Wood Pellet Grill...thoughts?

[LX470]

I've been a Weber propane grill guy forever. Lately, I've had the bug to purchase a pellet grill for smoking salmon. Anyone have one and your thoughts on brands, size, etc.? The Traegers I looked at seemed kind of flimsy for the money they want. Just the two of us for 1-2 weekly usage. Green Egg setup, maybe?

[funkymonkey1111]

green egg isn't a pellet grill

[Madeinhb]

I have a Traeger and have had no issues with it. But it really depends what else you are going to do? I?ve done beef jerky on mine. You can go inexpensive to see if you like it and upgrade later or do the buy once, cry once thing.


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[Linkless]

I like the Green Mountain, if you aren't planning to cook a lot at one time the Davey Crocket is a good start. It was my first and it convinced me to buy the bigger one. Bonus that it runs on 12v power so you have the option to take it with you anywhere. The small size also makes it pretty efficient. I kept it for the portability and use if for smoking at home since it's so compact.

[eddiememphis]

Agreed on the Davy Crockett. I have had mine for two years. It will smoke at 150 or sear at 550.

I have done salmon, beef, pork, chicken and even cheese in it.

If there is just two of you, it is a perfect size.

Just make sure to use good pellets. Go to a BBQ store. The junk they sell at Lowes is garbage. Lumberjack is generally considered one of the best. It makes all the difference in the world.

[3beansalad]

Recteq. Buy once, cry once.

Seriously though, I got one and loved it so much I got a second for camping

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[Walker2970]

I have the Pit Boss and love it

[00tec]

Yes

https://i.ibb.co/nzXmt04/20210925-163313.jpg

[3beansalad]

Lumberjack pellets have served me well, and Bear Mountain has a great reputation too.

Don't be afraid to browse the FB marketplace for a deal whatever brand of grill you choose.

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[00tec]

I use the pellets from Sams. Easy, cheap, local, and not that oil flavored crap from traeger

[whitewalrus]

I went with pit boss for my smoker. Their pellets are ok, lumberjack and others are better. If I am doing a longer smoke I use the lumberjack, if something is being cooked on higher temp or is wrapped in foil, the pit boss pellets are half the price, so I use them.


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[electronman1729]

Green Mountain Davey Crockett, thicker metal and better construction. Got mine at Rocky Mountain stove in Lakewood.

[Great-Kazoo]

for pellets, you can't beat the prices at sportsmans. Or, believe it or not, wally world.

[Frac]

I agree. I use the Camp Chef pellets that are sold at Sportsman?s in my Daniel Boone. Temps are steady within a few degrees and they burn well.

My grill fluctuates a lot on the Traegar brand pellets. I think they?re a little harder to burn, so my grill falls behind on the temperature curve. Then it dumps too many pellets trying to catch up. When they get burning, the temp might swing 50 degrees the other way.

[colorider]

Traeger pellets are the bottom of the quality scale. The rest mentioned above are all good. I prefer lumberjack for slow smoking and flavor. Pit boss for plain ol grilling. Regarding the smokers, I’ve had a green mountain and a Traeger. Now I have had a recteq for a few years. The tecteq is hands down the superior product. Built much stronger and their controller is far superior.

[rondog]

This has been discussed here before, I believe - and my take is that Traeger stuff is low quality, over-hyped, and poor support for customers and dealers alike. Haven't heard much good. Green Mountain is the name I hear the most thumbs-ups for.

[Gman]

Camp Chef Woodwind WiFi with the Sidekick. It's nice having that propane side burner. I have the griddle that came with it and a deluxe BBQ box to use it like a propane grill. The BBQ box gets incredibly hot, so I haven't missed having the sear side attachment. I think the BBQ box is more flexible.

[eddiememphis]

...their controller is far superior.

How so?

[Ah Pook]

Take a trip over to Proud Souls Provisions (two locations, Federal Blvd and S. Rio Grande St). Yoder, Green Mountain, Traeger...

I've had a GMG DB for 6-7 years and been satisfied. Next smoker will be a Yoder.

[whitewalrus]

This has been discussed here before, I believe - and my take is that Traeger stuff is low quality, over-hyped, and poor support for customers and dealers alike. Haven't heard much good. Green Mountain is the name I hear the most thumbs-ups for.

I know many who are happy with their traeger. I had a bad experience with one not working out of box and dealing with support really sucked. So back it went and I bought the pit boss and a bunch of pellets for still much less than I spent on the traeger.


