Wood Pellet Grills/Smokers (Traeger, Pit Boss, Pitts and Spitts, etc..)

[Mike]

Ok, first question, does anybody here grill on a regular basis?

2nd question, do you have or ever had a wood pellet grill?

Now that we got that out of the way.... (sorry, @Ontario Outlaw , no poll)

I am anxiously awaiting the construction of our new house, because I will be getting a new grill when we get moved in. Any grill we have will be well used because I can pretty much cookout daily and never get bored with it.

What I haven't been able to do since for a while is smoke any meats, because all I currently have at this house is a Weber charcoal grill. I could, technically, make an attempt at smoking something on it, but I know I would be very upset at the end result.

I have looked at many large smokers, the traditional type with regular logs, but have been eyeing the wood pellet styles more and more.

So, traditional


Wood Pellet


In the past, I would have never even considered wood pellets. Today, I'm not sure I want to spend the time needed to babysit a fire in order to maintain temperature for several hours. Easier to dump in the pellets, smartphone gives a notice if the pellets run low, and the system maintains a near exact temperature of my choosing.

Another wood pellet grill that I am looking at (Pitts and Spitts)

 

[Mike]

And then there is this....

Outdoor Kitchens - Pitts & Spitts Smokers & Grills

Custom outdoor kitchens by Pitts and Spitts

pittsandspitts.com

Yeah, dreaming now, LOL

 

[mndriver]

I use this mainly.

 

[Mike]

I use this mainly.


View attachment 50624

View attachment 50625

I can’t bring myself to using propane. I’m struggling to venture into wood pellets as opposed to regular wood.

 

[Sinister]

I have a gas grill that pretty much catches on fire every time.

I might clean it out tomorrow.

 

[mndriver]

I can’t bring myself to using propane. I’m struggling to venture into wood pellets as opposed to regular wood.

I still use wood chips for smoke. Last chicken I did, I used the soak water from the chips in the moisture pan. Gave it the right amount of smoke imo.




Only thing I added was butter under the skin.



I just got tired of baby sitting the smoker so went to gas.

 

[gearjammer]

I ave had a lot of different smokers and finally settled on the Oklahoma joe.
this sucker really works great I have tried charcoal in it but real wood is the way to go.
my son-in-law has a pellet smoker and it is all right but in a taste test we ran using pork butts at a party my pulled pork won in a run away.

 

[Mike]

my son-in-law has a pellet smoker and it is all right but in a taste test we ran using pork butts at a party my pulled pork won in a run away.

If you have the time to babysit the fire, and prefer a stronger wood flavoring, a stick burner is the only way to go.

Beyond that, I am finding out that it matters which pellet grill you get. Anybody can stick an electronic box on the end of a barrel and have a pellet grill. The better the grill, the better the result.

Then there is the wood pellets. Once again, you get what you pay for. Some of the pellets are just generic crap that is infused with the flavoring/smell of specific types of wood. If you have a stick burner, and smoke the meat with pine and cedar logs, you are going to end up eating crap. Same goes for a pellet grill. you need good wood.

Right now, I am leaning heavily toward the Pitts and Spitts. Construction seems superior to most of the other options, and it seems they maintain temperature very well.

I may end up with a stick burner, but I really don't think I want to babysit a smoker. Much rather spend those hours on the bicycle, out hiking, or swimming somewhere.

 

[AK7]

In answer to your question,1 to 4 times a week.

After checking out alot of grills,I decided to try this masterbuilt 560 charcoal grill.
Awesome heavy-duty grill that you can also smoke on.
Which I haven't tried yet because I'm still learning about this grill.
Gravity fed hopper works great.
For the techie people, you can run it with your phone. Still working on that part. Lol

Alot of nice features like a rotisserie and you can run up to 4 meat probes at one time.

You can cook 4 meals before you need to fill up the hopper.

The only downside of this grill is it doesn't like the cold weather.
The LCD screen is very slow to respond at Temps below 15 degrees.
Below zero and I have to warm it up with a hair dryer.
When it cools down in below zero temps,you get condensation that is mixed with the smoke that freezes under the hopper lid and will gum up the safety switch. Just have to keep it clean.

Just a minor inconvenience for folks that grill in the middle of winter in the Northwoods.

I upgraded from a Weber kettle grill that I used for almost 30 years.
Not going to lie, it's a lot easier to cook having a temp gauge instead of guesstimating.

Overall I will give it 4.7 stars out of 5.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Nice. I don't need a grille. I use my emissions truck's exhaust.

 

[Mike]

In answer to your question,1 to 4 times a week.
View attachment 86046
After checking out alot of grills,I decided to try this masterbuilt 560 charcoal grill.
Awesome heavy-duty grill that you can also smoke on.
Which I haven't tried yet because I'm still learning about this grill.
Gravity fed hopper works great.
For the techie people, you can run it with your phone. Still working on that part. Lol

Alot of nice features like a rotisserie and you can run up to 4 meat probes at one time.

You can cook 4 meals before you need to fill up the hopper.

The only downside of this grill is it doesn't like the cold weather.
The LCD screen is very slow to respond at Temps below 15 degrees.
Below zero and I have to warm it up with a hair dryer.
When it cools down in below zero temps,you get condensation that is mixed with the smoke that freezes under the hopper lid and will gum up the safety switch. Just have to keep it clean.

Just a minor inconvenience for folks that grill in the middle of winter in the Northwoods.

I upgraded from a Weber kettle grill that I used for almost 30 years.
Not going to lie, it's a lot easier to cook having a temp gauge instead of guesstimating.

Overall I will give it 4.7 stars out of 5.

I looked at those after I bought my PitBoss. Might have went with that had I gotten to see them before getting what I got.

 

[AK7]

Got this awhile back and love it.
Outdoor use only.
Electric and has a little smoke box.
Can do up to 20 drummies at a time.
Cleaning the baskets is a pain but worth the hassle.
Makes some of the best beef jerky you will ever have.

 

[AK7]

Got this awhile back and love it.
Outdoor use only.
Electric and has a little smoke box.
Can do up to 20 drummies at a time.
Cleaning the baskets is a pain but worth the hassle.
Makes some of the best beef jerky you will ever have.View attachment 86311

And being a air fryer you can do deep fried green beans a healthier way.

 

[Electric Chicken]

Love my air fryer. It's really just a small convection oven though, which I also have.

 

[389 Hood]

I just can't get into the taste of the food in them. If it's going to be fried, make it fried. Otherwise, I'll beat those things with my grille and my skill any day. JMHO!

 

[AK7]

I just can't get into the taste of the food in them. If it's going to be fried, make it fried. Otherwise, I'll beat those things with my grille and my skill any day. JMHO!

I hear ya.
But the fact I can roll some smoke into the cook with this one makes a big difference.
It can do a 15lb turkey .
We'll see how that works.

 

[389 Hood]

It's got the size, as long as it generates the heat and distributes it evenly throughout the cooker.

 

[rebel]

I have a gas grill that pretty much catches on fire every time.

......And THAT is why we wait to see what you post next!

 

[Electric Chicken]

I have a gas grill that pretty much catches on fire every time.

I might clean it out tomorrow.

I'm gonna have to see your cell phone records before and after the incident.

 

[Chester]

Green mountain pellet grill.