Pellet Vs. Charcoal Smoker

[Smoke Dawg]

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

[Packmanjim]

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.

[plakers]

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.

[Pyle's BBQ]

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.

[Michael Cowley]

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.

[nucornhusker]

Originally Posted by Pyle's BBQ

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.

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.

[porkingINpublic]

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

[DownHomeQue]

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..

[DownHomeQue]

And i get all my wood 100% free

[BB-Kuhn]

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.

[jasonjax]

The FEC-100 definitely does "yo-yo", but it is a controlled "yo-yo" just like when an oven turns its heating element on and off.

I imagine you would see a "yo-yo" effect on any cooker that used something like a fan/pid as the fan and fuel cycle up to get back to the set-temp.

I personally do not believe this is a bad thing when it comes to producing a great product.

Pyle, have you looked at the FEC-100 for your restaurant? NSF etc., and I have cooked some ridiculous amounts of food in it as well as run it for hours on end. I love that cooker. Best BBQ investment I ever made except for maybe my subscription to this forum. (yeah shameless plug, but we all know this place rocks)

[Ron_L]

There is some temp fluctuation in every cooker as the fire dies down and more fuel has to be added. But, when you consider that the meats are cooking for hours, does it really matter? It's the average temperature that really matters.

Also, the placement of the Maverick probe in the FEC makes a big difference. If it was near the front edge of one of the racks you will see a bigger variation in temperature than is it were in the middle of the rack. There is a small gap at the front where heat can come up around the heat shield and that will vary more than the area above the heat shield.

As far as the smoke flavor, I've posted this before, so forgive me if you've read it before Yes, it is not as strong as some other cookers, but I have tasted competition meats cooked on and FEC and on a Jambo (probably the hottest competition cooker right now) and no one in the group could taste a difference in the smoke flavor. Also, in 6 years of cooking on my FEC-100 no one has complained about a lack of smoke flavor. This includes the general public, other BBQers, other comp cooks and a whole lot of judges.

[hamiltont]

Originally Posted by DownHomeQue

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..

I'm not disagreein' with what works for you. Different strokes for different folks... I have a lot of smokers including a Traeger and I can put it right next to yours and cook, even in the boonies. Just sayin'. Cheers!!!

[MattG]

Much like Cowgirl I have a Stumps Stretch, WSM 22.5, UDS, Treager 150XL (6 yrs old) and a Bar Be Chef. I love all of my grills and smoker. On my Treager I can cook anything from Steaks to Brisket with it. And it's good every time. But again I love and use all of my smokers.

[bbqwilly]

Im all about the stick burner. I used the UDS before I got my big offset, and still use it on occasion. But 95% of the time I fire up the big boy.