SmokeFire makes us proud!


 
That was a very helpful video by guys who know grills and bbq. Glad to see something that brings some balance into the picture.

Still wanting an EX-4, but not at $999. I wish I could get one of those clearance deals. All the used ones available now are all EX-6s.

I have to admit that one alternative that has caught my eye is the Camp Chef WiFi 24. It has a lot of interesting features. The grease shield has perforations that would seem to be a step in the direction of the SmokeFire flavorizer bars and it also has a sliding heat shield to allow more direct heat. That feature gets mediocre reviews but the grill overall gets very good reviews. There’s an almost new one asking $475.
 
Hard to argue with that. I've been watching Jeremy for a while and he seems to know his stuff. Hopefully the tide has turned. I have to say I would definitely want to cook on one and give it a shot just to see what it can do.
 
That was a very helpful video by guys who know grills and bbq. Glad to see something that brings some balance into the picture.

Still wanting an EX-4, but not at $999. I wish I could get one of those clearance deals. All the used ones available now are all EX-6s.

I have to admit that one alternative that has caught my eye is the Camp Chef WiFi 24. It has a lot of interesting features. The grease shield has perforations that would seem to be a step in the direction of the SmokeFire flavorizer bars and it also has a sliding heat shield to allow more direct heat. That feature gets mediocre reviews but the grill overall gets very good reviews. There’s an almost new one asking $475.
Rich Dahl has a Camp Chef with the slide and Sear and he says the grill is rock solid. That grill was on my short list when I got the Smokefire to replace my old Camp Chef DLX. That controller also has 10 smoke level settings so you can play with that also.
 
That was a very helpful video by guys who know grills and bbq. Glad to see something that brings some balance into the picture.

Still wanting an EX-4, but not at $999. I wish I could get one of those clearance deals. All the used ones available now are all EX-6s.

I have to admit that one alternative that has caught my eye is the Camp Chef WiFi 24. It has a lot of interesting features. The grease shield has perforations that would seem to be a step in the direction of the SmokeFire flavorizer bars and it also has a sliding heat shield to allow more direct heat. That feature gets mediocre reviews but the grill overall gets very good reviews. There’s an almost new one asking $475.
I think our pal Dave who did some crazy stuff with his SmokeFire bought one, the down side I saw to that perforated shield was liners, I figured you couldn’t use foil because it would block the openings. Did look interesting though.
I must say I enjoyed the SmokeFire video, we’ve all seen the crazy smoke ring the thing pits down, it was nice to hear some experienced cookers judge the flavor.

If this rains stops I’m going to give the old SF a nice cleaning tomorrow. I’ve got some lamb and filets for New Year’s Eve.
 
Let's remember, this test was based solely on grill performance, and all but eliminated skills possessed by the person behind the cook. I think most of us here could cook ribs, or any other protein, on most any grill that would rival any of the ribs used in the test. We all have our preferences and biases, but this does show the Smoke Fire to definitely be a viable product in the pellet grill market, and possibly more versatile than the others.

Would I buy one? If my eight-year-old Traeger ever needs to be replaced, the SF would definitely be on my short list.
 
Let's remember, this test was based solely on grill performance, and all but eliminated skills possessed by the person behind the cook. I think most of us here could cook ribs, or any other protein, on most any grill that would rival any of the ribs used in the test. We all have our preferences and biases, but this does show the Smoke Fire to definitely be a viable product in the pellet grill market, and possibly more versatile than the others.

Would I buy one? If my eight-year-old Traeger ever needs to be replaced, the SF would definitely be on my short list.

But the whole idea was to eliminate all variables except the grill.

Mad Scientist has done a lot of this type of comparisons, been mostly with burning sticks. Lately he's moved into pellets. Very interesting.
 
I'm impressed, although I've never doubted the quality of the cooks that the Weber could provide. With all the experienced smokers on this forum there was no doubt that the end product was superior to other pellet grills. It was the mechanics that kept me from buying one.
My Camp Chef has almost 200 cooks on it all of which were completed without any issues.
For those of you who were able to hang in there with the SF and get the results you do my hats off to you.
If the CC ever dies, I will look at an EX4 as a replacement.
 
Rich brings up a good point: by my earlier reply I don't mean to tout my SmokeFire as superior to other brands (and I own others, too). I feel just like the guys in this video, that all of them produced excellent food.
 
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Agree with the above-been very happy with my 575, knock on wood no issues, great controller, very satisfied. But if I was to start out again I would go CC as well. Weber should stick to kettles and gas.
 
Agree with the above-been very happy with my 575, knock on wood no issues, great controller, very satisfied. But if I was to start out again I would go CC as well. Weber should stick to kettles and gas.
Did you watch the video? The SmokeFire clearly holds its own. The flavorizer bars caused some confusion in the beginning and that’s fine, use a pan to catch the drippings.
You can’t argue with the results it puts out though.88475516-E493-4E10-892C-C7903796FC43.jpeg
 
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Agree with the above-been very happy with my 575, knock on wood no issues, great controller, very satisfied. But if I was to start out again I would go CC as well. Weber should stick to kettles and gas.
Weber totally botched their rollout of the Smokefire and Covid compounded their problems. It's going to take some time for attitudes to change but it's happening. Their design will have an effect on the pellet grill industry for years to come and I sure hope Weber will continue perfecting their pellet grill.
 
Agree with the above-been very happy with my 575, knock on wood no issues, great controller, very satisfied. But if I was to start out again I would go CC as well. Weber should stick to kettles and gas.
What about a PELLET kettle like the Recteq Bullseye? I think the Bullseye is a cool little grill, but I don't like that it has no real grease management. No drain of any kind. Weber could easily one-up this and put it on a Performer-type chassis.

How about a 26" pellet kettle or a pellet version of the Summit charcoal? Lots of relatively easy ways for Weber to get back on track in the pellet grill arena. :coolkettle:
 
But the whole idea was to eliminate all variables except the grill.

Mad Scientist has done a lot of this type of comparisons, been mostly with burning sticks. Lately he's moved into pellets. Very interesting.
I understand that and point it out in my original post. Not sure about others, but I can't remember the last time I salt and peppered some protein, threw it on the grill and walked away. If you're prone to doing that, the test results would be very useful. Otherwise, not so much. Nonetheless, I was impressed with the results after seeing the critique when the SF was introduced.
 
I 'm with Jon-Weber should revolutionize pellet kettles and establish their own new trend. They'd own the market probably.
 
I understand that and point it out in my original post. Not sure about others, but I can't remember the last time I salt and peppered some protein, threw it on the grill and walked away. If you're prone to doing that, the test results would be very useful. Otherwise, not so much. Nonetheless, I was impressed with the results after seeing the critique when the SF was introduced.

Actually, that's how Mad Scientist smokes his ribs, just salt and pepper.

And I do something similar, just salt/pepper and a little paprika for color.
 

 

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