Pellet Grills?

[stavebuyer]

I grill about twice a week year round. Every now and then I burn down some real wood to coals but mostly use charcoal. Been down the propane road but prefer charcoal. Time for a new grill. Just about everything in the stores is gas, gas-pellet combo, or pellet. So what is the selling point of a "pellet grill"? What I really want is a charcoal/wood grill built out of plate steel like wood stove instead of the stovepipe thickness junk all the chain store peddle.

So convince me I a missing out and need to buy a pellet grill or suggest where I might find a WWII tank that has been re-purposed into a lifetime grill .

[doc henderson]

i agree.  both my brothers use pellet grills.  they tell me they can bake a cake.  of course they are 20 feet from an oven in their house.  The advantage is the temp control and even heat.  i make my own lump charcoal.  I have looked at the Yoder smoker grills but they are 2k.  I have used the cheap grill and like the ones with an adjustable coal pan with a crank.  the problem is after things cool down, i forget to dump the ashes so the pan has corroded and rusted through.

[Raider Bill]

Get a Weber Kettle. Tried and tested over time by many. It isn't a very good smoker but as a charcoal grill not may compare for the price. Mine is about 9 years old, sits outside uncovered and also in the line of 3 sprinkler heads so it gets watered about everyday. Only thing I've had to replace is the grates. Actually bought some today.
Also, I screwed up and bought a bag of hickory pellets instead of chunk wood. I now take  them and sprinkle on my coals to give the smoke flavor a little pop.

Everything has it's use.
I have a dedicated smoker [Cookshack] Weber Kettle and a Ducane gas grill with side burner that I also have a griddle plate for.
I have a outdoor screened kitchen which we use 3-4 meals a week year round. Been thinking of a small gas stove/oven for it.

 

 

 

[stavebuyer]

i agree.  both my brothers use pellet grills.  they tell me they can bake a cake.  of course they are 20 feet from an oven in their house.  The advantage is the temp control and even heat.  i make my own lump charcoal.  I have looked at the Yoder smoker grills but they are 2k.  I have used the cheap grill and like the ones with an adjustable coal pan with a crank.  the problem is after things cool down, i forget to dump the ashes so the pan has corroded and rusted through.

The adjustable coal pan is what I have now. I burned through the pan last year and patched it with the grill grates from my old gas grill to hold the charcoal and that got me this far. I kind of like the style grill I have, but with hot fires and lots of use they just don't hold up.
Looks like someone could build something between the $200 throw away and a 2K smoker big enough to open a rib joint.
I have been pondering the Weber, but best I recall the grill and charcoal pan are both stationary?

[breederman]

We have a Pit Boss. Its Heavy. The temp controll is good, slap a slab of ribs on it, set the temp and go mow the lawn ! It is basicly a wood fired convection oven . Smoking is easy or you can slide open the plate over the burn pot and flame your burgers! Homemade pizza and apple pellets is a favorite of ours. Wr use the grill several times a week.

[Raider Bill]

Then again if you want to play with the big boys drop the $$$$ on a big green egg.

[doc henderson]

we have and old Oklahoma Joe grill, a small smoker.  My cousin Mike has left his big trailer smoker here for about 5 years.  we use it for big stuff or volume.  it has a grill area (smoker box).  not adjustable but I like also that I can start a fire and hour before I want to cook and use the coals.  what i do not like is that it is not adjustable in terms of the distance of coals to food, and i have to plan ahead to start the fire.  i love lump charcoal, starts fast and burns hot.  but again need a good grill with adjustments.  dyna glow has a stainless version of what i have used.  

[stavebuyer]

Then again if you want to play with the big boys drop the $$$$ on a big green egg.

I looked at "Eggs" and I don't think they are as versatile for the $$. Sometimes I want to flame sear a steak and sometimes I want the to slow cook chicken or ribs. The adjustable pan style works great but this is grill number "3" in maybe 10 seasons. Love the instant on of the propane but otherwise you couldn't give me another one.

[stavebuyer]

We have a Pit Boss. Its Heavy. The temp controll is good, slap a slab of ribs on it, set the temp and go mow the lawn ! It is basicly a wood fired convection oven . Smoking is easy or you can slide open the plate over the burn pot and flame your burgers! Homemade pizza and apple pellets is a favorite of ours. Wr use the grill several times a week.

I will have to take a look at the Pit Boss.

[Raider Bill]

Then again if you want to play with the big boys drop the $$$$ on a big green egg.

I looked at "Eggs" and I don't think they are as versatile for the $$. Sometimes I want to flame sear a steak and sometimes I want the to slow cook chicken or ribs. The adjustable pan style works great but this is grill number "3" in maybe 10 seasons. Love the instant on of the propane but otherwise you couldn't give me another one.

Maybe moosehearder or weekend Sawyer will chime in as bge owners but I believe you have a pretty big range for your heat.
For the short time I had mine before it walked off I was going from 225 smoking to 1000 to sear. I'm told you can get the heat up too 1200.
On the Weber kettle the racks are stationary so you have to position your coals and meat accordingly. All part of the fun.

[stavebuyer]

We have a Pit Boss. Its Heavy. The temp controll is good, slap a slab of ribs on it, set the temp and go mow the lawn ! It is basicly a wood fired convection oven . Smoking is easy or you can slide open the plate over the burn pot and flame your burgers! Homemade pizza and apple pellets is a favorite of ours. Wr use the grill several times a week.

I will have to take a look at the Pit Boss.

Pellet. No thanks.

