The Official Pellet Grill Smoker thread.

[BKING!]

Exactly what he said^^^^^

As a former Kamado Joe owner, I can tell you from firsthand experience that the low n slow end result of a cook is not at all the same. Simply put, I did not realize how dirty the smoke profile was from my KJ’s until I had a stickburner (M1) and pellet cooker (MAK) sitting in my backyard. I almost immediately lost interest in the kamados. Perhaps just a personal preference... but my entire family was on the same page as me... and the food from my MAK (no longer have the M1) has received WAY more compliments than I ever got from the KJ food. So, I don’t think it’s just me and the family

Im the same way. To gain more understanding of how different smokers operate I always tell people to google Dr. Blonder’s “science of smokers”. Optimal wood flavor comes from a 700 deg fire which is way too hot for a charcoal smoker. Pellet smokers are able to maintain fires at or above that without overheating the cooking chamber because the fire is literally the size of a coffee mug. Offset smokers are able to achieve that because well... the fire is offset from the cooking chamber lol. Due to a variety of reasons the smoke flavor is lighter on a pellet grill than an offset but the variable fan speed of the Mak addresses one of those reasons at least.

 

[gtsum]

Agree with all the above. I cooked on a primo for 8 years and then went to pellets and now back to sticks (M1). The smoke flavor on a kamado is quite different than a pellet...pellet is lighter and sweeter imo...smoke flavor on a kettle is better imo than a kamado due to it having more airflow, but it’s similar to me...and certainly heavier than my pellet cookers I’ve had....a stick burner’s smoke profile can be almost as light as a pellet cooker or as heavy as you want it...all depending on the fire you run


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[BKING!]

Another limitation on smoke flavor that is unavoidable is the fuel source unfortunately. Wood in its natural state is very insulated due to the large number of air pockets in the wood. Therefore, different parts of the wood can burn at different temperatures leading to increased smolder (but not excessive due to secondary combustion from the standing flame).

Pellets on the other hand are compressed wood and are devoid of air pockets leading to a more uniform (and cleaner) burn. The obvious size differences between splits and pellets promote the disparity in uniform wood combustion as well

 

[BKING!]

Agree with all the above. I cooked on a primo for 8 years and then went to pellets and now back to sticks (M1). The smoke flavor on a kamado is quite different than a pellet...pellet is lighter and sweeter imo...smoke flavor on a kettle is better imo than a kamado due to it having more airflow, but it’s similar to me...and certainly heavier than my pellet cookers I’ve had....a stick burner’s smoke profile can be almost as light as a pellet cooker or as heavy as you want it...all depending on the fire you run


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Exactly... fire management can make you or break you on a stick burner. My results on a stick burner were admittedly varied. Sometimes the fire was so clean there was no smoke flavor at all and sometimes the smoke flavor was heavy (not bitter)

That’s why I have a hard time comparing smoke flavor from my Mak and a stick burner because there are so many variable that come into play with a stick burner such as wind, your split sizes, how seasoned the splits are, and you the pitmaster among many other variables.

I would say that on average the smoke flavor is slightly greater on a stick burner than my Mak but I need to emphasize SLIGHTLY. The Mak is far more predictable though

 

[BKING!]

Sorry about all the posts by the way. I’ll shut up after this one. I don’t want my posts to come across as charcoal smoker or Kamados specifically are the devil lol. You just need to make sure your fire is clean before putting the meat on. This what I want to see before I put the meat on. I WILL NOT put the meat until after 1 hour of dumping my coals and placing the wood. If I dump the coals and place my wood in at 9 am I won’t even check on the smoker until 10 am to see what the smoke looks like

 

[rwalters]

Sorry about all the posts by the way. I’ll shut up after this one. I don’t want my posts to come across as charcoal smoker or Kamados specifically are the devil lol. You just need to make sure your fire is clean before putting the meat on. This what I want to see before I put the meat on. I WILL NOT put the meat until after 1 hour of dumping my coals and placing the wood. If I dump the coals and place my wood in at 9 am I won’t even check on the smoker until 10 am to see what the smoke looks like

