Anyone out there use pellet grills for grilling and smoking? I smoke a lot and have always been a charcoal and wood chunk guy. That does take a lot of time and attention so I wanted something easier. Mt Dad has been using a Green Mountain Grill for the last couple of years with amazing results. Today I broke down and bought one for myself (since I can't seem to find the AR I have been saving for).

If you have a pellet cooker, what is your favorite thing to make? Any tips or tricks for getting started?

Thx...Brian

Never heard of a pellet grill, but somehow I think rabbit might be a natural choice...

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Oh well, what the hell.

I got one of these to convert my hot smoker to a cold

A-MAZE-N Products, LLC

it's pretty slick, makes making jerky or cold smoking on a side firebox smoker super easy as I no longer have to juggle just the right amount of wood/charcoal to get smoke but not "cook" my stuff. Cool thing is you can use it in just about any enclosed space to make a smoker, except your kitchen oven. The large square lasts a LONG time when full and burning one side.

I'm not high tech like those fancy GMG smokers

Nah.... the only pellets I use for smoke are in my vintage Lionel loco's.

My son has a Traeger pellet smoker, he turns out some fantastic tasting meats...They are slow smoking, if you are in a hurry, this is not for you..

The nice thing about the Green Mountain is that it has a temp range of 150-500. The lower the temp, the more smoke is released. It's great for long slow smokes ore searing off burgers or steaks for a quick dinner.

For those who are not familiar with pellet grills here is a link:
.: Green Mountain Grills :. Top Quality Wood Pellet Grills, BBQ, Smoker

I have my eye on a Traeger... 3 neighbors have them... Talk about grill envy. One neighbor cooks a pizza in there weekly with fantastic flavor. I've never had better meats than in a pellet grill. Traeger does a "road show" at Costco in June... Waiting!

Son has a Treager.I bought a Yoder Smoker pellet grill.A lot heavier material and cooks up a real nice steak and any thing else.Computer controled heat range.You can cook fast or slow.You can cook as fast as a charcoal cooker or smoke on it all day.I've done several differant meats and veggies on it and don't regret spending the bucks on it.It will out last me.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. The art of fine BBQ or smoking should never involve computers, electricity, or gas. Its all about a man, his favorite wood, and the aquired knowledge of how to control his equipment. Not everything should be made fast, simple, and easy.

What a disappointment. My first thought was, "How quaint. A thread about opium dens." You hardly ever hear about them these days.

Jst1mr...I get where you are coming from. I was torn and feel a bit "dirty" for my purchase. Wood and charcoal is all I have ever smoked with so this is a departure from the tradition. That said, I am looking forward to not having to constantly check my smoker, add fuel and wood, keep the temp constant, etc. hopefully this will allow me to do a brisket or port butt by throwing it on at 3am and going back to bed instead of checking the fire every hour. Please don't make me turn in my smoker card...we are neighbors after all!

I have a traeger. They are great for slow cooking roasts, ribs, whole chickens, smoking, etc. Burgers or steaks? I like my little charcoal grill better.

Well...tonight I did my ignaugrial cook by making "jucy lucy" style burgers. I stuffed them with bacon and pepper jack cheese. They were delicious! I started them low at 250 to smoke for an hour then took them off while the grill heated to 500. Put them back on to sear each side.

Tomorrow are St. Louis cut spare ribs with my home made rub and root beer BBQ sauce. Hope they turn out as well.

I'll be up in Minny (visiting my sister in Eagan) the week after Memorial Day, where do you live in Savage? What's going to be on the smoker that week? Ribs sound good, but a pork butt would be awesome too.

I also have a GMG and like it a lot.
steaks were better on the old charcoal grill tho.

try to find some pellets made with apple or cherry wood.
I like the apple ones the best.
gmg pellets are oak which dont smoke the best.

also make sure you vacuum out the dust collector regularly.
every 4-5 uses or so. (your mileage may vary)
I didnt once and my chicken breasts came out kind of grey.
It is located under the grill and the bottom plate, and surrounds
the burner.


there is an online forum similar to this one for pellet grills.
I think it is pelletsmoking.com.

good luck

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I fish, therefore I lie

I've got a real nice three burner propane grill and an old school Weber tall boy charcoal, smoker. A buddy of mine works at ACE and they were selling one of their top o the line pellet smoker grills, he had bought one the year before and swore by it, he said it made the best damned smoked pork butt you ever ate, even cooks his pizza on the damned thing. I went home and proceeded to tell my wife about the deal and that I was considering getting it, the price was great about a 100 bucks off the normal sale price.
She went into all her usual routine about "Whats wrong with what you have?" "Where are you gonna put it?" "Does it need electricity" "How much are those pellets?" "What do you do when the power goes out?" and finally her ultimatum was "You already have a smoker, whats wrong with it?" You already have a propane grill, whats wrong with it?" You are going to have to make a decision, you have to give up one or the other, you don't need three barb-b-ques?"
Which got me to thinking...If I come home and want a quick burger, I fire up the propane and I got a cookin fire inside 5 minutes...a burger in 15 easy, with that Traeger I got to start the pellets burning (You shouldn't leave pellets in the cooker if its at all damp) then wait for it to get up to heat. I love the way my old school Weber works and it uses charcoal, no electrical worries, but its a true hot smoker and does a damn fine job on everything I've tried cooking on it and doubles as a charcoal grill with the stack taken off.
If I didn't have to listen to all the harping it wouldn't be so bad but in the end she was right, I kept what I had and actually felt OK about the whole deal, outside of listening to her go on and on and on and on and on...
Its my birthday next month, I noticed the Traeger went off the floor about the time I was lookin, she hasn't asked me what I wanted for my birthday, a guy can sometimes be lucky if he listens to the "sound of reason"....probably not, I'll end up with a couple a bags a new skivvies.

Just got a Traeger at Costco... Early Father's Day gift... First meal tonight...

I have two elec. smokers that use chips.................

The main thing is to use wet chips and learn what each
type of chip does for fish, pork, beef, turkey etc.

Some also have a "Flavored water bath" to add to the smokes flavors and taste, in their units.