Pellet Smokers in Competitions - Your opinion

[garvinque]

Then how about a WSM, you still have to tend to it but once its locked in your good!  Do you have a problem with people using them at comps?

 

[McLoven1t562]

There are plenty of highly successful "professional" competitors who have always had a team of anywhere from 1 - 3 people and majority of them don't use pellet cookers. 

But let's say you have a team of 6 guys using a stick burner, vs 1 guy using a pellet cooker.........is that really any different since you're helper is basically the pellet cooker and it's technology?

They have the manpower to allow eachother resting periods, while others tend to their more old school smoker, and you're able to focus on other things and/or sleep while the pellets feed themselve.

I can understand the frustration of small teams and not being able to kick back like others, but you're the one who signs up for these competitions and know exactly what kind of dedication and hard work it requires. So I don't really understand why people would be getting so upset that you couldn't sleep during cooks. 

Maybe some folks should just consider a pellet cooker...........if you can't beat em, you could always join em lol

 

[rferguson]

Coming to a gun fight with a knife.

 

[McLoven1t562]

Coming to a gun fight with a knife.

Hey man, a knife never jams up though ;)  ha ha

 

[rferguson]

True. Haha

 

[lcgc]

 
Then how about a WSM, you still have to tend to it but once its locked in your good!  Do you have a problem with people using them at comps?

I have been using my WSM to smoke my chicken and the offset on my trailer for my larger meats.  I smoked a brisket last Sunday on my WSM and hardly had to touch it.  So guess what I will be using to smoke my brisket in a couple of weeks. :)

 

[donarkie]

personally I am not fond of pellet cookers (I call them set it & for get it). I own traditional stick burners, that's what "I" prefer & I was taught on & use here at my home & take to my church functions. I feel you can not learn good BBQ skills from a pellet cooker, that just my feeling on it. IMO they should have 2 types of classes traditional & pellet cookers. I am NOT a competitive cooker, just a old timer enjoy cooking good BBQ and playing with smoke & fire.