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Smokers

B

Bowtechassassin

New Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2019
Messages
30
Wanting to get a smoker but I don't have the time to smoke that often so I want it to double as a grill. I'm wanting something that I can set and walk away from I've never had a smoker or been around any of it either. It also has to be kind of portable as in semi easy to move around.
 
I just recently purchased the Pit Boss Lexington 540 from Walmart. Cost $267 and uses pellets. I've used it 4 times thus far and it's been great.

David

Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
 
Pit boss/pellet grills are the way to go!
Try mixing pellets for different flavors. I always mix charcoal pellets into all combinations.
 
^^^ the weber kettle grill is a very, very solid choice . Affordable too. You can get a smoke tube thing and use it in about anything with pellets. I've got a dedicated smoker and I bet I grab that more, the tube thing and pellets. You can get pretty nice smoke in only a little more time than regular grilling.
 
I've always used charcoal for grilling so I'm familiar with those that your talking about. I very much like the way they cook but I'm just wanting to try a pellet smoker for everything.
 
I have a green mountain grill. Certainly easier to “set it and forget it” and the food is tasty. But I think I did get a bit more flavor out of my older charbroil acorn smoker(big green egg knockoff).

Briskets, pork butt, wings, beer can chickens and even burgers and dogs all turn out great. When this one dies eventually I’ll buy another, especially with a family it’s just much more convenient.

maybe when I retire I’ll get another charcoal or stick burner smoker.
 
I fought the pellets forever. Now I will only buy pellet grills! Let me smoke something on charcoal or in the pellet, you can't tell the difference. It is all about the prep and then the combinations of pellets. Plus I can set a temp and the grill controls it, I can't screw it up by getting sidetracked with honey do's or the kids.
 
Pellet grill hands down.

Wanna do burgers or something quick like that? Got for it. Be prepared for “that’s the best burger I’ve ever eaten, what did you put in it”
 
But what model of pellet grill/smoker? I know that's what I want, but what do people have they can give honest feedback on?
 
I’d honestly go for a bare bones tracer. The wifi stuff sounds cool but is pretty finicky. If you need more room opt for 1 with a 2nd rack. That’s something I wish I had, it would be easier to do some venison sausage or sticks.
 
I have a pit boss 850 and recommend it. The thing is they are like everything else, each has it's pros and cons, and what I want and like you might not like as much. What a lot of YouTube reviews, from lots of sources. What the grills, put your hands on them, do they feel cheap, how big is the hopper....how is the wifi? I love my Bluetooth, wifi connection. I can be in my garage and know the temp on the back porch
 
Bowtechassassin said:
But what model of pellet grill/smoker? I know that's what I want, but what do people have they can give honest feedback on?
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I have a Camp Chef 340 that I’ve had for several years. I have friends with RecTeq and Pit Boss. No problems from any of them.

Yes, you will have to pull the grates and vacuum the ashes out. Way fewer ashes than the leftovers from burning charcoal so that’s a no factor.

Obviously it does low and slow smoking extremely well because that’s it’s purpose in life, but where it really outdistances itself from a Weber (I gave my beloved Weber away after getting my pellet grill) is quick stuff like burgers, hot dogs or chicken. Turn it up it 300-350 and toss the burgers on. Everything else is going well and you want them sooner? Turn up the temp. Someone’s running late? Turn the heat down. Juicy burgers with no burnt edges….yeah, you’re going to be a hero. And all the temp control can be done from your phone or at the unit itself.

Smoking a butt or brisket and temps getting close, but you gotta run to the store? No biggie, just very thing is on your phone. If it hits desired temp while you’re gone just turn it down or turn it off.

Seriously, what’s not to love?

You’ll get the random village idiot that will come along spouting, “yeah….welll…..you gotta have wifi……you gotta have power…..”. Disregard those idiots and their wifi remote thermometer they don’t tell their “friends” about because if you don’t have wifi then use the controls and if you down have power just toss some tin foil in the bottom and toss in some Kingsford.
 
