Pellet Thoughts

RajunCajun · February 19

It's so easy, they say, about pellet grills. Ya gotta admit that the BGE takes time.....it's a process. I need you guys to talk me out of it.....and who has the best and most reliable pellet?

Ozzie_Isaac · February 19

Had a Traeger I got for $75. It was definitely worth it. Super easy, very consistent, and relatively quick to use. I wouldn’t want it as my only grill/smoker, but nice to have in the quiver.

RajunCajun · February 19

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Had a Traeger I got for $75. It was definitely worth it. Super easy, very consistent, and relatively quick to use. I wouldn’t want it as my only grill/smoker, but nice to have in the quiver.

Can you sear steaks with your Traeger?

DoubleEgger · February 19

I have zero personal experience with a pellet grill but have heard stories about pellets swelling up and clogging the machine due to humidity. That might be of concern for you.

That’s the best I can do to talk you out of it.

RajunCajun · February 19

DoubleEgger said:

I have zero personal experience with a pellet grill but have heard stories about pellets swelling up and clogging the machine due to humidity. That might be of concern for you.

That’s the best I can do to talk you out of it.

Thank you sir.....that is what I want to hear.....the good bad and ugly.

MaskedMarvel · February 19

I have a Yoder 640s. We use it twice a week. I can’t say anything bad about it…

happy to answer any specific questions.

RajunCajun · February 19

MaskedMarvel said:

I have a Yoder 640s. We use it twice a week. I can’t say anything bad about it…

happy to answer any specific questions.

Thanks!! Do you live in a high humidity area?

Seymour_Smoke · February 19

I had a pellet pooper.
I sold it to buy an egg.
The End.

**bought a Pit Boss Laredo 1000 when it first came out (mistake) to do longer cooks. It had problems with temp swings and a 75° difference from left to right. Pit Boss was very responsive to my complaints and sent several replacement parts that didn't fix it.
In the end, I didn't feel confident that it could be left unattended on an overnight cook and sold it.
Agree with Ozzie, I think that they can be an arrow in the quiver but wouldn't want it to be my only smoker.
Regards, Mike

Ozzie_Isaac · February 19

RajunCajun said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Had a Traeger I got for $75. It was definitely worth it. Super easy, very consistent, and relatively quick to use. I wouldn’t want it as my only grill/smoker, but nice to have in the quiver.

Can you sear steaks with your Traeger?

You can, but it is not a very good sear. I think there is a aftermarket way to add a searing panel directly over the firebox. I use a torch for most my searing, so didn’t really look into it.

Ozzie_Isaac · February 19

DoubleEgger said:

I have zero personal experience with a pellet grill but have heard stories about pellets swelling up and clogging the machine due to humidity. That might be of concern for you.

That’s the best I can do to talk you out of it.

I forgot about that. I live in the desert and didn’t use it for a few months and left pellets in it. Took a bit to get it working again 🤣

Canugghead · February 20

I sound like a parrot. There was a time when I had four BGEs and zero pellet pooper. Now I have just the XL BGE and two pellet poopers. XL is used occasionally for large primals only, enough said.

I empty the pellet hopper after every use and store the pellet indoor in a bucket. If you're still worried about pellet swelling in super high humidity you can run the auger empty, I have not needed to do that.

lousubcap · February 20

Here's a thread from six years ago FWW-
OT My son (married and a one year old) wants a pellet grill ($700-800 top spend); inputs welcome OT
However, to this day he really enjoys the rig.

MaskedMarvel · February 20

RajunCajun said:

MaskedMarvel said:

I have a Yoder 640s. We use it twice a week. I can’t say anything bad about it…

happy to answer any specific questions.

Thanks!! Do you live in a high humidity area?

We’re in Greensboro North Carolina. We would be what I’d call medium-humidity.

Yoder does a paint on their grills, instead of powder coating. They aren’t wrong when they say this makes rust management easier. It also DOES lead to more rust if it isn’t maintained. Mine is two years old in the weather under an aftermarket waterproof grill cover, and my rust is very minimal.

As far as humidity and the actual pellets go - we keep them in the basement and have never had an issue. Pellets in the hopper seem to do fine, so far.

.. Yoder also includes grill-grates, and because you can remove a door to the firebox, the searing and grilling in the unit is spectacular.

FireBoard made a proprietary controller for the pellet grill that has already been replaced by me. The Toder people sent the replacement when they had an updated version, even though they didn’t have to. I’d call their CS very very good.

