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Comparing BGE with pellet grill
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phil28
Posts: 42
Have had a BGE for about 10 years and love it. But smoking at low temps (200-225) has always been a challenge, especially for an 5-10 hour stretch. So got a Yoder 480 pellet smoker, which also claims is good for direct grilling by buying grill grates and making a change to the inside baffle. So how do the two compare?
Verdict is that the Yoder does a great job in smoking for many hours at a time with little effort. Results of ribs, brisket and chops are fantastic. Well balanced smoky flavor and slow cooking that works wonders with beef ribs, as an example. But for direct grilling of steaks, etc., nothing beats the BGE. The Yoder can get to 500 degrees, but not as concentrated, while the BGE gets to 700 and does the best steals ever. So I feel I have the best of both worlds.
Verdict is that the Yoder does a great job in smoking for many hours at a time with little effort. Results of ribs, brisket and chops are fantastic. Well balanced smoky flavor and slow cooking that works wonders with beef ribs, as an example. But for direct grilling of steaks, etc., nothing beats the BGE. The Yoder can get to 500 degrees, but not as concentrated, while the BGE gets to 700 and does the best steals ever. So I feel I have the best of both worlds.
Comments
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I agree. I don’t ever plan to grill on my green mountain grill pellet smoker. The egg destroys it for grilling.
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You answered your own question accurately.Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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I'm really mystified by this: A lot of people have a number in their head, like it means something. If you didn't know it was smoked at 200° or 250°, how sure are you that you could tell the difference in the final product?
I've never used a pellet grill, but what's the advantage of smoking below 250°? The BGE smokes like a champ at 250° or higher, and I can't think of any advantage to a lower temp. How is the actual result any better? Not trying to give you a hard time -- sincerely curious. -
I’ve only had my egg for almost 2 years but I’ve never had any problem keeping a steady 225. If I wasn’t tanked I would tell you my theory about that. Manana
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Kamados are competent grills and smokers, need little intervention in a low and slow, but they aren't "the best" in any category. Still, I can load them to run 250 for way longer than the longest cook I need, so I don't see the disadvantage there. I hear the stick burner does the best smoke, and I heard the pellet was slightly inferior to the kamado, but that might just be pellet quality.______________________________________________I love lamp..
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Theophan said:I'm really mystified by this: A lot of people have a number in their head, like it means something. If you didn't know it was smoked at 200° or 250°, how sure are you that you could tell the difference in the final product?
I've never used a pellet grill, but what's the advantage of smoking below 250°? The BGE smokes like a champ at 250° or higher, and I can't think of any advantage to a lower temp. How is the actual result any better? Not trying to give you a hard time -- sincerely curious. -
On pellet grills, we have them in the store. Here is an unscientific poll from talking to folks who have or had them. The guy/gal who looks at grilling/BBQing as just a means to get food enjoys their simplicity. The guy/gal who enjoys being in the backyard grilling/bbqing finds them boring.
On smoking temps, for some it's all about timing. what time do I need to put it on to have it ready by such time. A good friend of mine would run his butts over 20 hours.......
twww.ceramicgrillstore.com ACGP, Inc. -
I'm in the curious as to why 200-225 or whatever is the magic number camp. I'm no tasting pro, but I've never eaten BBQ and said "good but the smoke flavor would've been better if it was cooked at X.". I get the point of pellet grills being set and forget. My BGE is like that if you don't have a number in your head. I've held in the 250-285 range for hours with no major fluctuations.
Pittsburgh, PA. LBGE -
bikesAndBBQ said:I'm in the curious as to why 200-225 or whatever is the magic number camp. I'm no tasting pro, but I've never eaten BBQ and said "good but the smoke flavor would've been better if it was cooked at X.". I get the point of pellet grills being set and forget. My BGE is like that if you don't have a number in your head. I've held in the 250-285 range for hours with no major fluctuations.
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I read somewhere that long cooks get kind of expensive due to the cost of pellets VS lump,is this true? I have a LBGE but have zero experience with pellet smokers.
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From what I can gather, holding a low temp in a smoke is only really crucial when you are smoking cheese or fish or something that is really smoked at a lower temp. Any meat that finishes around 200 degrees (brisket, pork butt, ribs, etc) obviously don't fall into this camp.
XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle
San Antonio, TX
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200F is ideal for something like a prime rib roast where you want edge to edge R-MR.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
Traeger owner here. Also have a Lynx Pro and of course, a BGE. I probably split my usage among them evenly. The Lynx is unbelievable for cooking anything where you're not trying to impart smoke/flavor (i.e. searing steaks and just quick, convenient cooking - heats up wicket fast).
BGE gets used when I have time. I just find that I like using it - love the process, the smells, etc. And the temperature stability is unbeatable.
The Traeger is amazing in getting good quality smoke quickly and effortlessly, and it makes it easy for any old schmoe to get great results just by following a recipe (and Traegergrills.com has an awesome recipe database that I always look through). it's also great for long, overnight cooks. it's just like using an oven.
also, to answer the question of what use lower temps are good for, I have one answer: beef jerky. The best jerky I've ever tasted has come off of my Traeger, and it couldn't have been easier. 160*-170* and the convection cooking really dries out the meat nicely. -
I have a Cookshack FEC 120 in addition to my large egg.
The FEC 120 is an indirect pellet smoker. The primary advantage of the pellet smoker is it is always producing the desired thin blue smoke, it never produces the white acrid smoke.
The FEC produces more smoke at lower temps. For cooking butts I smoke at 190 Deg for 12 hours and then increase the temp to 250 Deg. I normally cook them to an internal temp of 195 to 198 Deg. For a 9# butt the cook time is 17 to 18 hours.
