Let's talk grills

BlckBox04

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I want one of these bad boys if I'm ever rich

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Blown 89

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I have a Traeger Tailgaiter and am pretty happy with it. I wish it was bigger but I take it to the track with me so I needed something smaller. I don't see a significant difference in any brand vs another for pellet smokers outside of price.

I have a Perfect Flame gas grill....I wouldn't recommend it to be honest.
 

CobraBob

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I've had a Weber Genesis for over 15 years and like it (it gets the job done), but, I'm what you'd call an occasional grill cooker. I don't do much "barbeque" grilling, as much as I'd like to to. Just don't have the time. I'll keep my Weber, but follow this thread for a possible future change. REAL barbecuing is a cooking art, and I salute you folks who dedicate so much time to it.
 

08mojo

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Big fan of kamado style grills. They do everything well from low and slow to intense searing. No need for anything else. If you want the 'set it and leave it' functionality, there are plenty of pit controllers on the market to fill that request.
 

buffalosoldier

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I have a meater blue tooth thermomoter, haven tried it yet I need a whole prime brisket for a comphrensive test. As soon as Sams has some.

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SGT MERC

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I've had a Traeger smoker/grill for 6+ yrs now and absolutely love it. I've cooked everything from burgers to pizza on it. It does an amazing rib roast, pork roast, shoulders and steaks. I did our Thanksgiving turkey on it this last time. It's an amazing machine.

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DSG2003Mach1

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If you want the 'set it and leave it' functionality, there are plenty of pit controllers on the market to fill that request.

ok, thats pretty cool but it costs anywhere from 2/3 and + of what my whole smoker did and still might run out of charcoal on a long smoke.
 

DRTYAPE_SRT

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I had a Webber 22” kettle years ago but “lost” it after tailgating at a browns game.

Found the basic 18” kettle at Walmart on sale for like $59 on Black Friday and have been using that since, works like a charm.

Ive often thought of a gas grill but I’ve gotten the charcoal down so good I just don’t see a reason.

I would like a gas griddle, would be perfect for teriyaki chicken and Philly cheese steaks.

I keep my eyes open for old school Webber’s on CL as I’ve always wanted to restore one.
 

Morgan

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ok, thats pretty cool but it costs anywhere from 2/3 and + of what my whole smoker did and still might run out of charcoal on a long smoke.

Use a good lump charcoal and you can smoke 12+ hours on the same load at low temps- 250* or so.

I've not seen a pellet smoker reach temps higher than 550/600 and the egg will hit 700* relatively quick if I'm not paying attention.

The temp range and ceramic's ability to stabilize heat convinced me to buy. I have a 4 burner ss Weber too, but it hasn't been touched since the egg landed.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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Use a good lump charcoal and you can smoke 12+ hours on the same load at low temps- 250* or so.

I've not seen a pellet smoker reach temps higher than 550/600 and the egg will hit 700* relatively quick if I'm not paying attention.

The temp range and ceramic's ability to stabilize heat convinced me to buy. I have a 4 burner ss Weber too, but it hasn't been touched since the egg landed.

I hadn’t tried the lump charcoal, good point there. We did steaks in my cousins smoker, just fired up the propane grill to sear em real fast. They came out pretty good
 

Lambeau

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IMHO: Best charcoal grill ever made, the "Happy Cooker". Weber bought the companypatent and killed the design and competition from my research several years ago.
One of the articles I read:
" The Happy Cooker " The Truth

Happy Cooker Grill in pic is 31 years old. Currently it's in storage.

It has a vented cover:

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Black knob lower on the grill is attached to a shaft that can be raised/lowered and at the top is a pan with grate. That's where the charcoal sits.

To start, you remove the larger upper grate (shown in place with the charcoal chimney on it). You can either start the charcoal in the chimney and dump it on the lower grate, or just dump the charcoal on the lower grate and start it there. Then just place the upper grate in place.

You have total control of the heat by raising/lowering the charcoal pan in relation to the food on the upper grate. You can also drop the cover, and open/close vent on top for more control.

Screen Shot 2020-05-13 at 5.07.50 AM.png


BTW: Last weekend had a brunch meal cooked on a Blackstone. It was delicious!
 

jaxbusa

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ok, thats pretty cool but it costs anywhere from 2/3 and + of what my whole smoker did and still might run out of charcoal on a long smoke.

I’ve been looking at Kamado style (like the Green Egg) versus pellet (Rec Tec). I’m looking to get a Kamado. The Kamado style is very expensive but I wonder if the fuel cost/consumption will make that cost a little more even. The Kamado style is thick ceramic and holds the heat. The fuel consumption is on my mind because of my current Weber Smokey Mountain bullet smoker. One time I burned through a large bag of charcoal on a cold day for a 4 or 5 hour smoke.
 
