Pellet Grill

[Shiloh]

I got a Pit Boss pellet smoker for Christmas. I'm still at the "looking at it" stage.

Christmas was a week ago. Fire it up!!

Shiloh

[Gofaaast]

You will love your pellet smoker! I always heard the successes and ate the food from them but had a nice propane grill. I assumed the pellet grills would cost a lot to feed and they were relatively new when I purchased my propane grill so i never researched them. My assumptions were wrong! I won the large pit boss in a raffle a few years back and the propane has only seen side burner duty for smelting. I prefer mild smoke and use the pit boss fruitwood mix most of the time now or apple if their out of the other. Hardwood does make more heat. Cheapest food grade pellets with the taste you desire is what I recommend. YouTube has several videos on about anything you would smoke. It is so easy to regulate low heat and smoke meat perfect every time it’s amazing. I do a couple whole beef clods (much more lean meat vs brisket) ribs, pork butts, thanksgiving turkey, chicken cuts, along with everything you normally grill. I have always kept the slide covering the open flame shut (not sure if they all have this option) and never had a flare up even with 75/25 burgers. They are useful 365 days a year if you desire. Keep them out of the wind when it gets below 20. Research the auger speed if yours has it and adjust it when smoking to keep the temperature steady.

[lylejb]

My wife gave me a masterbuilt pellet smoker last Christmas and so far, there only been 1 weekend I haven't smoked or cooked something on it. Over a year and ive only missed 1 weekend. I think you'll love it to.
I've done jerky, sausage, brats, Canadian bacon, hamburgers, chicken , a whole turkey, and roast beef that makes restaurants a real let down.
Pellets: I will say traeger is the big brand name, and the most expensive, lowest quality you can get. Dont be fooled, traeger's hickory and mesquite pellets dont contain actual hickory/ mesquite wood. Traeger holds a patent on a process of flavoring the pellets with flavored oil. There's a class action lawsuit over this.
Most pellets use a base wood such as alder or oak and add some of the named wood, such as hickory. At first glance, this seems undesirable but actually works out well. Keep in mind that you're using the pellets for both heat and smoke, and with heavier flavors like hickory and mesquite you can over smoke during a long cook. In general, if the pellet doesn't say it's 100% of the named wood, it's not. They're all 100% hardwood.
I live in oregon, and we have a local company Bear mountain. I tried them as a cheaper alternative to traeger (half the price here) and found I like them better (they use real woods)
Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do.

[Texas by God]

We got a Pit Boss for Christmas from nephew; of course brisket was the first thing smoked! Pink salt, coarse black pepper over surprisingly tasty charcoal pellet smoke worked great. We love this thing.

[jimlj]

Thanks for all the input!!
So far I've cooked some salmon that turned out good, but not a lot of smoke flavor. I think I had the heat up too high so I wasn't getting too much smoke. I also cooked a rack of ribs. The ribs were plenty smokie, but I ended up cooking them too long and they got a bit tough and hard on the ends. The 20* weather and Wyoming wind isn't helping me right now. I'll keep trying.

Quick question...… Do you clean your grate each time you use the grill? With my gas grill I'd just turn the heat up for a few minutes and a quick brushing would take care of any residue. I don't think it will work that way with the pellet grill.

[James Wisner]

I have had a Trager grill for about 7 years now, and all I can say is wow.
Cooked 26 pounds of prime rib Dec 21, and another 11 pound prime rib Christmas eve.
Just love it.
Have remote temp/probe units to check internal temp on the prime rib, and normally when getting close I have to check them every 15 min, until I am ready to pull off, no bluetooth for me

As mine is the older unit, I had to drill some holes in the sides to add the upper warming grill, the new units come with the rack to lay the upper warming grill one. I use the upper warming grill for hot dogs etc.

Use mostly Hickory pellets, and watch for sales at Christmas and Fathers Day.

Like them so much I have the bigger unit set up for year round use, and a small older what they called the tailgater unit set up on a table beside it. At times I have 18 burgers on the big grill and a bunch of hot dogs in the upper warming rack and more hotdogs in the little grill when we have get togethers.

Once warmed up I scrub the grill grate with a mesh grill brush, NO metal brushes anymore.
Also if the grill grate gets too much burnt crud on it, lay it out on the wet lawn overnite and scrub it in the morning.

I double line the grease tray with foil, and normally change it twice a year due to build up.

Have even cook Pizzas in the grill after replacing the drip pan foil, other wise at 425 the built up drippins will smoke like you have neve seen.

Have fun cooking

[MaryB]

I use one of those grill pads that looks like a rough version of a sink scrubber. No metal brushes(bristles come off). Give it a quick swipe when warmed up. For heat control in wind on a Traeger use a welding blanket to wrap around it.

