Let's Talk BBQ
Outdoor Cooking Equipment => Grills & Smokers => Pellet Grills and Smokers => Topic started by: ClimberDave on September 07, 2017, 12:53:25 PM
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I have been considering getting myself a pellet grill sometime this year and have been trying to justify laying out the $$$ and taking up limited space in the back yard.
Not sure what brand/model yet (that's a future post)
Just curious, those of you with PG's how do you use them most??
Use it mainly for low and slow?
Grilling, like steaks, burgers and chops? Or do you go to a different grill for this?
Baking
Or...?
Again trying to justify the purchase and figure out what I would use it most for to determine the best size for me.
Thanks
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Mostly pork butts and small briskets around 275 degrees. 1/2 loins and tri-tip around 350 and chicken parts around 400. Always smoking. I pan and rack everything to avoid a mess. Never use it for grilling. If I want to sear something like the tri-tip, I will do it in another cooker.
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What makes a pellet grill unique is the 300-400 range for pot roasts and chicken cooks. Some pellet grills do sear quite well. Cookshack and Memphis and of course MAK with the new flame zone.
I sear in pellet grills by removing the heat deflector and grease tray. I foil the bottom of the chamber around the fire-pot. I put the cooking grates back in. I crank up the pellet grill and grill on the cooking grates directly over the fire pot. Grill Grates make it even much better.
So don't worry about grilling on a pellet grill if it is important to you to use it for grilling. They all produce wonderfully smoked food. There is just a large gap these days in quality.
MAK is at the top of the heap and Rec Tec really bridges the gap between the entry level grills and the top level units.
Good luck with your decision.
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I use the pellet grills for about everything including low and slow type cooks, medium hot cooks, and the hot and fast cooking. I grill at temperatures above 600 degrees, I also smoke cheese at temperatures of less than 80 degrees. I have a rotisserie setup on one my pellet grills. I have high temp pizza setup on my pellet grill. Like I said, I do most everything on the grills and do love them. I have owned pellet grills since 1991 and still have my first one.
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Mostly low and slow, and larger cooks. I have SRG's for roasting and small grill work.
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When drinking.
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My Memphis is a "do it all" pellet cooker capable of all temps from low and slow smoke to searing steaks while my NOS Traeger is mainly a smoker and doesn't get up to searing temps. I use both a lot. Spend some time determining what you want to cook and how much of it. You can cook smaller amounts on a large cooker but overloading a small one doesn't work well.
MAK is the dominant owner brand group on this site and makes a great cooker but there are several other American made high quality cookers that are underrepresented here. Keep you eyes open. We have lots of pellet cooking experience hanging around so ask questions.
Hub
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I use mine for mostly low and slow (ribs, pork butts, briskets). I also do my Thanksgiving turkeys on it. And I bake occasionally on it and the results are as good if not better than in a regular oven. Very versatile machine.
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When drinking.
LOL!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
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Thanks for all the responses.
I was looking for something mainly for low and slow but have read a lot of them claim they can be used to sear etc however I have read quite a few places that most of them really don't do the higher temps well.
Not sure the size I will be going with, on one hand for the two of us I can get by with a smaller one, but like the flexibility of the larger ones if we have friends over.
Budget is $1000-1200 and have been looking at both the RecTec's and the GMG's
I like the RecTec warranty and seems to be built a bit better, but am kinda drawn towards the WiFi capability with the GMC
Decisions, decisions!
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Good luck with your search. I am sure that you will enjoy whatever you decided on. I would, however, encourage you to take a look at the Grand Slam by Blaz'n Grill Works. Made in Nebraska - heavy duty, some nice exclusive features, and reliable. I have had mine for a couple years with not a single hiccup. I use it for nearly everything. It does get up to 500 Degrees although I rarely run it there. I use if for low and slow (bottom temp is 160 degrees and goes up in 5 degree increments to 500). I set it at 375 for bacon - comes our perfect every time. Although it will throw some good grill marks on a steak I like to use it to reverse-sear steaks to get some smoke on them before throwing them on the Weber to sear.
