Comparing BGE with pellet grill

phil28 · March 2018

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.

cookingdude555 · March 2018

I agree. I don’t ever plan to grill on my green mountain grill pellet smoker. The egg destroys it for grilling.

bgebrent · March 2018

You answered your own question accurately.

Theophan · March 2018

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.

GrillSgt · March 2018

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

nolaegghead · March 2018

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.

Miked125 · March 2018

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.

I am a 275F guy or turbo. I got doing turbo ribs, they are hard to beat.

tjv · March 2018

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.......

t

bikesAndBBQ · March 2018

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.

pgprescott · March 2018

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.

Different cookers have different environments. The traditional methods were done very low and slow to attempt to reduce moisture loss through heat and airflow. There was also almost continuous moping throughout the process. The egg is an extremely low airflow and moist environment as compared to non ceramic cookers. This is one reason some folks complain about crisp chicken skin and that really bold bark formation. It's not that you cannot achieve these things, it's that the methods are slightly different than other cookers. I will say that the lower the temperature (within reason) the longer the meat should stay in the stall zone and render fat. I am not a low and slow per say, but my temps are sometimes dictated by serving times etc. as stated by others above.

Captainjimpark · March 2018

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.

Foghorn · March 2018

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.

nolaegghead · March 2018

200F is ideal for something like a prime rib roast where you want edge to edge R-MR.

Bill_Swerski · March 2018

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.

GregW · March 2018

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.

Ozzie_Isaac · March 2018

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.

DMW · March 2018

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.

It's not about the temp you cook at, it's about the temp you finish at.

nolaegghead · March 2018

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.

It's not about the temp you cook at, it's about the temp you finish at.

...and if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.

Hawg Fan · March 2018

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.

It's not about the temp you cook at, it's about the temp you finish at.

...and if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.

Ha! This pretty well sums up it up. You guys are hilarious!

FearlessTheEggNoob · March 2018

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.

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.

nolaegghead · March 2018

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.

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.

That is how I smoke on the egg, except I ramp up to over 300F.

GregW · March 2018

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.

Yes, it is generally accepted that pellet smokers/grills produce more smoke and a stronger smoke profile at lower temps. Some people also feel that some temperature swing also promotes more smoke. For me, I'm not entirely convinced that cooking a 225 or 250 would really hurt the smoke on my FEC. I have a smoke enhancer that sits on top of the fire pot and it won't get hot enough to ignite hickory chips when cooking at 190. It burns the chips fine at 250.
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.

lousubcap · March 2018

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.

GregW · March 2018

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.

I have used the pellets in the BGE. The main problem is they burn pretty fast compared to a large chunk on wood. (If the pellets are place directly on the lump charcoal)
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.

pgprescott · March 2018

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.

I have Frank. I think it works pretty good. I have used primarily oak pellets on brisket cooks. I like a strong smoke up front like Nola describes, then usually raise the temps a bit. The combo of pellets and some chunks is a good one for that as the pellets are small and easily scattered throughout the lump.

SmokingPiney · March 2018

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.

Canugghead · March 2018

Smoked at 180'ish for 2.5 hr in Traeger, finished in BGE, best of both world IMHO ...

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/99/j04ifo4w8lwz.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/1b/f9tq6ytx52ix.jpg

baychilla · March 2018

I'm curious - why?

Canugghead · March 2018

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.

Comparing BGE with pellet grill

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