I do have a question for you that i didn’t already find answered… How important do you feel a pellet release option is for a pellet fed BBQ? I have only found 3 models that have it; Traeger, Cabela’s Pellet Grill, and Camp Chef. It seems to me that this would almost be a must to make things easier to clean up when done smoking. What are your thoughts on the pellet release, and then your thoughts on these 3 pellet grills.
A pellet grill often comes with many facilities that are usually not available on any other grilling appliances. One of them is its temperature control and settings. This is a huge advantage for inexperienced cooks who do not have the understanding and years of experience of pit masters who know how to cook different foods on different temperatures. This also means that you do not have to fiddle and fidget around with the heat every 2 minutes after slapping on the steak on to the grills.
The PK-360, with 360 square inches of cooking space, this rust free, cast aluminum charcoal grill is durable and easy to use. Four-way venting means it's easy to set up for two zone cooking with more control than single vent Kamado grills. It is much easier to set up for 2-zone cooking than any round kamado. Beautifully designed and completely portable. Meathead says it is his preferrred grill.
Vista Outdoor will pay a total purchase price of $74 million for Camp Chef, comprised of $60 million in cash paid at closing and $14 million in cash to be paid out in equal installments on the first, second and third anniversaries of the closing date, subject to certain conditions described below. However, the effective purchase price is lower, due to value created by certain tax assets resulting from the transaction and the deferred purchase price structure, leading to an effective multiple of approximately 6.4x Camp Chef's expected calendar year 2016 EBITDA. Vista Outdoor financed the purchase price paid at closing using borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility. Vista Outdoor expects the acquisition to be slightly accretive to FY17 earnings per share (EPS), including impacts associated with transaction expenses. A majority of the payment of $14 million of deferred purchase price will be contingent on continued employment of key members of management and certain other conditions. As a result, Vista Outdoor plans to record the payments conditioned on continued employment as a compensation expense in future periods in accordance with GAAP. However, for purposes of presenting certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EPS, Vista Outdoor expects to treat those deferred payments as deferred purchase price and will therefore adjust the payments out of its financial results in future periods as payments are made. The purchase price will also be subject to a customary working capital adjustment. Additional information, including impact on full-year guidance, related to Camp Chef will be presented during Vista Outdoor's second quarter FY17 earnings call and webcast.
A FOLLOW UP: Traeger has agreed to send me replacement parts for the defective ones and I don't have to return them. However I am not returning the grill. I tried to cook a prime rib and a Boston butt. The grill randomly turned off three times and it had the "mini-explosion" others have talked about where the unit actually has an explosion within the housing lifting off the lid a couple inches and making a loud boom. This is not only a potential safety issue, but the "set and forget" is simply not true. It turned off within an hour after setting the temperature at 225 and leaving it unattended for an hour. This is not what I expected or wanted. Sorry Traeger quality is not what it is cranked up to be and certainly not worth the premium pricing they charge for their name. DON'T BUY THIS IF YOU EXPECT TO GET A GRILL THAT WORKS AS ADVERTIZED.
The unique TRU-infrared technology cooks meat in an even way and helps to retain moisture. The great thing is there are no flare-ups. There’s a roasting basket for ribs, poultry, and other meat. The roasting basket can hold up to 25 pounds. The cooking area were grilling can be done has 180 in.². You can adjust the temperature, which ranges from 9000 to 18,000 BTUs, in the smoker box in order to add flavor.
How much food are you going to smoke? This is important because some of the top pellet smokers are relatively large. And if you’re not looking at smoking a lot of meat, you might purchase a unit that’s too big. Conversely, if you buy a unit that’s too small, you are going to be frustrated because you’re going to make some delicious meat just not as much as you need.
The Silverbac wood pellet grill has a heavy-duty 12-gauge steel body and 14-gauge stainless steel lid, which makes for better heat retention and durability. This type of beefy construction is what you'd expect to find in a grills at this price point. The digital control panel is accurate every 5 degrees and the large 20-lb. hopper can hold enough pellets for your longest smokes. With nearly 700 inches of cooking area in the Grilla, you'll be the most popular house on the block.
If you’re a BBQ fan and you cherish cooking meat, then you may require a grill or a smoker. Similarly, as a kitchen won’t be finished without a microwave, a porch/cultivate/lawn/kitchen won’t likewise be without it. With a Traeger smoker, you can cook sound gourmet sustenance for your children and friends and family. Utilizing it, you likewise spare cash for not expecting to request nourishment and have it conveyed to you now and again.
Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our links and purchase from them. On Amazon it works on everything from grills to diapers, they never tell us what you bought, and it has zero impact on the price you pay, but has a major impact on our ability to improve this site! And remember, we only recommend products we love. If you like AmazingRibs.com, please save this link and use it every time you go to Amazonhttps://tinyurl.com/amazingribs
If you are looking to produce competition quality barbecue in your own backyard, then look no further than the Pit Boss Deluxe Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker. This grill has the most versatile cooking system ever built. Sauté, Stir fry, Cook breakfast, or Flame broil dinner in just a few minutes. Sears and broil steaks just like your favorite steakhouse. The 820 Series offers two tiers of porcelain-coated grid construction, totaling 820 sq. inches of cooking surface, allowing you to skillfully prepare food with savory natural hardwood flavor. The Fan-forced convection can bake anything that you would normally bake in your oven. A pellet grill is hands-down the best wood-fired pizza oven that is available. Even smoke your holiday turkey!
I believe the little Green Mountain Davy Crockett is the best portable pellet smoker currently on the market. Surprisingly, many of the portables out there still have an antiquated LMH controller, while Davy Crockett employs Green Mountain's advanced digital touch-pad controller, with an integrated meat thermometer that lets you check internal meat temp with the flick of a switch. Furthermore, it includes adapters to run the electronics from your car battery or cigarette lighter. And Green Mountain is aggressively—ahem, hello, price cut—promoting its WiFi capabilities, which enable you to monitor Davy Crockett from your smartphone or laptop.
Normally you will get 1- 3 years of warranty for the top pellet smokers from different companies. Traeger will serve you with a 3-year warranty while Camp Chef will give you only 1 year of warranty. Considered this the safe period for your pellet grill, so take advantage. If you own a top quality smoker then you may need not to think of any replacement within 5 years of buying.
I think a lot of reviewers here don't have enough experience in pellet grilling to recognize how many features are packed into this unit for the money. I'm not going to talk about the usual advantages of pellet grilling in general in this review (i.e., clean flavor, "set and forget", less ash,). Instead, I'm going to focus on what makes this one uniquely better than the other grills in it's class.
Hey Ben – thank you for your comment. From a retail user standpoint, I think you’d be happy with either a Yoder or FEC. I really like the PG 500 for the purpose that you’re looking at. Best of both worlds it seems the more I’m looking at it. You can see how they approach grilling steaks in this video. You can incorporate the use of GrillGrates in either pellet grill. Both companies make their units in the USA. Both have great reputations. I’m just partial to Cookshack’s pellet smokers over Yoder as I know more folks who use them.
I purchased a Traeger Select Elite from Costco for both my personal residence as well as for my vacation home. I am now on the third grill at my residence. Traeger will tell you that they expect to offer Awesome customer service. I have replaced the auger assembly, the controller and now the fan. I can't get the grill up to temperature. Awesome customer service says it should be no problem. Just replace the _______ (fill in the blank). I don't think these people have ever seen a grill let alone use one. Costco (love their return policy) is about to get another one back. Am I too harsh to expect the product to perform as they say it will? I would think when you pay as much as Traeger thinks their grills are worth, that they should work out of the box. Well, quality control under the new management has gone to hell. Then they expect you to "try" all the fixes that might work on your own. This is self service, not customer service.
Traeger Scout Known Defective Product Jul 30, 2018 New grill has extreme temperature fluctuations. Set T 350 gets as HOT as 548 and as COOL as 275. Dealers are happily selling these while Traeger is aware per 1-800 call that they need to replace thousands of drip pans/heat exchangers on units that have been shipped because the ones in the units shipped allow heat to fluctuate widely. Traeger recommended NOT USING THIS BRAND NEW GRILL until I receive the replacement part which they will not receive until the last part of August and they will not commit to expedited shipping when they finally ship. WHY ARE THEY NOT ADVISING DEALERS THAT THE GRILL SHOULD BE PULLED OFF THE SHELF? How many have been sold since they discovered this malfunction? Don't they value their loyal customers and their reputation? Cooking Capacity Performance Design Portability Durability Quality Ease of Use Temperature Control Features Value Packaging Versatility You are receiving this email because of your shopping activity at www.traegergrills.com. Your privacy is very important to us; review our privacy policy here. © 2016 Traeger Grills 1215 E. Wilmington Ave Suite 200, Salt Lake City, UT 84106
© Copyright 2005 to 2018 by AmazingRibs.com. All text, recipes, photos, and computer code are owned by AmazingRibs.com and protected by US copyright law unless otherwise noted. It is a US Federal crime to publish or distribute anything on this website without permission. But we're easy! We usually grant permission and don't charge a fee. To get permission, just click here. And you don't need permission to link to us.