The price range is right at the top of what you are looking for but it really is an outstanding value and has some great exclusive features. One of my favorites is the removable burn pot so you can empty the burn pot without dismantling the grill. And Made in the USA!
Best of luck - look forward to seeing what you decide on.
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Good luck with your search. I am sure that you will enjoy whatever you decided on. I would, however, encourage you to take a look at the Grand Slam by Blaz'n Grill Works. Made in Nebraska - heavy duty, some nice exclusive features, and reliable. I have had mine for a couple years with not a single hiccup. I use it for nearly everything. It does get up to 500 Degrees although I rarely run it there. I use if for low and slow (bottom temp is 160 degrees and goes up in 5 degree increments to 500). I set it at 375 for bacon - comes our perfect every time. Although it will throw some good grill marks on a steak I like to use it to reverse-sear steaks to get some smoke on them before throwing them on the Weber to sear.
The price range is right at the top of what you are looking for but it really is an outstanding value and has some great exclusive features. One of my favorites is the removable burn pot so you can empty the burn pot without dismantling the grill. And Made in the USA!
Best of luck - look forward to seeing what you decide on.
Thanks on the info. I hadn't heard of Blaz'n before, they look like they are pretty well built, I have added them to my list.
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Rec tec makes a very fine pellet grill. Wifi isn't all that great. I never use mine. You want to be outside with the smoker anyway having a cold one.
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Not to bash GMG but Rec Tec is much better made with ss in the right places and a great controller. Wi-Fi does not warrant such a big drop in quality if you ask me.
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I only use mine for low and slow
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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I have found a pellet grill/Blackstone griddle to be a fantastic combo.
I have my small Blackstone griddle sitting right next to my MAK. Yes, my MAK can sear, but for certain cooks (reverse sears) having a screaming hot griddle right next to your pellet grill comes in super handy. Just did this tri tip a couple of days ago. 2.5 hours of low n slow, followed by a 2 min/side sear on the griddle.
I tell you this so you know that you can buy a pellet grill that does not do an outstanding job of grilling...BUT, still turn out killer grilled food.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170909/fa60874ca0dd695c663bd37e99a32d4d.jpg)
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Not to bash GMG but Rec Tec is much better made with ss in the right places and a great controller. Wi-Fi does not warrant such a big drop in quality if you ask me.
Kind of what I was thinking actually
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I have a GMG Daniel Boone, and I use it for everything except steaks. I try not to use the higher temps in the smoker, just easier for me to use my gas grill or my charcoal grill for steaks.
The GMG has worked good for me, get great results, just wish it were bigger...
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I've been cooking on pellet grills since 1991. Would never look back. Graduated from cooking on Traegers to MAK 2 Stars. The cooking versatility that I get on my MAK is fantastic! It gets tremendously hotter than any of my Traegers. One of the great features on my grill is the cold smoker/warmer box. I cold smoke cheese, nut, sea salt, brown sugar, black pepper (for rubs). Weeknigts I grill. Weekends I barbecue. Yesterday, 10/15/17--I cooked up an incredible beef stew on my MAK.
Used it to grill/sear the chuck steak I used in the stew.Smoked the veggies a bit before chopping them up and throwing them into the pot. I would say that I do an equal amount of hot 'n fast and low 'n slow.
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For smoking and for roasting with a maximum temperature of 350.
For grilling, I use the Weber gasser or a charcoal burner.
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Been using my GMG Daniel Boone for about 2 1/2 years now. Seems to be holding up okay. It does seem that the introduction of the direct grilling feature has made things a bit more complicated. I only use for low and slow, so I would like to actually have the old one piece drip tray vs the new two piece they have.
I do agree that the drip trays could be a tad thicker as they do tend to warp over time, and I think as long as these are used for low & slow, they will hold up great.
