Smokers/Grills BBQ talk

jterrell

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Folks, what grills are you guys using?

I am considering a pellet smoker right now and the Traeger ones are giving me sticker shock.
Any of you guys used Pit Boss?
 

YosemiteSam

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For grills, I'm a Webber guy. They last me years and years. When I sold my house in 2015, I sold the grill too as I couldn't have it at an apartment. When I bought another house about two years ago. My wife wanted a grill immediately for house warming GTG with her friends. So, I quickly bought a cheap POS from HomeDepot. It's two years old and in far worse shape than my Webber was after like nine years. I will scrap it soon and pick up a Webber.

I used to use a cheap bullet smoker back in the old house, It didn't hold heat very well and I could only make smaller things that cooked faster. (chicken, small Boston butts, etc) but this time I went all in and got a Kamado Joe Classic III. Still learning to use it though. It's super nice, but not as "simple" to use as a pellet smoker for managing the fire / heat, but it holds the heat like a mofo! (it should, it's porcelain!)
 
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Tabascocat

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If going the pellet route, I prefer Rec Tec over Traeger :thumbup:

I use a Weber Smoky Mtn the most, very versatile and I can use wood or charcoal. You will need to make some minor modifications to hold heat in better if you smoke a brisket or ribs though.
 

CouchCoach

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Weber, Genesis II, gas for grilling and a Dyna-Glo, gas, for smoking. We're in a burn ban here most of the time so I'd have to get another Big Green Egg and I am not a fan. So, I don't use charcoal or wood.

Weber, who makes a fine grill, just introduced their pellet grill, The Smoke-Fire, but it's new. I do trust them to get it right but it is a new form for them. They make 2 sizes.

The Dyna-Glo has great seals and heat integrity and is a front loader so it's easy to use. The one drawback is the wood box is too far from the flames so it has to be cranked up to get the smoke going. Except for that design flaw, it's the best smoker I've used and I've used them all but the pellet.

One thing I have learned, have both and don't rely on one system for both because once you smoke enough, you will have that flavoring on everything. I can put anything in my smoker without wood and it will still have that smokiness to it and I don't want that for everything.
 

Boom

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I've used a ceramic grill for about 8 years before Home Depot had a same as cash financing deal, so I got the Traeger Pro 780 (about $1k) with 18 months to pay it off. I love love love it. In less than a month I've smoked 2 butts, a brisket, 2 whole chickens, 4 racks of ribs, burgers and many steaks.

My brother has a Pit Boss and he loves it, so if that helps you get one, go for it.
 

CouchCoach

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Check our Steve Raichlen's show, probably on YouTube, I record it off PBS, but the man is the Godfather of the grill and smoker and has every toy you can imagine. One of his shows was Caveman Cooking in the coals for everything and he's surrounded by 20K is cooking rigs. I saw that horizontal egg on his show.

He's also authored several great cookbooks, The Barbecue Bible, Project Fire, Project Smoke and Barbecue Sauces, Rubs and Marinades. He is credited with the reverse sear method for steaks after we'd been doing the reverse for so many years. Now we can sous vide and then hit the sear on the grill. Ain't progress grand?
 

CouchCoach

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Folks, what grills are you guys using?

I am considering a pellet smoker right now and the Traeger ones are giving me sticker shock.
Any of you guys used Pit Boss?
You want just a smoker for ease of use, get a Masterbuilt Bluetooth Electric. Bud of mine who is not into cooking, grilling or smoking went the easy no hassle way and I made fun of him until I tasted his bounty. Every bit as good I ever had form a charcoal or wood smoker and the least amount of tending and work. Set it, forget it except for when you need to add wood. And the temp control is perfect.

It is lazy man smoking but the magic is in the rub, seasonings and sauces anyway.
 

CouchCoach

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Big Green Egg. The hardware on the Kamodos is cheap. Beware.
The other issue with the cheaper ceramics are the seals. I never had any leaks with my Egg but I know people that bought the cheaper ones because they thought they were all the same and the ceramic part is but they started leaking around the seal.

You ever need to move it, watch for any little lips that might trip it. I was moving mine and hit one and Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again. Damn thing weighed 250lbs and each of the 4 pieces it became weighed in around 65lbs each.
 

JIMMYBUFFETT

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My current set up is a Lyfe Tyme drop box smoker, a Weber Genesis 4 burner grill, a Blackstone griddle, and a Masterbuilt electric smoker. I use all of them regularly and have had a lot grills and smokers over the years.

My Blackstone griddle has become the unit I cook with most. I do everything from breakfast, to street tacos, to hibachi, to sliders on it. I can even pan fry chicken fried steak, venison backstrap, and zucchini on it. For desert I can make bananas foster and funnel cakes right on the griddle. They're super easy to clean and get hot in seconds. One of the best purchases I've ever made and I tell it to everybody who will listen. Go get one tonight when you get off.