*Big R strives for accuracy in our advertising, but errors in pricing, photography, and/or description may occur. Big R reserves the right to correct any such errors. Photography is for illustration purposes only and may not reflect actual product. Big R reserves the right to limit quantities ordered and the right to accept or decline any E-Commerce order.
This smoker offers a massive 560 cubic inches of grilling area with a large-capacity pellet hopper. Even though it’s the perfect starter grill, it’s still packed with plenty of extras that even the pro chefs will enjoy. If the grilling space isn’t enough, the removable upper racks can be turned into extra cooking space. The smokestack behind the unit can also be converted into a prep area.
Kevin, Im about ready to pull the trigger – im pausing for a moment to consider your thoughts as you mentioned Grilla Silverback or Camp Chef. How do these compare to the Rec Tec on quality and price? (as they are less than Rec Tec) And reverse sear…how well does this work on pellet grill, ie how long does it take to go from 200 cooking temp to 500 searing temp (with grill grates)? Thank you for your time
If you have an older smoker and need a lot of physical maintenance like changing the hopper and the digital control, then changing those two parts may not help. These two changes may cost you $200 – $250 and with a rusty hopper, you will continuously lose the smoke you produce. This is not safe for your health, so in this situation, you should definitely opt to get a new pellet smoker grill.
The Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett is a versatile, wood-pellet grill that is intended for portability. Regardless of its weight, it’s about as minimized as you can get, and takes care of business. Contrasted with more costly wood pellet barbecues, it appears to hold its own on performance, while the one of a kind Wi-Fi usefulness needs some finish.
Traeger wood pellet grills pack big hardwood flavor, from sweet cherry, to savory mesquite, into everything you grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, & BBQ. Traeger’s wood pellets are made with 100% pure, natural hardwood giving you authentic flavor and nothing else. Grilling has never been easier—just set it and forget it and let the Traeger work its wood-fired magic.
Pellets look like rabbit chow. They are about the width of a pencil and as long as a couple of erasers. If they get wet they turn into a pile of sawdust. The beauty of pellets is that they have none of the additives and fillers in charcoal briquets, so they combust almost completely. Almost zero ash. The pellets provide the heat as well as flavor. No need to add wood chips. Surprisingly, they do not produce overly smoky food. If anything, the food is undersmoked to some people because the combustion is so complete.
So, I say go for the best pellet grill you can get within your budget. I reviewed the little GMG Davy Crockett pellet grill recently and was impressed. At just under $400, it’s a good option. That said, I would like to see them put the unit on fold down legs with casters or some other option to make it easier to move around. You’ll see what I mean in the post. Hope this helps.
I don’t know how many meals I cooked on that thing, but it’s been enough to make me a hero and de facto camp chef among my friends. I seared up a tri tip large enough to feed four hungry kayaking buddies at the Salmon River Festival one year, then covered it with foil and cooked it on indirect heat for one of the best steaks of my life, which we happily consumed in the middle of nowhere. The grill also perfectly charred onions and peppers to deliver a mountain of chicken and beef fajitas to a crowd of ten. I still get compliments on that one.
From grilled beef, salmons to grilled turkeys I love them all. My passion for grilling delicacy gradually built during the time I was living with my parents. My family members especially my mother was a great fan of grilled dishes to and from the love of food. I started preparing smoked food with my mom. This bonding helped me to know more and more about to smoke, grill delicacies and also with smokers. So, in a word you can tell me a BBQ lover.
Heating pellets, meanwhile, can consist of a variety of woods, including softwoods like pine, which contains resin that infuses food with a bitter unappetizing taste. Because it doesn’t really matter what’s in heating pellets, so long as they burn, they can also include bark and leaves and other impurities that can adversely affect food flavor and possibly pose a health risk if ingested. Because less care goes into the production of heating pellets and they're not guaranteed to be 100% pure hardwood, heating pellets are significantly less expensive than BBQ pellets, making them appealing to budget conscious shoppers. However, resist the temptation to save a few bucks and never use heating pellets in a pellet smoker.
