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Pellet Smokers

berth

berth

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2014
Location
Orange County
Moto(s)
BB F750-GS
Anyone have an opinion on these? They're showing up shrink wrapped in the grocery store next to the gum, so they're becoming somewhat ubiquitous.

When I first saw one a couple of years ago, I was intrigued.

Now they have Wifi and who knows what else to make a simple task fraught with problems.

I know we have a bunch of *Egg aficionados here, more curious just in these things.
 
Masterbuilt 560/800/1050>pellet smoker. It uses coal and wood, so it actually smokes and gets hot enough to sear. If you want a legit cooker for less than $500, that's the one.
 
They're good I'd get one if I could start over. Currently use egg-style with charcoal but it's a lot harder to dial in.
 
My BIL is nuts for his Traeger having tried different ones over the years. It smokes or grills I guess, though we tend to have grilled stuff when we go up to visit. I do like its electric thermometer, you always know where you stand.

It is very reliable even heat. It imparts a certain flavor to everything, whether because it's been seasoned in from heavy use or what. Not sure if he uses the exact same pellets each time.

My thing for OP would be to try food cooked with it before biting. Like I said, everything he cooks, from chicken, to corn, to burgers all have a certain flavor, sort of like the way rotisserie chickens always have a different flavor than grill roasted.

I actually need a new regular grill; my Big Red infrared has completely rusted through from fog-wind. Even tho I really like it, they don't make them anymore because they never really caught on. (They use a trough that completely covers burners but it rusts out every year). It's too bad, because I am a master of that device.

. I use a Weber water smoker for smoking. I have considered getting the Traeger and using it as a grill (and maybe even try smoking with it) but gas is faster I think to heat up and I like to minimize the total time to grill if possible.. And I'd also have to wire in an outlet to my back porch which I keep putting off because it's just more work I might not do right.

Since many country custom butchers use stand-up cabinet smokers with some form of pellet, it's not a new tech or anything. Somehow I have convinced myself that I don't want to be a slave to having to always have a pellet source even though I use briquets when I smoke. Nobody runs out of propane in my area, yet, so it makes the gas grill more attractive.
 
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I bought a Traeger over the pandemic. I didn't know what I was getting into at first, but seeing all the good stuff being made in the BBQ porn thread made me pull the trigger. Let me just say its one of the best investments I ever made. No regrets whatsoever on the $700 I spent for the smoker. I also have a Weber gas grill which sees much less usage now that I have the Traeger.

They make it so easy to cook because its got an app which you can connect to the grill to monitor and change temps. I've done several chickens, ribs, pulled porks, brisket, turkeys and so forth and they've all came out great. Some would argue its "cheating" but I dont give a damn.. all I want is to eat delicious bbq without paying outrageous prices for mediocre meats most places around here charge.
 
Agent Orange said:
They make it so easy to cook because its got an app which you can connect to the grill to monitor and change temps. I've done several chickens, ribs, pulled porks, brisket, turkeys and so forth and they've all came out great. Some would argue its "cheating" but I dont give a damn.. all I want is to eat delicious bbq without paying outrageous prices for mediocre meats most places around here charge.
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I don't think anyone's taste-buds will care if its cheating or not lol
 
I also have a Traeger that I bought 2 years ago and we love it. Very hard to mess up what you're cooking, steady temps, very happy overall. I got mine at Home Depot on sale.
The one thing I've noticed is that the pellets turn into ash inside the cooker so before I cook with it I use a shop vac to vacuum out the left over ash or the fan inside that circulates the air/heat will swirl the ash around and it will end up on the food you're cooking.
Didn't have to do that on the old-style Weber.
 
I have two. Both made by green mountain grills. One small portable model and a big one for parties. The build quality is crap. If I had to do it over again, I’d buy a medium sized traeger.

I use the small one a lot since it’s just the wife, myself, and two toddlers eating at home.
 
Pellet smokers are awesome. I love my kamado but it requires babysitting.
 
I get the "cheating"comment, but in the end most of the work should be prep, meat selection, knowing when it's done, how to slice it etc, and I can see someone not wanting to be a pit master with their charcoal smoker.

Personally I'd like to have the option of either but I just don't have the balcony space for both :) I tend to use a chimney starter 3/4 full of charcoal for steak searing or chicken grilling these days.
 
A lot of peers will call the traegers and other pellet smokers easy bake ovens and I kind of get it. I understand how hard they worked to learn how to use their traditional style smokers and their butt hurt that now it's just so fucking easy and maybe just maybe the results aren't quite as good but they're still going to be pretty damn good. So go get yourself a pellet smoker and easy bake oven or whatever you want to call it and enjoy some tasty meats.
 
R3DS!X said:
A lot of peers will call the traegers and other pellet smokers easy bake ovens and I kind of get it. I understand how hard they worked to learn how to use their traditional style smokers and their butt hurt that now it's just so fucking easy and maybe just maybe the results aren't quite as good but they're still going to be pretty damn good. So go get yourself a pellet smoker and easy bake oven or whatever you want to call it and enjoy some tasty meats.
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That’s the thing: you are getting an incredibly even cooking temp and that is what can be elusive with charcoal smokers. Since I live on the last hill of the Berkeley hills, it’s windy about 370 days a year up here. I have a hell of a time keeping smoking temp even and its so goddam important that it’s probably the single biggest positive about Tragers and other controlled-fuel feed appliances.

