We are just two people, so don’t need a huge pellet grill. Which is the best one to get? We live on the coast and even covered and indoors during the rainy season, the salt air turns the steel into recycling after three years. Thanks.
Hi Everyone - I have the Traeger Scout(?) portable pellet smoker. It is a great size and I have indeed lugged it places. It is great for two people, and I even smoke a full size pork but on it, but if really fills up the available space. I got one of those racks that let you smoke ribs vertically. Downside: Due to its compact size, large chunks of meat have a large thermal mass relative to the grilling area. As such, the thermocouple/temperature regulator has a difficult time anticipating the temps and can overshoot quite a bit. The larger pellet grills have less of this effect and can maintain the temps in a tighter range. I will say that the Traeger folks are great to work with and their customer support folks are actually Traeger employees.
I’ve been hearing great things about the Traeger Timberline series. It’s hugely insulated so people seem to use them as wood-fired ovens since they retain heat evenly. I’m not sure the price is commensurate with a “disposable” grill though.
This of course doesn’t answer your question but hasn’t stopped me from commenting before
I absolutely love my electric Smokin-it. I know the arguments and the pros and cons but I’m telling you the results are very very good.
@TheresaMacDonal We ended up with a GMG and added the pizza oven. I miss the hard sear you get on a gas or charcoal, but the smoked flavor is amazing. You have to be careful with seasoning, like salt, as the smoke intensifies the flavors. It really depends on what you want to do with your grill. Do you want to have pulled pork or a hard seared steak? We chose GMG because you can set it and not fuss to much with it.
Just figured out why my 10 year old Ducane isn’t cooking evenly - the steel that holds up the heat reflectors has disintegrated! Looks like I need a new grill. What’s everybody been getting lately? Any reviews of what you have based off several years of use?
Looking for propane and maybe a combo with pellet/charcoal/etc to facilitate smoking. I don’t have a natural gas hookup.
@klezman my 11 year old Ducane is suffering the same fate. A little cut angle iron to prop up the diffuser bars was going to be my plan. Looks like I’ll end up getting a hand-me-down grill instead.
@klezman@radiolysis This must be the Ducane club. Affinity S 5200 here, about 10 yo. I need to check those reflectors. Heat is uneven, but I think it was that way from the start. Needed to learn where the hot spots were.
@ScottW58 I didn’t mean that one specifically, just that even ones that claim high quality have highly variable reviews with a lot of 1-star “these rusted out” comments. For all grill types I’ve looked at.
I thought about paying extra for a Traeger but between being a relative newbie - sure, I can cook a decent steak or burger but that’s about the extent of my grilling prowess - and having read an Amazon review from a guy who said his Traeger rusted out in 3-4 years despite having a cover, I decided on a cheaper Z Grills pellet grill & smoker. I can always upgrade in a few years…
I went through a week of borderline obsessive research on pellet grills last fall, planning to get in on end of year sales, and decided on the Weber SmokeFire EX4. The Gen 1 was widely panned and got a ton of low ratings. The Gen 2 apparently addressed the problems and consistently rates 5-stars. I particularly liked the wide temperature range, with 600deg top end, that makes it good for searing as well as smoking. Also has good surface area, wifi/BT,… Just as I was about to pull the trigger, I ran the idea past the wife, who said she wasn’t all that enthused about doing smoked meats (or tofu). Who knew after 30+ years together?!? More here: SmokeFire at bbqguys
Today there is such a choice of barbecue devices on the market that no one but you will find the exact answer to this question. The choice of grill depends on what you plan to cook, what your budget is, and even where you live. Much more important are additional devices for better cooking. For example, don’t forget the amazon meat thermometer, because even if you cook it on a pallet grill, you can still overcook the meat with ease. The pellet grill itself doesn’t play a special role, you can choose any because the more expensive options don’t have special advantages, you still need to clean it after each use, just like a charcoal grill, and the fan is also not much better.
@Carddeception
nothing smokes like using chunks of pallets in a pellet grill. Was there a particular toast you liked? Were they used for shipping some well aged Cab?
Hi Everyone - I have the Traeger Scout(?) portable pellet smoker. It is a great size and I have indeed lugged it places. It is great for two people, and I even smoke a full size pork but on it, but if really fills up the available space. I got one of those racks that let you smoke ribs vertically. Downside: Due to its compact size, large chunks of meat have a large thermal mass relative to the grilling area. As such, the thermocouple/temperature regulator has a difficult time anticipating the temps and can overshoot quite a bit. The larger pellet grills have less of this effect and can maintain the temps in a tighter range. I will say that the Traeger folks are great to work with and their customer support folks are actually Traeger employees.