All the talk about made in China...... well it could have likely been made anywhere and inside the hopper it says "Tested". Well the LED display does not work correctly, i.e. not all the letters have all the LEDs light up to correctly state the temperature. The frame had a crimp in it on the front and when I closed the lid, it cam down crooked. It was not put on square with the grill. The warranty says that defective parts will be replaced, but the defective part has to be returned, pre-paid by me. That is B.S. This adds to my cost of the grill. Unless they pay for the return of parts, then it will just be fully returned to Amazon.
Its advanced cooking system comes with a “set and forget” temperature control system that is monitored using its programmable meat probe. Its flame broiler allows for direct and indirect cooking. It has an automatic start up and cool down feature and LG’s proprietary exhaust mechanism for even second tier cooking. Its adjustable temperature can be set from as low as 170 F to 600 F.
Hey Chris, IMHO the Blazing Pellet Smoker looks like a solid unit. There’s a good review of it here. I think between the units I might give them a run. Yoder makes quality stuff, and if made in the USA is important to you, they fit as do the Blazings. All this said, if you’re basically using the pellet smoker like a Cambro, you could opt to save a little money and go with the Rec-Tec. Good customer service and solid following.
In 1982 Traeger Heating in Oregon began experimenting with a furnace that would burn wood pellets made from compressed sawdust, a byproduct of the area lumber mills, and before long introduced a home heating system that they sold mostly locally. Since furnaces sold mostly in cold months, before long they began experimenting with a grill that would burn pellets, too. Eventually they created a device with an auger to feed the pellets and a blower to help them burn.
The hook rack works great and is a must. The Towel holder works ok but does not work well if there a some wind blowing by. Wants to unroll the towel just enough to make it a possible fire hazard by the gind unwinding the towel rool enought that it can flip up over the wind gaurd and get in the flames. I have to remove it from the camp stove if there is any wind to avoid this problem.
An attractive option for many people are stainless steel pellet grills, which are rust-resistant, more durable, and easier to maintain. While pellet grills made from commercial-grade 304 stainless steel are the most desirable, they come at a higher. However, there are also some pellet grills made from 430 stainless steel, which is more affordable and still incredibly durable.
Traeger wood pellet grills pack big hardwood flavor, from sweet cherry, to savory mesquite, into everything you grill, smoke, bake, roast, braise, & BBQ. Traeger’s wood pellets are made with 100% pure, natural hardwood giving you authentic flavor and nothing else. Grilling has never been easier—just set it and forget it and let the Traeger work its wood-fired magic.
These food grade wood pellets contain only the best and the pure compressed sawdust from hardwood and are sometimes added with natural vegetable oils, perfectly safe and healthy for your food. However, the carbon in the soot and ashes that fly off the firebox can get embedded into the body of the food, which can get inside your body. The good news is problems such as these can be easily avoided if you can keep your smoker clean.
Pit Boss have made this heavy duty beast as a semi-professional pellet based smoker, and it shows. It’s absolutely massive, with a colossal amount of cooking space and a lot of tech that makes using it a serious pleasure. It’s actually probably too big for most households, but if you need the most cooking space possible, this is the biggest on our list.
As we started to learn more about pellet grills we realized that we had to take different aspects into consideration when it comes to the quality of the grill. With that said, we are eager to share with our readers the criteria that we used to come up with this top ten list. With this, we can say that all of the grills we share are made of the best quality materials and craftsmanship to be able and withstand the test of time and provide a delicious meal. Other than that, we share this criterion so individuals can find the best pellet grill that suits there needs.
In the second year, the grill quit working. The auger turns and the heating rod gets hot but the grill shuts itself off within minutes. I think it is the controller but I've had the same experience as others: emails and phone calls to Traeger's customer service are unanswered. My wife just wants to return it to Costco but I'd rather fix it. Given the lack of response and the poor quality of the electronics, I'm starting to come around to my wife's point of view.
Even seemingly perfect pellet grillers have trouble getting the cleanup part right even in light of how little ash is produced by pellets. You should search for pellet smokers and grills that efficiently keep the ash from building up on the heat deflector that’s located underneath the grates. The ash should remain on the ash cup and nowhere else. Meanwhile, major cleanup with soap and water is a hassle that requires an apron and gloves.