The smoke flavor from the pellets is very good, perhaps a little milder than the egg.
With this being said, I do still like my egg, but I only gets used for direct grilling. It's hard to beat the egg for steaks.
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Unless I'm using a pit controller I tend to smoke at the temp my egg is happy at that day. Sometimes it's 225, sometimes it's 275. I don't really bother with it that much. I eat when the food is done. If I have guests I let them know it is generally a 2hr window. I just make sure to have lots of beer and apps for them.They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That's against their interests. - George Carlin
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Ozzie_Isaac said:Unless I'm using a pit controller I tend to smoke at the temp my egg is happy at that day. Sometimes it's 225, sometimes it's 275. I don't really bother with it that much. I eat when the food is done. If I have guests I let them know it is generally a 2hr window. I just make sure to have lots of beer and apps for them.They/Them
Morgantown, PA
XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer - PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker -
DMW said:Ozzie_Isaac said:Unless I'm using a pit controller I tend to smoke at the temp my egg is happy at that day. Sometimes it's 225, sometimes it's 275. I don't really bother with it that much. I eat when the food is done. If I have guests I let them know it is generally a 2hr window. I just make sure to have lots of beer and apps for them.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
nolaegghead said:DMW said:Ozzie_Isaac said:Unless I'm using a pit controller I tend to smoke at the temp my egg is happy at that day. Sometimes it's 225, sometimes it's 275. I don't really bother with it that much. I eat when the food is done. If I have guests I let them know it is generally a 2hr window. I just make sure to have lots of beer and apps for them.
Any road will take you there if you don't know where you're going.
Terry
Rockwall, TX -
GregW said:I have a Cookshack FEC 120 in addition to my large egg.
The FEC 120 is an indirect pellet smoker. The primary advantage of the pellet smoker is it is always producing the desired thin blue smoke, it never produces the white acrid smoke.
The FEC produces more smoke at lower temps. For cooking butts I smoke at 190 Deg for 12 hours and then increase the temp to 250 Deg. I normally cook them to an internal temp of 195 to 198 Deg. For a 9# butt the cook time is 17 to 18 hours.
The smoke flavor from the pellets is very good, perhaps a little milder than the egg.
With this being said, I do still like my egg, but I only gets used for direct grilling. It's hard to beat the egg for steaks.
I actually have a new Green Mountain Davy Crockett I'm waiting to break in as soon as I get back home. If I can get it to put out a small packer in the RV I'll be very happy.Gittin' there... -
FearlessTheEggNoob said:GregW said:I have a Cookshack FEC 120 in addition to my large egg.
The FEC 120 is an indirect pellet smoker. The primary advantage of the pellet smoker is it is always producing the desired thin blue smoke, it never produces the white acrid smoke.
The FEC produces more smoke at lower temps. For cooking butts I smoke at 190 Deg for 12 hours and then increase the temp to 250 Deg. I normally cook them to an internal temp of 195 to 198 Deg. For a 9# butt the cook time is 17 to 18 hours.
The smoke flavor from the pellets is very good, perhaps a little milder than the egg.
With this being said, I do still like my egg, but I only gets used for direct grilling. It's hard to beat the egg for steaks.
I actually have a new Green Mountain Davy Crockett I'm waiting to break in as soon as I get back home. If I can get it to put out a small packer in the RV I'll be very happy.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
FearlessTheEggNoob said:
Ive noticed that pellet heads seem to like running very low temps when smoking large cuts of meats like a brisket, often starting out below 200 for 4 hours or longer before ramping up the temp to around 250 or so to finish. My understanding is that they do this so that they can get a more pronounced smoke profile?
I actually have a new Green Mountain Davy Crockett I'm waiting to break in as soon as I get back home. If I can get it to put out a small packer in the RV I'll be very happy.
For you with a new Green Mountain, you will have to try various temps to see how they affect the smoke profile. Your taste will undoubtedly need to adjust to the pellets, At first you will likely think the smoke taste is too light on the pellets. Over time your taste will adjust and you will be able to tell the difference from meat smoked with dirty white smoke versus the clean blue smoke of the pellets.
I don't think there's a clear cut right or wrong, it's just what your tastes gets used too.
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Question for the pellet and BGE owners here-have you used the pellets for "smoke wood" in your BGE and if so, how did you find the results compared to wood chunks/chips? Reason I am asking is as it seems that there are some "pellet wood profiles" available that I can't readily find in wood. Any insights appreciated.Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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lousubcap said:Question for the pellet and BGE owners here-have you used the pellets for "smoke wood" in your BGE and if so, how did you find the results compared to wood chunks/chips? Reason I am asking is as it seems that there are some "pellet wood profiles" available that I can't readily find in wood. Any insights appreciated.
If you devised a smoke box to put the pellets in or maybe tried a A-Maze-N Smoker tube you might have good luck.
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lousubcap said:Question for the pellet and BGE owners here-have you used the pellets for "smoke wood" in your BGE and if so, how did you find the results compared to wood chunks/chips? Reason I am asking is as it seems that there are some "pellet wood profiles" available that I can't readily find in wood. Any insights appreciated.
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Regardless of temperature, I have found the BGE to be OK as a smoker, but not great. This is why I have a dedicated smoker. I get a better overall smoked product from it.South Jersey Pine Barrens. XL BGE , Assassin 24, Weber Kettle, CharBroil gasser, AMNPS
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Smoked at 180'ish for 2.5 hr in Traeger, finished in BGE, best of both world IMHO ...
canuckland -
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Still prefer the taste profile and juciness from the BGE, but getting the smoke ring from the Traeger is effortless. I know it's overrated but it sure looks nicer for presentation; already have the Traeger for other cooks that are better/different than BGE so might as well.canuckland
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