[21incher]

I bought a Traeger several years ago and it was the biggest waste of money. Even with correct maintenance and cleaning before each use the food always came out with a light sooty taste and at times it would just go on fire and burn right back through the hopper. Tech support said it was common with them and had me adjust something called the p that made it run to hot to properly smoke. Sold it asis for parts for a big loss and went back to using my Weber grill, Good charcoal is very controllable and never leaves a nasty soot taste on what you are cooking.  

[WDH]

I am a Weber kettle grill guy, too.  Can cook hot or cook low by indirect grilling. 

[caveman]

It has been my experience that the right person can create delicious, desirable results on just about anything.  A longtime friend and winner of many competitive BBQ events once told me to "know thy grill".  We built him a huge smoker nearly two decades ago that had two sections of 24" mine pipe welded on each end of a 1000 gallon propane tank.  He and his team used it for catering and competition and did very well with it but then he asked me to cut the fire boxes off which disappointed me since a lot of time and effort had been expended to get them on just right.  He is still using it and I still borrow it when Global Warming II is not enough to fulfill the order.

Sorry for rambling.  A good friend and somewhat lazy friend (except for when he is fishing) has a Pit Boss and loves it.  I assisted him in overcooking some hamburgers a couple of weeks ago on it- Bubba, these things look ready to me.  The simplicity of operation, setting the temperature and pellet feed seemed to be id10t proof.  I may consider one for my next grill. He loves it.

 I use gas grills for the frequent, quick supper preparation 2-3 nights a week.  I just grab a handful of noodled cherry, hickory or pecan and put on one side of the lower grate of the gas grill and set the timer on my phone to correlate with what's on the grill (kabobs, chicken, burgers, London broil, pork chops, dogs that's about all we routinely grill).  Ribs and butts go on a proper smoker.  My gas grills are disposable and usually last three or four years.

[WDH]

Tell me how you do the london broil. 

[Sedgehammer]

Camp Chef. Best $800 I think it was I ever spent. Set brisket or whatever in, set probe, make sure pellets are full. Go do whatever. Meat tastes..... well, tastes freaking awesome!

[okmulch]

My arsenal consists of an Oklahoma joes smoker, Weber kettle, built in hasty bake      Which uses charcoal or wood that can smoke, bake or grill has an adjustable fire tray and a grill using natural gas. 
Depending on what I am cooking and time frame I use at least 2 of them every week. The hasty bake is the most versatile and can be used for many different things. 
I have never had a pellet cooker but have had some meat from friends that have them. Never enough smoke for my liking. I enjoy the journey of grilling and smoking not a set it and forget it kind of person. 

[gspren]

One of my brother in laws has a pellet grill and I've had turkey and ribs done on it both were good. Mostly I use Weber gas grills, big one at home and a little Baby Q in the RV. I like the look of the Blackstone gas griddles but have never been around one in action.

[Raider Bill]

One of my brother in laws has a pellet grill and I've had turkey and ribs done on it both were good. Mostly I use Weber gas grills, big one at home and a little Baby Q in the RV. I like the look of the Blackstone gas griddles but have never been around one in action.

Been mulling a Blackstone myself. I wonder about rust outside here in Florida. I keep my stainless griddle seasoned and oiled but still fight the humidity.

[DPatton]

I have had a Green Mountain pellet grill for a couple years now. It was a Father's Day gift, and a very nice Father's Day gift at that. The problem is I simply never use it to it's full capabilities. I also store it outside all the time and that is where the problems begin. For me it's a maintenance thing. I know if I took better care of it, it would take better care of me. In our humid climate the pellets can be problematic. Speaking from all too often experience there's nothing more frustrating that getting 1/3 the way into cooking something only to figure out the grill loosing heat because the pellets are plugged up in the hopper and the auger is empty. At that point your dead in the water and your going to have to finish your cooking in the house or on another grill. When properly maintained it does give a very high level of control. You can smoke very low and slow or kick it up to 500° to sear a steak. My family loves the flavor, but for myself I would rather opt for the Webber kettle and charcoal for cooking on.

[Walnut Beast]

Cookshack makes good stuff. I've got a older electric one from them and it's simply amazing 

[Walnut Beast]

The smoker I have. Not the pellet grill. Cookshack makes a pretty nice pellet grill. 

[Raider Bill]

I really like my Cookshack smoker. It's a early model too, probably 15 years old. Nothing fancy, stick the meat in it, close the door and set your temp and walk away till it's done.

[caveman]

Tell me how you do the london broil.

Danny, We eat a lot of London Broil, usually on Sunday nights.  What we do is place the cuts of meat in a one gallon freezer bag, seasoned with my rib mix (1pt coarse ground black pepper,1.5pt Lawry's seasoning salt and 2pt garlic salt) while marinating in Italian dressing.
I preheat the gas grill and grab a handful of chainsaw noodles of either cherry or hickory and put on the far left of the bottom cooking surface and let it burn or smolder (burn if I want more heat).  Then flop the meat on the bottom rack if sear is desired or up top if no sear is desired.  On the thinner cuts I let them go for 11-13 minutes.  My mother typically buys thicker London Broil cuts and they may take up to 20 minutes (I generally sear the thicker ones).  When done, let stand for a few minutes and slice thin, across the grain on a downward angle.  Sometimes I will saute some sliced onions in olive oil with the same seasoning used on the meat and put on the meat or in a bowl on the supper table to top the meat. I am not a chef but this is usually well recieved and generally considered palatable.  The rarer pieces always seem to go first.