Smokers

[WISCO]

I have a ZGrill. It is decent. Pellet grills are the ultimate set it and forget cookers. Anyone can grill / smoke awesome food with one. There are thousands of videos with time and temp to make sure you dont screw it up. Get a temp probe and an instant read with it and you are golden.

 

[boxerboxer]

You can do a lot with a Weber Kettle and they don’t take up much space. Not as easy to smoke on as a pellet grill but you will get a better flavor.

This is true, I got great results for years, but in no way is it something you can just walk away from for hours on end. Snake method or similar does help, and if you get a blower and pit controller it gets a big step better, but it can't touch a pellet grill.

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.

I agree with this in principle. Nothing beats an actual grill for grilling and if I had unlimited space I'd still have a charcoal grill for hot and fast stuff. That said, I can get pretty close with my Pit Boss Sportsman 1100. High temp works pretty well, as does opening up the grate over the firepot to reverse sear after low temp cooking with smoke.

The two things I wish my pellet grill had: removeable firepot for easy cleanout, and PID temperature control. Still, I was a diehard weber guy for over 10 years but after about a year with the Pit Boss I'm very happy.

 

[Bowtechassassin]

Okay you've convinced me I need to just buy a grill like I'm used to for when I want to grill no problem. But what I'm not sure on is the models and I don't feel like spending hours researching models. I've never done an smoking before so it's all new to me.

 

[thedutchtouch]

I have a recteq bull/700. Love it. It can double as a grill, temps will get up to 500, but I also have a Weber propane grill that's much easier to fire up for a quick grill out or to sear a steak or something. The peller smokers don't sear that well (there's people that get cast iron accessories that may disagree with me here).

Pellet smoker/propane grill, what can I say, I like the easy button, and the food comes out great. The rectec (and most other pellet smokers)has temp probes and an app I can check on from my phone, it's great.

 

[boxerboxer]

Okay you've convinced me I need to just buy a grill like I'm used to for when I want to grill no problem. But what I'm not sure on is the models and I don't feel like spending hours researching models. I've never done an smoking before so it's all new to me.

Amazingribs.com has pretty in depth review of a lot of grills of all types from stick burners to gas to charcoal to pellet. As with any review site I'd also compare to amazon reviews and maybe some smoking forums for a second opinion, but amazingribs is usually very thorough.

 

[HuskerInIowa]

I’ve got a Weber Smokey Mountain I do all my meat/cheese smoking on. Great way to learn more about the process and flavors and I love mine, wouldn’t trade it. If you want an Easy Bake Oven there’s a bunch of good recommendations on here too though. Just plug it in, make sure your light bulb is bright enough, and tell your mommy if the pan is too hot at the end.
Either way you’ll make good food, do what you like

 

[SNIPERBBB]

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.

My reqtec has multiple shields that eliminate flare-ups. If you get a big fire it's because you haven't cleaned the grill in a while and dust has caught fire and that is pretty much limited to when you first turn the grill on.

 

[BTaylor]

My reqtec has multiple shields that eliminate flare-ups. If you get a big fire it's because you haven't cleaned the grill in a while and dust has caught fire and that is pretty much limited to when you first turn the grill on.

Yep, bunch of extra maintenance that a charcoal or stick burner doesnt have or at a minimum is way easier to do compared to the pellet grill.

 

[gcr0003]

You can do a lot with a Weber Kettle and they don’t take up much space. Not as easy to smoke on as a pellet grill but you will get a better flavor.

Like anything it takes a little bit of trial and error to get right. I started grilling a couple years ago on the Webber and slowly started trying to smoke different things.

The main difficult thing to learn is maintaining temp. It’s not a push a button and leave for 12 hours type cooking. If that’s what you want then buy a pellet smoker. The Coals usually need replenished every 45mins-2 hours depending on amount of coals and what you’re trying to maintain temp at but the way I do it is throw the coals on early and let them get started right on top. It saves me from having to start new coals several times. I do everything from burgers, steak, chicken, porks, to brisket and tuna on my Weber and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure it takes a little more effort and time, but I feel it’s hard to beat the flavor of charcoal and wood.

The smoke flavor is the easiest part of the whole thing. With my indirect heat I will either put soaked chips directly in the coal, or sitting on the grill above the coals, or put one or two large wood chucks in the coals. Recently I have really enjoyed the ease of using the chunks but they both work and are really easy.

if money is a concern, you really can do a lot with the weber.

I only have recent pictures on myphone so most of the food is just grilled not smoked except the chicken. Smoked chicken and chicken wings will change your life. There is no comparison to with and without smoke.

 

[Halfstep]

Okay you've convinced me I need to just buy a grill like I'm used to for when I want to grill no problem. But what I'm not sure on is the models and I don't feel like spending hours researching models. I've never done an smoking before so it's all new to me.