Finally - the thing is a tank. Not a thin walled grill you’ll be throwing out in a few years. The steel is for real.

Let me know if you’d like me to dive deeper into that or anything else.

xfire_ATX · February 20

In addition to my XL BGE I have a RecTec Bullseye that I use to make Pizzas.

Have I tried proteins and such- yes, I like the finished product on the egg more.
Have I made pizzas on the egg- Yes, I like how easy the Pellet is to use. Plus since its round it acts more like a convection oven. Im not going to lie it took a while to really get it working easy enough.

I buy the HUGE bag of pellets at Costco, they burn longer than the Traeger, but the Traeger bag is better. I store in my garage w/ no Humidity issues. I let the pellets run pretty low as we finish our pizza cooks, but even a month or so later I see no issues on Pellets stored outside.

Cons I see- its loud, the design of this unit because of what it is has some tradeoffs. I have to get a shop vac to vacuum the ash out, the deflector has rusted- I brushed it down and put high heat paint on it- this will only last so long.

JohnInCarolina · February 20

Canugghead said:

I sound like a parrot. There was a time when I had four BGEs and zero pellet pooper. Now I have just the XL BGE and two pellet poopers. XL is used occasionally for large primals only, enough said.

I empty the pellet hopper after every use and store the pellet indoor in a bucket. If you're still worried about pellet swelling in super high humidity you can run the auger empty, I have not needed to do that.

Are these things pellet poopers or pellet poppers? Because those seem like two very different things…

bettysnephew · February 20

I have a Memphis Elite pellet grill that works very well as far as set it and forget it. Temperature control is superb, only varies by a degree or two once stabilized. Be aware that the smoke profile of all pellet grills is mild compared to an Egg. If I want more smoke I can light a tube of pellets to augment but most of time I use the Egg if I desire more flavor. The Memphis has a panel that you remove to sear that exposes the burn chamber to the grid. It will get very hot and does okay but again not as large an area as the Egg. It is all stainless so easy to clean. I have heard of others that have had problems with the WIFI control but mine has always worked. The Memphis grills are expensive, moreso than an Egg but has a larger cooking area so that is an offset. I could easily smoke twice as many ribs as I can on my XL but I don't have that many rib racks. I probably would not buy a Memphis again but got a great deal and was replacing two Eggs that were destroyed in a windstorm that devastated our city some years back. I have since replaced my Egg as I do much prefer it for pork butts and beef roasts, and the old Weber kettle is still king for doing burgers and for smoking cheese as it stays cooler due to heat loss through the metal body.

unoriginalusername · February 20

There are technology solutions that bring a similar wifi, app, set it and forget it functionality to the EGG. Combustion, Fireboard, ThermoWorks, ChefsTemp, flame boss and smobot are ones I’ve used but I am sure there are more.

Are you asking about solving an ease of use problem (technology), a speed to get started (a torch and or a leaf blower if you don’t want a $150 grill gun can have the egg at 500 quicker than a gas or pellet grill … I raced them and timed them to confirm) or a flavour comparison?

there has never been a Texas monthly top 50 place use a pellet grill for a smoker. I accept the convenience argument but pellets don’t pack as much flavour as wood or charcoal. As someone who’s competed at Memphis in May, cooked for top 50 Texas bbq joints and tried almost every grill under the sun if flavour matters I don’t think pellets are the best option.

An egg can sear, smoke, bake, roast and or make some pizzas so good you’d reconsider needing a dedicated wood fired pizza oven … and they work rain or shine including when the power goes out. Hard to beat that kinda of versatility

BeanHead · February 21

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/ox/j1ykj4ver5ce.jpeg

I have a Camp Chef xxl. I like it for when I need to cook a lot of food and I don’t want to think about it… mostly jerky and football party food. I don’t think food ever develops too much smoke flavor and you don’t get a sear. Got it six years or so ago and have never had any issues, but it gets stored in the garage when it isn’t in use. If I was in the market for another grill, I would get another egg not a pellet grill.

JohnInCarolina · February 21

BeanHead said:

I have a Camp Chef xxl. I like it for when I need to cook a lot of food and I don’t want to think about it… mostly jerky and football party food. I don’t think food ever develops too much smoke flavor and you don’t get a sear. Got it six years or so ago and have never had any issues, but it gets stored in the garage when it isn’t in use. If I was in the market for another grill, I would get another egg not a pellet grill.

I think I want to come to a football party at your house!

BeanHead · February 22

JohnInCarolina said:
I think I want to come to a football party at your house!

