Super noob question

[Little-m]

Hi folks, I'm trying to convince my wife to let me purchase a pellet smoker. So far I have schmoozed her with some of the things a smoker can do, but she has to be confident that we can also cook normal steaks and burgers (non-smoked) on it as well.

Which brings me to my question: Does one use just normal wood pellets for general BBQing so as not to impart any enhanced wood flavours? Or, does it not matter?

Any and all answers appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[flatbroke]

..

 

[smokerjim]

I would buy her one for her birthday

 

[texomakid]

I may have cooked the best steak I've ever had on a pellet cooker. I'm one of those who thinks it may be the greatest wood fire cooking machine ever built! Tell her that???

It's a pellet cooker - it is a wood fire convection oven that some models have the ability to install grill grates and "sear". A reverse seared steak over a quality pellet wood fire is nothing less than amazing.

 

[Jabiru]

Quote: but she has to be confident that we can also cook normal steaks and burgers (non-smoked) on it as well.

If you pick the correct Pellet grill, you get a lot of versatility, low & Slow, Hot and fast etc. We use ours for everything.

We use ours all time for general BBQ like Burgers etc. You can get "Grill grates" which sit on top of your normal racks, they get really hot and sear so good. Reverse sear Steaks come out amazing and so easy to do.

There are alot of Pellet grills, research is key, pick one which suits your cooking and budget.. If you can, pick a Pellet Grill which is Versatile in temperatures, mine has a range of 150F to 550F, I grill burgers at around 375F.

Pellet Grill Cooking/Smoking is like cooking over a super clean smoking campfire.

 

[Carvendive]

My wife was the same. Don't bull shit her! A pellet pooper is comparable to a convection oven. At low temp it puts out more smoke - at high temp, less smoke. I bought GrillGrates for my RecTec. We (2 if us) use it to grill chicken kabobs, burgers, steaks and fish. The RecTec 590 (and other pellet grills) reach 500°F on high. The GrillGrates capture that heat and (I'll describe it as) focus it to 650-700° which results in a very reasonable searing. Yeah, my Webber with cowboy charcoal is hotter but I rarely need to use it now. My wife is now happy with MY purchase. PLUS she is now really happy that I'm more interested in cooking AND we get to do it together.
My 2¢

 

[sweetride95]

Bought our Traeger in January, use it 2-3 times a week.
The Weber has only been used twice in all over the same time.
We are not heavy smoke people. Use it like a grill, and it'll grill.

 

[mike243]

 

[mike243]

I don't feel the need for grill grates, also I can open a plate and have flames to kiss the food if I wish,

 

[Little-m]

Thank you all for your responses. I guess my ignorance is showing as I have not yet used one. I understand that each type of BBQ imparts its own flavour profile (coal, wood, electric etc.); so when you folks do normal cooking on your units, do you simply use whatever pellets you have loaded in the hopper?

Thanks again,

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I use my pellet grill for what it is, convenience.

Recognizing that virtually everything requires some compromise.

I use it for overnight cooks, recognizing that the luxury of sleeping all night as opposed to tending a fire, is going to likely cost me some smoke flavor when compared against charcoal and wood.

I recognize that pellets aren’t going to do the type of steak searing that I prefer.

These images of pellet grills hitting 550-600*, might be impressive to some, but not to myself. My Kamado will hit 900* at the dome and higher at its grates. I usually sear steaks at between an indicated done temp of 800-825*. Thats what I call a seared steak. .

I’m not really interested in a steak seared at 550-600*, but that’s just my take on things.

So I look at my pellet grill and most other pellet grills for what they are.

Good outdoor cookers, offering convenience.

But a “jack of all trades”, is a master of none.

I’m a firm believer in using the right tool for the job. And in my mind and at my house, for steak searing, that ain’t my pellet grill.

It’s either my Kamado or my WSM set up in a Kettle configuration.

 

[jlud]

As far as type of pellets, in short order I went from trying anything to only Lumberjack pellets. The reason is the wood or smoke flavor....couldn’t tell the rest of the pellets (pit boss, Traeger, bbq delight) apart from each other and pretty much no smoke type flavor.

Lumberjack char hickory or hickory for me now. It’s not as good as charcoal and wood but it’s close.

As far as grilling, I removed my Weber genesis after getting my Yoder YS 640 as I grill on it. I haven’t fired up a gas or charcoal grill or smoker since the Yoder, and am happy with results i get.

 

[ofelles]

Alot of good advice. I will jump on the Yoder YS640 wagon. Love my unit. Not perfect but works great for many cooks, low and slow to a darn good sear with the GrillMates.
As said the higher the heat the less smoke but you can add a Amaz-n-tube to help with that.
I 2nd smokerjim- birthday present!

 

[Little-m]

Alot of good advice. I will jump on the Yoder YS640 wagon. Love my unit. Not perfect but works great for many cooks, low and slow to a darn good sear with the GrillMates.
As said the higher the heat the less smoke but you can add a Amaz-n-tube to help with that.
I 2nd smokerjim- birthday present!

Yes, this is what I'm referencing. So let's say, hypothetically, that you didn't want much wood flavor profile added to your cook. Would you change out your Hickory, Apple, et al pellets with something that is more neutral (e.g. "just wood")? Or, does it really matter?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[jlud]

I personally wouldn’t change them out....even the good ones aren’t that strong that they would overwhelm anything. Your taste may vary though.

I never run a secondary smoke device as well.

 

[ofelles]

I would agree with jlud mostly. Because I use a secondary tube some times.
I use pecan/cherry most of the time. I like the results and the cherry gives good color to the bark. I will use straight hickory sometimes with pork depending on the recipe I'm making. If i'm reverse searing a tri-tip or rib eye then I'll use mesquite.
I am in no way an expert. I do not have experience with stick burners. That being said I understand that pellet cookers add less smoke flavor so it would make sense to assume that the different wood flavors matter less.
This is just my sometimes humble opinion based on my small amount of experience and tastes. Not sure how many members there are but there are at least that many opinions out there. Keep cooking and adjust to your tastes.

 

[Little-m]

Okay, great. Thanks for the answers guys!

 

[sweetride95]

If you grill off some burgers quickly, even in the 375-450 temp range, you won't really get any real smoke. But, you will get just a kiss of it that makes it unique. It's hard to describe, but the character is something you just won't get on a gas grill. Same as charcoal, or stick, pellet cooking is a whole thing unto itself. I enjoy pellet cooking more then I ever imagined I would.

 

[jlud]

I’ve actually preferred to take longer and smoke the burgers with indirect :) it’s easier to get perfect for me with less attention required.

 

[Little-m]

If you grill off some burgers quickly, even in the 375-450 temp range, you won't really get any real smoke. But, you will get just a kiss of it that makes it unique. It's hard to describe, but the character is something you just won't get on a gas grill. Same as charcoal, or stick, pellet cooking is a whole thing unto itself. I enjoy pellet cooking more then I ever imagined I would.

Yes. This is what I wanted to know. Perfect.