I do like the Wi-Fi, as it adds a layer of convenience (don't like to get out of my chair when I am drinking)...lol
For me it is low & slow.
Bill
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Been using my GMG Daniel Boone for about 2 1/2 years now. Seems to be holding up okay. It does seem that the introduction of the direct grilling feature has made things a bit more complicated. I only use for low and slow, so I would like to actually have the old one piece drip tray vs the new two piece they have.
I do agree that the drip trays could be a tad thicker as they do tend to warp over time, and I think as long as these are used for low & slow, they will hold up great.
I do like the Wi-Fi, as it adds a layer of convenience (don't like to get out of my chair when I am drinking)...lol
For me it is low & slow.
Bill
I was in the same exact boat you were in, except with the Jim Bowie. I called GMG and inquired about the old one piece drip tray. I told them that nothing was wrong with my two -piece, but I thought the 1 piece would work better for my needs. The customer service lady @ GMG agreed and shipped me a 1-piece for only shipping charges - Great Customer service.
BP
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We use our MAK 1 Star for everything from cold-smoking (using an A-Maze-N pellet tube) & hot-smoking homemade bacon, hams, sausage, etc., to low & slow BBQ, to grilling steaks at over 600° and the like.
I like the RecTec warranty and seems to be built a bit better, but...
Let me preface this by saying that I do NOT like to bash anyone's product, but there is something about Rec-tec's "six-year" warranty claim that you should be aware of. Rec-Tec's warranty is really a THREE-YEAR warranty with an extended three-year option AFTER a $99 charge. Line four of their warranty in the owner's manual reads as follows, "4. Warranty claims made in years 4 through 6 are subject to a one-time charge of $99.00."
Again, I'm NOT saying their product is bad, whatsoever! I've cooked on Rec-Tecs and they are fine grills. It's just a bit misleading to call it a six-year warranty, in my opinion.
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We use our pellet grills cold smoking, smoking, smoke/roasting, and roasting only. Use the gas or charcoal for grilling.
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Been using my GMG Daniel Boone for about 2 1/2 years now. Seems to be holding up okay. It does seem that the introduction of the direct grilling feature has made things a bit more complicated. I only use for low and slow, so I would like to actually have the old one piece drip tray vs the new two piece they have.
I do agree that the drip trays could be a tad thicker as they do tend to warp over time, and I think as long as these are used for low & slow, they will hold up great.
I do like the Wi-Fi, as it adds a layer of convenience (don't like to get out of my chair when I am drinking)...lol
For me it is low & slow.
Bill
I was in the same exact boat you were in, except with the Jim Bowie. I called GMG and inquired about the old one piece drip tray. I told them that nothing was wrong with my two -piece, but I thought the 1 piece would work better for my needs. The customer service lady @ GMG agreed and shipped me a 1-piece for only shipping charges - Great Customer service.
BP
Thanks for the tip, I will definitely call them.
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Been using my GMG Daniel Boone for about 2 1/2 years now. Seems to be holding up okay. It does seem that the introduction of the direct grilling feature has made things a bit more complicated. I only use for low and slow, so I would like to actually have the old one piece drip tray vs the new two piece they have.
I do agree that the drip trays could be a tad thicker as they do tend to warp over time, and I think as long as these are used for low & slow, they will hold up great.
I do like the Wi-Fi, as it adds a layer of convenience (don't like to get out of my chair when I am drinking)...lol
For me it is low & slow.
Bill
I was in the same exact boat you were in, except with the Jim Bowie. I called GMG and inquired about the old one piece drip tray. I told them that nothing was wrong with my two -piece, but I thought the 1 piece would work better for my needs. The customer service lady @ GMG agreed and shipped me a 1-piece for only shipping charges - Great Customer service.
BP
Followed your advice, was told that the one piece drip pans are not available. Makes me sad...