was great. I had planned to pull or chop the meat and mix in some seasonings after the cook but she suggested that it was fine just the way it was and didn't need any seasoning, not even salt! Like many have said the smoke flavor was more delicate than what I get with my offset or one of the kettles, but that was a good thing. The smoke flavor was there but not the bitterness or ash-tray flavor that you can get with the offset or kettle if you are not really careful in monitoring your fire and wood mix.
Last night we cooked a pizza on the Tailgater. It was really great. Easy to do. Light smoke flavor, perfect compliment to the pizza toppings. Did learn however that you need to leave the searing section covered (there is a plate that you can slide over to expose the fire pot for "searing") or you get poor temp control. I had the idea that I could open the plate over the fire pot and blister some peppers, onions, and tomatoes for a grilled salsa over it while cooking the pizza on the stone placed on the other side of the cooker. However, since the temp probe for the system is almost directly above the fire pot if you have the diffuser plate off all the heat from the fire pot passes directly over the probe tricking the monitor into thinking it is over 500 degrees when the ambient temperature in the cooker is actually closer to 350. This meant that the pizza took twice as long to cook as expected and did not create the very crispy crust that we were looking for. Lesson learned.
Tonight we will be cooking steak on the Tailgater using the reverse sear method. I also have a salmon fillet curing in the refrigerator for a cool smoke on Sunday or Monday. Then burgers. Then smoked catfish tacos. Eventually I will get to the "big 3" on it (ribs, pork shoulder, brisket) but my cardiologist has severely restricted my consumption of red meat so that will be an occasional thing (when we have company whose cholesterol levels don't really concern me). Obviously I am excited to learn more about my new "toy".
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