First of all, I have a separate smoker for smoking meats, but I need a new grill. I had a propane grill but gave it to a couple of great kids to take to college. It cooked great but not sure if I want another one or opt for a pellet grill.
For general BBQ'ing......burgers, chicken, steaks, etc, how do you rate the pellet grill? Pros and Cons? I've been looking at a Camp Chef grill that has a sear box on the side of it for finishing off steaks with a sear. Thanks.
Pellets seem pretty lame.
Charcoal has been fun. No electricity.
The sear box uses propane.
I’m a charcoal guy to
I do like the convenience of gas but....... no fun nor flavor.
I like fire.
Bought a Traeger Timberline a while back. It's the heavily insulated model, which I would spring for over the standard thin sheet metal one. The idea is it keeps temps consistent where my buddies standard model fluctuates 30 degrees. They're not BBQ's that's for sure. Nor are they smokers. I think of them as smoky ovens. Got a pizza out there right now.
We cooked a 16 lb prime rib last weekend on it, and it turned out juicy and awesome. We charred the outside on a charcoal grill first, then smoked it at 225 for a few hours, until internal temp hit 132 degrees.
I love the internal probe. I have no idea how you could cook without it. MUST HAVE imo. Has an alarm when the meat hits the temp you preset it for. You could even set it with your smart phone if you wanted to. With ours anything below 225 degrees cooking temp you can use the Super Smoke setting which gives it more flavor.
Overall, it's smoky, but not really smoked like a smoker does it. Takes electricity, bad imo. Charcoal, less convenient but how you can beat the flavor?
Charcoal, less convenient but how you can beat the flavor?
The pellets are a much better flavor than charcoal, IMO.
i use my electric smoker for some things and they come out great but for brisket, ribs and prime rib roast its the wood burner.
I'm really enjoying my Traeger. Much easier than the old wood burner that I used the last 10 years. Great flavor. If you need more smoke, add smoke tubes.
However, it is not really a BBQ, in that you won't get the high temp direct heat that you will in a propane or charcoal grill. That is more than offset, IMO, by the ease of use and great results.
P.S. - I did add a blanket, which helps maintain temps in cold or windy conditions.
My son-in-law has a Traeger and likes it quite well. It is constructed from fairly light weight sheet metal and, after several years (5-6?) of occasional use, is probably going to need replacement soon.
I've been using a Yoder YS640 pellet grill for the last 4 years (4-5 times per week) and couldn't be happier with it. It BBQ's, direct (and indirect) flame grills, smokes GREAT. Very uniform and consistent temps from 150 deg. up to over 500 deg if so desired.
A bit pricy (2-3 times what a Traeger will cost) but it is built in America (Kansas) from heavy gage steel and should last a lifetime. Structurally, mine is like new with none of the signs of thinning sheet metal my SIL's Traeger is showing.
If you are going to buy a pellet grill and can possibly save enough coin buy a Yoder. You'll spend more on the initial purchase but you'll only have to buy once.
I have gotten some great "smoked" results by adding chunked mesquite to the bottom rack of .y Brinkman gas grill.
Two of my kids have Traegers and it is admittedly easier to work with than adding wet wood to a gas grill.
But I will never pay the inflated price demanded by Traeger. There are a lot of equivalent competitors out there for a lot less money.
Blazing Grill is also American made (somewhere in Nebraska). It has a removable fire box so easy to maintain. Traegers work fine now that they have had 20 years to work the bugs out of them but they aren't designed to be run 4-5 times a week.
Never owned one. Couldn’t say.
I do use pellets to smoke though. An “A Maze N” smoker tray, or some such. Works great and very little heat. Nice for smoking cheese, fish, and other items. Lots of pellets available. Use electricity to add heat if desired.
For cooking, I stick with the old Weber Kettle or a new favorite, Charbroil Big Easy cooker. Charbroil is gas with a pellet tray.
