pellet s versus stick burners

[klflowers]

I don't have a stick burner, but I have a Grilla Chimp, a kettle/SNS and WSM. I have done some comparisons, and the Chimp definitely has the lightest smoke flavor but it the easiest to operate. A couple of weeks ago I did a couple bellies for bacon, one on the pellet with B&B competition pellets and one on the kettle with some cherry chunks. Both were excellent - I mean, it is bacon after all. Just a matter of what you like. We didn't actually prefer one over the other though. I also broke down a turkey and did the same thing, and again, both were excellent. The kettle turkey had crisper skin, but the pellet turkey was juicer.

[glitchy]

This is definitely subjective and inferior would be an opinion. What do you cook on now? If you want smoke to be primary spice, you're going to be disappointed with a pellet grill. If you want smoke to be an element among other seasonings you may enjoy the convenience. It's all up to how much smoke do you need? As far as tender, juicy, properly cooked meat, that falls on the person cooking more than the source of heat. Results from the two would definitely taste different.

[cookinjack]

i cookout almost every night.....question is .the only difference between the 2 the amount of smoke flavor? i would think with pellet smoker i could get more smoke flavor if needed by some tweak's..is the food is truly better from stick burner ? i am not lazy but i do want convenience but not at the cost of inferior food.

[Rocinante]

I was a stick burner for about 10 years. Then the thing began to fall apart and was faced with getting a new one. For a while, when using it, I never thought of getting a pellet smoker. Once I began reading more about them, I began to have a change of mine. The matter of convenience and time began to make me look at them.

Now, I do like tending to the fire as was needed, it was just that with kids and their schedules, it was getting inconvenient and unpredictable. There were also times when I didn't feel like getting up at 2:30am and begin to get a fire going then tend to it all day long. A lot of times I would cheat by putting the meat in the oven then go back to bed and then put in the smoker after I woke up. Sometimes the outcomes were good, other times they were so so.

I got a pellet smoker a little over a year ago and I'm glad that I did. Does it produce the same level of smoke as the stick burner, no but I'm fine with that and thus far, no one I have cooked for has said things could have been smokier. My Rec Teq has an extreme smoke setting that I will routinely use for the first hour or so with great results.

So, as with other comments, it's really what you are looking for and wanting to do and spend time with that will assist you with your decision.

[jharner]

My opinion will be one sided because I have never cooked on a stick burner. I can see the appeal to master a stick burner ( might even try some day ) Prior to joining the pit club ( one month after buying my Champ Chef pellet grill 5 years ago ) My outdoor cooking was done on a gas grill ( or charcoal for burgers and hot dogs ) I have added a Weber 22 Kettle with a slow n sear and cook only for family and friends. I do use a smoke tube with my Camp Chef. With that being said my family and friends say that my - Brisket - Pulled Pork - Ribs and yes Smoked burgers and hot dogs are better than any restaurants provide. So I guess I am saying you can cook great BBQ on many cookers just know your COOKER

[Redwng]

Agreed, their pellet smoker looks really good but so does their entire lineup. Been looking at the LSG Adjustable Charcoal Grill but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Some have a long lead time if that matters.

[GadjetGriller]

Depends if your doing Fish or fowl The pellet is great. If your doing a big hunk o meat off sets are the preferred choice. I have both and use each a lot. (Depending on how lazy I feel that day lol) Some days I use both precisely since I'm lazy. I start on the off set get some good smoke on the meat then switch to the Pellet after I wrap so I can relax!! (especially when its 102 degrees here in West Texas) There are ways to make pellet smokers put out more smoke flavor (inexpensive ways) so get what you can afford and enjoy!!

[glitchy]

After 11 pellet grills I feel pretty confident saying that even the Lone Star pellet grill is going to produce a smoke profile closer to all the rest of the pellet grills available than the smoke profile of Lone Star’s other offerings. Pellet grills can produce fabulous food, but nothing like smoke profile of a well run stick burner. Do you want smoke as the star or as one ingredient?

[Huskee]

You're talking river fishing vs boat fishing; walking to work vs riding a motorcycle; mowing the lawn vs shoveling snow. I think that's enough illustrations to sum up the vast differences.

[cookinjack]

I am looking at lone star grillz pellet smoker...........

[jfmorris]

cookinjack if you have a Weber Smokey Mountain, that is different but similar to the smoking results you get from an offset. A pellet smoker by nature, due to its efficiency, will produce food with a much lighter smoke flavor than your WSM. I’m not saying food from a charcoal vertical smoker tastes exactly the same as food from an offset, but they are both at one end of the spectrum, with pellet smokers being at the other end.

[TripleB]

You nailed it. Point 1 is spot on. I use my smokers/grills based on the time I can dedicate. I used my offset a couple weeks ago to do some baby backs cuz I wanted to. It was fun to run it and manage the fire and generate clean smoke. I don’t own a pellet smoker and don’t think I ever will. I don’t look down my nose at them, i just like to manage the fire & smoke.

[Loren]

I have not used a WSM, but have used/owned a PB, a Weber with SNS, a homemade offset and a Traeger.

In my experience the Weber can get food the closest to tasting like an offset (but not the same) but (again, in my experience) the offset has a huge advantage with airflow/cooking space - especially if you end up cramming a 16 lb brisket into a Weber 😶 Even with smaller cuts the bark formation I got from the offset was always fast and more prevalent in terms of taste and texture.

I've never used one, but the KBQ is supposed to give you offset style smoke with a bit more accessibility due to a gentle learning curve. Maybe that is worth looking at too.

[Loren]

Well put!

I'd also add that a stick burner can be a very enjoyable experience tending the fire, if you want to go that deep into the cooking with fire experience; it's purely a YMMV type of experience...

[cookinjack]

thanks everyone keep the comments coming..i have a weber bullet and a weber gasser with a smoke box