Pellet Vs. Charcoal Smoker

I have both and use them for different things. As Mark notes above my pellet doesn't do a good job of searing, so anything which needs direct heat goes onto the kettle. Anything which goes indirect goes onto the pellet.

One of the things benefits of the pellet cooker that I don't think gets enough attention is it's use for short cooks 15-20 minutes. Often times setting up the kettle or drum, waiting for the temp to stabilize etc. takes longer than the cook will take. With the pellet I flip the switch, it heats up faster than my oven, I toss on the food, cook and when I'm done I pull it off. No waiting for the fire to die down and no waste. It's a nice way to add some smoke to foods you might not normally take the time to.
 
As you can see from my signature I have Stick Burners, Eggs, a Large Cabinet Cooker but no pellet smoker so I can not speak to them. I like each cooker and use them at different times for different things. The cookers that get the most use are the Eggs. Not because I like them the best but because they are quick to fire up. They can cook low and slow or hot and fast. They are great for pizza and baking bread and are quick to use after a long days work.

When smoking larger quantities of meat I would say that my Spicewine is my favorite cooker. It holds rock solid temps for long periods of time. It allows me to get sleep while it cooks away and turns out top notch product.
 
Mark Warren said:
Trick question because a pellet smoker can not grill steaks so are you just using it as a smoker or do you need it to also be a grill? (whatever you buy that is).
Click to expand...

Really?

Memphis Pro at 500 degrees with Grillgrates...

226755_10200781087081408_969367341_n.jpg


Memphis Pro at 600, no grill grates...

392058_2681393205946_100941656_n.jpg


It all depends on what you buy. The FEC-100 is just a smoker, but smoker/grills like the Memphis Pro, the FE-500 and the Yoder (and probably some others) do a great job grilling, too.
 
gotta love the bbq pitmasters where Johnnie Trigg says "pellet grills are for beginners . they impart no smoke flavor into the meat " . that was the one where he was given a pork belly to cook and said "what the hell is a pork belly ?"

this was a hot and fast (300*) brisket foiled after 4 hrs ....



and a stuffed pork tenderloin after 4- 4 1/2ish total cook time



total time fire tending = 0 :)
 
Stick for serious smokin, Charcoal / stick for grilling, Pellet for easy combo grill with light smoke
 
Pellets are super easy... light smoke profile.... but I love my Backwoods!
 
dwfisk said:
^ Yep WOOD!
Click to expand...
^+1 Woo hoo wood! We love our stickburner and it doesn't take near as much time to fire up as you would think (30min). We also have a canister style charcoal cooker that we use when we're looking for a faster cook, or hotter temps. Never used a pellet cooker and probably never will but that is just us :becky:
 
I have 2 Traeger pellet grills, and 3 charcoal units - Akorn, UDS, and mini wsm. I love the Traegers and I find the smokiness in the pellet grills to be smoother than the charcoal units. With that said, I also like my charcoal units with my favorite being the mini wsm. You can't go wrong with either. As for pellet cost, I get mine (Bear Mountain) for $10 per 20lb bag.
 
I'll put the GMG against the treager any day (Older treagers are much better than todays) But when I want smoke and / or quantity, it's time to step up to the smoke house.

We all have our flavor likes and dislikes and for me TBS just isn't enough smoke for my taste most the time.

I agree with Bear mountain pellets, that what we use also
 
I'm a guy who likes to play with fire so the only time I use charcoal is to start my wood. Stick burners are the ultimate in flavor IMO. Never had a pellet grill. I always thought they were like a gasser, they work if you are in a hurry but a real smoldering fire is the essence of true outdoor cooking. My buddy has a pellet and makes some good Que but he grills his ribs on a gasser before putting them in his pellet popper. He swears by his methods but to me it is almost scareligious.
 
I got a bottom line Traeger, a UDS, a Weber gasser and a Char-Griller COS.

If I had to pick one, it would be the UDS. My wife would pick the Traeger.

If pellet your only option it will do steak and burger.
Traeger does a brisket better then the rest,
The COS gets used as a charcoal grill for steak, chops or chicken.
I think the UDS does the best ribs and butts.
The gasser works for convenience, I use the added burner to help my prep and keep me outside if I got a kid in the pool.

Heck, just get one of both.
 
I am in the market for a new smoker for the restaurant. I don't need anything big like a Southern Pride, but would like something that the staff could start and put meat on when I am not there. I am now seriously considering a pellet smoker. They seem to be the easiest for anyone to use. Now I am looking at getting two Yoder YS640. That would give me the same cooking area as their YS1320, but for about $1000 less. It would also allow me to cook at different temps. I had been looking at cabinet smokers, but that would require me teaching them how to control temp and right now I don't have time.
 
Nope I am not Eric cowley on the pellet head forums but I am on pellet head forums :p any how there are so many valid points here. Some pellet cookers can sear steaks (quite well in fact ) just like all other model cookers not everything is created equal. I guess what it boils down to is what will YOU us it for and what type of profile are you looking for?

Brian as far your restaurant deal the yoder640 is an amazing machine I have one and I also have the DReam Werks insulated model that I had custom made. Both are pellet cookers and the I am sure your staff could flip a switch and get to smoking. I like your idea behind 2 for different temps however the YS640 would not give you the capacity you would need. With that being said check out the dream werks smokers they are large enough for business use and Bruce the owner will custom build you a unit to your specifications. Mine runs as low as 160 and as high as 500. I also I stalled the savannah stoker II on it and now the temp control is better and never runs more than 1-2* past or below set target temp.
 
Pyle's BBQ said:
I am in the market for a new smoker for the restaurant. I don't need anything big like a Southern Pride, but would like something that the staff could start and put meat on when I am not there. I am now seriously considering a pellet smoker. They seem to be the easiest for anyone to use. Now I am looking at getting two Yoder YS640. That would give me the same cooking area as their YS1320, but for about $1000 less. It would also allow me to cook at different temps. I had been looking at cabinet smokers, but that would require me teaching them how to control temp and right now I don't have time.
Click to expand...
Two YS640's with second shelves will have way more cooking surfaces than a YS1320. Plus, they have the YS1500 coming out soon. From what I hear it is identical to the YS1320 just 6" longer.
 
I grill burgers on my traeger jr. They are great.

If I'm cooking just for me & the wife it's traeger all the way.

If I'm cooking for a gathering it's the backwoods
 
something about having to plug in your grill just doesn't sit well with me.. i can pull my old school stickburner anywhere above water and cook with it.. nothing required except wood. I don't have to be by the house to cook with my stickburner.. pull park cook.. Fire and Meat is all that is required..
 
Wow, can't believe soooooo many pellet votes...

I have cooked on a FEC before and I found that the temp yo-yo (as read by separate maverick thermo inside cabinet) was pretty extreme. I was really disappointed in that. Plus, I prefer more of a smokey flavor than most pellets that I have tried produce.

Stick burner flavor and authenticity seem to be the best, but I think the happy medium is charcoal. I don't find any creosote flavor when I use it, and if you can get yourself into a situation that you don't have to do much tending (totally possible) they are pretty easy to maintain constant temps with - especially with briquettes and their consistent burning.
 
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