My Weber is my next most used unit and I'm on my second one in 17 years. Reliable, starts every time, easy to clean, weathers well, easy to work on, and replacement parts are readily available. Best gas grill made.

My Masterbuilt smoker is a major step down from the Traegers but works fantastic. Pellet smokers are great but it's only an oven that smokes. For as little as I was going to use it for the cheaper wood chip smokers work fine with me. I use my big smoker for most of my cooking but I like this little electric for cooking small for my wife and I. It's a champ for cooking 1 rack of ribs, a flat brisket, a smoked chicken, or a couple links of sausage. It also only cost $250.00 and will hold lots of meat if you need it to.

My Lyfe Tyme is a big boy smoker that would fit with making competition BBQ and cooking for big crowds. I probably fire it up 10-12 times a year for parties, BBQ's, and holidays. I've cooked everything on it from whole goat, to Thanksgiving dinner, and as the brand indicates they are built to last a life time. I had to have it brought in my yard with a skid-steer it weighed so much.
 

Rockport

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Check our Steve Raichlen's show, probably on YouTube, I record it off PBS, but the man is the Godfather of the grill and smoker and has every toy you can imagine. One of his shows was Caveman Cooking in the coals for everything and he's surrounded by 20K is cooking rigs. I saw that horizontal egg on his show.

He's also authored several great cookbooks, The Barbecue Bible, Project Fire, Project Smoke and Barbecue Sauces, Rubs and Marinades. He is credited with the reverse sear method for steaks after we'd been doing the reverse for so many years. Now we can sous vide and then hit the sear on the grill. Ain't progress grand?
His lemongrass chicken recipe is one of my all time favorites.
 

YosemiteSam

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The other issue with the cheaper ceramics are the seals. I never had any leaks with my Egg but I know people that bought the cheaper ones because they thought they were all the same and the ceramic part is but they started leaking around the seal.

You ever need to move it, watch for any little lips that might trip it. I was moving mine and hit one and Humpty Dumpty couldn't be put together again. Damn thing weighed 250lbs and each of the 4 pieces it became weighed in around 65lbs each.
There is a reason I sprung for the higher end egg smoker. There is BIG difference between the low end and the high end in both feature set and quality.

Hopefully I don't need to move any time soon hah. Though if I do. I will move the Kamado myself and break it down into pieces.
 

YosemiteSam

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My Masterbuilt smoker is a major step down from the Traegers but works fantastic. Pellet smokers are great but it's only an oven that smokes.

Yep, pellet smokers are nice and simple, but lack many of the qualities of better smokers. That said, they do a great job with a lot less hassle.

What I like about my Kamado is that I can also heat it up to 700-750F and use it as a wood fired pizza oven too. That bugger cooks pizza in around 3 minutes! You can cook steaks and all kinds of stuff on them. They are very versatile, but on the flip side. They take quite a bit more work than a pellet smoker or say a gas grill. ..or even a normal charcoal grill.
 

jterrell

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Thanks for all the replies!!!
I have an entry or mid level charbroil gas grill now (was like 300 bucks, lol) and use it 3 to 4x per week in this COVID era.

My dad refuses to use anything but Weber charcoal... so he's no help.

Have long considered a BGE but I am really cheap /shrug.
Boredom is winning out though(and you save lots of money going nowhere, doing nothing) so I think am going to try the pellet smoker and possibly a ceramic.
I'll check out that youtube channel.
 

Hardline

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I don't have a brand of smoker. I have a custom built one a welder friend made.
I do all my grilling and smoking on it.
No pellet,propane or electric smokers for me. I'm a Texan.
I use nothing but mesquite or hickory.
 

jterrell

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Went Pit Boss 820. Read Traeger moved all manufacturing to China months ago and Joe Traeger went to work for Pit Boss.
Watched a lot of video reviews and felt the 820 was perfect size for me.

Looking for a local butcher but trying to avoid having to use Kuby's all the way in Dallas.
But may go Kuby's for first cook next weekend.
I'll def run some wings as a quick test run after burn-in.

I ordered some peach paper for a Texas brisket as that will be my first real item to tackle.

I gotta test a few pellets. Ordered hickory first.
 

CouchCoach

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There is a reason I sprung for the higher end egg smoker. There is BIG difference between the low end and the high end in both feature set and quality.

Hopefully I don't need to move any time soon hah. Though if I do. I will move the Kamado myself and break it down into pieces.[/QUOTE]That's what I did, broke it down into 4 pieces.
 
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