any one own a pellet grill?
- Thread starter osuja
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We got one for my father in law this summer. I've grilled on it numerous times. It takes a little getting used to because the heat comes from the side. but I really like it. I would purchase one myself if I wasn't so anal about having to build my own grills.
I've had Traeger for 6+ years and absolutely love it. Practically fool proof. We grill and smoke just about anything you can think of: ribs, pulled pork (which I just finished up a little while ago for the game tomorrow), brisket, steaks, brats, burgers, chicken, turkey, salmon, lobster, bacon, sea bass, halibut, shrimp, biscuits, pizzas, vegetables...
cooked Thanksgiving turkey in it for about the 4th time this year. Smoked baby back ribs and brisket for Christmas.
Not piling on here but a friend who bought a Traeger a year or so ago (one of the bigger ones) was just talking about it this week. He said he would never buy again because in his opinion it should not even be considered to be a smoker. He says it grills just fine but as far as a smoker, no way. He wished he had gone a different direction.
All I can tell you is he probably doesn't know how to use it very well. I get consistent raves and have for years, including cooking for some fairly large groups, and I am also pretty particular about the quality of the smoked meats I eat.
I'll certainly grant that a purist (like Jeff J. for example) wouldn't view it as a true smoker. But, then again, they'd likley build their own and use nothing but actual split logs of hickory/pecan wood; not chips, etc. For me when I purchased the Traeger, and for a lot of folks, that really isn't that practical. And I don't consider myself a pitmaster by any means.
I'm serving pulled pork tonight for a bunch of Poke fan friends for the big game, I'll let you know if there are any complaints about a lack of smokiness. I think it was one of the best purchases I've ever made.
I'm with Marshall. I've owned a Traeger for three years and I love it. I've smoked just about everything on it and never had a complaint. The only complaint I have as a user is I bought a small one and you cannot set the temperature. You have low, medium, and high. The larger units have precise temperature settings. The pellets are easy to find (Westlake Hardware), come in many flavors, and can be ordered directly from the company. Traeger also publishes a marvelous cookbook for smoking beginners +.
I've never used one myself but my uncle has a Yoder YS1500. It's unreal but I could never bring myself to spend 4 Gs on a grill/smoker. Everything he has cooked on it has tasted damn good to me.
Posted from Rivals Mobile
Posted from Rivals Mobile
I've considered buying a BGE and may one day take the plunge.
My Traeger has the precise thermostat. I think even with the smaller ones you can purchase a replacement thermostat and switch out the original Smoke/Medium/High dial.
I doubt it. It's easy to cook them on the Traeger and they turn out better. It dies take a little longer to cook them.
Personally I cooked on a Webber charcoal grill for years. My wife bought me a nice Webber gas grill and I just never liked it. After about 3-4 years, I gave it up for good.
Dally, if your friend has "one of the bigger" traegers, it has an accurate thermostat for multiple settings. However, on the back of the thermostat there is a small dial with which to set the temperature for the lowest "smoke" temperature.
Sounds like his is set too high which means he's doing too much cooking and not enough smoking at his lowest setting. I set mine so its lowest setting is 160 because I want minimum cooking at "smoke." At 180-200, I cook very slowly and even though the visible smoke is greatly reduced, I still get great smoke flavor.
For example, last Friday night I smoked chunks of dry-rubbed pork butt for 4 hours. I had a deep smoke ring but the pork had barely begun to cook. I wrapped the individual chunks with chopped onions and turned up the temp to 300 for five hours. Shredded everything and kept it hot in crockpots at the game. Lots of smiles.
Tell him to take the four screws out that hold the thermostat in the dash. Let it drop to the end of the wires. Adjust the dial with a small screwdriver and reinstall the unit. No big deal, or he can talk to his dealer.
Sounds like his is set too high which means he's doing too much cooking and not enough smoking at his lowest setting. I set mine so its lowest setting is 160 because I want minimum cooking at "smoke." At 180-200, I cook very slowly and even though the visible smoke is greatly reduced, I still get great smoke flavor.