I have the small and middle size Green Mountain grills and have been happy with them and no longer own a gas grill. Wife and kids like the flavor better than charcoal and we've all felt meat stays moister and comes out more tender than other grills we've used. They don't get hot enough to do a good sear on steaks, but I haven't tried the grill grates yet so maybe that is the answer there. I think they do best with longer lower temperature cooks like whole chicken, roasts, etc. I'm paying $15 for 28 lb bags of pellets and go through a couple bags a year so fairly reasonable.
In your case already having a smoker, I might be looking at the Big Green Egg or similar ceramic grills if grilling steaks were a priority.
If I ever make any money, the next outdoor cooking machine I buy will be a PK 360.
JG look at the Rectec 700 bull they have one of the better PID controllers and they really hold an accurate temp costs a little more than the others but they come with a 6 year warranty, we use ours 3-4 times a week and really enjoy it!
JG look at the Rectec 700 bull they have one of the better PID controllers and they really hold an accurate temp costs a little more than the others but they come with a 6 year warranty, we use ours 3-4 times a week and really enjoy it!
+1
love my traeger, as a smoker, we have grilled chicken on it once and didn't like the smokey flavor in that application. However, as a smoker IMO it obsoletes everything else out there. I dinked with huge smokers and real wood for years. I had a tow behind custom made smoker that I bought in texas that I brought up to where I live now. it was made from half a behind your house propane tank, such a PITA. you had to baby the thing and practically watch it constantly. now days its pick up a 13-15 pound brisket. put it in at 11 pm cook all night. while sleep. wake up, wrap, then cook till 3 pm ish. brisket comes out excellent and repeatable everytime. Before it was a crap shoot. pellet smokers should put all the others out of business.
love my traeger, as a smoker, we have grilled chicken on it once and didn't like the smokey flavor in that application. However, as a smoker IMO it obsoletes everything else out there. I dinked with huge smokers and real wood for years. I had a tow behind custom made smoker that I bought in texas that I brought up to where I live now. it was made from half a behind your house propane tank, such a PITA. you had to baby the thing and practically watch it constantly. now days its pick up a 13-15 pound brisket. put it in at 11 pm cook all night. while sleep. wake up, wrap, then cook till 3 pm ish. brisket comes out excellent and repeatable everytime. Before it was a crap shoot. pellet smokers should put all the others out of business.
I do the same with my Trager on Briskets. Beef and Pork tenderloins come out perfectly moist and tender as well. Easy Peasy. I still prefer to grill a steak over hot coals!
My son-in-law has a Traeger and likes it quite well. It is constructed from fairly light weight sheet metal and, after several years (5-6?) of occasional use, is probably going to need replacement soon.
I've been using a Yoder YS640 pellet grill for the last 4 years (4-5 times per week) and couldn't be happier with it. It BBQ's, direct (and indirect) flame grills, smokes GREAT. Very uniform and consistent temps from 150 deg. up to over 500 deg if so desired.
A bit pricy (2-3 times what a Traeger will cost) but it is built in America (Kansas) from heavy gage steel and should last a lifetime. Structurally, mine is like new with none of the signs of thinning sheet metal my SIL's Traeger is showing.
If you are going to buy a pellet grill and can possibly save enough coin buy a Yoder. You'll spend more on the initial purchase but you'll only have to buy once.
On that note, I doubt that I would pay full price for a Traeger. I paid $500 (plus a bit for add-ons) through a dealer friend for my 3400. If I had to pay full price, I would likely look at some more robust options.
love my traeger, as a smoker, we have grilled chicken on it once and didn't like the smokey flavor in that application. However, as a smoker IMO it obsoletes everything else out there. I dinked with huge smokers and real wood for years. I had a tow behind custom made smoker that I bought in texas that I brought up to where I live now. it was made from half a behind your house propane tank, such a PITA. you had to baby the thing and practically watch it constantly. now days its pick up a 13-15 pound brisket. put it in at 11 pm cook all night. while sleep. wake up, wrap, then cook till 3 pm ish. brisket comes out excellent and repeatable everytime. Before it was a crap shoot. pellet smokers should put all the others out of business.
