What about this one?


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I have pretty much dismissed pellet grills from companies other than the big players. However, the positive experiences such as @LMichaels has had with Members Mark (and now Z Grills) has given me an more open mind. I have seen this unusual "French Door" pellet grill from Cuisinart in a store somewhere (Wlamart?) and thought of it as just a gimmick. One popped up an hour from me for just $250, though, so I did a little looking into it.

CUISINART CLERMONT PELLET GRILL

Cuisinart Pellet Grill.jpg

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Online reviews are often suspect, but two that I watched failed to turn up anything bad about this model - and a LOT to like! Huge amount of space to crank out ribs, a sliding grease tray to allow for high heat searing, nice and expansive worktables, a pellet dump, rear vents that hold out wind and rain, and a modern answer to grease management. On top of that, it looks like possibly the construction isn't half bad - certainly for a pellet grill in the $700 price range - and definitely for $250!!!

Any feedback from the group?
 
Cuisinart has a line of pellet cookers and from what I have read, and seen online for reviews all very positive. What kept me away from them was lack of availability. Nowhere to be seen or found around here
 
Hmmm. Well for $250 I really like the high up French Doors (which have gaskets and are double walled). I also like the shelf setup, the adjustable stainless shelving and some of the other features. Even thought of a place to stash your probes, a shortcoming of my Recteq.

I thought this was a calm and realistic review. He seemed to be impressed - at least at this price point:

 
Yes it does, and I would have to say it doesn't look very "macho." But I do really like the idea of putting in food straight in front of me rather than bending down. I am sure the windows would be a fair amount of work to keep clean, too. But when clean it would be a positive to me.
 
Is this for personal use or for a flip?

you made me start googling

Cuisinart Clermont Review

So you might have seen my thread a couple weeks ago https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/smokers-on-sale.309614/ I found Walmart marking down a bunch of smokers and grills and decided to buy the Cuisinart Clermont Pellet Grill & Smoker. Marked down from $700 to $350. I’ve been using it a...
www.smokingmeatforums.com www.smokingmeatforums.com
 
@DanHoo,

That was definitely not a flattering review. On the other hand, the person doing it clearly has no experience with pellet grills. I tend to discount that one somewhat, but it is good to hear from a spectrum of reviewers. I am not sure what it might be about that design that would contribute to the issues he claims to have experienced. I suppose maybe the large glass doors might impact results. They seem well insulated, though. Not sure.
 
Yeah, later on when he described how he operated and being a total newbie to the breed, he did not know the finer points of using on. It seems as though he (like a few on our own boards here) feel pellet grills require 0 skills to operate. And to a "point" that may be true to simply "operate" it. But, once learned you can produce outstanding Q. I am sure if I simply got my hands on a stick burner or WSK or WSM I would come away saying much of the same. In that I would not have learned the skill set.
Yes pellet grills are pretty easy to operate but skills and techniques are still a HUGE requirement to get results.
My fav BBQ joint is in Waukegan IL (Big Ed's) and the place is "to die for". All his Q is done on big wood fired pits. And the cords of wood are out there to prove it.
Yet every person who ate here on the 3rd when I did my very first brisket, and additionally a few slabs of St Louis spares. And who also eat at Big Ed's put my Q on his level.
So yes Virginia you CAN do GREAT smoky Q on a pellet grill. BTW, I heard Walmart supposedly sells those but they don't here in this area unless you order it.
Given that and the small amount of info available is why I passed. I have an aversion to Walmart avoiding it as much as humanely possible
 
LMichaels said:
So what? Many of them look more like a steel whiskey barrel :D Jon for $250 asking it's a low risk gamble
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I already own a $69 Cuisinart toaster oven with a window. I don’t need to watch over my bbq cook through a window. I would rather have an efficient smoker that holds heat. Maybe it’s a fantastic smoker. And maybe it’s even more efficient than my 36” Smokefire. Sorry, just couldn't look at that oven box on my back deck. Just like I would never own an AMC Pacer.
 
