Pellet grills


 

Kevin L (NKY)

TVWBB Diamond Member
So now we have area for pellet discussions so let's now see some pellet cooking.... time spread the knowledge. I think as these are new to this site that any pellet grill good to post as it gives people knowledge on which unit is a good deal for the price and festures.
 
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Well, I would love to try a Weber pellet grill, but I am very happy with my Rec Tec. Here are a few cooks:

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FAUX BURNT ENDS
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Searing isn't a strong point for my Rec Tec which, unlike the new Weber SmokeFire, tops out at about 500 degrees. Still, it makes burgers with a wood smoke taste and even a hint of a smoke ring!

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If the damn wind would quite blowing I could get my new Camp Chef seasoned and do some cooks. But seeing that it's new I want to baby sit it for one or two cooks and 29 degrees and 20 mph winds is something I'm not going to be outside to do.
Those are some great looking cooks Jon.
 
Rich, your time will get here. We will all be interested to see how it works out for you. I think you made a good choice based on what you are trying to accomplish.
 
Today is the day going to be 60+ and 5mph winds. Get that puppy broken in and some St. Louis ribs coming up!
 
Great would love to it in action, I will have many questions for Rich. As I am very interested in a purchase of one of these.
 
Finally the Camp Chef is Seasoned.

Glad I did it when there was a slight breeze, like Dan said it smokes burning off the oils. To put it mildly it smelled like an oil refinery fire.
Next up some ribs, but don’t know when. Rain the next three days and Barb works on Friday and Saturday. Next week some time I guess.
The burn off went great the instructions made it easy.
One nice feature is the ash dump by opening up the ash dump when you do the pellet feed you wait to you hear a few pellets drop into the ash cup below and you know the burn pot is ready to go just close the dump and start the grill. It came up to temp 350* in about 5 minuets ran it for 30 minuets and it stayed between 346 and 357.
very pleased so far.
After it cooled we used the pellet dump to remove the pellets because all I have right now is Cook's apple pellets and it worked as advertised. For the ribs I have a bag of Lumber Jack Fruit Wood Blend coming Friday.
I'm all :)

Oil fire in progress.
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[/url]100_5543 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]

Sure glad I got the casters, makes so much easier to move.
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[/url]100_5549 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]

To celebrate Barb made a cheesecake in the instant pot and boy was it good.
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[/url]100_5535 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]

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[/url]100_5540 by Richard Dahl, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
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Rich:
Good thing you had a breeze for the burnoff. Mine was on a calm day and there was smoke coming out of everywhere! The casters certainly do make all the difference in the world for moving the grill. I use the feed too to clear out the pellets to change flavors.
 
I gave my Rec Tec RT300 to my son but I am pleased with my used Camp Chef DLX Bronze - modified. I added the lower shelf for stability. I cut 3.5" off the legs and installed locking casters for mobility and I replaced the controller with a Rec Tec WIFI controller. All Rec Tec smokers use the same controller as far as I know and it's outstanding. I keep it in the Garage and then roll it out just a tad and fire it up. It has the ash dump and pellet dump features but no window in the pellet hopper. This link is to some pics I took to show the mods and one shows it with 4 lbs. of beef on it's way to being Beef Jerky. https://photos.app.goo.gl/1GUpDpFU6Ypn6xfv5 Not pretty but a great cooker.

I've said this before but will repeat. I am a big fan of Rec Tec, Camp Chef, and Weber. I kept the Camp Chef instead of the Rec Tec because it is a Jerky making machine and I make a fair amount. My son wanted a portable and that's the 300. Jon's Rec Tec RT-700 is much prettier than mine and evokes a tinge of envy. :)
 
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Since I haven’t seen the new Weber SmokeFire in person, I will withhold final judgment. However, I have seen grills similar to what Larry linked at from Menards. Regardless of what they say about searing, I don’t think these compare in terms of construction materials or engineering. Certainly, the electronics are not in the same league. That isn’t to say that the linked grill can’t do a decent job, but there are reasons it is priced a lot lower. I do agree that the nickel chrome plated steel grates were an unfortunate choice by Weber. At least they are standard Spirit/classic Genesis size so for 40 to 50 bucks you can ultimately replace them with one of the middle of the road stainless rod grates I reviewed a while back. I also don’t believe the grill linked is capable of anything over 500 degrees without some compromising modification.
 
I think the sales of pellet grills are going to really accelerate this spring. All our grocery stores now have pellets for sale. The section were they had all the big Weber gasser at HD is now looking like pellet grill row. Just a few Tragers in there now, but room for a lot more.
 
I was in my local Lowe’s last night. They have cleared out all the Weber discounted stuff and the space left for Weber parts and supplies is much smaller. They still have a row of Weber gas grills, but I am waiting to see what they do with their floor display space as spring arrives here in Florida in the next month or so. I anticipate a lot more pellet grills and related supplies. They already have some now.
 
Been a lot harder to find discounted Weber this year. Seems that rhe box stores are walking away from Weber now. While we know how good they are, the non-enthusiast person may be looking at prices more. So now the "newest" thing is pellet grills.
Again, I only want a fool-proof (idiot-proof) brisket machine.
 
We may be over-reacting, but it does seem like we are at the cusp of a revolution in grilling. More and more companies jumping in on pellet grills. I just saw an Oklahoma Joe model online. I think retailers are having to re-figure how to allocate that valuable floor space. Looks to me like cheap imported gas grills and pellet grills are getting the nod. The big box stores just can't compete with online sellers for parts and small supplies, so I am not surprised to see Lowes and Home Depot reducing the space they allocate to that. And probably less space to charcoal, too. A lot more pellet choices will be taking their place. It will be interesting to see if Weber's pellets are good enough to command the relatively high price they seem to be planning on. If not, they may become scarce like the very fine but too expensive Weber charcoal briquettes.
 

 

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