I do the same with my Trager on Briskets. Beef and Pork tenderloins come out perfectly moist and tender as well. Easy Peasy. I still prefer to grill a steak over hot coals!
yeah I love charcoal the best for grilling, but normally I just use my gas grills for that. the last brisket I did I tried using BBQ butcher paper instead of foil wrap. I normally wrap the brisket when I wake up in the mornings. I like to wrap it when it gets to about 150-160 degrees. I found the butcher paper kept the same moisture, but greatly increased the smoke flavor. Its just another tool, if you want more or less smoke flavor depending on the pellets you are using.
Bought a Traeger Timberline a while back. It's the heavily insulated model, which I would spring for over the standard thin sheet metal one. The idea is it keeps temps consistent where my buddies standard model fluctuates 30 degrees. They're not BBQ's that's for sure. Nor are they smokers. I think of them as smoky ovens. Got a pizza out there right now.
We cooked a 16 lb prime rib last weekend on it, and it turned out juicy and awesome. We charred the outside on a charcoal grill first, then smoked it at 225 for a few hours, until internal temp hit 132 degrees.
I love the internal probe. I have no idea how you could cook without it. MUST HAVE imo. Has an alarm when the meat hits the temp you preset it for. You could even set it with your smart phone if you wanted to. With ours anything below 225 degrees cooking temp you can use the Super Smoke setting which gives it more flavor.
Overall, it's smoky, but not really smoked like a smoker does it. Takes electricity, bad imo. Charcoal, less convenient but how you can beat the flavor?
Thats great!!!!!!!!
Pretty hard to screw up a meal with a pellet smoker. I looked at vertical pellet smokers at Costco a while back. I was ready to buy one until I checked how much fuel they use- VERY inefficient. They had triple the burn of a Traeger style.
I would love to get one of those little battery powered Green Mountains to take camping!
I have that very one and love it.
My old 7-in-1 Cabelas propane/ charcoal cooker finally rusted out after 5+ years and I couldn't get the part I needed anymore to fix it.. so I started researching my next purchase. I had never smoked anything in my life, merely grilled steak, ham steak, hamburgers, and chicken on cheap charcoal grills for most of my adulthood. Ended up going with a Rec-Tec Stampede pellet cooker. Couldn't be happier. 5 year warranty and made from some pretty stout stainless metal. Comes with the wifi, control-it-from-your-phone thing on it, so say, an all-night smoking brisket operation can be monitored and changed mid-stream from your bed.
I got it around March or April of this year and have been going to town on it. I've made at least 3 meals per weekend every since then- except two weekends when I was out of town. I've now made brisket 3 times successfully in addition to about anything else that is normally smoked. Well except I haven't tried turkey yet. They're pretty efficient, but I've used it so much that I made at least my 3rd trip to Rural King for another 100 lbs of pellets this past weekend- I was down to just two 20 lb bags.
Matter of fact, I've been using it as my outdoor oven these last few weeks so I don't have to heat my house by using the "real" oven. Two weekends ago I made, grilled salmon, smoked chicken breasts, and reverse-seared steaks. During the week, I heated up frozen: fish, shrimp, and pizza (on separate nights). This past weekend, more grilled salmon, smoked hamburger, and more steak. Last night I baked some home-made molasses cookies.
I joined 3 different pellet smoker groups on Facebook after I bought it for information and recipes, and I have to say, those groups are growing in number by leaps and bounds. I think it's probably the fastest growing thing in smoking/ grilling right now, because it's so effortless. So, you get the hate from "traditional" smokers who had to earn their badge of honor the hard way by pulling all-nighters tending the charcoal or wood to make a good brisket or hog. And I get it.
I have that very one and love it.
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Hawk, does it come with a remote? And what is the lowest setting you can put it on to get smoke?
Thanks.
JG look at the Rectec 700 bull they have one of the better PID controllers and they really hold an accurate temp costs a little more than the others but they come with a 6 year warranty, we use ours 3-4 times a week and really enjoy it!
I am in on the RECTEC grills as well.
I researched the hell out of all the pellet grills and kept coming back to the RECTEC's.
I bought the Bull 700 first and loved it so much I bought a Stampede for our lake cabin and love that one too.
Been very happy with both and highly recommend them.
