So torn on grill/smoker choices! Need help!
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The $800 Jim Bowie is roughly the same capacity as the Traeger Texas Elite / Texas Pro, which retail $899/999 on their site. *Slightly* smaller (600 vs 646 sq in), but bigger than the L'il Tex Elite (418 sq in).
golfpro2301
Smoking Fanatic
I have owned 2 Jim bowies. cooked on them in competition. Also cooked on a daniel boone in competition. Played around with a traeger and the GMG is far superior in my opinion. I love the Jim Bowie. I have since added a Memphis Pro and gave the Jim Bowie to my dad but still take it to comps every once in a while. The memphis pellet grills are amazing machines. Best $3000 I ever spent. I also just purchased an XL BGE last week. These are very easy to use. Cook at 1000* or low in slow for smoking. You save a lot of charcoal believe it or not with an egg. You will re use a full load 3-4 times. I will be honest I wanted to get the Big Joe by Kamado Joe because it included everything and I liked how the rack system worked. Also I have friends that own one and an egg and the Big Joe actually holds more heat at higher temps. Low temps they are pretty much the same. The only reason Why I didnt was the stand for the Joe isnt as sturdy in my opinion to the BGE. I have to travel with it in a trailer to securing it down was a big priority for me. I added the nest handler to keep the egg permanently attached to the nest. The XL Egg will hold 4 butts and if you get a rib rack you can probably cook 6 slabs I would imagine. Buying and selling smokers has become some what of a hobby so I have played around with a lot. Below is my ranking of cookers similar to what you are looking for. Just my $.02
1. Memphis Pro
2. XL BGRE
3&4. GMG Pellet cookers (First one I got the temp controller was about 40* off. Called them up and the 2 day aired me another one second one I bought the lid didnt close correctly. same thing called them up and 2 days later it was at the door)
4. Large BGE
5. WSM 18.5
very bottom Traeger (parts are crap and customer service lacked big time in my opinion)
1. Memphis Pro
2. XL BGRE
3&4. GMG Pellet cookers (First one I got the temp controller was about 40* off. Called them up and the 2 day aired me another one second one I bought the lid didnt close correctly. same thing called them up and 2 days later it was at the door)
4. Large BGE
5. WSM 18.5
very bottom Traeger (parts are crap and customer service lacked big time in my opinion)
Thanks. That's really helpful.
BTW what kind of temps can you hit on the Jim Bowie? It looks like the Rec Tec has no problem getting to 500, the Traeger might top out at 400-450 depending on which one you get, but what about the GMG?
golfpro2301
Smoking Fanatic
The GMG will go to 500 on the controller. To be honest most entry level pellet grills will be off a little. I think GMG temp allowances is 25* off. This is pretty common for pellet cookers unless you go big time with the memphis. They only allow 5* variation. Rec tec, traeger, etc.. will all be off a little but to be honest it doesnt matter. When I first got mine I drove myself crazy trying to equal out temps on the cooker. There are a few nice mods that help but overall its not worth the time.
Never go by temp on controller - When using your pellet grill always measure temp using like a maverick or some other accurate thermometer in the middle. Chart the temp on the controller and the actual temp in the cooker. You will start go get an average by how much it is off. As far as max temp it all depends on how creative you are. Yes the controller says 500 but you want higher for steaks maybe even pizza. I have found that removing the drip pan and just leaving in the covers over the fire will get you a few more degrees. I do chicken and burgers like this sometimes. The best mod I did was after I got my memphs. The memphis comes with a searing plate that has holes in it that goes straight down to the fire. It gets to 750*. I took 3/16 Inch steel and made another cover that goes over the fire. Drilled holes in a checker board patter. Cranked it on high and put a rack directly above it. Seared steaks like a dream and I know it had to be more than 600* I have done this same way with pizza. If you are creative enough you can do almost anything with a pellet cooker.
Never go by temp on controller - When using your pellet grill always measure temp using like a maverick or some other accurate thermometer in the middle. Chart the temp on the controller and the actual temp in the cooker. You will start go get an average by how much it is off. As far as max temp it all depends on how creative you are. Yes the controller says 500 but you want higher for steaks maybe even pizza. I have found that removing the drip pan and just leaving in the covers over the fire will get you a few more degrees. I do chicken and burgers like this sometimes. The best mod I did was after I got my memphs. The memphis comes with a searing plate that has holes in it that goes straight down to the fire. It gets to 750*. I took 3/16 Inch steel and made another cover that goes over the fire. Drilled holes in a checker board patter. Cranked it on high and put a rack directly above it. Seared steaks like a dream and I know it had to be more than 600* I have done this same way with pizza. If you are creative enough you can do almost anything with a pellet cooker.
