gas to pellet

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Brahern02

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Been thinking of getting a pellet grill for a while. If I did, I would have to ditch something, patio is pretty full. I have been thinking of selling my 3 burner Weber Spirit and buying a rectec, either 590 or 700. I do use the gasser for stuff, but find I use it less since I got my Blackstone griddle. It would be nice to have something quick and easy, that can also smoke stuff for when I either run out of space on my PBC and don't want to fire up a kettle.



Good idea? Bad idea? Doesn't matter? One thing is that the Spirit is only a year old, I kinda hate to sell it off that quick. It would be nice, but probably isn't necessary considering I have other cookers too. If I do make the change, it won't be until spring anyway, so I have time to think about it. What do y'all think?
 
Personally, I will never be without a gas burner. Sure, I use mine less now that I have a flat top griddle, and also kind of redundant with a kettle, but for sure ease of use to grill something, you can't beat it. I use mine mostly for reverse sears, quick meals etc. stuff like that. But I find it good to have.

With your kettle, you can certainly get by without it though, so it really comes down to how YOU cook. If you feel it is not needed, and you would get more benefit with a pellet smoker, then go ahead. Just keep in mind that a Rectec wont do the grill functions easily. Some other pellet grills with trap doors that expose the flame are a little more versatile in that regard.
 
I've been waiting for someone in the family to say they want a new grill and I'll give them my Weber Genesis. Bought it in 2018 and has been used less than a dozen times. Wouldn't mind getting rid of my Weber Summit Charcoal either...
 
I'd just say to keep in mind that generally pellet grills do not sear the best, especially the traditional designed models with the long angled drip pan feeding an outside bucket. There's just no direct heat or if they play with the drip tray to put a special direct insert in, you get a very small area of direct heat usually only good for doing 1-2 steaks/burgers at a time. You will get more flavor than gas for sure, but you'll want to use a gasser, griddle, cast iron pan, etc. to sear a steak.

I love pellet grills and one of my favorites on them is burgers, they just have a unique taste cooked on a pellet grill. They also take much longer than doing over gas/charcoal. On my Traegers and Camp Chefs it was like 30-45 minutes. Just sharing to give you more of an idea how the heat works.

When I had my Camp Chef, I would reverse sear a steak by smoking on pellet grill, then searing on gasser.
 
I have two Pitboss pellet smokers. One of the main reason I went with PitBoss is that it has a sear plate (Traeger does not) When reverse searing steaks, I smoke them, the remove from the smoker, open the sear plate fully and crank the temp. Return the steaks and sear the outside..easy peasy. Just my thoughts
 
SCRedneckBBQ said:
I have two Pitboss pellet smokers. One of the main reason I went with PitBoss is that it has a sear plate (Traeger does not) When reverse searing steaks, I smoke them, the remove from the smoker, open the sear plate fully and crank the temp. Return the steaks and sear the outside..easy peasy. Just my thoughts
Click to expand...

Same thing with the Yoders. All you need is the grill grates and you can get a better sear on the pellet smoker than you can on the gas grill IMHO.

I did two porterhouses a few nights ago...came out fantastic.
 
Brahern02 said:
Been thinking of getting a pellet grill for a while. If I did, I would have to ditch something, patio is pretty full. I have been thinking of selling my 3 burner Weber Spirit and buying a rectec, either 590 or 700. I do use the gasser for stuff, but find I use it less since I got my Blackstone griddle. It would be nice to have something quick and easy, that can also smoke stuff for when I either run out of space on my PBC and don't want to fire up a kettle.



Good idea? Bad idea? Doesn't matter? One thing is that the Spirit is only a year old, I kinda hate to sell it off that quick. It would be nice, but probably isn't necessary considering I have other cookers too. If I do make the change, it won't be until spring anyway, so I have time to think about it. What do y'all think?
Click to expand...


What's the full arsenal and what hole are you trying to fill?


What sort of grilling/smoking split do you see for the pellet grill?


I like my pellet grill, a lot. But it's for smoking, not for grilling. It takes quite a long time to get all the way to grilling temp and simply doesn't get that hot.
 
Curt.P said:
I've been waiting for someone in the family to say they want a new grill and I'll give them my Weber Genesis. Bought it in 2018 and has been used less than a dozen times. Wouldn't mind getting rid of my Weber Summit Charcoal either...
Click to expand...


What would that leave you with?
 
There ain’t much that cannot be accomplished with a pellet grill/full sized griddle. I haven’t had a gas grill in years. I do like them, but every time I toy with the idea of adding one back to the arsenal I remind myself that it would probably see very little use as I much prefer grilling on my MAK to my old Genesis. To each their own :)

I do agree with the others though... without some type of access to the direct flame, grilling will not be same as it is on your current gasser. Much less intense heat on a Rec Tec.
 