My Dad has a Traeger and the RECTEC blows that thing out of the water in my opinion.
Thanks for the rec's on that Rec Tec. I'll look into that.
Uncle Johnny, been running treager for 15 years or better, I'll never do without one. Very versatile, I smoke my salmon, smoke my pork bellies for bacon, pizzas, reverse seat steaks yada yada yada.... Great grills!
There was a Traeger rep at Costco on Saturday. He had a mountain of grills behind him. He was getting some interest and I saw a few heading out the door.
I have a Traeger Pellet grill but I don't use it for burgers, steaks, chops, or chicken, other than smoked chicken I put in salads.
I believe pellet grills are for smoking primarily. Stuff like ribs and brisket.
I've cooked other things on it like steak and salmon, but my Weber charcoal grill does those so much better, it was a one and done occasion.
I have a Traeger Pellet grill but I don't use it for burgers, steaks, chops, or chicken, other than smoked chicken I put in salads.
I believe pellet grills are for smoking primarily. Stuff like ribs and brisket.
I've cooked other things on it like steak and salmon, but my Weber charcoal grill does those so much better, it was a one and done occasion.
Do a reverse sear with your Traeger and a cast iron pan, on the stove, to finish. Very good stuff!
But I will agree, it isn't a "grill" in the truest sense.
So if a guy knows what he's doing on the pellet grill, how long does it take to grill up a juicy burger on it, or a 1" juicy rib eye medium rare?
I smoke both for 1\2 your or so, then crank er up, I suppose if a guy just cranked er on HIGH outta the gate it wouldn't take too long
I have a Traeger Pellet grill but I don't use it for burgers, steaks, chops, or chicken, other than smoked chicken I put in salads.
I believe pellet grills are for smoking primarily. Stuff like ribs and brisket.
I've cooked other things on it like steak and salmon, but my Weber charcoal grill does those so much better, it was a one and done occasion.
Exactly what I do. I use charcoal for most grilling. Where the pellet grill shines is long cooks like pork butt. 14 - 16 hour stuff.
love my traeger, as a smoker, we have grilled chicken on it once and didn't like the smokey flavor in that application. However, as a smoker IMO it obsoletes everything else out there. I dinked with huge smokers and real wood for years. I had a tow behind custom made smoker that I bought in texas that I brought up to where I live now. it was made from half a behind your house propane tank, such a PITA. you had to baby the thing and practically watch it constantly. now days its pick up a 13-15 pound brisket. put it in at 11 pm cook all night. while sleep. wake up, wrap, then cook till 3 pm ish. brisket comes out excellent and repeatable everytime. Before it was a crap shoot. pellet smokers should put all the others out of business.
What temp do you run your Traeger on when doing a brisket?
For general BBQ'ing......burgers, chicken, steaks, etc, how do you rate the pellet grill? Pros and Cons? I've been looking at a Camp Chef grill that has a sear box on the side of it for finishing off steaks with a sear. Thanks.
I love my pellet grill, but don't use it for burgers, steaks or other quick-cooking meats where you want a initial high temp sear.
Unless I'm mistaken, the "pellet" part of a pellet smoker/grill is for smoking only, not for grilling burgers, though the lines can get blurred a bit if the thing is capable of reaching grilling temps. If the grill portion is thick enough that it retains heat well and isn't so flimsy that it rusts through after only a couple years of use, then I could see using the pellet smoker to supplement charcoal inside the main compartment to add additional smoke flavor to grilling. On the unit JG referenced in the OP, the "steak searing" compartment is gas and it looks like the main compartment is intended for slow smoking meats with the pellet system at much lower temp. I don't personally like using gas for grilling; food just don't turn out as flavorful as with a conventional charcoal/wood grill.
Me personally, I just have a simple plain-Jane heavy walled homemade cylindrical grill for grilling and do my smoking in a dedicated smoker. I just add some wood chunks on one side of my charcoal bed when I want to get additional smoky flavor to grilled meats. Pellet smokers work great, but all the ones I've seen are intended primarily for smoking. If one has a separate grilling compartment and your intent is to buy it mainly for grilling, it seems to me that you're paying a lot extra for the smoking portion without adding any advantage in grilling vs. just a plain ole, inexpensive charcoal grill.