[DCP]

Hi Hickory,
I have a Rec Tec pellet grill/smoker and to me there is no comparison. To your points:
Ease of cooking - Set the temperature, whether smoking or grilling and the PID controller keeps it there. Then it's just like cooking on a charcoal grill if you're grilling or smoking on a good two box smoker without the hassle of tending the fire.
Taste - depending on the type pellets you use, you'll get an outstanding smokey grilled taste. I use a hardwood mix cut with 20% pure mesquite pellets.
Cook time - Depends on whether you're smoking or grilling. If you are grilling and run the the grill up to a high temperature, your cook time should be the same as a charcoal grill. If you are smoking, cook time depends on the recipe, cut of meat, and special techniques (i.e. Texas crutch, etc.)
Convenience - this is where a pellet grill shines. Fill the hopper with pellets, set the temperature you want, and start cooking/smoking. Mine has a wireless interface so I can check on the status of the grill temperature and/or internal temperature of two probes. I can even change the set temperature of the grill on the fly without having to be there. Try doing that with a charcoal grill. Clean up is relatively easy, and you only have to clean the fire pot once every few sessions...more often if you want, less if you're lazy and it still works great.
I use mine for smoking brisket, sausage, pork butts & tenderloins, Ribeye Roasts, and anything else that requires low & slow cooking. I've also made pizza on it as well as grilled burgers, steaks, chicken, etc. After owning one, I would never buy another gas or charcoal grill again. Hope this helps.
Ed

Rec Tec here

It's just great cooking from the living room.

[jimlj]

I cooked the best shrimp I have ever had a couple nights ago. I found the recipe on the net and tried it with the exception of it called for fresh rosemary which I didn't have. It ended up with melted butter, garlic, dried rosemary and some season salt. Put it all in a foil pan on the smoker and cook for about 25 minutes at 275* It had a nice smoke flavor which I didn't expect with it in a pan, and like I said, easily the best shrimp I have ever had.

http://www.learningtosmoke.com/smoked-buttery-shrimp/

[rking22]

I picked up a Z Grill at a scratch and dent store Saturday. Figured for 200$, Out the door,I could fix anything wrong and still be in it below retail. I been looking but wasn’t up for 600$ to see how I liked it. Well Sunday I cooked two pork loin, a couple wild boar chops, and a squirrel, I LIKE it , A LOT! Totally stupid proof, and I really appreciate that. I used a 2 channel temp probe and cooled to 145f with the smoker running at around 200. Two hours and about 2 lbs of pellets to awesome! The chops were more tender than when grilled on gas or pan fried. I am sold, these things are awesome, and stupid proof!

[clum553946]

Ahhh! After reading this thread & posts, I went & got a Camp Chef, you guys are enablers!

[R.Spencer]

I bought a Pit Boss and absolutely love it. I have done ribs,pork butt, brisket ,chicken,turkey, bacon and pork and deer loin. It’s so easy once you get it figured out. Set the temp, use a meat probe and walk away.

[Chad5005]

we have a green mountain grill and use mostly hickory,try a boston butt-salt pepper and apple juice rub,you could also add a pork butt rub if you like more spice.cook at 225 unwrapped for 4 hours then remove and wrap in tinfoil and cook for another 4 hours at 225 or until internal temp reaches 195.great for slicing or pulled pork bbq.

[dale2242]

I have been wanting a pellet grill/smoker for a while now.
I saw a Pit Boss Classic at Walmart for less than $400.
I has a cooking area of over 700 cu. in.
That is less than half price of a Traeger the same size.
I can`t see enough difference in the two to warrant paying the higher price, for my purposes....dale

[fcvan]

My grandfather was an old Okie, who retired in 1972. He cooked, smoked, preserved almost anything you can imagine a dust bowl raised guy could do. After retirement, he had a stint of raising pheasant for a hunting farm. As are pheasant known, they sometimes kill themselves trying to take flight, even in lower ceiling runs. Gran dad was 5' 2" an hunched over in the pens. Everything that died was smoked that day. His smoked pheasant beat anything I ever tasted. I'm still trying to match his excellence. His smoker was a cotton tarp an alder wood.

[Iron Whittler]

WELL, I took the plunge of the deep end. Built me a 12' x 24' cook and shooting house. Fully insulated, wired, lights, kitchen sink, and an indoor outhouse. Then I ordered a Rec Tec RT700 Bull pellet grill/smoker with all the bells and whistles. Now, the big wait for it to arrive ( 2wks ). Then to learn how to use it. I'm sure I'll get plenty of help from my kids and their family's.

[2011redrider]

I have had a large Treager grill with the cold smoker attachment for about 8 years. Have been replacing a few parts lately, Firepot wore thru, Induction fan died, and replaced both heat deflector and drip pan. Traeger's customer service is sort of like dealing with Lyman! Tried to buy the pans from them and all they told me , is to contct a local dealer. Found replacements from co called Smoke Daddy that were 2x as thick and less money than traeger. Wont buy another Treager product!

I use heating pellets when wrapping pork butts, much cheaper than BBQ pellets when all you need is heat and food is wrapped in foil. About 5 bucks for a 40 lb bag.

[clum553946]

Hickory smoked some baby back’s for 2 hours at 225, then put them on the gas grill for a few minutes, they were fantastic! No sauce, just dry rubbed them & they were tender but not mushy. I’m really liking my pellet grill!

[jonp]

I'm almost talked into buy a pellet grill. Can someone give me an idea of how much pellets you go through to cook various things?

[dale2242]

I`m with jonp.
How many hours of cooking/smoking will a bag of pellets last?
I see pellets selling anywhere from the $15 a bag range to $20+.
What is the difference?

Thanks, dale....