Im certain it has been discussed but a quick use of the search feature didnt yield much. I got a chance to use my cousins pellet grill while visiting him last month. One would suit my needs. So what brands are good to buy?
I have two of the Traegers. I got one in Dec of 15, I think it is called the 780 or something like that. It has been flawless for years and still works awesome, never a problem from it, when I got married this year my buddies got me the Timberline 1300, great unit as well, with the wifi it's a tiny bit easier to control if you're out running around. Other friends have RecTec's and Yoders which are both high quality units as well. I honestly wouldn't mind if I had to keep using the older Traeger I got years ago. Does just as well as the newer one and was less than 1/2 as much. At the end of the day, you're smoking meat and most of them do real good. The newer Timberline will go to 500 degrees so you get a touch better sear on a steak and it is sealed better, but not enough that I'd spend the money, if it was mine for it. Scotty
I have the small and medium size Green Mountain grills. They work well for smoking and do a good job with burgers, brats, etc. IMO, they're mediocre on steaks because they don't get hot enough for a good sear. I've worked around that by smoking them at low temps for the flavor, and pulling them at 100-110 deg internal temp to finish with butter in a smoking hot cast iron skillet with results like this:.
If starting over, I'd buy this Recteq for $400 - it will go to 750 deg which should do a good job for searing:
I have the small and medium size Green Mountain grills. They work well for smoking and do a good job with burgers, brats, etc. IMO, they're mediocre on steaks because they don't get hot enough for a good sear. I've worked around that by smoking them at low temps for the flavor, and pulling them at 100-110 deg internal temp to finish with butter in a smoking hot cast iron skillet.
I have the small and medium size Green Mountain grills. They work well for smoking and do a good job with burgers, brats, etc. IMO, they're mediocre on steaks because they don't get hot enough for a good sear. I've worked around that by smoking them at low temps for the flavor, and pulling them at 100-110 deg internal temp to finish with butter in a smoking hot cast iron skillet with results like this:.
If starting over, I'd buy this Recteq for $400 - it will go to 750 deg which should do a good job for searing:
I have a Pit Boss that has worked very good for me. It's simple to use, easy to clean, and does not overpower the food with smoke like the Bradley I used prior.
Got the Camp Chef because IFA had them on sale (I'm in Utah). Did not spring for the WiFi feature. Figured I could give the pellet thing a try at significantly lower investment than buying a Traeger. I am very happy with it but as mentioned above, it is not my first choice for grilling steaks. I have smoked turkeys in cold ambient temps and it worked great. Less than a year in so I can't comment on durability.
Lowes has the Weber Smokefire on clearance. Awesome cooker - I've had one over a year with no issues. The EX4 should be $250, EX6 prices range from $400-600 depending on location.
I've had a Camp Chef for a few years. It seems well made and turns out great tasting meat when it's working right. However on two occasions, I've had a problem with out of control heat. The temperature control dial was set on High Smoke, 170*, and when I checked on the smoker the temp was 300* and rising. One time shutting down and restarting seemed to work, the last time it didn't and I ended up finishing the pork but in the oven. After the first occurrence I noticed a lot of fine pellet dust in the smoker when I cleaned it. I haven't cleaned the smoker yet after the last occurrence but I'm wondering if that could have led to the problem.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/4VziG3K.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/8C7evay.jpg)