The Yoder YS640 is 32 inches wide, weighs 313 pounds, and is said to have a cooking range of 150 to 600°F (65 to 315°C). Yoder is known for heavy-duty competition smokers, and the thick, 10-gauge-steel cooking chamber on this model is durable and great for heat retention. It comes with a sophisticated proprietary digital controller, which Yoder asserts is not based on any off-the-shelf temperature controller of any sort. Yoder states that it designed the board from scratch around a general-purpose micro-controller chip and wrote its own code from the ground up in an attempt to provide superior flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy.
You want longevity in a pellet grill: As the Traeger brand name has been around for a few decades, you can have some peace of mind that you’re purchasing a grill that should have replacement parts available for the foreseeable future. And Traeger grills tend to have good longevity ratings, working in top condition for several years, as long as you follow the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations.
When you are looking for a smoker, one of the features that you want is to be able to control the temperature. This means that you will be able to use both a high and low temperature for smoking everything from poultry to fish to beef to vegetables to cheese. This is exactly what you get with the Camp Chef. It has an LED digital temp control system that comes with a food probe made from stainless material.
Having the same problem as the rest of the group. Rec Tec, Yoder, Green Mountain, Pellet Pro, or MAK? All seem to be heavy gauge SS, Pellet Pro seems really good value, MAK and Green Mountain seem to have controllers with more features. Have a friend who bought Rec Tec 3 years ago, he cannot say enough about the good customer service and the grill. If you could only buy one (money not the issue among these 5), which one, and why?
Many products have a problem at some time in their life. My Yoder 640 was one of those products. Here is what is different. You all know that sinking feeling when you have a problem....and get ready to call customer service. We sort of steel ourselves to be prepared for the response....or actually, lack thereof. NOT AT YODER. After fully explaining my problems to Joe, he and his company completely exceeded my expectations. My customer service experience was world class - rivaling famed LL Bean, Amica Insurance and other. This is old honor. They better be careful though.....this kind of customer service is going to create raving customers and more business!~
The “Smart Smoke” controller goes from 160-450F, with an internal sensor and electric auger maintaining that heat. The hopper holds a good 20lbs of pellet - enough for 10-20 hours of smoking. And it’s built from a sturdy stainless steel that feels solid and looks fantastic, with locking caster wheels keeping it secure while in use. It’s also backed up by a 3-year warranty.
The hopper capacity is the same as the Traeger Lil’ Tex Elite 22, but what sets it apart is the “Pellet Hopper Drain Chute Technology”. So if you are looking to try a different wood or just storing the grill for a long time, then all you need to do is hang a bucket on the chute and pull out the knob to catch the pellets… and before you know, the tedious task will be over, leaving you with nothing but love for your Camp Chef Grill.
Hey Bill! I think you’d be very happy with a Yoder pellet smoker. From a product and manufacturing standpoint, they’re great pellet smokers. If you’re looking at spending $1,700 and can perhaps go a little higher, you can then consider either a MAK grill or a Memphis Grill Pro Series. These are fantastic pieces of equipment. They are insulated at the point where the lid touches the body at closing, and provide superior convection cooking. Anytime you feel you want some extra smoke, you can always throw in an Amazn Pellet Tube or use a Mojo Cube. These will amp up your smoke profile in a manner you can predict and keep under control. I would NOT recommend adding anything foreign to your burn pot ever. Just keep things from the main pellet smoker function working as per the manufacturer’s design.
First impression was this thing isn't built like a mass produced unit, it's more like something you would expect from a master fabricator. The assembly instructions were incredibly detailed, and the way it was packaged made it really easy. It takes a little time to get temp steady for low smoking, but once it's there it seems to be pretty steady. So far absolutely impressed with everything about this cooker, and made in the USA!!!
If you’re in the market to purchase a new pellet grill, you might be intrigued by all the grills and smokers on sale you see advertised locally and online. Let’s be honest, purchasing a pellet grill can be quite an investment and it may be something you have been saving your money for. That’s why it’s important that you take the time to research and educate yourself about not only the different brands of pellet grills but the price tag that’s attached to them. When you see a pellet smoker “on sale”, what does it really mean? Is the company really saving you money? Are you getting a good value? First, let’s take a look into the two different purchasing options you have when it comes to buying your new pellet grill.
Sometimes an inexpensive, less efficient pellet blend might be just fine for burgers or chicken breasts. Other times, you may want to step it up with a premium flavored pellet where whole turkeys, prime rib roasts, or a nice brisket can really shine. No matter what you read in any grouping of pellet grill reviews, know this: pellets are not all made equally. You will wind up with one or two “go to” brands over time that you simply prefer – sometimes for their efficiency (leaving little ash), others for their flavor.