What temp do you run your Traeger on when doing a brisket?
Don't have a Traeger, but do have a Green mtn. I start brisket at 175 and cook with fat side up for 4 hours.
Turn over and cook opposite side for another 2 hours.
Flip again and turn up to 185 for another 2 hours or so or until internal temp is 165.
At that point, pull off, wrap in aluminum foil and drizzel a half cup apple juice over brisket and turn up to 225. Let cook wrapped until internal temp is 200, which is usually 2-4 more hours.
It takes all day and maybe I make it more complicated than it should be, but it turns out great.
I have a Traeger Pellet grill but I don't use it for burgers, steaks, chops, or chicken, other than smoked chicken I put in salads.
I believe pellet grills are for smoking primarily. Stuff like ribs and brisket.
I've cooked other things on it like steak and salmon, but my Weber charcoal grill does those so much better, it was a one and done occasion.
Do a reverse sear with your Traeger and a cast iron pan, on the stove, to finish. Very good stuff!
But I will agree, it isn't a "grill" in the truest sense.
What I typically do for grilling with pellets is put the meat on before firing up grill so I get some good smoke while it's getting going. Then smoke at lower temps for 20-30 minutes before cranking up the temp. With steaks, I pull them off until the grill is as hot as it gets and throw them back on for a quick sear. Burgers stay on the entire time.
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I love the internal probe. I have no idea how you could cook without it. MUST HAVE imo.
Ummmm... regular meat thermometer?
.
I love the internal probe. I have no idea how you could cook without it. MUST HAVE imo.
Ummmm... regular meat thermometer?
😂😂😂 good lord....
Those RECTEC grills look like artwork. The Chef at home(not me) might have to look into one of those
I thought this looked pretty cool and is certainly reasonable price wise, which makes me wonder what kind of a scam it is....
https://www.oefufhl.rocks/products/ultimate-barbecue-roasting-cabinet?variant=28814568259668
I just got a GMG (Green Mountain). It is cheaper than a Traeger, made in USA and made with heavy gauge metal. It also gets to a higher grilling temp for searing than the Traegers. Glad I did some research before buying. I have been happy with it so far. Replaced an old Charbroil big easy propane/charcoal grill I had for over 15 years. I have smoked fish, ribs, etc. on it so far and have grilled a few steaks. For basic grilling I would probably stick with propane or charcoal but am still pleased with it for a double duty smoker.
I have a RecTec Bull, and a weber charcoal kettle. RecTec for smoking, charcoal for grilling or smoking followed by direct heat grilling.
Perfect combo IMO.
The RecTec guys are from my hometown, and their grills are assembled here. Fantastic company and will take care of you if anything goes wrong. I have called them a few times with questions and the woman that answers the phone really knows her stuff. I had to replace the controller because one of the probe ports was bad... no questions asked had a new controller in hand a few days later.
Have since bought one for an employee as a bonus and the whole office is buzzing about them. Great grills, but I only use mine as a smoker for longer cooks, or for additional space when the kettle is full.
*Updated to say this thing holds a temp incredibly well. Bump it up 15 degrees (from your phone or on the grill) and it will be there within a minute or two, and not go over. It is rare to see it off a degree, and extremely unusual to see it off more than a few degrees. Only time I have had trouble is trying to keep it real low (225 or lower) on a 100 degree day, as mine sits in direct sunlight.
That is one thing I despise about my Trager 'lil tex. The heat fluctuations are terrible. But...BUT....Traeger will be glad to send you an "upgraded" controller for $250.
I found an after market one that guarantee's more stable temps for $54 or something like that. Still need to install it to see if it works better.
Big geen egg grill here use lump charcoal and add wood pellets on top the charcoal.Good stuff.
So if a guy knows what he's doing on the pellet grill, how long does it take to grill up a juicy burger on it, or a 1" juicy rib eye medium rare?