I've got a Maverick... I do hear that the GMG and/or Rec Tec holds its set point very well, i.e. the variance will be very low even if the absolute temp is off, while the Traeger is known to drift.
I'm wondering if the GMG is able to reach its set point of 500? What I hear with Traeger is that even on max temp, the actual grill temp doesn't get up to 500, topping out somewhere between 400 and 450 for most grills.
I'm wondering if the GMG is able to reach its set point of 500? What I hear with Traeger is that even on max temp, the actual grill temp doesn't get up to 500, topping out somewhere between 400 and 450 for most grills.
golfpro2301
Smoking Fanatic
It will hit 500 in spots but wont hold at 500. I am not an engineer so I cant give you specifics but how air circulates through a cooker will give you hot and cold spots. The GMG is the same. There were plenty of times where It would hit 500ish on left and 420ish on right. Unless you have a convection fan circulating the air there will be temp swings. It doesnt matter when you are cooking that high if it goes back and forth between 450-500. regular ovens do the same thing unless they are high end models with the fan.
Is the GMG able to reach its set point of 500*? Answer is it all depends on calibration of controller. Its the same with every pellet cooker. If the controller is set to 500* but the thermometer is calibrated to 460* it will never get to 500. That is why I move the plates around depending on what meat I cook. Try not to get caught up with temps too much. You will drive yourself crazy. I loaded up the GMG JB with briskets before and I know the left side will run hotter than the right so I just rotated them every 4 hours or so. No biggie. Same with ribs.
Is the GMG able to reach its set point of 500*? Answer is it all depends on calibration of controller. Its the same with every pellet cooker. If the controller is set to 500* but the thermometer is calibrated to 460* it will never get to 500. That is why I move the plates around depending on what meat I cook. Try not to get caught up with temps too much. You will drive yourself crazy. I loaded up the GMG JB with briskets before and I know the left side will run hotter than the right so I just rotated them every 4 hours or so. No biggie. Same with ribs.
backyardsmokin
Meat Mopper
I just finished some seasonal cleaning on my GMG JB and need to do another burn test this weekend, so I will crank it to 500 and see what happens.
As far as durability, I got mine from a dealer about 4 hrs away and though they offered to build it before I took it home, I only had an SUV not a truck so I took it still in the box. When I was building it, it fell forward onto the door and except for a few scratches everything was fine.
The GMG use a baffle under the cooking grates which direct the heat/smoke to come from along the very back and the very front. If you put a probe near these openings it would look like the temp is way off, but pulling the probe towards the center a little bit will correct it. I spent the better part of two days adjusting the baffles and everything to the point where I got it to +/- 10 degrees from left to right, and the center being the same temp as the controller.
If you can wait a little bit, the past few years GMG has ran specials for Father's Day. The year I got mine it was $100 off, free wireless remote upgrade or $100 in free accessories (my dealer did both $100 off and free wireless remote upgrade).
As far as durability, I got mine from a dealer about 4 hrs away and though they offered to build it before I took it home, I only had an SUV not a truck so I took it still in the box. When I was building it, it fell forward onto the door and except for a few scratches everything was fine.
The GMG use a baffle under the cooking grates which direct the heat/smoke to come from along the very back and the very front. If you put a probe near these openings it would look like the temp is way off, but pulling the probe towards the center a little bit will correct it. I spent the better part of two days adjusting the baffles and everything to the point where I got it to +/- 10 degrees from left to right, and the center being the same temp as the controller.
If you can wait a little bit, the past few years GMG has ran specials for Father's Day. The year I got mine it was $100 off, free wireless remote upgrade or $100 in free accessories (my dealer did both $100 off and free wireless remote upgrade).
Wow... Everything I keep hearing about pellet grills makes me want that Primo Oval LG... "Set it and forget it" seems to take a lot more work than I thought! Going to have to take a look at a dealer today.
Thankfully the Primo dealer is right next door to Slater's 50/50... I know what I'm doing for lunch too!