No need to shut up... lol. You’re a wealth of info... and lots of guys are looking for just that. You’ve got the goods buddy... keep sharing

 

[GrantAshton]

Sorry about all the posts by the way. I’ll shut up after this one. I don’t want my posts to come across as charcoal smoker or Kamados specifically are the devil lol. You just need to make sure your fire is clean before putting the meat on. This what I want to see before I put the meat on. I WILL NOT put the meat until after 1 hour of dumping my coals and placing the wood. If I dump the coals and place my wood in at 9 am I won’t even check on the smoker until 10 am to see what the smoke looks like

Please don’t apologize for your posts! Great information.

 

[Baychilla]

I've found the smoke on the Egg and WSM to be stale. The LSG stickburner hasn't had that issue. Aside from the amount of work it takes to get food off the stickburner (& maintain it) the only complaint is that I too sometimes suffer from a lack of smoke flavor in the food.

 

[BKING!]

I've found the smoke on the Egg and WSM to be stale. The LSG stickburner hasn't had that issue. Aside from the amount of work it takes to get food off the stickburner (& maintain it) the only complaint is that I too sometimes suffer from a lack of smoke flavor in the food.

The conclusion I came to when deciding on pellet/stick burner vs charcoal and chunks is I ask myself how I want to “screw up”. Much of the time I can nail the smoke flavor with whatever I’m using but with charcoal and chunks if I screw up the smoke is heavy and bitter. If I screw up with stickburner or pellet the smoke is clean but too light. One just needs to figure out how they want to screw up because it happens to everyone lol.

 

[pjtexas1]

The conclusion I came to when deciding on pellet/stick burner vs charcoal and chunks is I ask myself how I want to “screw up”. Much of the time I can nail the smoke flavor with whatever I’m using but with charcoal and chunks if I screw up the smoke is heavy and bitter. If I screw up with stickburner or pellet the smoke is clean but too light. One just needs to figure out how they want to screw up because it happens to everyone lol.

Yep! Just when you think you can do no wrong. BAM!!!!
I like your reasoning.

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[chingador]

Exactly what he said^^^^^

You are asking great questions. I see you are a kettle guy... so it’s super smart to be wrestling through this stuff if you are toying with kamado vs pellets. It’s not that kamados are bad cookers... heck, there are lots of guys that have and love them. That said, as a former Kamado Joe owner, I can tell you from firsthand experience that the low n slow end result of a cook is not at all the same. Simply put, I did not realize how dirty the smoke profile was from my KJ’s until I had a stickburner (M1) and pellet cooker (MAK) sitting in my backyard. I almost immediately lost interest in the kamados. Perhaps just a personal preference... but my entire family was on the same page as me... and the food from my MAK (no longer have the M1) has received WAY more compliments than I ever got from the KJ food. So, to me, it seems that pellet cooked food appeals to more people because of the clean and pleasant flavor profile

You are dead on. I have been cooking on a Primo Kamado and UDS for the last 10 years and I am ready to move on to cleaner pastures in regards to combustion. I don’t have room or inclination to roll with a stickburner. So a pellet grill is in the works soon. I do have a reverse flow stickburner at my country home that I can use and plenty of post oak and pecan on the ground so I can get my fix there.

 

[rwalters]

You are dead on. I have been cooking on a Primo Kamado and UDS for the last 10 years and I am ready to move on to cleaner pastures in regards to combustion. I don’t have room or inclination to roll with a stickburner. So a pellet grill is in the works soon. I do have a reverse flow stickburner at my country home that I can use and plenty of post oak and pecan on the ground so I can get my fix there.

Totally get it! Do you already have a specific pellet grill in mind?

