pellet vs bradley

meyring81 · Jun 10, 2014

I have been looking to get a new smoker. I currently have the mes30. It does ok but I am missing the burnt ends and crispy poultry skin that you can get with other smokers. I was looking at the yoder ys640 or gmg pellet but open to suggestions. Then I talked to guy at work that has a Bradley and he says he is able to the crispy skin and such. I guess what I am looking to find out is is the bradley is going to give me the results I am looking for or if I am going in the right direction looking at pellet smokers?

shtrdave · Jun 10, 2014

No MES or Bradley here, my electric is a cookshack, I bought a Rec Tec I like both of mine cookers but I can tell you that there is not the smoke flavor on the pellet cooker that is in the electric. Yes you can get good skin, you can also get bad skin, tough leathery not the rubbery stuff you no doubt get in the MES. Believe me the rubbery is better than the leathery.

I guess what you need to look at is can you hit 300 with the bradley, if so you should be able to get good skin.

The pellet cookers are great I am glad I bought one and use it a lot more now than the electric, but I miss the smokey taste, the GF on the other hand thinks it makes the best tasting stuff.

Rafter H BBQ · Jun 10, 2014

Personally have a GMG Daniel Boone pellet smoker & really like it !

geerock · Jun 10, 2014

I think pellet is the direction you may want to go. Bradley is just another electric. A good pellet grill can be a great convection oven, smoker, and indirect grill. The 2 you mentioned are good...add the REC TEC for consideration. If you want more smoke flavor from the pellet muncher just add a supplemental smoke generator. I put a smoke daddy on my traeger and get the perfect amount of smoke for my taste. Ive also used the AMAZN products with good success for extra smoke.

jeepdiver · Jun 10, 2014

I have a FEC PG500 and think I get plenty of smoke flavor. I also get a great taste whenn cooking at higher temps. IMHO the pellet grills don't oversmoke and a lot of people are use to oversmoked food

geerock · Jun 10, 2014

Well, lets face it, that fast eddy cooker design is a couple steps above your classic style indirect pellet cooker. There was a restaurant that had the pg1000 and smoke flavor was great, but every classic pellet cooker I've had food from, including my own, the smoke was weak. Especially on large cuts of meat. And at higher temps.

jeepdiver · Jun 10, 2014

Even on the FEC at higher temps you lose the smoke, but still have the wood flavor. A lot of the new grills have adjustments so you can get morw smoke. One thing to realize is more smoke is going to equal wider temp swings. Not wide enough to affect the meat but wider than most are use too

kylef · Jun 10, 2014

meyring81 said:
I have been looking to get a new smoker. I currently have the mes30. It does ok but I am missing the burnt ends and crispy poultry skin that you can get with other smokers. I was looking at the yoder ys640 or gmg pellet but open to suggestions. Then I talked to guy at work that has a Bradley and he says he is able to the crispy skin and such. I guess what I am looking to find out is is the bradley is going to give me the results I am looking for or if I am going in the right direction looking at pellet smokers?

I owned a Bradley, it is to small and the heating element went out on it. I was not impressed with the Bradley. I currently have a Traeger and its OK but I am upgrading to a Blaz'n Grill Works Gridiron Pro series (on order). Add the Blaz'n to your list of ones to look at. Good luck.

bbqhead · Jun 10, 2014

My choice is also for cookshack , quality is great and no problems with customer service . yoder is also high quality also, the others I don't know much about but I'm sure they're good too . I'm for pellet over electric anyday . the quality of the pellets make a difference in the smoke I've found out by experimenting with different brands .

meyring81 · Jun 11, 2014

Well after doing some research and talking to each manufacturer I have the rec tec on order. It's not made the USA but has the features I'm looking for and has the shortest lead time. I will let you know it works out. Thanks for the feedback which ones to check out.

talan64 · Jun 11, 2014

I can't help with Information on a Bradley, but I have a Traeger and think it's a great "starter" pellet grill. I say that, because for me it seems more of a starting point to see how you like pellet smoking, and then next will get a "beefier" smoker. I know I am planning to get the Yoder YS640 next. I have a friend who upgraded his Traeger with a Mak, and really likes it. Another friend of mine bought the Rec-Tec, and is happy with it, but is pretty sure he will go with a Mak or Yoder when he needs to replace it.

The one really nice thing about the pellet grills with digital thermometers, is that they are essentially "Ronco's" (set it and forget it).

geerock · Jun 11, 2014

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geerock
Jun 11, 2014

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geerock
Jun 11, 2014

I got my Treager Texas Elite a few years ago at an estate sale. The lady simply thought she had a big heavy grill as the control didn't light up when you plugged it in. Bought it for $150 and she looked like she had been rarely used (the smoker, not the lady). Came with a cover and the extra rack. Anyway, the fuse was shot in the controller and when replaced she ran like a dream. Since then I have added the Smoke Daddy and married it to one of the MES 40 cabinets (with an Auber PID) that masterbuilt had sent to correct the controller issue (which it never did). Put on a 3 inch elbow at the mes side exhaust with a butterfly. Put the firebrick mod in the base with some splits and installed a gasket around the lid. This baby holds temps within 5 degrees either way. Once in a while she'll drop 10 on the downside, but I couldn't be happier with this thing....Traeger or not.

jtrainor56 · Jun 11, 2014

I went from a Weber gasser to a Yoder YS640 a few months ago and love it. For me I usually get the level of smoke I want from just using pellets but I also have two tube smokers (6" & 12") from Amaz-n Smokers and burn the same pellets I burn in the Yoder. I still have my Weber that we use for quick meals and my wife and daughters prefer the gasser since they know how to use it. I see you ordered the Rec-Tec and based on the feed back from others on this and other sites, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Best of luck.

Joe

roharris33 · Jun 12, 2014

I have a YS640 and love it. I did a packer brisket and used the point for burnt ends. Turned out wonderful. I'm tossing a couple of homerun inn pizzas on there tonight.

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roharris33
May 28, 2014

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roharris33
Oct 4, 2013

pellet vs bradley

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