So if a guy knows what he's doing on the pellet grill, how long does it take to grill up a juicy burger on it, or a 1" juicy rib eye medium rare?
I’d say 30 minutes, 15 to bring the grill to temp 15 to cook.
I have a RecTec Bull, and a weber charcoal kettle. RecTec for smoking, charcoal for grilling or smoking followed by direct heat grilling.
Perfect combo IMO.
The RecTec guys are from my hometown, and their grills are assembled here. Fantastic company and will take care of you if anything goes wrong. I have called them a few times with questions and the woman that answers the phone really knows her stuff. I had to replace the controller because one of the probe ports was bad... no questions asked had a new controller in hand a few days later.
Have since bought one for an employee as a bonus and the whole office is buzzing about them. Great grills, but I only use mine as a smoker for longer cooks, or for additional space when the kettle is full.
*Updated to say this thing holds a temp incredibly well. Bump it up 15 degrees (from your phone or on the grill) and it will be there within a minute or two, and not go over. It is rare to see it off a degree, and extremely unusual to see it off more than a few degrees. Only time I have had trouble is trying to keep it real low (225 or lower) on a 100 degree day, as mine sits in direct sunlight.
My friend has a Rec Tec, lives in Yuma. We were out visiting this weekend, he was running the smoker, had trouble maintaining temp. He is going to call this week and see what they say as he has says he has had trouble maintaining temp since it got hot outside. Outside air temp was about 112, had it set on 225 and the thing was running over 270. Turned it down to 200, still ran about 265. Hope they figure it out.
Half a small water heater cut in half, fill the fugger with mesquite wood, drink a beer while it burns to coals, and grill the best steaks and burgers you can sink a tooth in. Who in the hell really wants to cook a good steak over pellets, gas or any other artificial heating element?
My friend has a Rec Tec, lives in Yuma. We were out visiting this weekend, he was running the smoker, had trouble maintaining temp. He is going to call this week and see what they say as he has says he has had trouble maintaining temp since it got hot outside. Outside air temp was about 112, had it set on 225 and the thing was running over 270. Turned it down to 200, still ran about 265. Hope they figure it out.
Thats about what mine will be on a 100 degree day in the direct sunlight. I haven't tried it in the shade, but I suspect that will help. I also noticed that if I put a large piece of cold meat, and a water pan on, it will help, but once the meat heats up I don't think it is possible for it to keep the fire going and keep the temp any lower. Let me know what they say though... I meant to call in but never did. Figured there wasn't much that could be done in those conditions.
So if a guy knows what he's doing on the pellet grill, how long does it take to grill up a juicy burger on it, or a 1" juicy rib eye medium rare?
If a guy knows what he's doing on a pellet grill, he'll do the burger or rib-eye over charcoal.
My Traeger will go up to 450 degrees. I cooked one steak on it. Good if you like baked steak. I didn't. It cooks before it gets seared. By the time it would be seared, I think it would also be popcorn fart dry.
My favorite gas/charcoal is the Vidalia Charcoal And Gas Grill Model 628. That said, I've been using two Treager grills for cooking for about the last twelve years or so. I like the flavor better, easy to do chicken or other fatty meats without flare ups.
I've tried them all. Gas, pellet, etc. I just use a direct grill now over oak or mesquite. Fuss free and a better product...
I prefer my Weber kettle grill over anything. I have done everything with it, pork butt, whole turkey, prime rib, three inch thick porterhouses, can’t beat it.
My son has a pellet grill and I used it to cook ten pound rib roast when I was out there. It was sure convenient and worked well, but I’m not ready to give up my $100 Weber kettle and charcoal. (Part of it, I’m sure, is hearing people say, ‘Holy schit! You did that on a charcoal grill?’)
Gas grills? Schmitt, let’s leave those for a thread about decaf coffee and light so-called beer.
Traeger pellets are all alder wood with "oils and extracts" from the respective species to produce the flavor. Those are usually tinctured with alcohol or water and preserved with formaline before use...
I've tried them all. Gas, pellet, etc. I just use a direct grill now over oak or mesquite. Fuss free and a better product...
