New Louisiana Grills Vertical Smoker at Costco

[FattyMac]

FWIW I've not personally cooked on one of these but a friend has 2. Former comp guy so I trust his opinion.
He likes them although he has said that controller is not the best. I had a Louisiana super hog for a couple of years and this was my opinion too. Well built but the controller was lacking. The good news is, according to him, the Rec Tec controller is a simple swap out and it even fits the same cut out.
It's a fraction of the cost of an FSC and it get's you 80% there. If they ever appear in Canadian Costco's I will be picking one up.

 

[sudsandswine]

Is it that they just have some temp swings, or they go way off into the weeds and don't work properly? 20* or whatever swings in either direction from the set point wouldn't bother me, but a malfunction like running 350* when I set it to 225* would be another matter.

 

[FattyMac]

Similar issues that I had from what I understand...

Doesn't like being started at too low of a temp, or else fire tends to go out.
Tends to overshoot on start up.

Once you got a good bed of coals going it didn't seem to swing too much.

 

[stckciv]

Here is a review of the 5 series if anyone is interested. Seems like a decent unit that can handle a lot of food.

https://pelletfan.com/index.php?topic=2320.0

 

[Jason TQ]

FWIW I've not personally cooked on one of these but a friend has 2. Former comp guy so I trust his opinion.
He likes them although he has said that controller is not the best. I had a Louisiana super hog for a couple of years and this was my opinion too. Well built but the controller was lacking. The good news is, according to him, the Rec Tec controller is a simple swap out and it even fits the same cut out.
It's a fraction of the cost of an FSC and it get's you 80% there. If they ever appear in Canadian Costco's I will be picking one up.

Literally used mine at a comp last month with no comp practice in it and got 20th overall out of 60 good teams and 6th place brisket.

It can make solid food.

 

[Grain Belt]

Glass + grill or smoker= bad design

 

[Jason TQ]

Glass + grill or smoker= bad design

Meh, I spray mine with a little degreaser and it peels right off. Next to no effort.

But glass isn't needed. Not a bad design as it cooks awesome. Just kind of a gimmick.

 

[93_confirmed]

For you news guys to the forum. If you are considering buying a smoker from Costco, wait. They start full price now and by April or May they start trying to move inventory. Not uncommon for a 699 smoker to drop to 299 or less in a few months. Watch for a while before you buy. Search the forum for the Bayou Classic. 2 years ago dropped to 199 in places.

This. Costco (and BJs) will drop the price on these a few months in and they'll all fly off the shelves. I'm still kicking myself for missing the Bayou at $199. :tsk:

 

[leowulf]

hi all, I have a question, I was looking for a smoker and accidentally saw in a store on a solar cooker (don't remember model, something like this: Hukoer) someone tried to cook meat at this? is it worth to buy?
Thanks in advance

 

[Sid Post]

hi all, I have a question, I was looking for a smoker and accidentally saw in a store on a solar cooker (don't remember model, something like this: Hukoer) someone tried to cook meat at this? is it worth to buy?
Thanks in advance

In Tucson, Arizona they were a little trendy and worked "OK". Breads and Biscuits were the best use IMHO but, meat and side dishes were possible. The best ones would cook meat entrees at about 50% the speed of a traditional oven and never put a good 'crust' on something like a roast or Au Gratin potatoes.

Up North, I really don't see them being practical for most people. Like Solar hot water heaters, do you have enough days of sufficient sunshine to make it a financially viable decision and one that is practical enough to justify the overall level of effort.

 

[Sid Post]

Is that the reason why Walmart discounted the Series 5? Phasing it out to Louisiana Grills?

That doesn't make sense because they restocked the Pit Boss version after the clearance and introduced the whiskey still version as well. My guess is that the branding is so they can sell it at Costco and the people that buy it can say that they don't have a Walmart smoker to feel better about themselves. The low cost might present a problem with my theory though.

It really is all about branding in most cases. Sometimes the only thing that changes is the SKU/UPC number and something minor internally like transport packaging or the assembly instructions. YMMV :wink: