What’s the point of a pellet smoker

[WilliamKY]

A good friend at work bought a Rec Tec. He obsessed over it for 6mos before he finally dropped the $1000. He likes it a lot but he admits it doesn't give him the heavier smoke flavor that he prefers. He often uses an amazn tube with it. I still enjoy tending a live fire and adjusting vents so it might be a awhile before I own one.

 

[Rockinar]

They are simple, set up fast, easy to use. Might be good if you have kids and no time to tend a fire, dont want to tend a fire, live somewhere with no access to wood, just like to sleep or simply not that picky about your BBQ and dont care.

An electric smoker with a smoke tube would not produce the same results. The pellet smoker would be superior.

 

[Ylouder]

When I started with an offset, spent years debating getting a kamado, when I finally pulled the trigger I literally gave my cheap offset away the next week. The kamado was so easy, used so little fuel, maintained temp etc.

Same thing with my pellet grill. Spent years debating it and couldn’t justify it until I accidently broke my Akron kamado. (Long story, 100percent my fault). Finally had a reason for a pellet pooper, I won’t say a pellet is vastly superior to a kamado, but both are light years ahead of an offset.

Now days I make use of my current offset maybe once or twice a year but the gasser and pellet pooper see duty about 95 percent of the time. Something almost spiritual about an offset chugging along with thin blue.

 

[jasonjax]

or simply not that picky about your BBQ and dont care.

.

Or perhaps they are picky about their BBQ and do care and feel the results they achieve with a pellet cooker are better than the results they achieved with other fuels.

 

[Stlchucky]

Or perhaps they are picky about their BBQ and do care and feel the results they achieve with a pellet cooker are better than the results they achieved with other fuels.

Or like me and don't have the time or want to seek out wood thats been seasoned for 2 years then debark it then set up all night tending a fire, which is fun occasionally.

 

[olddawg]

hell im not skeered to amit it im lazy by nature and busted up from car wrecks pellet grill lets me catch a breather in between checking on pellets and temp

 

[Mikhail]

Where do I obtain these gold balls of which you speak?

I only have brass, so I can't help you.

 

[Stlchucky]

I get decent smoke.

 

[Rockinar]

I won’t say a pellet is vastly superior to a kamado, but both are light years ahead of an offset.

Get 3 coffins ready.....

 

[The Wookiee]

I’ve had WSM, camp chef propane, smokein-it electric (cook shack clone with external PId for programmability), Weber kettle a couple different pellet grills and offset... along the way my smoke pallet developed I realized I no longer liked the taste off electric nor propane smokers and gave them to friends (nothing wrong with the flavor, just different and not what I enjoyed anymore). Mak pellets put out serious smoke no need to augment (so much that I recurrently think something is wrong when I go out and spot check how things are going... nothing ever wrong). Still love sticks and charcoal but pellet is clean tasting, damned easy and allows me to futz about the house run errands play with kids etc. I have a wagyu brisket on the pellet now- I trust it’s flavor that much. I would NOT have put that beauty on my prior pellet grills. But whenever I can dedicate myself to the fire I LOVE offset process and flavor. Never cooked on insulated vertical style...

 

[lantern]

Two reasons that haven't been touched yet.

1, pellet cookers still create enough nitric oxide and carbon dioxide to turn the myoglobin in the meat pink and make it purrrrdy compared to electric smokers.


2, The clean flavor can cause less issues for those with a sensitive or becoming sensitive stomachs. In simple terms......the belching and farting is less than with other smokers. If done the way I enjoy it has the smoky porkiness of meat pulled from a decent whole hog cook.

 

[LYU370]

Two reasons that haven't been touched yet.

1, pellet cookers still create enough nitric oxide and carbon dioxide to turn the myoglobin in the meat pink and make it purrrrdy compared to electric smokers.

Yep, if you're a fan of the "smoke ring" it'll be pretty hard to get with an electric. Managed to get a small one once by adding a couple briquettes of KBB into the smoke box. But if you really want one in an electric, just use some TenderQuick.

 

[olddawg]

hell just use what makes the better bbq me I gotta cater to the picky ass family members and I cant be assed
with baby sitting a stick burner but I do love the smoke from them but im happy with smoke level of my pellet pooper its all what ya prefer

 

[Burnt at Both Endz]

I’ve been knocking around the idea of a pellet smoker but after seeing how many people add a smoker generator or tube to get smoke flavor I’m wondering why get one? Seems an electric smoker with the same smoke tube would be the same result. So what do the pellet smokers offer ?

Well, in short....quicker recovery time and higher temps!


I have a FEC100, PG500, and an Cookshack electric(at the lake). I can tell you that like any other smoker, can, grill, the cook/operator makes all the difference.:doh:

 

[LYU370]

the cook/operator makes all the difference.:doh:

^^^^ Ding, ding, ding, ding... We have a winner! If you're a good cook, you can cook on anything. Some cookers are just more convenient than others.

 

[benski]

I find my GMG very handy for long term cooks. It seems like a bit of a waste to fire it up for just one meal, so it often gets two or three entrees stuck on it at once. One other facet of the Daniel Boone that sits along all the other stuff decorating my back porch is that I like to have the grease tray pretty clean (not antiseptic, by any means) before I light it off for another adventure. It seems to me that it can impart a gently rancid taste to the food if I don't take this simple step. YMMV, of course. A dandy device that I'm still learning the nuances of.:thumb:

 

[Ron_L]

Where do I obtain these gold balls of which you speak?

Perks of meeting a moderator :-D

 

[Corky]

Where do I obtain these gold balls of which you speak?

Smaller than the brass ones but rarer.

 

[pjtexas1]

You guys may want to check in your wife's purse...

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[WildmanWilson]

I own a Big Green Egg, a Holland grill, and a 1950s refrigerator electric smoker I made. I can actually get good smoke in the refrigerator smoker by adding wood around the burner. It’s great for low temps I need for summer sausage. I’ve been looking at the pellet smokers for a while and the lack of smoke flavor I was reading about just had me concerned that it was not much better than an electric or a gasser such as the Holland without adding additional smoke. I guess I need to just break down and try one.