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08mojo

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I’ve been looking at Kamado style (like the Green Egg) versus pellet (Rec Tec). I’m looking to get a Kamado. The Kamado style is very expensive but I wonder if the fuel cost/consumption will make that cost a little more even. The Kamado style is thick ceramic and holds the heat. The fuel consumption is on my mind because of my current Weber Smokey Mountain bullet smoker. One time I burned through a large bag of charcoal on a cold day for a 4 or 5 hour smoke.

The fuel consumption between your bullet smoker and kamado style is not even close. I have a large Big Green Egg and a large Kamado Joe. I've done 20 hour cooks on the BGE and had plenty of charcoal left to keep going if needed. I recently did a brisket and boston butt on the KJ, both were 10+ hour cooks and still had plenty of charcoal left.

For those saying the cost is too high remember this: you do not need any other grill or smoker (perfect example above where steaks were cooked on a smoker (low temp) then seared on propane grill). Then, add on the fact a quality grill like the BGE is going to last a long, long time. My BGE is 10+ years old. I've never had a metal grill of any kind last that long.
 

buffalosoldier

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I have had my DCS gas grill for over 20 years. But I grew up on a farm and learned that it important to take care of your equipment.
Use it up, wear it out.
Make it do, or do without.

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colin450

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I have a Large Big Green Egg and a Mini-Max Big Green Egg . Absolutely love both. I don't think there's any grill out there that can match the versatility. I've done low and slow cooks for 15+ hours and still had enough charcoal left over to do a quicker cook, wings or something simple, without re-loading. I use the Mini-Max for tailgating, simple cooks like hot dogs, burgers, sausage, and as a searing station. I bought a wifi pit temp controller if I feel like being lazy or if I'm cooking something overnight. Temps are always on the money.
 

jaxbusa

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The fuel consumption between your bullet smoker and kamado style is not even close. I have a large Big Green Egg and a large Kamado Joe. I've done 20 hour cooks on the BGE and had plenty of charcoal left to keep going if needed. I recently did a brisket and boston butt on the KJ, both were 10+ hour cooks and still had plenty of charcoal left.

For those saying the cost is too high remember this: you do not need any other grill or smoker (perfect example above where steaks were cooked on a smoker (low temp) then seared on propane grill). Then, add on the fact a quality grill like the BGE is going to last a long, long time. My BGE is 10+ years old. I've never had a metal grill of any kind last that long.

Just the kind of person I want to hear from. I’m looking at the Big Joe 3. Do you recommend any extras? Do you recommend the Classic size? I mostly cook for 3 or 4 people but occasionally a crowd.


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Dr. Gonzo

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I have a 3-burner Weber Genesis and an old beat up 18" Weber kettle from the 70s. The Genesis is very convenient, but I still find myself using the kettle more because it makes better tasting food. I've used it a few times for low-and-slow smokes and it worked well, just limited due to its size. I want to upgrade to a 22" Weber Performer Deluxe, just waiting on a nice used one to pop up.

I thought about getting a pellet smoker for the set-it-and-forget-it convenience, but, IMO, a charcoal smoker is the way to go.
 

hoamskilet

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I have a Large Big Green Egg and a Mini-Max Big Green Egg . Absolutely love both. I don't think there's any grill out there that can match the versatility. I've done low and slow cooks for 15+ hours and still had enough charcoal left over to do a quicker cook, wings or something simple, without re-loading. I use the Mini-Max for tailgating, simple cooks like hot dogs, burgers, sausage, and as a searing station. I bought a wifi pit temp controller if I feel like being lazy or if I'm cooking something overnight. Temps are always on the money.
How does the wifi pit temp controller work on that type of grill

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Blkkbgt

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At the moment I have a weber 26 and a pit barrel cooker. The weber is used strictly for grilling and the pit barrel for smoking.

Now the 26 is expensive and unless you use it all the time and have a larger family its better to get the 22. The 26 is awesome for shear capacity though and holds temps just as well as my previous 22s.

My pit barrel gets used once or twice a month at the moment. If you use the hook and hang method it offers a lot of capacity for its size. You can however only do 1 brisket or 2 butts at a time. Not that big of a deal but when you entertain like I do it can come up short.

With that said if I had it to do over again I would not have bought the pit barrel. The quality is good and it works but the lack of capacity and dealing with the rebar is what I don't like.

This has led me down the road of building a UDS. Plenty of capacity with 2 racks and a much longer burn time. Depending on how you build it and where you get your drum it can be as cheap as $150. I am lookong at about $250. Stack that against the pit barrel and the UDS wins out on capacity, temp control and price.

With all that said I cannot stand pellet smokers. Why? Simple the smoke flavor tastes fake and I cast taste the chemicals used by treager and pit boss to flavor their pellets. Don't let treager lie to you, all their pellets are the same wood with added flavoring to make apple, cherry ect. Also if you have a warranty claim with them never admit you used anything other then their pellets or they'll void your warranty which is garbage imop.
 

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