New Searwood pic.


 
Bruno said:
I think saying pellet owners are lazy is both lazy and annoying. Personally I enjoy the tech aspect of it, I like to monitor my cooks from my phone.
I never liked food from my WSM and prefer the smoke flavor that I got from my SmokeFire.
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I mean zero offense and apologies if my words offended anyone.

Lazy is a poor choice of word to use.

Easy and convenient would be better descriptors.

If cooking/grilling/bbq’ing were constantly difficult, none of us would do either, regardless of grill choice.
 
Bruno said:
I think saying pellet owners are lazy is both lazy and annoying. Personally I enjoy the tech aspect of it, I like to monitor my cooks from my phone.
I never liked food from my WSM and prefer the smoke flavor that I got from my SmokeFire.
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Yeah, I am kinda SMH over this type commentary as well. All due respect, IDK why hang out in a pellet focused forum just to say neg things about the cookers and people who use them? I get being critical. I was as well for the longest time. But I hung around more so to "learn" than criticize the machines. I spent a long time thinking I could do everything they do as well or better on my gasser(s). but, learned a lot from the proponents here, took the plunge when I could get a pretty decent one that fit my then needs for <$200. Hooked on it instantly (well not instantly) as there was a "learning curve". But learn I did, and was nearly ready to spring for a SmokeFire EX6 when the BigZ at half that price showed itself. So I went that route.
Cooking on one is "different" but DEFINITELY not lazy. Also it forces you to focus more on "what" you cook rather than "how" or the apparatus you cook with. I am not a good fire builder. My wife is the arsonist of the family :D (I guess it's a Minnesota thing) :D
I don't mind coal burning. Like it actually, but worry greatly about doing so on my elevated wood deck. Poo poo me all you want on that, but I am a little paranoid about fire especially after knowing more than one person who had tremendous damages from loose charcoal embers starting their decks.
Bottom line, pellet grills give those of us who like to cook outside and love good Q another way to express our creativity
 
I get the “lazy” part of pellets. When they first came out and really became popular, I was just thinking about getting into this cooking thing. I always thought of pellets as a “lazy” way of cooking or kind of cheating.

I always thought man, if you’re going to cook outside, why not use charcoal or gas? Then I looked into them more, Weber announced Smokefire so then I really dug into them, and I get it. It’s another fold, another technique, another way to experiment and cook for difference circumstances. So I totally get the maybe negative view that someone who doesn’t use one could maybe have. I was one. And here I am, with two going on three.

Gas. Charcoal. Pellet. Open fire. I say use ‘em all if you can. There’s no wrong way to cook outside
 
LMichaels said:
Yeah, I am kinda SMH over this type commentary as well. All due respect, IDK why hang out in a pellet focused forum just to say neg things about the cookers and people who use them? I get being critical. I was as well for the longest time. But I hung around more so to "learn" than criticize the machines. I spent a long time thinking I could do everything they do as well or better on my gasser(s). but, learned a lot from the proponents here, took the plunge when I could get a pretty decent one that fit my then needs for <$200. Hooked on it instantly (well not instantly) as there was a "learning curve". But learn I did, and was nearly ready to spring for a SmokeFire EX6 when the BigZ at half that price showed itself. So I went that route.
Cooking on one is "different" but DEFINITELY not lazy. Also it forces you to focus more on "what" you cook rather than "how" or the apparatus you cook with. I am not a good fire builder. My wife is the arsonist of the family :D (I guess it's a Minnesota thing) :D
I don't mind coal burning. Like it actually, but worry greatly about doing so on my elevated wood deck. Poo poo me all you want on that, but I am a little paranoid about fire especially after knowing more than one person who had tremendous damages from loose charcoal embers starting their decks.
Bottom line, pellet grills give those of us who like to cook outside and love good Q another way to express our creativity
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Mr Michael's, I too have an elevatedwood deck so I understand your concern. That said, my WSM lives and smokes on my porch. I was more concerned about radiant heat, so my solution was putting a 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick round piece of plate aluminum under the smoker. No embers or ash hit my deck and it keeps the wood from getting hot and "baking" under the smoker.

Unfortunately both sides have issues. One side praises skill, the otherside worships tech. At one point I had an absolutely clueless kamado style owner try to tell me my kettle was inferior because his newest latest and greatest gave him the ability to cook with convection. I tried to show him weber brochures from the 1960s explaining how kettles cook with convection from air passing over and around the meat inside. Sometimes all we can do is roll our eyes and deal with the uneducated as best we can. Other times, a simple and calm explanation can go along way. After all, we are on a site that was started for the WSM specifically but expanded to be a home for all of Weber's wayward children. We're all trying to cook with a live fire in one way or another.

Edit~ Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes. "Nihil sub sole novum", there is nothing new under the sun.
 
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Brett-EDH said:
So like an indoor oven, set the temp and walk away? But what about all the temp fluctuations people talk about? This seems contradictory to what some people post about their pellet grills.

Build a fire and adjust vents? Maybe my experiences with my WSK are different but starting a fire takes 10 minutes and maybe I make one or two vent adjustments in an entire cook. Example, I just did a 8# brisket completely unattended for 8 hours. I watched it via my signals. Zero issues experienced.


Agreed. WSM is great for weekends but not simple to use on a weeknight to get a smoked meal to a dinner table in time and easily with consistency. However, a WSK does do this due to it being highly stable on temps, and zero flavor sacrifices.


This sounds like why anyone would buy a pellet pooper. Easy, lazy and “good enough.”