Thankfully the Primo dealer is right next door to Slater's 50/50... I know what I'm doing for lunch too!
westby
Smoking Fanatic
It really doesn't take much more than set it and forget it, but you should validate your temps first so you can truly forget it. I absolutely love my Rec Tec. It's temps are nearly spot on with my Maverick probes. I would order another in a heartbeat. In the past, I've used vertical electrics, vertical propane (Smokey Mountain), and a homemade propane. There is no comparison - the Rec Tec is superior in regards to holding and maintaining consistent temps across the entire chamber. I recently won a Traeger in a raffle and gave it to my mother. I haven't cooked on it yet with her, but will be this weekend. Initial thoughts are that its construction is inferior to the Rec Tec. I've heard ok things about GMG, but I went with RT after all of my research - it hit my pricepoint and reviews were very good.
timberjet
Master of the Pit
In the same footprint of size for one of those high dollar pellet smokers you can have the best of both worlds with a WSM and a Kettle. I am telling you. For a little over half the price leaving lots of money for Ribs, Brisket and Butt. Just saying. They never break down, the power can be out and they work, they never really ever wear out and you can get parts forever. They both make really damn good food. No mod's needed as they work right out of the box. Capacity for one hell of a lot of food. I don't see why this is not one of your considerations.
22.5" WSM - $400 + 22.5" Weber Kettle $150 = $550
.... which leaves you $450 for MEAT!!
The WSM and Kettle work great, and both have a small footprint so they don't take up much space on the deck, no moving parts so nothing to wear out or break, just light it and go (no engineering degree required
)
The WSM is basically as close to "set-it-and-forget-it" as you can get with a charcoal smoker, just plain works and will hold a lot of food at one time. I can run 22+ hrs. on one 20 lb. load of charcoal, only open it up to toss in wood every so often or to mess with the meat.
.... which leaves you $450 for MEAT!!
The WSM and Kettle work great, and both have a small footprint so they don't take up much space on the deck, no moving parts so nothing to wear out or break, just light it and go (no engineering degree required
The WSM is basically as close to "set-it-and-forget-it" as you can get with a charcoal smoker, just plain works and will hold a lot of food at one time. I can run 22+ hrs. on one 20 lb. load of charcoal, only open it up to toss in wood every so often or to mess with the meat.
welshrarebit
Master of the Pit
The $550 is if you buy both brand new! I got my 22.5 WSM about a year old off of craigslist for $225 and my kettle on a half off clearance sale at Target's end of season sale in late Sept. or early Oct. of last year, Brand new in the box OTS kettle for $58!
If you add a BBQ Guru or similar product to the WSM it is a set and forget smoker! I prefer to be outside having a beer next to my loved ones, my smokers...
I brew beer. I've brewed beer for over 9 years now, and gotten pretty good at it. I had my system pretty well dialed-in, and everyone who drank my beer raved about it. The beer did reasonably well in homebrew competitions as well.
Late last year, I made a change that I wasn't sure was necessary. I went to reverse osmosis water with desired minerals/salts added instead of straight tap water. After 9 years, I immediately noticed a marked improvement in my beer and in competition, my results improved as well.
I look at it this way. Everyone I have heard with a kamado cooker loves it to death. A lot of those people previously had other smokers like a WSM, and they're not rushing to go back to the WSM or any previous cooker. Are the claims that the ceramic body helping to retain heat & moisture, resulting in better product, scientifically proven? I'm not sure. Is it difficult to make great Q on a WSM? Of course not. But is it possible that there's a slight edge to a kamado? It's definitely possible. But the ravenous love for the product, in my opinion, carries some weight.
I'm a perfectionist. I don't like spending money unnecessarily on gadgets, but when there's a good chance those gadgets have some qualitative impact, I don't mind spending the money.
backyardsmokin
Meat Mopper
Not to play devil's advocate here, but it is tough to say that a Kamado is going to give you an edge over and WSM. I have been to competitions where WSMs have beaten out $15,000 Jambo Pits and others where a $50 UDS built in someone's backyard has taken top honors. Do those that have the expensive cookers get rid of them and buy WSMs and UDSs? No, they just continue on.
I am sure beer judging would be the same as a smoking competition. There are many different variables that decide what is the perfect piece of or beer. In smoking competitions there is the rub/injection recipe, type of wood used, quality of meat and of course the taste buds of the judges among other things.
I started with a Char-Griller and hated that I had to feed it wood/charcoal every 45 mins to keep it going. Then I moved to a WSM and thought I did not have to add fuel to the fire as often as the Char-Griller, I was still frustrated with having to feed the fire. I then looked at the BGE, Traeger, GMG, Yoder, RecTec and even a Lang. I chose my GMG because it offered the best combination of features at the price point I had.