I love the direct flame jet engine afterburner and cast iron grates on my PB Austin XL. It will even char meat on the top grate. Yes the flame zone is smaller than the two burner Weber Silver A gasser I sold before moving to Tennessee but the meat tastes way better.
 
You can certainly make it work given that you would still have the kettle for the times when the Rectec wasn’t ideal. I have an old 680 and it’s awesome but not a direct replacement for the gasser for me. A lot of the times where I’m using the gas grill it’s to cook a couple dogs for lunch or a single chicken breast for my daughter. There are other options that I have, as would you, but none are as fast and easy as my Genesis. Actually making it more generic, all the times I use the Genesis it’s because I’m more interested in convenience than quality.

There is nothing I cook that I couldn’t get better results using one or more of the Rectec, kettle or blackstone. I’ll always have a gas grill though for the convenience and speed.
 
If grilling is your intent, pick you pellet pooper carefully. As others have mentioned, direct access to the flame is the key. Some pellet grills don't have that. I know the MAK's do with their flamezone system, the OK Joe Rider does from what I've seen, and the Camp Chef does (Although I heard it doesn't work very well). I think Yoder does, but costs extra. I don't have experiece with the Yoder, so I could be wrong. I have the MAK with flamezone, and use GrillGrates and it's perfect. I still have my gasser though. Sometimes, I'll pull the weber or Hunsaker and smoke a Tri-Tip for an hour or so and sear on the gasser! Perfect!! I've bought and sold a lot of cookers (PBC, Kamado Joe, Weber Gasser, Ooni, etc). I'll never sell another grill. Sometimes you feel like a drum, sometimes you feel like a gasser, and sometimes you feel like a pellet head. I won't get rid of any, but I'm really eyeing the Masterbuilt 1050 as an addition. Don't need it, but...:heh:
 
concur that if you ditch the gasser for a pellet make sure you have one that has some sort of searing plan (Yoder, Memphis, MAK, pit boss, etc)... and if you REALLY like searing make sure you get one that really works...

Also note that lots of more classic offset folks are doing pellet additions with sear options (LSG, Pitts&Spitts, etc)...

i still enjoy my gasser, but part of that is that it doubles as griddle (with toppers) and it has infrared burners which get infernal hot... and i use lots of cast iron pans on top of burners while cooking everything outside (don't have 'outdoor kitchen' just a collection of cookers...)
 
Thanks guys. The full arsenal would be the Spirit gasser, blackstone griddle, 2 22 inch Weber kettles, and a PBC. I enjoy smoking stuff on the PBC and the kettles, but sometimes think it would be nice to have the pellet grill more for convenience. Like really long or overnight cooks. Not really worried about searing as I still would have the kettles. But I do get the point of the convenience of the gasser. I’ve never used a pellet pooper, but I’m guessing it would be quicker to grill a steak on a gasser then on a pellet grill. Thanks for the help guys, I’m thinking I’m going to just keep it the way it is. My wallet thanks you. Hahaha.
 
expand the patio, more room for cookers :clap2:
 
Brahern02 said:
Thanks guys. The full arsenal would be the Spirit gasser, blackstone griddle, 2 22 inch Weber kettles, and a PBC. I enjoy smoking stuff on the PBC and the kettles, but sometimes think it would be nice to have the pellet grill more for convenience. Like really long or overnight cooks. Not really worried about searing as I still would have the kettles. But I do get the point of the convenience of the gasser. I’ve never used a pellet pooper, but I’m guessing it would be quicker to grill a steak on a gasser then on a pellet grill. Thanks for the help guys, I’m thinking I’m going to just keep it the way it is. My wallet thanks you. Hahaha.
Click to expand...

We’ve apparently failed if the conclusion was to stick with what you have. We’re just more about ADDING rather than REPLACING cooking devices. :razz:

That aside, the pellet grill really does add convenience vs using charcoal and overnight cooks are incredibly easy. Just like I said I wouldn’t give up my gas grill, I’m unlikely to ever be without a pellet grill too. I enjoy playing with charcoal at times but there are many times that I need the convenience of pellets.
 
Dweverett said:
We’ve apparently failed if the conclusion was to stick with what you have. We’re just more about ADDING rather than REPLACING cooking devices. :razz:

That aside, the pellet grill really does add convenience vs using charcoal and overnight cooks are incredibly easy. Just like I said I wouldn’t give up my gas grill, I’m unlikely to ever be without a pellet grill too. I enjoy playing with charcoal at times but there are many times that I need the convenience of pellets.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree. Gasser does give great convenience and can cook something up really quick. However, pellets have their place as well. I believe any cheap gasser will help get the job done where a gasser is beneficial. They definitely work hand in hand in the arsemal.
 
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