I gotta be honest, that thing is hideous. I’m with Darian, wouldn’t be on my porch amongst all my beautiful Webers
 
Lyrics from an old 50s song
"I saw your wife last night. She's uuuugly" "Yeah but she sure can cook" :D
It may be ugly (fugly even) but, IMO it's innovative as well. Whether or not it works well would have to be seen
 
Darian Hofer said:
I already own a $69 Cuisinart toaster oven with a window. I don’t need to watch over my bbq cook through a window. I would rather have an efficient smoker that holds heat. Maybe it’s a fantastic smoker. And maybe it’s even more efficient than my 36” Smokefire. Sorry, just couldn't look at that oven box on my back deck. Just like I would never own an AMC Pacer.
Click to expand...
Oh man, Darian! I would LOVE to have a running Pacer as a weekend driver. I know, I know...but it was AMC's last gamble and the last vehicle designed from scratch by the last post-war independent car company. (I am excluding the new wave of independents such as Tesla.) I actually think it was very forward thinking in a lot of ways. The biggest negative was that the tiny engine compartment was designed for a rotary engine promised to AMC by GM but then abandoned by GM. The Pacer was underpowered by the 6-cylinder AMC stuffed in there. Later they raised the hood (and took away part of the "look") so that they could wedge in their V-8. That gave it power but lousy gas mileage for what was seen as a compact economy car. Oh well, the rest is history.

As to the Cuisinart, it's looks - although very different - are also innovative to me, even if it does look like an oven. Plenty of stainless workspace, tool hooks that work, a place to stash your probes, electronic controls in an easy to see location, and acres of stainless shelves to cook on. Actually, I think the failure, so far, of this entry to make much of an impression just shows how crowded the pellet grill market has become. It also shows how challenging it will be for Weber to get back into the game if, in fact, an all-new Weber pellet grill is coming soon.

I guess it's each to his own! Nothing wrong with that. :coolkettle:
 
Jon, one of my neighbors has an AMC pacer with a warmed over 360 V8 in it. Every place he takes it draws a crowd. Most people have no idea what it is. Never been in it but he tells me that it's really fast and for fun he can go by a gas station and kick it into passing gear and suck a pump off the island. :) That little car gets only 9-11 mpg with that built 360 in it. Sure sounds nasty too.
 
@Jon Tofte I had a pit boss for 2-3 years. It was OK and there were a few times I wish I had kept it. One reason was to add a Green Mountain Grills Pizza oven. I read about @Rich G cooking pizza and bread on his and that seemed like a great add-on.

But, to be completely honest the food on my BGE was better which is why I sold it in the end. The survivor patio edition thread sort of covers some of my thought process.

But back to smoking. I had the pellet, a 22 inch WSM and my large BGE, and in the end the Pellet and the WSM were voted off the island. The pellet did not deliver on the quality of cook, and the WSM was a pain in the backside to clean up and used a lot of coal.

The BGE was less work to setup, less work to clean, quiet, more versatile and with side by side cooks among the threee ( WSM/BGE/PitBoss) the BGE had the best cooks, then the WSM and then the pellet. The only downside of the "large" BGE is the 18 inch cooking grid, which was the main reason I bought the summit kamado.

I think a lot of the fun is the journey and experimenting with different cookers so it will be interesting to see what you end up with.
 
DanHoo,

I previously used a BGE for a number of years. I admired its simplicity and quality, and I agree it was relatively light in what you had to do to clean and use again. I was almost always happy with the results. Mine was a "large" which as you note is really only the approximates size of a 18" Weber kettle. I didn't like that tight space. When I moved to Indiana from Florida, I was afraid to try and move the Egg, so I sold it. Truthfully, I found myself using my Recteq RT-700 more and more and BGE less before my move anyway. I can't say that it was because of better cooking - although I never noticed a substantial difference - but more because I could start a cook and monitor it at work (conveniently located within a very easy walk!) and otherwise didn't have to do as much on long cooks. The easy road to a set temperature and the fun of using different pellets lead me to use the Recteq more frequently.

BBQ Ribs.jpg

I picked up a well-used, but still serviceable (with new grates and water bowl) WSM 18 from @Bruce a couple weeks ago when we did our marathon parts swap at his house. So, soon I am going to give that a try. After all these years, I have never used a WSM. I think it is interesting how some people resolutely stand by them as the best option while others complain about "dirty smoke" and other issues. I hope to get mine cleaned up soon and give it a try!

I have also enjoyed doing bbq chicken and even small chuck roasts (for faux burnt ends) on my Weber kettles using a Slow-N-Sear.

BBQ chicken on a kettle.jpg

I guess I am not sure what I think is the best at this point. I am with you that the journey and experimenting is the fun part of this hobby! :coolkettle:
 
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