I picked up a smoker about a month ago. Had a good stainless BBQ which I recently put new burners and grills into, so didn't want to replace that. ALs have a pellet tube....works great, but only for shorter cooks on the barbie. Too hard to control the temperature on a BBQ for low/slow smoking.

So I opted for a vertical smoker. Got a PIt Boss Pro model PBV4PS2. Has wifi/bluetooth so I can monitor the cook remotely. 4 racks, 60lb pellet hopper., Lowes sells 'em. Just finished up some bone-in ribeye steaks on the smoker. Will reverse-sear it in bacon fat on the BBQ in a cast iron pan before we nosh down. Also the farm just down the road started selling their corn on the cob. Their corn is to die for and always picked same day. Gonna be a good feed tonight....

May not be what your looking for though, if you want a combined grill/smoker, which was not what I was looking for.
 
I've got a standalone electric smoker, a standalone propane grill, and a charcoal kettle grill.

If I'm smoking, I'm smoking. If I'm grilling, I'm grilling. Each gizmo is very good at what it does, especially considering what little I paid for them.

Smokers are kind of a set-it-and-forget-it thing, at least for an hour or so at a time. You don't want to be opening the door very often as that lets out the heat and extends your cook time considerably. Remote probe thermometers are a thing, and you can get them cheaply, which is good because they do tend to glitch and need replacing. So I wouldn't get a Bluetooth thermometer unless I could easily calibrate it after it starts to get weird.

Portability will be a function of size. I built a stand with casters on my smoker so I can roll it around my patio, and put it away in the winter. It's relatively small, about the size of a dorm fridge, and will smoke 2 turkeys (broken down into quarters, on 3 trays) so about 20-30# of meat. Which, really, is plenty for any family gathering. Something that can double as a grill will be larger and less portable.

Unless you look at those Big Green Egg-ty pe ceramic komodo cookers. They're heavy but do dang near anything that needs to be done in the kitchen, except maybe washing dishes. They burn charcoal. Definitely some technique to these things but the people I know who have them won't shut up about them, so there must be something there.
 
X3 Weber kettle will truly pull double duty.

If you think of a pellet "grill" as a convection oven with a hint of smoke, which is what it is, it's a pretty good piece of equipment, but a grill it is not.
 
elk yinzer said:
X3 Weber kettle will truly pull double duty.

If you think of a pellet "grill" as a convection oven with a hint of smoke, which is what it is, it's a pretty good piece of equipment, but a grill it is not.
Click to expand...
Hell, watch old Good Eats episodes. Smoked salmon in a cardboard box and pork shoulder in a large flowerpot. No need to overthink things.
 
If you don't mind spending a bit more and something a bit heavier duty, id look at a recteq. Love mine.
 
I have a pellet grill made by Smokin Brothers. Smokin Brothers – American Made Wood Pellet Grills - Smokin Brothers

These are awesome grills. They are heavy built, and USA made. I use it all the time. Just set it and forget it. One important factor with a pellet grill is the quality of the pellets. I also use the Smokin Brothers pellets as they excellent pellets. If you buy hickory pellets, they will be 100% hickory. The apple pellets are half apple and half hickory because 100% apple is too sticky and will clog up the hopper. But all the other pellets are 100% whatever wood is listed on the bag.

I also use some cheap pellets I get from the local farm store. Pellets grills can go thru the pellets and it's nice to have a good alternative to make it more affordable for grilling cheaper meats.

If you decide to buy a pellet grill, make sure it has the porcelain coated grates as they can be cleaned to look new. Stainless and cast iron can be very hard to clean.
 
I will be the dissenting voice. I have a pellet grill and it sucks balls for most things besides smoking. Started with a pitboss and it died part way through the second cook on it. They replaced it and the second one would not come on for the second cook, computer board died. Punted and got a Z grill. It smokes fine but is a flare up looking for a place to happen if you try to cook anything with any fat at a high temp. They freakin suck. Had to go buy a griddle plate to cook on it. Give me a good stick burner or an egg. The old stand by weber for just grilling works great too.
 
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