Competition Pellet Grills
 

So what grills do you Competition teams use? Maki, Memphis Pro, Fast eddies are the (3) I am looking at.

I currently use the Traeger brand grills and I did get a CS570. I think the CS grills are better suited for our cold weather. What grills are built to handle our cold weather?

I started a small business "Alaska BBQ Supply" and over the next several years I would like to expand (currently only selling Traeger) and sell others brands. I believe a digital controller it is a must due to our cold temperatures.

I am thinking about purchasing the Traeger COM200 so I can do some cooking for some non-profit groups and schools. So is this one a good choice? Needs to be on a trailer so it can travel and price does matter so I can't spend over $10,000 for one. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Troy Vincent

Fast Eddy's may give you more accurate temp control than the Traeger. Cookshack used to use the Traeger controllers but replaced it with their own which reduced temp swings. Shouldn't be any problem using it in the cold.

Green Mountain are starting to show up more and more too.

What are you wanting to do? A Louisiana Grills tailgater with the double wall stainless hood is a great chicken cooker for around $750. Check out www.kck.com if interested. Ask Bobby for the Plowboy discount. He has the Fast Eddy grill, too.

Yoder Smokers is coming out with a new pellet grill that looks like a great machine.

I have heard nothing but good things about the Mak's. I even have heard about one that has gone end over end down a hill, refilled with pellets and fired right up. Also made in the USA.

I really like using the 200 it can do a whole lot of meat well. We have used it in the middle of winter with no problems at all holding heat. The com 200 is also made in the USA.

Looking to get a Pellet Grill for chicken in 2011...what would you recommend? Would 2 half pans fit in all of the models referenced above?

I have a Louisiana Tail Gator for chicken and 2 Fast Eddy 500's for catering. I've cooked overnight outside on the FEC when it was zero (o) degrees. No issues.

yes the pans will fit

You cook chicken in pans? Why use a pellet grill? If you are cooking in pans, what does it matter.

Tailgater won't hold two pans.

I have had some awsome comp chicken using the Mak this year

Troy - For the first part of this year I was muscling a Traeger 75 (plus cold smoke extension) Inside my comp trailer, off loading and loading it back on for each and every comp and by mid-summer I had pulled all my hair out! They are fantastic units and I use it all the time on my deck, including today. However, they are NOT NOT NOT made for getting tossed around. Hot rods shorted out. I fried multiple mother boards, etc... and those repair times sure cut into cooking time and frustrate the hell out of you. So, it's now back on the deck where it belongs and I enjoy it a LOT. Steppin' up to the trailer rigs is not necessarily a different scenario. I can connect you to two fellas who use the COM150 and the other guy pulls a COM200 and they have for years BUT BUT BUT they are always prepared for the electrical/mechanical repairs they need to make at the cooksite. Most frequent repair? Replace a shorted out hot rod. The guy with the 200 pulls his out before he travels! That's how many times he's had to replace 'em. As for the cold. My 75 does VERY well ovenight in the winter with a GI Green wool blanket draped over the top and you could do something similar with the 190. If you wanted to cook in the winter with the 200 you could figure something out IF you needed to. It all depends how motivated you are to stick with Traegers. I am, so I adjust. (Oh, in comps now, what do I use? A line up of WSM's. I would prefer my Traeger but you now know why I won't.) Pat "MADDOG" Maddock

You need to consider the temperature the controller will be in as much as the grill you purchase. Unless the controller is built to mil-spec or has a heated housing, it will have definate temperature limits and will cause problems at the lower temps. ie below 20 degrees F. The display on most are liquid crystal and the tend to slow down and stop at that temp as well. As the temp goes lower, the LCD can fracture and the liquid will come seeping out.

As far as the hot rods, disconnect them and use either the green gel or better yet, use a blow torch to light a had full of pellets and this will eliminate the over temp swings that occur at start and also help with the GFI trips and allow use on low end inverters.

yes, I start my chicken in pans...I'm considering a pellet grill because they seem to be more versitile, small (relative), my chicken spends most of it time outside the pan, quick start up, easy to manage, consistent, etc.

Was that a tailgater you were cooking on in Ottumwa this year?

I continue to be impressed with my Memphis Pro. It is extremely versatile since it goes from 180 to 650 degrees. It is also very accurate and the temp is uniform across the cooking surface.

Joe, two half-pans fit easily.


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