Pellet Smokers

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I have a RecTec as well, saw glowing praise on forums and went from there. They had a grill that had the features I wanted and was the size I needed for a specific storage spot.

I love the Wifi control, I was out this spring and the meat hit temperature earlier than I planned, I was able to turn the heat down remotely to keep everything warm but not overcook. I have done several overnight cooks that I’ll start at 10/11 PM so that the meat will be ready for a normal meal time the next day.

Only complaint is the first 20-30 minutes after getting to temperature are a little unstable, I’ve adjust by just letting the grill work this out before putting the meat on instead of throwing it on as soon as it hits temperature.

I’m cleaning the grates and pan every cook I do a better cleaning when I feel like it. I do wrap the pan in foil to speed up cleaning.

Ive read some pellet grill owners are cleaning their grills with a hand held steamer with good results.

[orionz06]

I went RecTeq 590 after learning how bad Traeger is relative to their notoriety. They'd let so much slip and the rest passed them by.

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I went RecTeq 590 after learning how bad Traeger is relative to their notoriety. They'd let so much slip and the rest passed them by.

My brother in law has one that is a few years old. The only work around he has had is the grease drain and Traeger CS told him how to deal with that. I Just talked with him about his and he said outside of that its idiot proof. That said Id not be happy to pay $2000 for a smoker that has a work around to a design flaw but surprisingly a lot of them do. My biggest question is double walled or double walled and insulated. I hope I could find someone who has experience with both. Traeger has both. There is a big jump in fuel cost going from charcoal to pellet and that cost plus temp swings in inclement weather and just lower fuel cost in general is the driver behind that question. Traeger has both but my BIL also thinks there is better value for the money to be had.

I purchased some bulk towels and drape them over my weber in inclement weather and the temp control is much better and also it reduces the charcoal use.
My family member has a BBQ restaurant and when I first bought my Weber I talked with him about the weight loss of the meat during a cook he thought that might be because of the constant air exchange. His uses gas to control chamber heat and there is a separate box for wood smoke. So thats also a consideration but not as pressing as fuel efficiency.

[rob_s]

Coupe of things…

First, go through this thread. There’s a fair amount of hardware discussion in amongst the food porn.
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....pen-spit-etc-)


Second, if you aren’t familiar, this is a great resource…
https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...moker-reviews/


Third, I think that lot of the disappointment people wind up having with various (even expensive) smokers is a combination of unrealistic expectations and echo chambering (they are perfectly happy with their smoker, then watch a couple of YouTubes, and next thing you know there’s a bunch of problems they can’t get over).


Fourth, I’m no Traeger fanboy, but they now have something like 4 product lines. Iirc the top two aren’t available in box stores, and are the only ones I’d consider.
Here’s one example
https://www.traeger.com/pellet-grills/ironwood/650


I’m 99% sure that if (when?) I wind up with a pellet grill, it’ll be this one. In part because they use the Fireboard thermometer system with is pretty bad ass (many have mobile-enabled temp monitoring, but Fireboard is very robust).
https://www.yodersmokers.com/pellet/...-pellet-grill/


Finally, the Camp Chef Woodwind is almost universally positively reviewed, and the side box options give it a lot of flexibility (why try to sear on a pellet smoker when you can have a propane burner? Plus, you can get a pizza oven!)
https://www.campchef.com/woodwind-wi...-sidekick.html

[UNK]

Coupe of things…

First, go through this thread. There’s a fair amount of hardware discussion in amongst the food porn.
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....pen-spit-etc-)


Second, if you aren’t familiar, this is a great resource…
https://amazingribs.com/ratings-revi...moker-reviews/


Third, I think that lot of the disappointment people wind up having with various (even expensive) smokers is a combination of unrealistic expectations and echo chambering (they are perfectly happy with their smoker, then watch a couple of YouTubes, and next thing you know there’s a bunch of problems they can’t get over).


Fourth, I’m no Traeger fanboy, but they now have something like 4 product lines. Iirc the top two aren’t available in box stores, and are the only ones I’d consider.
Here’s one example
https://www.traeger.com/pellet-grills/ironwood/650


I’m 99% sure that if (when?) I wind up with a pellet grill, it’ll be this one. In part because they use the Fireboard thermometer system with is pretty bad ass (many have mobile-enabled temp monitoring, but Fireboard is very robust).
https://www.yodersmokers.com/pellet/...-pellet-grill/


Finally, the Camp Chef Woodwind is almost universally positively reviewed, and the side box options give it a lot of flexibility (why try to sear on a pellet smoker when you can have a propane burner? Plus, you can get a pizza oven!)
https://www.campchef.com/woodwind-wi...-sidekick.html

Thats why I dont go by negative online reviews. These people for a large part seem to be totally inexperienced and outraged over the simplest things. And Ive seen online smokers forums people express opinions stated as facts which I know are false.
A buddy just bought a camp chef, he gets in about two weeks Im going to watching that with interest. Hes never smoked before so Ill be helping him out a bit. Im going to buy him Meatheads book as it covers so much material that is really useful.
Im really excited to try the results as Ive never had pellet smoked meat.
My main thing is I want to simplify the process and buy American made, always my first choice if possible. I figure this will be my last smoker purchase so I really want to get it right.
You’ll have to excuse me Im going to enjoy my pulled chuck omelet now. 😁

[Spartan1980]

My weber kettle is really sensitive to temperature whether its sun or cold or wind. My dilemma is double walled or double walled plus insulation. Im surprised how many smoker makers, even high dollar ones, have issues that need a work around.