I never heard the easy bake oven crack but I get that people invested tremendous life energy into using their various smoking contraptions. It’s kinda funny but that is not a reason not to get a Traeger if you want to start cooking everything right away. I still have adventures with different types of meats trying to get it right and am not always successful.
 
Anyone talks shit about your grill, slap 'em in the mouth with your sausage.
That'll shut 'em up.
 
I started looking into these last summer. Eventually decided I wanted a Yoder or RecTeq. One of my brothers has a Traeger and the other has several not pellet cookers. They both do a lot with them though my oldest brother has been a cook for a lot longer and takes it all to another level. I also have a friend in GA who is big on all of this stuff. He has multiple different cookers (pellet, electric, charcoal, wood etc). He lives on a compound and BBQs multiple days a week. He is the one that turned me onto RecTeq which is from GA. Ultimately that's what I went with because it's a bit lighter than the Yoder and a bit less expensive. I had also been waiting for a Yoder for several months when the RT-700 became available again. I liked the ability to add the side attached smoke box, and I have used the grill grates to good effect. They can get up to 700 degrees for a sear.

Anyway i have only had my RT-700 for 2 months now but I averaged about one cook a week and it has been awesome. I am enjoying learning all about BBQ and smoking foods. So far I have done chicken thighs a few times, baby back ribs, steaks, pork tenderloins, pork sirloin tip roast, Italian sausages, and pork shoulder. I've also done some asparagus a couple times. I'm working my way up to brisket eventually.
 
ejv said:
I started looking into these last summer. Eventually decided I wanted a Yoder or RecTeq. One of my brothers has a Traeger and the other has several not pellet cookers. They both do a lot with them though my oldest brother has been a cook for a lot longer and takes it all to another level. I also have a friend in GA who is big on all of this stuff. He has multiple different cookers (pellet, electric, charcoal, wood etc). He lives on a compound and BBQs multiple days a week. He is the one that turned me onto RecTeq which is from GA. Ultimately that's what I went with because it's a bit lighter than the Yoder and a bit less expensive. I had also been waiting for a Yoder for several months when the RT-700 became available again. I liked the ability to add the side attached smoke box, and I have used the grill grates to good effect. They can get up to 700 degrees for a sear.

Anyway i have only had my RT-700 for 2 months now but I averaged about one cook a week and it has been awesome. I am enjoying learning all about BBQ and smoking foods. So far I have done chicken thighs a few times, baby back ribs, steaks, pork tenderloins, pork sirloin tip roast, Italian sausages, and pork shoulder. I've also done some asparagus a couple times. I'm working my way up to brisket eventually.
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Go to Costco business center and buy a small prime packer. If you like beef it's really not that hard. I suggest splitting the point and flat so you can cook them as needed. The rest is just as important as the cook. In a towel in a cooler for at least 2 hours.
 
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I bought a floor model traeger when OSH closed up. I dont know if I'd have ever paid full price for one but I am very glad I scored one for ~$250.

Easy bake over... haha. I'll spend all the time I'm not babysitting a fire oven crying into my pillow because someone wants to spend hours monitoring an Old School smoker thinks they're superior to.me? Oooooooo-k.

The one thing I wish it could do better is grilling. It works for grilling but the comparatively small fire box thingy means it doesnt recover heat from opening the lid all that quickly. A minor inconvenience
 
I have a Kamodo grill that I love a lot and do most of my cooking on but I am looking into a small pellet smoker so that when I get around to cold smoking sausages I can set it and forget it for overnight smokes. To me, each grill will have its purpose.

When I get my backyard in order I will put my gas grill back to use for those nights I just want to throw something on the grill and get some sear marks although when I am in that mode I have been cast iron cooking my ribeyes.

I talk shit to my friends with pellet grill/smokers but if it gets you into cooking outdoors then more power to them it is never bad to get more people into BBQing.....
 
Oh sweet, another one of these threads where people with pellet grills pre-emptively get all defensive but nobody actually talks shit about them. :laughing
 
I've had a Bradley smoker for about 10 years. It uses pucks instead of pellets. I can time the amount of smoke pretty accurately with the pucks. 20 min per puck. You can get the pucks in a wide assortment of flavors/wood.
I built a digital temp controller as I went cheap and didn't buy the digital version of the smoker. It cost me less then $100 but I'm kinda handy with that stuff. Being able to control the temp and smoke has allowed me to have my smoking nicely dialed in. Almost set and forget and very consistent. My 4 rack Bradley will hold 6 racks of baby backs. I usually run it at capacity and then vacuum pack and throw everything in the chest freezer.

Don't be intimidated by a brisket. They are actually pretty easy. All the Utube chefs are playing at competition smoking where appearance is as important as the taste and they over complicate the process. Get a flat, trim off the fat so that it's not more then 1/4", put your favorite rub on or plain old salt and pepper, Cook it low and slow and when it's done, wrap in foil, a plastic bag and put it in the smallest cooler that it will fit. Let it sit for a couple of hours and it'll be the best brisket you ever 'et.

A digital thermometer/probe will make life easier for you too. I have a
bluetooth system that cost around $50. Has alarms and lets you monitor up to 4 temps. It bluetooths to a remote display so you don't have to keep running out to the patio to check temps.
 
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