I have heard that Oklahoma Joe makes some nice ones there are others. Need to do some research https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oklahoma-Joe-s-Highland-879-sq-in-Black-Charcoal-Horizontal-Smoker/50329703?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--sol--ggl--LIA_SOL_119_Grills--50329703--local--0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz7uRBhDRARIsAFqjulnnb2qNBR1sQd2R4Kj6mvYZ_Vh92NWWHfBjgkPEeQkOTcDWfSPfEFoaAn89EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
You may want to check out the smoker thread as well, or not.
@rjquillin I have. The pictures are amazing.
I’ve been hearing great things about the Traeger Timberline series. It’s hugely insulated so people seem to use them as wood-fired ovens since they retain heat evenly. I’m not sure the price is commensurate with a “disposable” grill though.
This of course doesn’t answer your question but hasn’t stopped me from commenting before
I absolutely love my electric Smokin-it. I know the arguments and the pros and cons but I’m telling you the results are very very good.
I’ve had one of these for almost 4 years. Old school, no Alpha controller or wifi. Great smoker, built like a tank, small footprint on the patio. https://grillagrills.com/grills/grilla-pellet-smoker-grill-2/
I, too, have been looking for the best grill for my backyard for half a year now. Would love to have some help here.
@TheresaMacDonal We ended up with a GMG and added the pizza oven. I miss the hard sear you get on a gas or charcoal, but the smoked flavor is amazing. You have to be careful with seasoning, like salt, as the smoke intensifies the flavors. It really depends on what you want to do with your grill. Do you want to have pulled pork or a hard seared steak? We chose GMG because you can set it and not fuss to much with it.
/giphy poof
@rjquillin Spooky one!
Just figured out why my 10 year old Ducane isn’t cooking evenly - the steel that holds up the heat reflectors has disintegrated! Looks like I need a new grill. What’s everybody been getting lately? Any reviews of what you have based off several years of use?
Looking for propane and maybe a combo with pellet/charcoal/etc to facilitate smoking. I don’t have a natural gas hookup.
@klezman my 11 year old Ducane is suffering the same fate. A little cut angle iron to prop up the diffuser bars was going to be my plan. Looks like I’ll end up getting a hand-me-down grill instead.
@radiolysis yeah if I knew where to get some of that it would work too.
@klezman
Do they make combo pellet charcoal grills?
@ScottW58 yes. They also make combo propane and charcoal/chips
@klezman
Well I love my egg/ pit barrel and my Weber Genesis so I’m not much help. Check out the amazing ribs website lots of knowledge there?
@klezman @radiolysis This must be the Ducane club. Affinity S 5200 here, about 10 yo. I need to check those reflectors. Heat is uneven, but I think it was that way from the start. Needed to learn where the hot spots were.
@ScottW58 Yeah, now that I need to get something else, at least some time soon, I want to think through how much we want to spend but also what to do about a smoker vs a grill. Or consider something like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Char-Griller-Texas-Trio-3-Burner-Dual-Fuel-Grill-with-Smoker-in-Black-3070/302624342 But reviews for everything seem on the mixed side, with a lot of people saying even these supposedly high quality grills rust out after 1-3 years.
Yeah I’m not sure that one would be considered a high quality grill/smoker?
@ScottW58 I didn’t mean that one specifically, just that even ones that claim high quality have highly variable reviews with a lot of 1-star “these rusted out” comments. For all grill types I’ve looked at.
I thought about paying extra for a Traeger but between being a relative newbie - sure, I can cook a decent steak or burger but that’s about the extent of my grilling prowess - and having read an Amazon review from a guy who said his Traeger rusted out in 3-4 years despite having a cover, I decided on a cheaper Z Grills pellet grill & smoker. I can always upgrade in a few years…
I went through a week of borderline obsessive research on pellet grills last fall, planning to get in on end of year sales, and decided on the Weber SmokeFire EX4. The Gen 1 was widely panned and got a ton of low ratings. The Gen 2 apparently addressed the problems and consistently rates 5-stars. I particularly liked the wide temperature range, with 600deg top end, that makes it good for searing as well as smoking. Also has good surface area, wifi/BT,… Just as I was about to pull the trigger, I ran the idea past the wife, who said she wasn’t all that enthused about doing smoked meats (or tofu). Who knew after 30+ years together?!? More here: SmokeFire at bbqguys
Today there is such a choice of barbecue devices on the market that no one but you will find the exact answer to this question. The choice of grill depends on what you plan to cook, what your budget is, and even where you live. Much more important are additional devices for better cooking. For example, don’t forget the amazon meat thermometer, because even if you cook it on a pallet grill, you can still overcook the meat with ease. The pellet grill itself doesn’t play a special role, you can choose any because the more expensive options don’t have special advantages, you still need to clean it after each use, just like a charcoal grill, and the fan is also not much better.
@Carddeception
nothing smokes like using chunks of pallets in a pellet grill. Was there a particular toast you liked? Were they used for shipping some well aged Cab?
@rjquillin That screen name is interesting…
@zgrillsusa lol
@rjquillin Poofy!