People do not complain about the food that comes out of the pellet grill…. That bacon weave covered fatty on the second shelf from the top is loaded with sausage and filled with jalapeno poppers

RajunCajun · February 27

I think I will stick with my BGE......pellets have too many moving parts.

Thanks for your input.

Geaux Tigers

alaskanassasin · February 28

RajunCajun said:

I think I will stick with my BGE......pellets have too many moving parts.

Thanks for your input.

Geaux Tigers

The ole bait and switch. Now we know where everyone stands.

Canugghead · February 28

alaskanassasin said:

RajunCajun said:

I think I will stick with my BGE......pellets have too many moving parts.

Thanks for your input.

Geaux Tigers

The ole bait and switch. Now we know where everyone stands.

Let's just say I stopped drinking the green koolaid few months after I started working at arguably the best bbq dealer in town. It opened my eyes to pros and cons of other cookers vs. the Egg

Ironically they hired me primarily for my BGE experience demonstrated at local eggfests.

flexfusion · March 1

DoubleEgger said:

I have zero personal experience with a pellet grill but have heard stories about pellets swelling up and clogging the machine due to humidity. That might be of concern for you.

That’s the best I can do to talk you out of it.

Never had an issue with pellets swelling up on my RecTeq, and live in Alabama. I leave my RecTeq on the back porch with pellets in the box. I've had two and both have had tight and well made pellet boxes. I do a lot of cooking out and the thought of not baby sitting your grill for a day is reassurring.

MaskedMarvel · March 1

The cover blew off my Yoder and it got rained on for a few days - pellets in the hopper are totally fine.

Currently running Jealous Devil pellets that we got almost a pallet of when they went on clearance at a Walmart for 35¢ a box.

CP92 · March 1

Very apt time for this thread for me. I just bought a Recteq Patio Legend 400 for day to day cooks. I had a Weber Q2200 for the last 5 years that served the purpose for burgers, dogs, and chicken breasts which I do for lunches usually every week or every other week. The burners holes get clogged and the push button ignition isn't the greatest so I end up having to lift the grates off and lighting the burner with a lighter. Just over it.

Had some rewards from Capital One Shopping (if you don't have it, please check it out) and was able to justify the Recteq. Supposed to get it on Wed. I love the Egg, but like you said sometime building a fire, getting it settled in, and keeping eye on it seems like too much trouble. Think the pellet burner will fill that day to day role well, and I'll mostly use it for ribs aside from that.

Have thought about splitting time with the Egg for butts and brisket by getting the first few hours on the Egg and finishing on the Recteq for more set it and forget it knowing I'm not getting any more smoke in it after the first few hours. Thinking an overnight cook might be in my aresenal now.

Regards,
Chris

CP92 · March 1

flexfusion said:

Never had an issue with pellets swelling up on my RecTeq, and live in Alabama. I leave my RecTeq on the back porch with pellets in the box. I've had two and both have had tight and well made pellet boxes. I do a lot of cooking out and the thought of not baby sitting your grill for a day is reassurring.

War Eagle

RajunCajun · March 1

CP92 said:

flexfusion said:

Never had an issue with pellets swelling up on my RecTeq, and live in Alabama. I leave my RecTeq on the back porch with pellets in the box. I've had two and both have had tight and well made pellet boxes. I do a lot of cooking out and the thought of not baby sitting your grill for a day is reassurring.

War Eagle

Geaux Tigers!!

OhioEgger · March 1

Forgive me for butting into this, but I've been considering a RecTeq B380X Bullseye to complement my LBGE.
It's the right size for me (household of 1) and seems to be well made.
I've read here and there that the smoke quality of meat done on these things is much less than on the Egg, but I wonder if that's really true. If it is, can there be a workaround to deal with that?

CP92 · March 1

OhioEgger said:
I've read here and there that the smoke quality of meat done on these things is much less than on the Egg, but I wonder if that's really true. If it is, can there be a workaround to deal with that?

That's what I got from the little research I did using AI. One suggestion was adding a smoking tube if I recall, which I will not be doing. I'm accepting of less smoke as I don't intend on doing any long smokes on the Recteq, probably just ribs. If I do use the Recteq on butts or briskets, I think I've settled on doing the first several hours on the Egg and finishing on the Recteq. Hope that helps.

Regards,
Chris

MN-Egger · March 4

Neighbor across the street has a pellet smoker and I have not asked him about it yet but I notice plumes of smoke every so often. I assume it feeds pellets in in a timed sequence? If true, is there any concern about VOC's with adding in new pellets over the cook?

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