You got til October, then it's coming home with me!! 😂😂
As for cooking a steak, research has shown that searing does not "seal in the juices". It does however, make the steak more pleasing to the eye and tasty by performing the Maillard reaction and caramelization. See this link:
https://amazingribs.com/more-techni...cience/myth-searing-steaks-seals-juices. That is in part, why experts and hobbyists who have researched these things are using the reverse sear technique these days.
That being said, I have no trouble achieving well over 500 degrees on my Rec-Tec using Lumberjack Hickory pellets. I don't normally need to run it on full for long, but I've seen 567 degrees. I also use Grill Grates. They have a ribbed side if you want to make pretty lines like the ones restaurants make (and most people think of as a sign of a properly seared steak), or a flat side if you want to sear the whole surface and make all of it more tasty.
My pellet grill puts out a pretty decent amount of smoke up to 245 degrees, above that temperature, it still has some, but not that much. That territory is considered baking. I use one of those lower settings, usually 225 degrees, but lately I've been going with 245, to get my steak up to within 20 degrees or so of the final temp; then I pull them off, crank the heat up to 500 or "full" with the Grill Grates on, and in about 15 minutes it's there, then throw the steaks back on for a couple minutes per side, maybe even 2 or 3 times if needed to hit the final temp. No problem with searing on mine.
So if a guy knows what he's doing on the pellet grill, how long does it take to grill up a juicy burger on it, or a 1" juicy rib eye medium rare?
If a guy knows what he's doing on a pellet grill, he'll do the burger or rib-eye over charcoal.
My Traeger will go up to 450 degrees. I cooked one steak on it. Good if you like baked steak. I didn't. It cooks before it gets seared. By the time it would be seared, I think it would also be popcorn fart dry.
You need some Grill Grates!
As for cooking a steak, research has shown that searing does not "seal in the juices". It does however, make the steak more pleasing to the eye and tasty by performing the Maillard reaction and caramelization. See this link:
https://amazingribs.com/more-techni...cience/myth-searing-steaks-seals-juices. That is in part, why experts and hobbyists who have researched these things are using the reverse sear technique these days.
That being said, I have no trouble achieving well over 500 degrees on my Rec-Tec using Lumberjack Hickory pellets. I don't normally need to run it on full for long, but I've seen 567 degrees. I also use Grill Grates. They have a ribbed side if you want to make pretty lines like the ones restaurants make (and most people think of as a sign of a properly seared steak), or a flat side if you want to sear the whole surface and make all of it more tasty.
My pellet grill puts out a pretty decent amount of smoke up to 245 degrees, above that temperature, it still has some, but not that much. That territory is considered baking. I use one of those lower settings, usually 225 degrees, but lately I've been going with 245, to get my steak up to within 20 degrees or so of the final temp; then I pull them off, crank the heat up to 500 or "full" with the Grill Grates on, and in about 15 minutes it's there, then throw the steaks back on for a couple minutes per side, maybe even 2 or 3 times if needed to hit the final temp. No problem with searing on mine.
+1 on the Grill Grates and temp you've got the Rectec figured out!
You guys are taking the fun outta this.
I have a pellet grill and use it a lot for smoking meat but for what you listed a egg type grill works better for me.
My friend has a Rec Tec, lives in Yuma. We were out visiting this weekend, he was running the smoker, had trouble maintaining temp. He is going to call this week and see what they say as he has says he has had trouble maintaining temp since it got hot outside. Outside air temp was about 112, had it set on 225 and the thing was running over 270. Turned it down to 200, still ran about 265. Hope they figure it out.
Thats about what mine will be on a 100 degree day in the direct sunlight. I haven't tried it in the shade, but I suspect that will help. I also noticed that if I put a large piece of cold meat, and a water pan on, it will help, but once the meat heats up I don't think it is possible for it to keep the fire going and keep the temp any lower. Let me know what they say though... I meant to call in but never did. Figured there wasn't much that could be done in those conditions.
They had him adjust the auger rate of feed. He says he has run it twice and it has been spot on. They had to talk him thru it, so dont know the procedure. Guy he talked to lived in GA and said he had to adjust his as well.