For example, last Friday night I smoked chunks of dry-rubbed pork butt for 4 hours. I had a deep smoke ring but the pork had barely begun to cook. I wrapped the individual chunks with chopped onions and turned up the temp to 300 for five hours. Shredded everything and kept it hot in crockpots at the game. Lots of smiles.
Tell him to take the four screws out that hold the thermostat in the dash. Let it drop to the end of the wires. Adjust the dial with a small screwdriver and reinstall the unit. No big deal, or he can talk to his dealer.
For grilling, I turn it up to 450. It's slower than an open fire grill, but it's easier to control and more predictable.
Careful though, if you've been smoking for a couple of months when you jack up the temp, you may have a fire start inside as the greasy smoke coating the inside burns!
Careful though, if you've been smoking for a couple of months when you jack up the temp, you may have a fire start inside as the greasy smoke coating the inside burns!
I ended up with a yoder ys 640. I bought it to use the direct grilling option but after about three weeks realized that the food, whether steaks, brisket, pork butt, burgers, brats, etc. just taste better cooking indirect. I could not be happier and would be hard pressed to use a gas grill for anything.
I've been considering investing in a pellet grill but I heard that if it is cool to cold outside that it has a very hard time getting warm enough to grill. Is this true?
I bought a Green Mountain last summer, not even thinking of it as a grill, but just a smoker. Haven't used the gas grill since. Temp gets up plenty high for grilling, no direct fire, but using grill grates you get a great sear on steaks. I've found it produces plenty of smoky flavor for me, and since I'm in it for the food alone and don't really enjoy the cooking experience, the ability to set the temp and leave it is killer...not going to please the "real" smokers, but pfft. Since there are just the two of us at home, I don't smoke a lot (what I smoke lasts a while), and am still refining recipe's, but just made the best ribs I've had in years over the weekend.
For the winter, I didn't have any problems smoking...still was able to hit any temp I wanted up to 500*...burned a bit more fuel than in the summer temps and maybe took a few minutes longer to get up to temp, but not a huge difference.
For the winter, I didn't have any problems smoking...still was able to hit any temp I wanted up to 500*...burned a bit more fuel than in the summer temps and maybe took a few minutes longer to get up to temp, but not a huge difference.
Thor, that may be true but I don't have direct knowledge. Our big unit is inside an unheated concrete building which vents the smoker to the outside. I use it year-round.
Even out of the wind, the smoker is slower to reach all temps when the ambient temp is low. Whether the Traeger is any worse than other grills or smokers on a windy day in November, I don't know.
I do know I've been ordered to never prepare the Thanksgiving turkey any other way than brining and smoking.
Even out of the wind, the smoker is slower to reach all temps when the ambient temp is low. Whether the Traeger is any worse than other grills or smokers on a windy day in November, I don't know.
I do know I've been ordered to never prepare the Thanksgiving turkey any other way than brining and smoking.
I got the Jim Bowie GMG and it takes about 25 minutes to get to 400. I thought it was a little too long and called support. They said the newer ones are programmed to take a little longer so they don't over shoot. Once it hits the target, it holds beautifully. i was going to get the Daniel Boone with wifi, but after measuring my current Weber grill I wasn't gaining any cook space so I took off the wifi and went bigger. Best choice I made. I've done ribeyes, chicken legs/thighs and a whole chicken and am very pleased.
Don't know for sure. I'm sure they have customers at those elevations. It gets cold and windy on the plains, also. The GMG comes with a turbo mode for cold weather and since I grill/smoke year round I'll be anxious to find out.
Green Mountain Grills sells a thermal blanket fitted for either Daniel Boone or Jim Bowie grills. Haven't used one, mine worked fine at just below freezing last winter...I'm not having my ass out smoking any colder than that...I've read on some forums that they fit the GMG smokers nicely and work well. You can see them on their accessories page...I'm sure other companies sell similar.