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[whitewalrus]

And lastly, keep the Weber propane grill. It?s much quicker and easier than the pellet grills.

I kept mine and use it for grilling burgers, sausage, steaks, etc.


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[Gman]

And lastly, keep the Weber propane grill. It?s much quicker and easier than the pellet grills.

I kept mine and use it for grilling burgers, sausage, steaks, etc.


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I never had one, but that's another reason why I went with a sidekick. Going to be getting a dual fuel generator so I'll be investing more in propane anyway.

I did keep my Weber Master Touch kettle grill for when that will be the right answer for something I'm cooking.

[LX470]

Thanks to all for your contributions. Picker up a Recteq and really like it so far. I don't have the "smoking" expertise yet but, they make it a pretty simple operation.

[3beansalad]

In my small group of friends in the Springs there are at least 10 Recteqs. We use ours as ovens during the summer, plus normal grilling and smoking. You'll love it when you get going. Though you may have some frustration getting it connected to wifi. The app has gone through some changes recently. There are some complaints online, I'venot had a single issue since the update. I dont use the grill's probes very often, no good reason other than I have another system I like. I've had excellent luck with Recteq customer service the three times I've needed to contact them.

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[LX470]

It was actually a piece-of-cake to setup, except for having to switch the phone app to 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi for the superior wall penetration capability. I found that the probes are close enough on temperature but, I'm still seeking better probes as I hate to disturb the temperature by constantly opening it to use a digital probe. Great recommendation and thanks!

[eddiememphis]

Use Lumberjack pellets. Always highly rated.

I wasn't impressed with my Green Mountain until the lady at The Grillin' Shop on Arapahoe and Peoria told to use Lumberjack 100% oak and it was a huge improvement.

For probes, you can look into wired or wireless. The wireless are much more expensive but they are very cool. They tell ambient temp and meat temp from the same unit.

Meatstick or Meater are two brands- I am sure there are a lot more.

[Gman]

I've used the Knottywood Plum pellets and they are very fruity and add great flavor.

I hear that Costco has a Kirkland premium pellet that is just unbeatable on price. I haven't tried them yet.

[LX470]

Thanks for the tips fellas!

[Great-Kazoo]

I've used the Knottywood Plum pellets and they are very fruity and add great flavor.

I hear that Costco has a Kirkland premium pellet that is just unbeatable on price. I haven't tried them yet.

wally world had LJ pellets $9. per #20

If you desire a heavier smoke flavor buy one of these, or similar brand Your local ace carries them, or amz. Nice thing about the smoke tubes, is....They're great for cold smoking cheese.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/outdoor-living/grills-and-smokers/grilling-utensils-and-tools/8592263

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Mountain-Grill-Smoker-GMG-6027/dp/B01IAB3980/ref=sr_1_19?crid=2XRJ8RWAOCCTU&keywords=smoke+tube+for+pellet+smoker&qid=1658272397&sprefix=smoke+tube%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-19

[eddiememphis]

One of the reasons I bought a Green Mountain is it's lowest setting is 150 degrees. I was able to smoke cheese over a pan of ice, but a smoke tube is much easier.

I use one all the time, in fact, more often than the smoker.

[3beansalad]

Ill add to the love for Lumberjack. In fact, on 1 JUL, I picked up two pallets in Denver. Final price $13.48 per 40#. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220720/304bf8264870b8e62716f59956a5d427.jpg

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[feal]

I just got a recteq after having an older gmg. I am pretty impressed with the build quality of the recteq. I use the pellet grill for longer cooks, for salmon I usually just use indirect heat on a Weber charcoal grill

[whitewalrus]

wally world had LJ pellets $9. per #20

If you desire a heavier smoke flavor buy one of these, or similar brand Your local ace carries them, or amz. Nice thing about the smoke tubes, is....They're great for cold smoking cheese.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/outdoor-living/grills-and-smokers/grilling-utensils-and-tools/8592263

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Mountain-Grill-Smoker-GMG-6027/dp/B01IAB3980/ref=sr_1_19?crid=2XRJ8RWAOCCTU&keywords=smoke+tube+for+pellet+smoker&qid=1658272397&sprefix=smoke+tube%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-19

Walmarts in CO tend to stock either pit boss or cuisinart pellets. I use the pit boss pellets whenever I am not smoking low as they are cheapest I found and had stocked up when they went on clearance. I use lumberjack for the true smokes, swapping to pit boss when things are wrapped in foil.


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