Vertical Pellet Smoker or Pellet Grill?

[rif23]

New member here and appreciate all of the expertise I see on these forums. Hoping some of you will be willing to share some knowledge and help me with a decision.

I am looking to upgrade my backyard setup to allow for more serious smoking ability. Due to the convenience factor, I am really only looking at pellet smokers, not wood burning. I currently stick with the basics (ribs, pulled pork, chicken, and brisket), but would like to expand my range to try fish and other things.

My current setup is a gas grill (FireMagic) and a large Big Green Egg. I love the BGE and that is what I have been using for years for all my low and slow cooking. But the BGE has very limited capacity and requires a bit more time and attention than what seems to be the case for pellet smokers. The gas grill is great for searing and high heat (can get up over 900 degrees), but is essentially useless for smoking.

After researching options, my thinking is that since I have the powerful gas grill already, it might make the most sense to get a vertical pellet smoker. It seems that they do a better job of smoking than the pellet grills (since the vertical smokers just have one job). So I would start things on the vertical smoker to infuse smoke and start the cooking, and then when I need to finish something with high heat or to get a sear, I would just transfer to the FireMagic (which would do that job better than the pellet grill, even if it was cranked to the max). I was thinking that I could even do this to cook steaks or burgers (if I want them smoked) - start in the vertical at low heat with lots of smoke for an hour or so (or whatever is needed to get to the right internal temp), and then throw them on the gas grill for the final sear. If I was going to have just one device to do everything, then the pellet grill would definitely be the way to go since it is more versatile, but for my needs perhaps it is better to get the vertical. So that is my logic, but appreciate any advice or insights from this group on your experiences or anything I might not have considered (or gotten wrong!).

Thanks in advance!

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

I tend to agree with your logic here. I bought the Pit Boss Copperhead cabinet basically because it was on sale for $109 and it works as advertised. I have other smokers that I use far more often, but the cabinet does have a ton of room. If you are happy with the searing capabilities of your gasser and/or BGE then I would also go with a pellet cabinet. From what I have read pellet grills aren't great for grilling unless you start getting into the higher end brands like MAK or Yoder. My cheap Pit Boss is great for smoking jerky and snacks too.

 

[Buttah Butts]

Take a look at Rec Tec. They are a great pellet smoker compared to big box store brands and have unbelievable customer service.

 

[bill1]

Your logic appears sound to me. Since a vertical holds more food (with negligible added cost in terms of pellets or electricity consumed) I could see a large party where the vertical cooks all the meat from the beginning but you finish off (reverse sear) meat a few pieces at a time to serve a crowd in staggered shifts. Conversely, it can be a storage oven while you sear one gas grill load at a time and later serve all at once.

One draw back you might not have considered is that there is added "overhead" in dealing with 2 grills per cook instead of 1. So things like cleaning, putting away, covering up the unit, etc is 2x the work. That would be a big negative to me but my rigs are stored out on an uncovered patio.

The other thing that caught my eye was you mentioned fish. Pellet cookers (vertical or conventional grills) tend to have a minimum temp setting of 180 degF. Some prefer a lower (and slower) setting for fish, which is where the electric cabinet smokers particularly shine. That could be a showstopper for you with any pellet machine.

 

[mike243]

The P settings may help to keep the temps down if they have them, not sure what the lowest my Austin would run as I never set it to the highest # for fear of flame outs lol. A lot will depend on the ambient temp when running it.

 

[meskc]

I love my louisiana grill vertical cabinet(same as Pit Boss series 7) more room then I would ever need. If I need to sear anything that is what I use my kettke for. The plus side is it has a smaller foot print then the conventional grills.

 

[bregent]

One consideration is access to the food. After 20 years of running a vertical smoker, I find it much easier to tend to the food with a horizontal pellet grill. Vertical gives you more capacity for a given footprint, but you do need to open the door and pull the shelves out to access the food. If that's not an issue, and you don't need another grill, then vertical might be better. As far as smoking goes, I've had food off of both and they are comparable for level of smoke flavor.

 

[bill1]

One consideration is access to the food. After 20 years of running a vertical smoker, I find it much easier to tend to the food with a horizontal pellet grill. Vertical gives you more capacity for a given footprint, but you do need to open the door and pull the shelves out to access the food. If that's not an issue, and you don't need another grill, then vertical might be better. As far as smoking goes, I've had food off of both and they are comparable for level of smoke flavor.

good point about access. Pulling out grates in and out can leave a mess on your vertical smoker and patio slab...lifting up a grill lid keeps the drips contained on a single stationary grill.
Avoid moving parts if you can.

 

[rif23]

As far as smoking goes, I've had food off of both and they are comparable for level of smoke flavor.

This is interesting. It seems that the "higher end" brands that do pellets (Yoder, MAK, etc.) only offer pellet grills and not verticals (with the one exception that I can find being the Cookshack which is more than I want to spend). Would you say that a Yoder pellet grill would provide better smoke than a vertical smoker from Pitboss or Camp Chef (or the Pellet Pro from Smokedaddy, which seems very intriguing from the specs, but can't find many who have actually used it). One other note is that I need something that is not more than 48" wide b/c of the space where this is to go on my deck. Thanks!

 

[JWFokker]

You can't go wrong with the Pellet Pro vertical. Many people buy the Pellet Pro controller/hopper/augur as an upgrade for their pellet grill. I wouldn't hesitate to go with it over the Pit Boss or Camp Chef verticals.

 

[Dr. Dobbins]

I have a pit boss series 4 got for my birthday, it is a great smoker at a cheap price. I have every type of grill, pellet stick, gas, and kamado joe. I find the pit boss works best for long low slow sessions. It can make food that rivals the stick burner you sound like you have all the other basses covered. Gas for sear, charcoal for burgers, and such, the vertical pellet smoker will cover your smoking needs perfectly. My family enjoys reversed sear steaks smoked on my vertical smoke to 120 then seared on my gas grill’s sear burner. For the price the pit boss vertical smoker is a great value. Can’t speak about how long it will last but I keep mine covered, and clean it. Keep in mind you will need a vacuum to clean out the fire pot, every other cook.