Pellet Smokers

[luckyman]

Yeah having just got a new grill for the new house, I’m inching ever-closer to a pellet smoker myself, with the Recteq in the lead. I was thinking CampChef as the runner up at the moment. I’m coming from a different place; never smoked anything in my life. I’ll pay for less skill needed and easier setup and cleanup.

Well I ended up going for the 24” camp chef (woodwind I think it is called). I’m really happy with it so far. So easy even a caveman could do it. I’ve only cooked in indirect mode, in that mode it has about a 12 degree gradient across the bottom rack….

So far I’ve done pork chops, a steak, a tri tip, and tonight I smoked steelhead. The first 3 were all reverse sear finished for a couple minutes on my natural gas grill that has a special sear burner that is not part of the main grill and gets super hot. Everything has been real good, especially the fish which I was wondering how it would turn out. Used the camp chef “competition blend” pellets for everything so far.

Keep in mind I’m a complete newb at this so I’m probably easily impressed.

[SecondsCount]

Try some chicken thighs. Put your favorite rub on them and grill on 250 for 45-60 mins.

[luckyman]

Try some chicken thighs. Put your favorite rub on them and grill on 250 for 45-60 mins.

Hah that is exactly what my wife just asked for next, after giving a big thumbs up on the smoked steelhead.

[rob_s]

I'm inching ever-closer to ditching the charcoal smoker for a pellet. The setup and cleanup times with the charcoal are getting in the way of me doing simple stuff like wings and salmon that I could have up and smoking in no time with a pellet.

I kinda feel like maybe I should buy a Traeger or a Recteq to get my feet wet with pellets, and then upgrade later if required. Only thing is I've rarely had good luck starting out with "cheap" or even "middle of road" and tend to jump right in the deep end in terms of price and quality to much better overall effect.

frontrunners are as follows...

Lone Star Grillz 20x36 Pellet Smoker
Pros
-beefy
-apple watch monitoring
-pretty much universally good reviews
Cons
-Pricey at $2400
-hard to get (no dealer network?)
-long lead
-smallest pellet they make, bigger than I really want

Yoder YS480s
Pros
-seemingly good quality and strong customer satisfaction
-apple watch monitoring
Cons
-Still pricey at $2k+shipping
-known to be susceptible to rust

RecTeq RT-700 (or possibly RT-590)
Pros
-least expensive of the bunch
-even smaller size available in the 590
-relatively good reputation
Cons
-no apple watch monitoring
-cheapest of the bunch
-least-good reputation of the bunch

Well, one development here after joining fb groups for both the Yoder and the Lone Star...

I don't see anyone in the Lone Star group wishing they'd bought a Yoder, but I see a lot of guys on the Yoder page saying their next one will be a Lone Star.

Probably need to put my Lone Star order in now to get it by next Florida grilling season (fall 2023).

[HeavyDuty]

Well, one development here after joining fb groups for both the Yoder and the Lone Star...

I don't see anyone in the Lone Star group wishing they'd bought a Yoder, but I see a lot of guys on the Yoder page saying their next one will be a Lone Star.

Probably need to put my Lone Star order in now to get it by next Florida grilling season (fall 2023).

Damn, that’s sexy.

[RevolverRob]

Still very happy with my Pit Boss from Lowe's. I do kind of wish I had a bluetooth enabled probe, so I could monitor it from afar, but I can add one of those and will probably do so soon. Did beef ribs on Sunday, came out great and I smoked a ton of chicken and vegetables for all the folks who were helping us look for Shelby when she was on the lam. So far in a year, with use ranging from once a month (winter), to four times a week (now), I've had to empty my pot of ash once, though the second time is coming up.

I have no idea why anyone persists in using charcoal or propane grills these days. My buddy keeps telling me, "I like the temperature control." - What's hard about turn the thermostat to a setting and leave it alone? - Sure it doesn't heat up quite as fast as a propane grill, but I turn it on and 10-min later it's 350-degrees. It's no different than an oven....

[orionz06]

Well, one development here after joining fb groups for both the Yoder and the Lone Star...

I don't see anyone in the Lone Star group wishing they'd bought a Yoder, but I see a lot of guys on the Yoder page saying their next one will be a Lone Star.

Probably need to put my Lone Star order in now to get it by next Florida grilling season (fall 2023).

Interesting. I keep poking at the idea of a Yoder, but haven't joined any groups. What do they offer over the RecTeq that has you looking at over double the price?

[rob_s]

Interesting. I keep poking at the idea of a Yoder, but haven't joined any groups. What do they offer over the RecTeq that has you looking at over double the price?

Yoder and LSG both use heavy gauge steel (10 and 7, respectively) than the RT (14). They also both use the Fireboard controller which is supposed to be the best.

There are other features, particularly in the LSG, that appear to be well thought out (pellet dump, for one, up to 6 probes for another).

The Rt700 at $1200 would appear to be the size equivalent of the LSG 20x36, and that’s $2400 (not counting shipping or upgrades).

I may get a ft590 while I wait for the LSG to come in. Lead times are apparently a bitch.

[willie]

I almost made a wisecrack about spending $2400 on a cooker but then realized that last week I dropped $4,200.00 on a mattress. Yes, I got the decimal in the correct place.

[rob_s]

It's no different than an oven....

ovens are for women.