When it comes to perfection, what is perfection to you? If it is how it tastes, then what may be perfect for you may be disgusting to someone else. For me personally, the perfect smoke is having friends, family and neighbors over having a good time and enjoying the food that I made.
On a side note, if you do go with a Kamado style please note some models require that you pull all of your food out of it if you need to put more fuel in.
I am sure beer judging would be the same as a smoking competition. There are many different variables that decide what is the perfect piece of or beer. In smoking competitions there is the rub/injection recipe, type of wood used, quality of meat and of course the taste buds of the judges among other things.
I started with a Char-Griller and hated that I had to feed it wood/charcoal every 45 mins to keep it going. Then I moved to a WSM and thought I did not have to add fuel to the fire as often as the Char-Griller, I was still frustrated with having to feed the fire. I then looked at the BGE, Traeger, GMG, Yoder, RecTec and even a Lang. I chose my GMG because it offered the best combination of features at the price point I had.
When it comes to perfection, what is perfection to you? If it is how it tastes, then what may be perfect for you may be disgusting to someone else. For me personally, the perfect smoke is having friends, family and neighbors over having a good time and enjoying the food that I made.
On a side note, if you do go with a Kamado style please note some models require that you pull all of your food out of it if you need to put more fuel in.
Agreed of course that the cook and the technique is far more important than the equipment... Equipment can matter when it helps the cook do his job better, though.
BTW as much as I said I liked the oval design of the Primo, I went to another shop today and they're offering the XL BGE for $1099... The Primo Oval Large is $1008 and the Primo Oval XL is $1269... This seems like a better value than either. I'll probably need to invest in some of the aftermarket accessories for dividing the firebox and half-deflectors, but I'd have to invest in those for the Primo as well since they're not included.
I did as well get a chance to check out the GMG Jim Bowie, and head to Costco to see the Traeger (also selling for $799). Clearly the Jim Bowie impressed me more than the Traeger, and while I still have the impression from everything I've read that the Rec Tec is a superior piece of equipment, is it ~$400-500 (after shipping) superior? I'm not so sure. The Jim Bowie impressed me enough that I wouldn't mind bringing it home.
So I'm stuck between the $799 Jim Bowie and the $1099 XL BGE (for which I absolutely need the plate setter, which is another $100+).
I am leaning XL BGE, as it's more versatile, is less prone to mechanical/electrical failure, and while I see the Jim Bowie as maybe a "10 year grill", I can see a BGE as a "20+ year grill"...
BTW as much as I said I liked the oval design of the Primo, I went to another shop today and they're offering the XL BGE for $1099... The Primo Oval Large is $1008 and the Primo Oval XL is $1269... This seems like a better value than either. I'll probably need to invest in some of the aftermarket accessories for dividing the firebox and half-deflectors, but I'd have to invest in those for the Primo as well since they're not included.
I did as well get a chance to check out the GMG Jim Bowie, and head to Costco to see the Traeger (also selling for $799). Clearly the Jim Bowie impressed me more than the Traeger, and while I still have the impression from everything I've read that the Rec Tec is a superior piece of equipment, is it ~$400-500 (after shipping) superior? I'm not so sure. The Jim Bowie impressed me enough that I wouldn't mind bringing it home.
So I'm stuck between the $799 Jim Bowie and the $1099 XL BGE (for which I absolutely need the plate setter, which is another $100+).
I am leaning XL BGE, as it's more versatile, is less prone to mechanical/electrical failure, and while I see the Jim Bowie as maybe a "10 year grill", I can see a BGE as a "20+ year grill"...
golfpro2301
Smoking Fanatic
I would look on BGE website and see if there is an eggfest by you. They cook on them once then sell. You can pre order and take it home after. Idk how much this would save you but worth a shot. Im at a comp right now and fired up the BGE at 7pm its now 1AM and still holding 225
Yeah, if I want to wait until June, I'll get the nest included and a few other accessories for $1130 plus tax: http://www.socaleggfest.com/event-eggs-for-sale
I've also been looking at the Kamado Joe BigJoe, which is available at Costco road shows for $1199, which includes all the firebox divider, heat deflector, grill grate system, nest, etc. Reviews I've seen suggest there's really no quality loss going to from BGE to KJ, and a lot of people think their nest is superior to BGE. There is one going on now and one in 2 weeks, both about 1 hr drive from me. I'm going to check out the local dealers today and see how close they'll come to matching that price. If I can't get them to come down, I'll probably hit the San Diego KJ Costco road show in 2 weeks. http://www.costco.com/kamado-joe-schedule.html
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