General Pellet Grills & Smokers TME

[BeardOfKnowledge]

Technically, yes I could.

But I refuse!

I don't currently own a smoker, so I'm not going to get right into the weeds on it. One of my good friends has a Traeger, my brother has a big green egg. In my opinion the Traeger (or some equivalent) is the only way to find. Now my brother with his egg. it makes great stuff for sure, but it requires pretty constant supervision. My brother and his loser friends basically do it as a hobby. I don't have nay interest in spending my free time smoking a brisket, but the option to set and forget a brisket is extremely appealing.

 

[Grateful Dude]

I don't have nay interest in spending my free time smoking a brisket, but the option to set and forget a brisket is extremely appealing.

Amen, brother. This is exactly where I’m at with it. Convenience is a big factor for me. My spare time is already limited, so I try to use it wisely

I have an egg, and like you said - it’s great, but takes a lot of time/monitoring.

I hadn’t had a gas grill in years, but I bought one recently again just so I could get to grilling faster and without it being such an ordeal.

 

[BeardOfKnowledge]

Amen, brother. This is exactly where I’m at with it. Convenience is a big factor for me. My spare time is already limited, so I try to use it wisely

I have an egg, and like you said - it’s great, but takes a lot of time/monitoring.

I hadn’t had a gas grill in years, but I bought one recently again just so I could get to grilling faster and without it being such an ordeal.

Sacrilege I know, but I find cooking meat in the oven vastly superior to my gas grill assuming you have a decent cast iron for finishing. I might use my gas grill twice a year. My hope is to add a Traeger and ditch my Weber.

 

[Qat]

Mrs. White is a big hickory fan so that's why I typically use.

Do you grill for Dana now?

 

[Grateful Dude]

I haven't made any final decisions yet, but at the moment I am liking this one based on price, size, and features (Green Mountain Grill - Ledge $750). For an extra $30 I could get it in stainless, but I'm pretty neutral on that. There is also a Traeger that I like, but it is closer to $1200. For my first pellet grill, I'm not sure I want to start by spending that much. Maybe if I like it and want to upgrade down the road I can spend more on one.

LEDGE

The LEDGE PRIME model comes with a redesigned digital controller that allows you to control and monitor your grill through our iOS or Android mobile application.

greenmountaingrills.com

 

[ThatOneDude]

I haven't made any final decisions yet, but at the moment I am liking this one based on price, size, and features (Green Mountain Grill - Ledge $750). For an extra $30 I could get it in stainless, but I'm pretty neutral on that. There is also a Traeger that I like, but it is closer to $1200. For my first pellet grill, I'm not sure I want to start by spending that much. Maybe if I like it and want to upgrade down the road I can spend more on one.

LEDGE

The LEDGE PRIME model comes with a redesigned digital controller that allows you to control and monitor your grill through our iOS or Android mobile application.

greenmountaingrills.com

That'll do nicely

 

[Grateful Dude]

That'll do nicely

The more expensive mid-tier Traeger I was looking at has insulated walls (I don't believe the Green Mountain does). I honestly don't know how big of a difference that will make....maybe if using it when it's cold out?

The green mountain does have an insulated "blanket" that you can drape over the grill while it cooks. But I dunno...that seems a little hokey and perhaps unnecessary.

Does an insulated grill like this really matter all that much? In theory, it is supposed to hold constant temperature anyway. I'm sure it at a minimum it helps the efficiency of the pellet usage.

 

[ThatOneDude]

The more expensive mid-tier Traeger I was looking at has insulated walls (I don't believe the Green Mountain does). I honestly don't know how big of a difference that will make....maybe if using it when it's cold out?

The green mountain does have an insulated "blanket" that you can drape over the grill while it cooks. But I dunno...that seems a little hokey and perhaps unnecessary.

Does an insulated grill like this really matter all that much? In theory, it is supposed to hold constant temperature anyway. I'm sure it at a minimum it helps the efficiency of the pellet usage.

It makes a difference. The thicker ones will retain heat better when you open the chamber. They also take a little longer to fully come up to temp.

 

[Grateful Dude]

It makes a difference. The thicker ones will retain heat better when you open the chamber. They also take a little longer to fully come up to temp.