I infer that it’s a way to get smoke flavor and the simplicity of a gasser.

Total side note, my wife doesn’t cook anything, and we’re all grateful for that. She does make a great fresh salad though and she can navigate the wine fridge. I’ll take what I can get.

Thanks for your detailed reply. I’m not against any kind of cooking machines. I just, personally, don’t see the value of owning and using a pellet grill. But that’s just me and where I live. For the few weeks it’s below 50° here, I’ll use my wok, oven or stovetop to cook without having to be outside in the rains or cold
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How could she compare to your cooking
 
I actually put the fish video up with a reason in mind. Pellet grills usually are much much lighter on smoke flavor by their nature. While it's harder for them to get as good a flavor as charcoal Smokers or stick burners, this has an advantage in two areas. People who don't like smoke flavor for BBQ, and when dealing with fish which can be very easy to over smoke.

I think it would be great to hear from the smokefire owners who have done fish dishes on theirs and have them share their results. Seems like it would be a natural strongsuit for pellets.

I had this come up over the holidays because I used a low salt rub I developed on some pork. Another family member tried it in a pellet smoker and thought it was too bland. When they've had it out of my wsm, it accented the smoke and pork flavors more. Wasn't knocking his cooking, but it definitely changed the end product and I think he was looking for a reason to complain.
 
I've discovered smoke flavor out of the pellet grill varies A LOT with how you set the grill (they have "smoke" settings for a reason), plus the type, blend and brand of pellets. I did my Christmas brisket with Smokehouse brand pellets in 50/50 Oak/Hickory. Smoke flavor was as deep and intense as any smoked food I have ever had from ANY smoker or grill bar none.
Previous items had been done with Kirkland pellets in same grill same settings and flavor was great. No ifs ands or butts, but not nearly as intense or deep as with the Smokehouse 50/50 in the same grill.
Heck even the Smokehouse pellets from Sam's which they call "classic" blend don't flavor the food as intensely as the same brand 50/50 ones do.
In both cases because (I guess) using other woods in the blends, alters the "burn", and level of smoke. And you can even tell the difference by sight. The 50/50 pellets continue to roll smoke even when running the grill on hotter (much hotter) temps. My last cook on the Member's Mark it was rolling smoke even with temps at 375. Which it NEVER did before. Same true for the Z except I did not run it that hot. Not taking that one above 270. But, previously that grill as well would not be rolling smoke from the back once it started running above 225. It "smoked" but very faintly. But the Smokehouse 50/50 pellets level is/was night and day different.
I think it's because the other blends I had used in both grills contained way less oak and hickory and much more of maple and cherry which by nature burn differently (cherry especially giving a much lighter/sweeter flavored smoke) in my experience using it on steaks in my gas grills or in my little coal burner.
But, then according to some, I am just a lazy unskilled slob of a cook so what do I know.
What I don't get why isn't the same description applied to those who choose gas grill? After all, on a good well kept gasser it too is "set and forget" for the most part. You simply set and forget for a shorter time period
 
LMichaels said:
I've discovered smoke flavor out of the pellet grill varies A LOT with how you set the grill (they have "smoke" settings for a reason), plus the type, blend and brand of pellets. I did my Christmas brisket with Smokehouse brand pellets in 50/50 Oak/Hickory. Smoke flavor was as deep and intense as any smoked food I have ever had from ANY smoker or grill bar none.
Previous items had been done with Kirkland pellets in same grill same settings and flavor was great. No ifs ands or butts, but not nearly as intense or deep as with the Smokehouse 50/50 in the same grill.
Heck even the Smokehouse pellets from Sam's which they call "classic" blend don't flavor the food as intensely as the same brand 50/50 ones do.
In both cases because (I guess) using other woods in the blends, alters the "burn", and level of smoke. And you can even tell the difference by sight. The 50/50 pellets continue to roll smoke even when running the grill on hotter (much hotter) temps. My last cook on the Member's Mark it was rolling smoke even with temps at 375. Which it NEVER did before. Same true for the Z except I did not run it that hot. Not taking that one above 270. But, previously that grill as well would not be rolling smoke from the back once it started running above 225. It "smoked" but very faintly. But the Smokehouse 50/50 pellets level is/was night and day different.
I think it's because the other blends I had used in both grills contained way less oak and hickory and much more of maple and cherry which by nature burn differently (cherry especially giving a much lighter/sweeter flavored smoke) in my experience using it on steaks in my gas grills or in my little coal burner.
But, then according to some, I am just a lazy unskilled slob of a cook so what do I know.
What I don't get why isn't the same description applied to those who choose gas grill? After all, on a good well kept gasser it too is "set and forget" for the most part. You simply set and forget for a shorter time period
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It actually does get leveled at "gassers", and I've been under attack from the Hank Hill gang for my use of charcoal. It does happen even if you haven't seen it.


Hmmm. To me the difference in your smoke levels(especially at higher temps) is making my bbq senses perk up. Sounds like a moisture in the pellets issue, or very inconsistent moisture levels. Source location of the wood will affect flavor.

As to the "smoke" setting, I remember when that started being added to try and infuse more smoke, just like some companies are now boasting "1000 degree sear" features. In my mind it's still just marketing and addressing complaints from the first generation. (Just like the ash sweeps in our kettles now replacing daisy wheels to make clean out easier) Things change..



I love your comment about cherry wood especially though. I love woodworking with cherry and maple, but cherry most of all. That smell that comes from fresh sawn cherry is a little piece of heaven to me. Definitely a gift from above both for its beauty and what it let's us do in the culinary world.:)
 
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