Time for a new smoker, why should I switch to Pellet?

[mcokevin]

Thanks for the feedback, mcokevin.

I'm still in the impulse stage and deciding whether my wife will just freak out or outright kill me.

Hah hah hah. Easier to get forgiveness than permission!

I lucked out, I was hesitant to spend the money but my wife pushed me towards doing it (she loves the Q, both for the taste and because when I smoke she doesn't have to cook for 4 days!)

 

[Millberry]

Chargriller just showed off their competitor to the gravity fed Masterbuilt cookers. In my experience, Chargriller tends to be better quality than Masterbuilt but we'll have to wait for people to get their hands on them. The Masterbuilt gravity fed cookers had some teething issues when they first hit the market (nowhere near as bad as the Weber Greasefire pellet burners though).

I heard you can actually get a good wood "taste" with that Masterbuilt. Myh WSM is so "set it and forget it" that it almost drives me crazy. Makes me want to buy a Lang just to have something to do every 30-45 minutes

 

[mcokevin]

I heard you can actually get a good wood "taste" with that Masterbuilt. Myh WSM is so "set it and forget it" that it almost drives me crazy. Makes me want to buy a Lang just to have something to do every 30-45 minutes

The WSM runs great. I cut my teeth on mine and feel bad she got demoted. The kicker for me was the ability to do overnight smokes and get six solid hours of sleep.

 

[JLinza]

My Smoke Hollow 44 has treated me well over the past 9 years. 6 moves and 3 states it's taken a beating and continues to pump out amazing food. But, it has been beat up a bit and parts are wearing out so it's time for me to get something new. I do utilize the large capacity so that's a must and I was thinking about switching over to the dark side and going pellet style this time. I'd love a Yoder but $2K is not happening so probably the RecTeq 700 or Camp Chef Woodwind 36.

Appealing part is the ease and the fact that I could go from a Weber Grill and SH Smoker to One unit. My concern is smoke flavor, we enjoy heavy smoke flavor that I can achieve with the propane unit. I've read that pellets don't give the food much more than a light Smokey flavor. Anyone have or tried both? What's the truth? What else should I consider?

Masterbuilt Gravity series 1050 is not a bad way to go, lots of cook surface. And price isn't bad compared to some others. I love mine so far, if you go with that though, check out LSS mods for some extras.

 

[Millberry]

AMEN

 

[slapshot1]

Chargriller just showed off their competitor to the gravity fed Masterbuilt cookers. In my experience, Chargriller tends to be better quality than Masterbuilt but we'll have to wait for people to get their hands on them. The Masterbuilt gravity fed cookers had some teething issues when they first hit the market (nowhere near as bad as the Weber Greasefire pellet burners though).

That Chargriller appears to be out, or about to appear for sale. It does look like it was better designed and should be more durable than the Masterbuilts. I'm awaiting the first reviews.

 

[Three B's]

980 will deliver Thursday

 

[slapshot1]

980 will deliver Thursday

This looks like a quality alternative. Any chance they will be offering a smaller size? 90% of the time, I grill and smoke just for myself and my fiancee, and this is obviously a larger grill.

 

[Tomsfinebbq]

The best reason to me is that you will cook on it soo much more than you ever have any other grill/smoker. I have cooked on offsets, gravity feds, kamados, and now pellets. I use the pellet at least 5 times as much as I did other cookers and probably more. Over one memorial weekend I cooked 7 times on it some days all 3 meals. Now I have gotten rid of the kamados and have 3 pellet models instead. Not going back. Pellets produce the flavor my wife and I enjoy and the ease of use is unreal.

 

[mcokevin]

The best reason to me is that you will cook on it soo much more than you ever have any other grill/smoker. I have cooked on offsets, gravity feds, kamados, and now pellets. I use the pellet at least 5 times as much as I did other cookers and probably more. Over one memorial weekend I cooked 7 times on it some days all 3 meals. Now I have gotten rid of the kamados and have 3 pellet models instead. Not going back. Pellets produce the flavor my wife and I enjoy and the ease of use is unreal.

The best smoker is the one you use!