Pellet or not

[slingshot]

I have a couple great bbqs a Napoleon that’s over twenty years and still going strong with very few repairs.Its my winter bbq.The other a imperial by Broil King that’s my summer one.Love the cast grills.My lake stay outside is a nexgrill.It serves a purpose and a traveling BBQ a portable Napoleon also serves a purpose.Now I’m adding another tier.Smokers well I have three need one maybe.I have a propane,electric big Chief and a electric computer controlled that I couldn’t refuse a manager says give me a hundred well bought That.Now comes everyone with pellet grills is there one everyone would recommend or just continue on. recently I have been burning my fires to coals for embers .Hard to beat a steak over coals.But sure is nice to cold smoke home cured bacon in a smokehouse.All thoughts welcome if there is a do all.

[huntinstuff]

Hello

I gave my bbq away after buying a pellet grill

Fyi.....

Ive done everything from pheasant to eggs to catfish to steak to soup on it. Mine is quite efficient and i have had no trouble with it.

Mine is an older Cabelas model

[1shotwade]

Slingshot check out the masterbuilt gravity fed charcoal grill. Its pretty slick and you just feed the hopper every 3 or 4 cooks!

[Dewey Cox]

My brother has a traeger.
Won't shut up about it.
Traeger is like the 6.5 creedmoor of grills.

[omega50]

A BBQ has multiple burners that each heat a zone so the entire surface can sear a steak.
But a pellet grill only has a single burnpot about 5" to 6" diameter that needs to heat the entire grill.And generally that burnpot is skewed to one side or the other to keep the length of the feed auger to the pellet grill hopper short.Some pellet grills have rear hoppers and a centre mounted burnpot.

An ignitor rod sits near the bottom of the burnpot and glows hot for 3-4 minutes while the auger feeds in pellets. Once the pellets smoulder a bit they burst in flames(you will hear the roar) the heavy smoke abates and then you set the desired temp and the controller will adjust the auger run time to keep you at the desired temp.
A fan ensures combustion and has a convection effect to stir the air and even out the temps to some degree.

Because there is only one heat source you lose the ability to produce copious smoke at higher temps. Generally you seldom oversmoke your food in a pellet grill.

You will likely not ever be able to cold smoke in a pellet grill without accessories.Many have tried, but if the burnpot goes out , the auger will continue to feed pellets untill it is jammed full.

So it acts like a BBQ in some regards, but is contollable more like a home oven.Other than a new toy to play with, it sounds like you already have your bases covered.

But new toys are always good.

[Buckhead]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

My brother has a traeger.
Won't shut up about it.
Traeger is like the 6.5 creedmoor of grills.

Had a Traeger. Used it 4 times. Sold it.
Went to charcoal.
Don't own a 6.5 CM either.

[Deezel]

I have a Green Mountain Grill and get tons of smoke flavor with it as well as a deep smoke ring in meat but this is at lower cook temps. On higher temps, smoke flavor does dissipate some but is still very noticeable. If you want/need more smoke flavor, you can always look into a smoke tube. I ordered one awhile ago but it still hasn't arrived so I can't really give an honest opinion on one.

Here's a random video review on one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biJajMAr8ys

I cook virtually everything on the pellet grill now other than steaks. Both the wife and I prefer our steaks seared then bbq'd until done. Can't do that on the GMG.

[HyperMOA]

Originally Posted by Deezel

I have a Green Mountain Grill and get tons of smoke flavor with it as well as a deep smoke ring in meat but this is at lower cook temps. On higher temps, smoke flavor does dissipate some but is still very noticeable. If you want/need more smoke flavor, you can always look into a smoke tube. I ordered one awhile ago but it still hasn't arrived so I can't really give an honest opinion on one.

Here's a random video review on one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biJajMAr8ys

I cook virtually everything on the pellet grill now other than steaks. Both the wife and I prefer our steaks seared then bbq'd until done. Can't do that on the GMG.

I reverse sear on a 10 year old Traeger. You definitely can on a GMG. Try a reverse seared steak. You won’t be disappointed.

[Deezel]

Originally Posted by HyperMOA

I reverse sear on a 10 year old Traeger. You definitely can on a GMG. Try a reverse seared steak. You won’t be disappointed.

Did a search and just found a reverse sear recipe on the Traeger website. I'll give it a shot next steak night. Thx.

[averagejoe]

Broil King now has their own line of smokers, both offset and pellet models. Haven't heard a whole lot about them but they are extremely well built, much heavier than the competition. Pellet version can get up to 600° as well which is a nice perk.