"Smoking" meat is a chemical reaction that occurs when the wood smoke contacts the meat. This chemical reaction stops when the meat hits about 140 degrees. Smoking is best done at lower temps, 180 to 225 degrees as, it gives the meat more time to react to the smoke.

Using different wood or pellets for smoking is misunderstood. Using apple wood/pellets don't give the meat an apple flavor. Apple wood is a mild smoke, so the meat has a milder smoke flavor. Mesquite wood/pellets is a very strong smoke giving the meat a very smoking flavor. I like hickory pellets/wood as it gives the meat a strong but good flavor. Oak is also a good smoking pellet/wood with good flavor. Cherry gives a mild smoke flavor like apple.

Cooking is defined as, temperature and time. Lower temperature means longer cook time. Higher temperature means shorter cook time. When in doubt, cook at 250 degrees. It is a good all-around temp good for any meat. Experimenting with different cook times and temps is a good way to learn what works best for you. Get a meat thermometer like a Thermapen as it will help you get the internal temp correct for safety and for flavor.

When cooking thin meats like hamburgers, pork chops/steaks or beef steaks, a good seasoning works well. When cooking thick meats like Boston butt, or cooking long cooks like with ribs, a good rub is necessary as it protects the surface of the meat and keeps the meat from drying out. Sweet rubs have a lot of sugar and will burn at higher temps so keep the temps at 250 degrees or lower.

Always remember that cooking is defined as, temperature and time.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Okay you've convinced me I need to just buy a grill like I'm used to for when I want to grill no problem. But what I'm not sure on is the models and I don't feel like spending hours researching models. I've never done an smoking before so it's all new to me.

If you don't want to spend hours researching things smoking meat ain't for you lol. Even doing hot n fast brisket still amounts to an 8-10 hr day.

 

[Horn]

^^^^ sniper is right. Learning smoking is smoking. If you want the easy button stick to pellets or a Bradley.

I have a Bradley, holds Temps magnificent! Smoker part is fouled up, not too impressed for the $$$ there. When it does smoke it's pretty light flavored to me, or it crosses into ash tray territory. I scraggly prefer to run smoke elsewhere and finish long cooks there - pork butt for example. Gotta use Bradley pucks too, not the end of the world but more expensive than other options.

I haven't seen the Pit Barrel Cooker mentioned. Kinda cool. Closer to set and forget for charcoal. It takes quiet a bit of fuel to get a good temperature but it'll stay hot for a few hours, or more. There is a risk of too much charcoal flavor if you follow their instructions also, fyi

 

[BuffaloBill]

If you want to keep it simple just get an electric vertical smoker. Can get one for a few hundred bucks. Also doesn’t take up much space.

 

[dalton916]

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.

We had a saying on submarines that “you have to be 10% smarter than the equipment you operate”

 

[Iron_llama]

If you want to keep it simple just get an electric vertical smoker. Can get one for a few hundred bucks. Also doesn’t take up much space.

Cheap way to dip your toe in before committing money or space to the pursuit.

Granted I expect you'll be blown away by the results and

 

[Jefferson10940]

I have a Weber gas grill, Weber kettle charcoal, pit barrel cooker, traeger, and 2 UDS smokers. The only only I do not use is the traeger. They all have their strengths, but nothing beats the pit barrel cooker for easy set it and walk away smoking. I’ve had it for probably 8 years or so. Best $300 I have ever spent.

I’m about to roll the traeger To the end of the driveway with a free sign on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gator]

I have a green egg with some aftermarket temp controller. It works but like others have said, they all have theirs pros and cons. My egg holds temp very well but if you are doing a cook where you want to change temps midway (such as the above example where you want to speed up or slow down the finish time based on other factors like people being early/late), it sucks. I think pellet would be much simpler to operate than the egg. If I were to purchase today, I'd be looking at the above mentioned pellet grills.

 

[BTaylor]

We had a saying on submarines that “you have to be 10% smarter than the equipment you operate”

I was. The last big flare up that about caught the porch on fire, I stopped the wife from calling 911 and threw a box of baking soda on it.

@Jefferson10940 Say when and I may bring mine with a sign that says stop once get 2 free.

 

[dalton916]

I would tell what you did wrong, but you’ve moved on so it matters not anymore, lol.

Excellent save, btw

 

[BTaylor]

I would tell what you did wrong, but you’ve moved on so it matters not anymore, lol.

Excellent save, btw

I know full well what I did wrong. I let my wife talk me into getting rid of the stick burner for the pellet. Also I havent fully moved on, we still have the silly thing but you are correct that mentally I am all the way over it. Seriously considering building myself a brick smoker on the open patio and replacing the pellet with a gas grill for the screened in porch.