Best pellet smoker

Bucknekked said:

appliancedude
If you enjoyed what you have, Traeger makes some pretty danged nice units today. Of course there's the wide array of mid-market units. Then the high end stuff tops it all off. All of them basically put smoke on meat.

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I cook on 5 different pellet grills 5 out of 7 day's a week year around. The 2 Traegers put out the best smoke profile compared to the Louisiana and Smoke Hollow. The Grilla Chimp is the poorest of them all due to it's lack of pellet usage, it is a pellet miser. The alpha controller recently quit and waiting for a new one, hopefully this will help.

These days Mak and Cookshack make the best pellet burners. Traeger is just a brand owned by an investment firm now.

Pellet Grill

BBQ Freak said:

I love my Rec-Tec 590 so far and everyone rants about their customer service if you ever have a problem . I get the same flavor profile as my stick burner with it using the right pellets and shocked me since I have using stick burners my whole life but pleased with my purchase .

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Hi What is your secret for getting that great smoke flavor with your 590. The 590 ROCKS!!,just need some more smoke flavor.:clap:
Thanks Dan

DanB said:

Hi What is your secret for getting that great smoke flavor with your 590. The 590 ROCKS!!,just need some more smoke flavor.:clap:
Thanks Dan

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Dan, have you tried to smoke at 180° for a couple of hours before ramping up to your normal cook temp?

Pellet Grill

PatAttack said:

Dan, have you tried to smoke at 180° for a couple of hours before ramping up to your normal cook temp?

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Hi I tired that with a 10 hr brisket cook. Next cook I'm going to try putting chunks on the diffuser.
Thanks Dan

DanB said:

Hi What is your secret for getting that great smoke flavor with your 590. The 590 ROCKS!!,just need some more smoke flavor.:clap:
Thanks Dan

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100% hickory from cookinpellets or lumberjack should do the trick keeping temps below 225, even doing the first couple hours below 200. Also B&B mesquite puts out a strong smoke flavor too. I just bought a bag of LJ 100% mesquite that I will try in a couple weeks when I cook my next brisket. I prefer a lighter smoke flavor in ribs but want more in larger cuts. Stay away from fruit wood blends if you feel you are not getting enough smoke flavor.

BBQ Freak said:

I love my Rec-Tec 590 so far and everyone rants about their customer service if you ever have a problem . I get the same flavor profile as my stick burner with it using the right pellets and shocked me since I have using stick burners my whole life but pleased with my purchase .

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HI So how do I get the same smoke flavor of a stick burner with my 590?
Thanks DanB

Not sure it's worth it to get into a "which is the best" debate. Perhaps the more prudent question is which pellet smokers do Brethren like and why? Everybody considers different factors. You see that in the responses. For me it was a combo of cost, customer service, and what owners say about the unit. So when I ticked off my boxes, it led me to Rec-Tec. And I can tell you without a a doubt that I love my Rec-Tec 700 and would recommend it to anyone. Cranks out amazing food. Was coming from using a WSM, which I still have and use.

Did this 13lb brisket on the Rec-Tec yesterday. Not too shabby.

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I don't own a pellet grill but we have cooked on many in the past two years. The one I was most impressed with is the Pitts and Spitts Maverick. Built like a tank!
:mrgreen:

https://greenmountaingrills.com/pro...-wifi/daniel-boone-pellet-grill-non-wifi-blk/

This is the one I have. Mine is 7 years old. I just got it free off craigslist but I would not hesitate to buy the exact same one brand new. The price is great and I have been loving mine and there is a heck of a lot of room.
I have had the traeger junior elite and I loved it for years. Since I got the GMG recently I realized the GMG is a better unit and bigger and similar price to the Junior elite. The start ups are different but neither is difficult.
If you have a lower budget start with Green Mountain Grills. Traeger builds a solid product that works but Green Mountain Grills has better temp control and build quality is similar. The grill does not move much off the temp with GMG but traeger use to be all over the place of course that was from 2013. I think that was the traeger build date. Anyways, I don't know about the current controller for Traeger but GMG is using the same controller I have in my unit still and I would not hesitate to get one if I needed one. I tend to hear complaints about the wifi controller but a lot of folks do like that feature. In all honest you really don't need it but you might like to have that option. If you want it though get it now because the controllers to upgrade them is pretty expensive relative to the price now. I might upgrade mine at some point just because it would be fun to be able to control my grill from anywhere with wifi. To be honest after setting the temp I don't really know that I need wifi. I can honestly get away with an inkbird thermometer to monitor grill temps and meat temps. So its a nice feature but its more just kind of fun to have it vs needing it.
Honestly, I don't know how much better a pellet grill can get if you spend more. I suppose if you need searing it might be easier with one of the models that offers the option. I think Pit Boss might be offering a searing option now. If you need a budget model GMG is the way to go imo. As far as high end goes I would defer to another brethren as I have not ever owned a premium pellet grill.

