WSM vs pellet grill vs pellet cabinet

Pellet cooking is easy. If you like a lot of smoke flavor it won’t happen as easy. As long as you have a back up in case you lose power. I like both.

I’d start with deciding how much smoke you like. The WSM will be considerably heavier than the pellet options. The pellets will win on convenience and ease of use. The WSM is pretty easy to run but there is a bit more hassle getting it ready, and then cleaning it after, than most pellets. It also will take longer to get up to temp and dialed in before you can start using it.

You can buy a temperature controller for the WSM and make it mostly as set and forget as a pellet grill.

Love my WSM. Still use it when I don’t feel like tending my stick burner all day

I’d also consider the amount of food if a lighter smoker doesn’t bather you. The pellet grill will have more room most of the time.

We had a master built for a year and I currently have 2 WSMs and 2 pellet smokers.

If you are looking for gas grill like convenience with a light to medium smoke profile and practically no learning curve go for the pellet cooker. Pellet cookers put the perfect amount of smoke on poultry but will seem weak on pork and beef. Cleanup is really easy, After it cools I take it apart, vacuum out the little bit of ash and change the aluminum foil on the heat deflector. This probably takes 10 minutes Max.

The WSM smokers produce excellent results and can put a lot of smoke into the meat if you want but the setup time and cleanup time afterwards is a bit more time consuming, but it isn’t daunting. It does have a bit of a learning curve but nothing overwhelming. If you decide to use a temp controller the learning curve is greatly reduced if not eliminated. It will hold the temps rock solid all on its own.

If I’m making poultry or something quick and easy I will go to my pellet cooker. If I want to blow someone’s socks off with really great ribs or brisket with a deep smoke profile I will go for my WSM every time.

The price you pay for a pellet grill will also affect how much smoke you get. My first pellet smoker was a $450 pit boss 820. I never liked the non existent smoke profile from day one and had to put a wood burning diffuser to deepen the smoke intensity. I recently bought a Green Mountain Cooker Daniel Boone for around $700 and it holds temps rock solid and the smoke profile is more pronounced.

If I could only have one smoker it would probably be the 22” WSM.

got a price range? that would help a lot

tom b said:

got a price range? that would help a lot

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Exactly my question. I’d rather have a WSM or PBC than an inexpensive pellet grill JMO.

The best way to decide if at all possible try to sample someone's food off of each cooker. Any friends with either? If you really like the charcoal flavor you can get some of that now too from a pellet grill using some Char-Hickory pellets. To go along with Shadowdog, going with a higher quality pellet grill will make a difference. Mak $$$ but, all I hear is good. The Yoder and Rec-Tec which I am a huge fan of mine. You can also run an amazin tube for more smoke at high temps. Of course the WSM is cheaper and I find mine really likes 240* and is pretty much set and forget. More confused now :wink:

One downside to the WSM is access to the bottom rack is annoying. It’s okay if you throw something in that you don’t need access to, but if you are doing a cook where you need frequent access to the food, it gets old fast.

STLBBQer said:

Exactly my question. I’d rather have a WSM or PBC than an inexpensive pellet grill JMO.

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I have a PBC and a MAK if one had to go it would be an easy decision, the MAK anit going anywhere

My story is similar to ShadowDog’s. Had several gas grills and charcoal grills over the years including a Weber gas kettle. Then moved on to one of the original Traeger pellet grills , a Louisiana whole hog and finally a MAK 2 Star. The MAK exceeds my other pellet grills and gives me more of a smoke profile than the others. I don’t foresee going to any other pellet grill. I had a WSM which I hooked up to a blower. It did a great job and gave more of a smoke profile than my pellet grill. The only reason I sold it was I wanted more meat capacity and purchased a LSG vertical cabinet smoker which I hook up to a Flame Boss controller. I sleep like a baby with my controllers. Luckily, never had a power failure in the middle of the night. The last thing I will never part with is my Weber 26 in kettle. I have a rotisserie for it and a blower but primarily use it to cook over an open fire. The three serve all my needs, depending on what I’m cooking. The LSG and MAK are not cheap but I am very happy with them and don’t envision making any changes. They will likely out live me. If anything fails on a pellet grill it’s usually the hot rod. Never ever let moisture get in the pellet hopper or the pellets can get like concrete in the auger. If this happens, you will regret it. I purchased a custom made cover that I use religiously. I’ve been playing with a griddle on my indoor cooktop and have been eyeing a Blackstone but I try to keep my weight steady and that could destroy any discipline I have left.

tom b said:

I have a PBC and a MAK if one had to go it would be an easy decision, the MAK anit going anywhere

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Exactly my point. You got a MAK. I have a Blaz’n. Those are not inexpensive. I can also agree that my PBC will hit the road before my pellet grill. I also had inexpensive models and they were a royal PITA. Wouldn’t take them over the PBC.

After 25+ years of outdoor cooking with charcoal/sticks/gas/pellets, for me personally, the MAK 2 Star has been my all time favorite grill/smoker to date. The convenience and super consistent clean smoke profile are darn near impossible to beat IMO. Another vote for pellets

CivilTrojan said:

I think part of my problem is that I’m not sure what the difference in smoke is having never used either of them before. I wish there was a way to try before the buy...

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How do you like the smoke profile of your masterbuilt? The masterbuilt I had produced a light smoke profile.

I drank the green kool-aide several years ago and thought the BGE/ Kamado style was the end all,be all.Pellet smokers/grills are all the rage now.I grew up with my Mom grilling on an original cast Aluminum PK and smoking pork on an electric Brinkman.I have several different cookers.I always seem to drift back to the Weber kettle or the WSM for daily cooks.I only use lump charcoal in them,no briqs.My favorite cooker is the Shirley for large cooks.It is unsurpassed.I laugh when BGE owners speak of storing their accessories in their Weber or Gasser.My accessories are stored in the BGE.As far as your question,I suppose it is personal preference.All of them have their place.

CivilTrojan said:

Sometimes it was okay and other times I wanted more.

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I just bought a Green mountain Daniel Boone about a month ago and it puts out a passable amount of smoke for me. So far the thing has been rock solid and I haven’t heard many bad things about them. I just looked and there are a bunch of green mountain dealers in your area. Find out if you can taste some ribs or brisket that was cooked on one to see if it is the profile you want. Don’t try chicken, Anything can put good smoke on a chicken. Here is a link to the distributor locator. https://greenmountaingrills.com/find-a-dealer/

The MAK pellet cookers start at about $2k and the MAK 2 that everyone seems to get is $3K.

If the pellet cookers don’t do it for You try a WSM. Ther are a million of them out there and I bet you know someone who has one.