More questions for you:

I kind of like that the Green Mountain has the rotisserie attachment/upgrade available, we would enjoy using that for whole chickens or ducks. They say you can also do ribs on that, but wouldn't you just do ribs on the main rack, or vertical in a rib stand? What's the best way to do pork ribs on the smoker? But really, I don't know if the rotisserie attachment is even necessary. Seems like all I would want to do on it could also just be done on the rack. But maybe there is some advantage to using one.

 

[ThatOneDude]

More questions for you:

I kind of like that the Green Mountain has the rotisserie attachment/upgrade available, we would enjoy using that for whole chickens or ducks. They say you can also do ribs on that, but wouldn't you just do ribs on the main rack, or vertical in a rib stand? What's the best way to do pork ribs on the smoker? But really, I don't know if the rotisserie attachment is even necessary. Seems like all I would want to do on it could also just be done on the rack. But maybe there is some advantage to using one.

I'd for sure give the rotisserie a try for ribs if I had the option. I'd imagine they come out good.
I typically lay ribs flat and use the 3-2-1 method or the 2-2-1 for baby back ribs.
I use a 50/50 moisture of apple juice and apple cider vinegar to spray the ribs down every hour. I also brush the ribs with honey before I wrap them.

 

[Grateful Dude]

It’s official - I finished the project that earned me the pellet grill reward (painted the exterior of my house….it fucking sucked).

there are a couple of BBQ outfitters locally, so I will go take a look at some and see what I think. I’m still liking the Green Mountain for now, I just don’t see the need to go after one of the really expensive ones. Maybe next time if I dig the pellet style.

 

[gangsterkathryn]

It’s official - I finished the project that earned me the pellet grill reward (painted the exterior of my house….it fucking sucked).

there are a couple of BBQ outfitters locally, so I will go take a look at some and see what I think. I’m still liking the Green Mountain for now, I just don’t see the need to go after one of the really expensive ones. Maybe next time if I dig the pellet style.

As a GMG owner, you don’t need to spend more than that. Also, I’m sure the insulated blanket thing is good for the cooler days in Austin.
If you get one locally, let me know where. My friend that is there might be in the market soon.

 

[Splinty]

Amen, brother. This is exactly where I’m at with it. Convenience is a big factor for me. My spare time is already limited, so I try to use it wisely

I have an egg, and like you said - it’s great, but takes a lot of time/monitoring.

Flame boss wifi
All the efficiency and benefits of your Kamado style grill and with an app adjustable such as a traeger.

But also to disrupt the whole myth here, learn to use your vents better. Before I bought the flame boss I could do an 18-hour smoke with one batch of charcoal. The only place a kamado style grill fails is truly proper two zone cooking and extensive time to heat up.

 

[Grateful Dude]

As a GMG owner, you don’t need to spend more than that. Also, I’m sure the insulated blanket thing is good for the cooler days in Austin.
If you get one locally, let me know where. My friend that is there might be in the market soon.

There are two stores I found that sell the green mountain brand here in town. One is closer than the other, but the far store looks like the one I want to go to and it is called “BBQ Outfitters”. Not sure where your friend is located, but you could tell them that it is close to Lake Travis near the intersection of 620 and 2222 (they should know what that means as far as what side of town it is).

 

[Splinty]

Flameboss Shop – Grill Flame Controllers

shop.flameboss.com

 

[Splinty]

The only place a kamado style grill fails is truly proper two zone cooking and extensive time to heat up.

I thought of one other place...
If you're going to do cold smokes or a lot of beef jerky, a pellet grill excels at this.
Temperatures below 200F on a Komado style grill can be finicky. So if you're trying to do beef jerky at 175 very often go with the pellet grill.
If you just want to make your life easier without investing many cooks getting used to your vents, then buy a flame boss BBQ controller instead of taking up the space with another grill.

 

[ThatOneDude]

I thought of one other place...
If you're going to do cold smokes or a lot of beef jerky, a pellet grill excels at this.
Temperatures below 200F on a Komado style grill can be finicky. So if you're trying to do beef jerky at 175 very often go with the pellet grill.
If you just want to make your life easier without investing many cooks getting used to your vents, then buy a flame boss BBQ controller instead of taking up the space with another grill.