Are you dead set on a pellet grill? I kinda was until I looked into Big Green Eggs. With all the accessories available I was sold.

I was looking for something I could do it all on, from low and slow to ridiculously high temp searing. I had the electric smoker and a gas grill but I like the flavor so much better over wood coals vs. gas and the gas grill was on it's last leg. Space constraints got me to looking for a single grill. At the time it was kind of iffy whether pellet grills would do actual grill type things well unless you got past the $1000 mark. Trager was once the king when it was a private company in Texas, but the owners sold it and the manufacturing was offshored to China. That left Yoder pretty much (at that time) and they are quite expensive and had a big delivery backlog.

A BGE is about 1" thick ceramic with an additional 1" thick ceramic fire box inside. They are sealed with a gasket and airflow is extremely controllable for temp control and maintain it quite well. I kinda want the space of a conventional grill setup at times but I'm extremely happy with the BGE. You can do an awful lot with a BGE in a large size with an adjustable rig from https://Ceramic Grill Store.

[RoyGBiv]

I'm still very happy with my Pit Boss. No fancy electronics or web enablement. Pellet is WAY better that the various other smokers I've had over the years. YMMV

Re: Cleaning...

1. After every smoke I run the grill brush over the grates, and run the temp up to >400F for 15 minutes.
2. Before every smoke I empty the ash out of the fire pot and dump it into the bottom of the smoker. Usually only a tablespoon or two.
2a. Then I wipe the grates with a clean rag or towel. Wash them as needed with soap and water (maybe monthly, the ramp to 400 does a good job cleaning)
3. Maybe monthly I'll get out the shop vac and clean whatever ash and debris remains.

It's unusual for me not to use my smoker 1x/week. Sometimes more often. It's just too easy.

[UNK]

Are you dead set on a pellet grill? I kinda was until I looked into Big Green Eggs. With all the accessories available I was sold.

I was looking for something I could do it all on, from low and slow to ridiculously high temp searing. I had the electric smoker and a gas grill but I like the flavor so much better over wood coals vs. gas and the gas grill was on it's last leg. Space constraints got me to looking for a single grill. At the time it was kind of iffy whether pellet grills would do actual grill type things well unless you got past the $1000 mark. Trager was once the king when it was a private company in Texas, but the owners sold it and the manufacturing was offshored to China. That left Yoder pretty much (at that time) and they are quite expensive and had a big delivery backlog.

A BGE is about 1" thick ceramic with an additional 1" thick ceramic fire box inside. They are sealed with a gasket and airflow is extremely controllable for temp control and maintain it quite well. I kinda want the space of a conventional grill setup at times but I'm extremely happy with the BGE. You can do an awful lot with a BGE in a large size with an adjustable rig from https://Ceramic Grill Store.

No Im not 100% set.
One of the things I really want is simplicity to do a quick smoke and then finish it out with grilling, its ready to cook in a few min quick. Thats for everyday stuff like burgers chicken steaks veggies or even using the smoker to give the meat for a dish a bit of extra flavor. I dont think theres any way to get that with charcoal or wood.
For the longer smokes I want very accurate temps regardless of weather and not have to deal with the smoker at all during the cook unless Im wrapping meat.
Ill be able to sample pellet cooked meat in two weekends that should give me a good idea of what direction Im going.
So regardless of fuel type I still dont know how much better a double walled insulated is than a double wall. I think Ill call Traeger, they should have some good info since they have both.

[UNK]

I'm still very happy with my Pit Boss. No fancy electronics or web enablement. Pellet is WAY better that the various other smokers I've had over the years. YMMV

Re: Cleaning...

1. After every smoke I run the grill brush over the grates, and run the temp up to >400F for 15 minutes.
2. Before every smoke I empty the ash out of the fire pot and dump it into the bottom of the smoker. Usually only a tablespoon or two.
2a. Then I wipe the grates with a clean rag or towel. Wash them as needed with soap and water (maybe monthly, the ramp to 400 does a good job cleaning)
3. Maybe monthly I'll get out the shop vac and clean whatever ash and debris remains.

It's unusual for me not to use my smoker 1x/week. Sometimes more often. It's just too easy.

Thats exactly what I want easy peasy. To be a grill master without the effort.

[RoyGBiv]

No Im not 100% set.
One of the things I really want is simplicity to do a quick smoke and then finish it out with grilling, its ready to cook in a few min quick. Thats for everyday stuff like burgers chicken steaks veggies or even using the smoker to give the meat for a dish a bit of extra flavor. I dont think theres any way to get that with charcoal or wood.

Charcoal is still a great option for flavoring. And you can cook indirectly or at low temperatures if desired. Getting a smoker preheated and then to a stable temperature is way easier but takes about the same time.

Smoking then searing on the grill (aka Reverse Sear) is my preference for steaks and chicken.