 

[chingador]

Sorry about all the posts by the way. I’ll shut up after this one. I don’t want my posts to come across as charcoal smoker or Kamados specifically are the devil lol. You just need to make sure your fire is clean before putting the meat on. This what I want to see before I put the meat on. I WILL NOT put the meat until after 1 hour of dumping my coals and placing the wood. If I dump the coals and place my wood in at 9 am I won’t even check on the smoker until 10 am to see what the smoke looks like

No it is all good. Getting a Kamado fire right is very difficult. Mainly because no matter what you do you are running a smoldering fire. I have found that tiny chunks of wood work best. And yes, you have to wait a couple hours to let the combustion to clean up before putting the meat on. But still as the fire meanders through the coal bed and hits a new chunk of wood you will get some dirty smoldering wood.

Don’t get me wrong, Kamados have their place. I am just very wary of the “one cooker can do it all” mentality. My game plan moving forward is to have specific tools for specific jobs. The Kamado will be mainly used for high heat cooks. It will get pulled into service for low and slow when I need the extra real estate

 

[chingador]

Totally get it! Do you already have a specific pellet grill in mind?

Choosing between Rec Tec 590 and Silverbac. About 97% settled on the Rec Tec. Mak is out of my budget otherwise it would be on the list.

 

[rwalters]

Choosing between Rec Tec 590 and Silverbac. About 97% settled on the Rec Tec. Mak is out of my budget otherwise it would be on the list.

Oh that’s right, I knew you were down to those two makes/models. Both appear to be very solid choices

 

[chingador]

Oh that’s right, I knew you were down to those two makes/models. Both appear to be very solid choices

Yeah I think they are both good choices. Both are Honda’s to Mak’s Mercedes Benz. I like driving a Honda and my last car was a tricked out MB.

Of course this is all contingent on a large plumbing job being done on my house next week. Having my entire main line replaced from the house to the city main. My budget includes both sewer and new grill. Waiting till later isnt an option because number 1 son starts college (private uni) this fall. If there is any additional spending that needs to be done on this plumbing project (house is 80 years old) I might need to push the grill plans down the road. But I am confident that project spending will be on bid

 

[rwalters]

Yeah I think they are both good choices. Both are Honda’s to Mak’s Mercedes Benz. I like driving a Honda and my last car was a tricked out MB.



Of course this is all contingent on a large plumbing job being done on my house next week. Having my entire main line replaced from the house to the city main. My budget includes both sewer and new grill. Waiting till later isnt an option because number 1 son starts college (private uni) this fall. If there is any additional spending that needs to be done on this plumbing project (house is 80 years old) I might need to push the grill plans down the road. But I am confident that project spending will be on bid

Love my Honda Pilot... lol. I’ve been a Honda guy for years. Hoping things go as planned for you. Home repairs can be a bit nerve wracking.

 

[chingador]

Love my Honda Pilot... lol. I’ve been a Honda guy for years. Hoping things go as planned for you. Home repairs can be a bit nerve wracking.

Yeah, major buzzkill. I hate writing checks that big, but have been fighting this issue for some time and will be very happy to finally have it fixed completely and correctly.

 

[BKING!]

All this talk about different smokers calls for a Weber 26 and Mak 1 star throw down! I’ll have both compete in a pork butt cook off and I’ll reveal the results tomorrow. So far I have done 10 smoking throw downs (throw downs include ribs, butts, salmon, and sausage so far) and the score is 3 wins for Mak and 7 ties. The Weber has yet to win yet so we will see what the Weber 26 can do tomorrow.

 

[rwalters]

All this talk about different smokers calls for a Weber 26 and Mak 1 star throw down! I’ll have both compete in a pork butt cook off and I’ll reveal the results tomorrow. So far I have done 10 smoking throw downs (throw downs include ribs, butts, salmon, and sausage so far) and the score is 3 wins for Mak and 7 ties. The Weber has yet to win yet so we will see what the Weber 26 can do tomorrow.

Love a good throw down!!