Pellet Smokers

TechRaiderRider

TechRaiderRider

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anyone have an electric pellet smoker?

my old vertical smoker cashed out last year -
need to buy a new one,
and thinkin bout convertin to pellets,
mostly for overnight briskets -

ya'll got any insight or comments?
 
I like mine,, basically,, I have the walmart / lowes brand (pit boss) and have had some issues, had to replace the igniter 3 times and the control panel once.. I know people who have the more expensive Traeger and they seem to have less problems and better results..
that said, I have dialed in the prefect cheeseburger. 1/3 pound ground chuck patty, cooked at 400 for 6 minutes per side.. cheese for the last 2. and have done some great briskets, butts, and ribs..
the benefit of maintaining a temp really helps on long overnight cooks,, purist may say this cheating though >>>
 
Bama Believer said:
I like mine,, basically,, I have the walmart / lowes brand (pit boss) and have had some issues, had to replace the igniter 3 times and the control panel once.. I know people who have the more expensive Traeger and they seem to have less problems and better results..
that said, I have dialed in the prefect cheeseburger. 1/3 pound ground chuck patty, cooked at 400 for 6 minutes per side.. cheese for the last 2. and have done some great briskets, butts, and ribs..
the benefit of maintaining a temp really helps on long overnight cooks,, purist may say this cheating though >>>
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I typically avoid anything from Wally other than grocery items. Wally has for years had the manufacturer cut corners on components especially electrical ones substituting cheaper lower quality ones to get prices down and margins up.
 
Irishblooded said:
If your grills needs to be plugged in it is an outdoor oven ;)
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I've never seen a pellet grill that had to be plugged in so I done some research. Lo and behold, there are actually some that do. None of which are in the top ten best pellet grills available. The thing about pellet grills is that you get a combination of wood fired grilling with a long lasting fire. Wood pellets are designed to burn long and hot. Good pellet grills have a pellet hopper that can hold 18-20 pounds of pellets that can create up to 15 hours of consistent cooking heat.
 
Irishblooded said:
If your grills needs to be plugged in it is an outdoor oven ;)
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i am lazy.

i have one of these that i found on sale.
MB20075519_ES40G1_web.png


with one of these.
amazen05013-5x8new01.jpg
 
OldDevilDawg said:
I've never seen a pellet grill that had to be plugged in so I done some research. Lo and behold, there are actually some that do. None of which are in the top ten best pellet grills available. The thing about pellet grills is that you get a combination of wood fired grilling with a long lasting fire. Wood pellets are designed to burn long and hot. Good pellet grills have a pellet hopper that can hold 18-20 pounds of pellets that can create up to 15 hours of consistent cooking heat.
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yeah - was just bein lazy-thinkin -

i may build another vertical smoker,
just have to make time -
will be quite busy with drillin the well
for the next several weeks -

wreck em!
and
smoke em!
 
I am a fan of offset or kamado.

However if I were to purchase another one. I think I would get a water smoker. Things cook amazing. Have had to compete against them. They can get some flavor that is really hard to impersonate or beat. And once they are in temp range they lock in well due to the humidity. And unlike dry smoke they tend to bounce on temp due to one bad log.
 
Irishblooded said:
I am a fan of offset or kamado.

However if I were to purchase another one. I think I would get a water smoker. Things cook amazing. Have had to compete against them. They can get some flavor that is really hard to impersonate or beat. And once they are in temp range they lock in well due to the humidity. And unlike dry smoke they tend to bounce on temp due to one bad log.
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my old vertical smoker had a 4" water pan
about a foot above the fire pan,
and a foot below the meat racks -

is this what yer referrin to as a water smoker?
or is the heat offset to the water pan?
 
TechRaiderRider said:
my old vertical smoker had a 4" water pan
about a foot above the fire pan,
and a foot below the meat racks -

is this what yer referrin to as a water smoker?
or is the heat offset to the water pan?
Click to expand...

there are different companies that make them. And tons of home made. But essentially. It is a cabinet smoker. You have the heat source below the cooking chamber. Between the cooking chamber and the food inside the food cabinet is a large water basin. 10 or 20 gallons or so. As the wood burns it creates steam in the cabinet from heating the water. And then in the cooker you have vents that link directly to the wood. For your smoke.

there are a ton of places that make them. The closest to a commercial version would be Myron Mixon H2O smokers
 
I always used an offset smoker, still do, but a client gave me his old Traeger after he upgraded to a rec teq. The traeger feels like cheating, but it’s nice to have both options for when I’m feeling lazy. It’s also great for quick things like burgers or grilled chicken on weekdays after work. It’s more consistent for sure. I feel like I can do a better job on the offset smoker, but there’s also a better chance I’ll fuck something up. Did my thanksgiving bird on the traeger last year. It was good, but the previous year on the real smoker, it was phenomenal.

If I go to someone’s house and see that they’re using a pellet smoker, I know they’re not really serious about their bbq, but I also know that whatever they’re making, they’re not gonna fuck it up too bad. You do have to stir up the pellets in the hopper occasionally though, you can get a hollow spot and the pellets stop feeding into the screw.
 
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