Dual purpose grill / smoker?

[pigasus]

Hello from a new member -

Sorry if this question has been already asked and answered, but I couldn't find what I was looking for with a quick search so here goes.

I'm hauling my old gas grill to the landfill this week and will be replacing it. I've read about Traeger and Green Mountain pellet grills and am tempted to go with one of them because of what I read about how well they smoke.

But I'm nervous about whether I can get them hot enough to really sear something like a tuna steak (I know, this is a smoking meat forum. Boot me if I have sinned.) 

I also like to use a cast iron skillet or griddle on the rack sometimes to cook some vegetables etc. Can anybody tell me if the Traegers or Green Mountains would work for those purpose?

Or, offer a different suggestion for a grill, pellet or gas, that can not only smoke, but grill on high heat as well?

Thanks, today was my first time on this forum and I burnt up an hour and a half and made myself really hungry!

Dan

 

[jirodriguez]

Welcome to the forum Pigasus.

I have never used a Traeger myself, but have a couple of co-workers that have them. I believe in order to get good temp controll you have to replace the stock thermometer temp. controll unit with one that allows for better controll. I agree that you may be hard pressed to get hot enough to really sear stuff. Personally I like to keep my hot grill and my smoker seperate - I use a Weber 22.5" Kettle as my hot grill, and a 22.5" Weber Smokey Mountain smoker as my smoker. Part of the reason I like it that way is due to the high heat grilling burning the seasoning off of the inside of the smokers. Hopefully a traeger owner will be along shortly with some more info on using them.

 

[tjohnson]

I'm still debating if I want to invest the money on a pellet grill/smoker, and a hybrid pellet grill with a propane burner on 1/2 the unit would work in my BBQ World.

Todd