Pellet grills are not super great at lower temps but some do have cold smoke functionality.

 

[Rambo John J]

 

[Splinty]

Pellet grills are not super great at lower temps but some do have cold smoke functionality.

Yeah but they are probably better than everything short of a pit master tending those finicky levels. So easy to snuff and the same tiny airflow that leads to efficiency in a Kamado also leads to snuffing below 200F.
I can easily maintain 200F with a BBQ controller but lower than that the fan is hunting for balance and never very steady. Charcoal tries to take off or get snuffed and either way it's not great for temperature regulation and adds too much white smoke instead of clean smoke.

 

[Grateful Dude]

I thought of one other place...
If you're going to do cold smokes or a lot of beef jerky, a pellet grill excels at this.
Temperatures below 200F on a Komado style grill can be finicky. So if you're trying to do beef jerky at 175 very often go with the pellet grill.
If you just want to make your life easier without investing many cooks getting used to your vents, then buy a flame boss BBQ controller instead of taking up the space with another grill.

I’ve never tried to make jerky on the egg, but I think it’d be tough to hold it at 175. I’ve got it dialed in for grilling and what not, but thats different and pretty low. I’d have to cut back on the amount of lump I light and add. I’ve never used a controller, maybe that’s the key. I haven’t really been doing any long smokes lately.

I do like that you can control the egg to an extent based on how you use the lump (top-down fire, bottom-up fire, amount of unlit lump as a base in the grill to add to, etc).

My efficiency comment wasn’t meant to be about vent control, it was more about being able to turn something on and not have to think about it at all. Using the egg isn’t hard, especially once you get use to using one. But there is more involved than just turning it on and waiting for it to warm up.

 

[Splinty]

I’ve never used a controller, maybe that’s the key.

I am pretty good at using the vents for long smokes on the kamado. It took me about 15-20 cooks to figure out how to heat the charcoal up fast and then pull back the vents without overshooting and being stuck with an overly hot 300 lb ceramic oven. And still the controller is amazing even then...

I was sold on the controller based on how fast I was told it helped light the charcoal and made smokes more efficient. I can attest, it does both.
I use a torch to light my charcoal in a few spots. Then I close the lid. The fan goes on using a fuzzy logic controller like having bellows blowing air on a fire to get it going. The grill heats up faster than usual and then holds the temp. I have found it makes my charcoal last even longer which is quite a statement since that's probably the best part about these grills anyways.

I'm not sure I'd tell you to go get a kamado grill AND a controller if you were just shopping off the street. BUT you already have a wonderful smoker and a controller will turn it into what you want for less money.

Spend the extra on a webber kettle for fast action and two zone cooking.

 

[gangsterkathryn]

There are two stores I found that sell the green mountain brand here in town. One is closer than the other, but the far store looks like the one I want to go to and it is called “BBQ Outfitters”. Not sure where your friend is located, but you could tell them that it is close to Lake Travis near the intersection of 620 and 2222 (they should know what that means as far as what side of town it is).

He’s on the east side of town and said “that’s waaaaaaaaaay on the other side.”
He’s like ten minutes NE of the airport.

 

[Grateful Dude]

He’s on the east side of town and said “that’s waaaaaaaaaay on the other side.”
He’s like ten minutes NE of the airport.

Hah, that is way on the other side of town. There is another store called Tri-Supply that sells Green Mountain. I've never been in to the store myself, but allegedly it is a big home products warehouse/showroom. This one is on HWY 71/Ben White just a little east of IH35. That is probably a lot easier for your friend. It is on the east side of town, but south of where he is.

 

[ThatOneDude]

When are we buying this fucking thing?

 

[gangsterkathryn]

Hah, that is way on the other side of town. There is another store called Tri-Supply that sells Green Mountain. I've never been in to the store myself, but allegedly it is a big home products warehouse/showroom. This one is on HWY 71/Ben White just a little east of IH35. That is probably a lot easier for your friend. It is on the east side of town, but south of where he is.

I will definitely tell him to check that place out.