If you want max smoke flavor, then go for a MAK. Yoder may do the same, but I don't have any experience with them and haven't read a lot of comparisons on them. All accounts are, they are great cookers. Cookshack and Rec Tec have good reps as well.

BBQ Freak said:

I love my Rec-Tec 590 so far and everyone rants about their customer service if you ever have a problem . I get the same flavor profile as my stick burner with it using the right pellets and shocked me since I have using stick burners my whole life but pleased with my purchase .

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That's the last thing I needed to read...I'm thinking very seriously about one of those. And this is the last place I need to come. Nobody here will talk me out of it, just get me deeper in the hole.

Ok so... I’m loving my Mak 2 star (and my Grilla chimp is pretty cool) BUT I totally disagree that a pellet will match a stick burner In smoke profile (sorry not trying to be contentious with some very experienced brethren above but I gotta speak MY truth).

I smoked a few butts last night @ 225-250 for 12+ hrs then wrapped and finished. They had a light pleasant smoke but not a true traditional smoke.

Had several compliments on the Q but it’s not like my Shirley. Better or worse? That’s very subjective. I’m happy I have a few cookers to choose from depending on my circumstances and love to feed some friends even when I am short on time and energy.

I know this.. when I putt the word out that my Shirley is being fired up my buddies show up in droves to putt their meat on it. Not the same hurry with my other smokers.


Again I Love my Primo and Mak 2 and they will be here until they die but that’s just my observations

Follow up- Stick Burners aren’t going away or dying out anytime soon despite technology.... smoke what you can, how you can smoke it and enjoy it! You won’t be disappointed. I’ve never been yet with the fine tips from here

Only seen one mention of the Green Mountain Grills. Can anyone comment on the new Prime Models?

I totally agree, I smoked two butts for the 4th on the Bull and they were great! But they had a different smoke profile- I used cookinpellets 100% hickory and it’s not the same as my UDS or charcoal smoker grill, I am guessing not anywhere near stickburner “potential” flavor unless you prefer a lighter profile. I’ll let you know as soon as I get my offset dialed in... ��

Good morning first post here but I’ve been BBQing for years. I cooked on a 22.5 WSM for several years until I got the urge to buy a pellet grill. I bought a Yoder YS640S and couldn’t be happier. I don’t have any experience with the other American made pellet cookers but Yoder puts out a quality product. Everything from smash burgers on Cast Iron, to reverse seared Tomahawks on grill grates, to Brisket and Pork it does a great job. I’m very happy with my purchase.

Admittedly, this is frivolous, but does any company offer a control screen as cool as Camp Chef?

rm41400 said:

Ok so... I’m loving my Mak 2 star (and my Grilla chimp is pretty cool) BUT I totally disagree that a pellet will match a stick burner In smoke profile (sorry not trying to be contentious with some very experienced brethren above but I gotta speak MY truth).

I smoked a few butts last night @ 225-250 for 12+ hrs then wrapped and finished. They had a light pleasant smoke but not a true traditional smoke.

Had several compliments on the Q but it’s not like my Shirley. Better or worse? That’s very subjective. I’m happy I have a few cookers to choose from depending on my circumstances and love to feed some friends even when I am short on time and energy.

I know this.. when I putt the word out that my Shirley is being fired up my buddies show up in droves to putt their meat on it. Not the same hurry with my other smokers.


Again I Love my Primo and Mak 2 and they will be here until they die but that’s just my observations

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I would tend to agree with you. In the last few years, I’ve had a yoder 640, Memphis elite, and a gmg daves Crockett. I liked them all (especially the yoder...it was a very versatile cooker)...but the flavor isn’t anywhere as good as when I burn oak and hickory splits on my M1 cooker. Not that the food wasn’t good on my pellets (lumberjack 100% hickory and 100% cherry used), but it never had the same depth of flavor as my stick burner. They are great for convenience for sure. And I did prefer the pellets over past gravity feed and ceramic kamado cookers I’ve had.

I also think maybe my taste buds and preferences have changed a bit as I’ve gotten older. I tend to need and want a little more pow!! in the flavor...little more salt, more spice, etc these days...more smoke flavor too I guess...


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