General Pellet Grills & Smokers TME

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Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
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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.
How dare you come up in here with practical advice! ;)
 

Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
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When are we buying this fucking thing?
I'm hoping to go do some shopping this week at the BBQ Outfitters store. It's located way out by the lake, but I have a work project up in that area coming up soon, so I will probably drop by the store when I am already up there.
 

Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
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So what was the verdict here?

I just got a little Traeger over the weekend.

Best pellets to use?
I get a different answer from just about everyone I ask. Some say they like the Traeger brand pellets, but a couple others have suggested the Lumber Jack brand pellets (including That One Banned Dude). There are so many options for pellets - Home Depot has several brands, Academy has several others. I do like that the Lumber Jack brand has an option that has some charcoal mixed in with hickory so you can still get some of that charcoal flavor. No personal experience myself yet, but I generally prefer hickory over some other options. But I also like pecan and oak. Mesquite is never my first choice.

Which Traeger did you get?

I got stalled out on my grill shopping and it got bumped back on my priorities list - work and several home renovations have been killing my schedule (on top of having a broken rib). Traeger is still one of the options I am considering, and a Green Mountain is my other top choice.
 

SuperPig

Enjoy yourselves
Aug 7, 2015
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I got the Pro575 or whatever it is.

I didn't buy it. It was a housewarming gift from the person I bought the townhouse from.

Perfect size for the townhouse and I had just given/taken my 6 burner propane grill to my lady's house so it worked out great.
 

Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
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I got the Pro575 or whatever it is.

I didn't buy it. It was a housewarming gift from the person I bought the townhouse from.

Perfect size for the townhouse and I had just given/taken my 6 burner propane grill to my lady's house so it worked out great.
Right on, that's the right way to get one!

That is also one of the models I have considered. I don't need one of the large ones, or would rarely need a larger one.

Does yours have the meat probes and all that jazz? (I assume so if it is the wifi model). If not, I know there are upgrades that you can replace in there for relatively cheap.

Let me know how you like it, or if you come up with any pointers. That exact model is right in the price range I was hoping for, but there were a couple of other grills that I looked at and like that were closer to $1200
 

SuperPig

Enjoy yourselves
Aug 7, 2015
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Have you tested that bad boy out yet? Was just looking at that model at Home Depot. About $800 for the Wi-Fi model, and I believe it has 1 meat probe (but you can add a second one)
Just used it for the first time on Saturday night on a big ass ribeye.

I'm definitely going to have to figure out a real searing method as the 500* just doesn't do it justice. May have to kiss it with the flame thrower that I use when I sous vide a bigger chunk.

But the flavor and overall control was great.

Once I really get it figured out I'm going to be able to do some serious shit really really easily. I'm sure I can get a better sear or more overall smoke from a stick burner but not having to think about a damn thing other than filling up the hopper seems great. And since it was a free gift for buying the townhouse, it's the perfect price. Or maybe I got a free townhouse for overpaying for a smoker?
 

Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
8,925
14,261
Just used it for the first time on Saturday night on a big ass ribeye.

I'm definitely going to have to figure out a real searing method as the 500* just doesn't do it justice. May have to kiss it with the flame thrower that I use when I sous vide a bigger chunk.

But the flavor and overall control was great.

Once I really get it figured out I'm going to be able to do some serious shit really really easily. I'm sure I can get a better sear or more overall smoke from a stick burner but not having to think about a damn thing other than filling up the hopper seems great. And since it was a free gift for buying the townhouse, it's the perfect price. Or maybe I got a free townhouse for overpaying for a smoker?
Yeah, 500 doesn't seem hot enough for a good sear. I have seen some of the competing brands of smokers having a high end of 600-700, so maybe they'd sear a bit better. Did you try the meat probe/wifi features, and which flavor pellets did you go with?
 

SuperPig

Enjoy yourselves
Aug 7, 2015
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Did you try the meat probe/wifi features, and which flavor pellets did you go with?
I obviously don't really have a great way to test the probe but it's really easy. As soon as you plug it in it'll ask on the machine what you want to do with it. The app allows all sorts of fun alarms and you can set your alarm at any point and adjust it after the fact.

Same thing for the overall temp. You can control everything other than starting it from a distance and you may even be able to do that and I just missed it. Cook time, warm, etc etc.

I'll throw some screenshots to when I get out of this traffic.



For the first run I just went with basic Traeger mix pellets.
 

SuperPig

Enjoy yourselves
Aug 7, 2015
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I’ve been at Home Depot a lot recently, and I’ve been watching this model to see if it’ll go on sale as the season winds down.
I'll probably get a little smoker tube thing as well just to add extra smoke if I want a little heftier smoke on something.
 

Grateful Dude

TMMAC Addict
May 30, 2016
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I'll probably get a little smoker tube thing as well just to add extra smoke if I want a little heftier smoke on something.
I think I’d use that if I was doing a brisket or a turkey or something cooking a long time like that. Maybe not if I was just cooking chicken legs or something like that.

fuck. Now I want brisket and turkey.

I also need to buy a new garage fridge, so if I get both that’s and expensive trip to HD lol