Can we talk BBQ grills? | The Boneyard

Can we talk BBQ grills?

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Friend brought a vertical pellet smoker and his meats look perfect.

Time to step up my game! Looking at pellet grills or nice smoker. Would like one that controls temps and does long hour smoking of meats. Been eyeing the pit boss models but I have to believe there are many competitors out there.

Be nice for a quick hit meal as well. Only 2 of us but I'm ready to move on from the elementary charcoal Weber.

Easy assembly or pre assembled would be nice as well.

What are you guys cooking on?
 

8893

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Didn't know it was an annual thread event. LOL
 
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Friend brought a vertical pellet smoker and his meats look perfect.

Time to step up my game! Looking at pellet grills or nice smoker. Would like one that controls temps and does long hour smoking of meats. Been eyeing the pit boss models but I have to believe there are many competitors out there.

Be nice for a quick hit meal as well. Only 2 of us but I'm ready to move on from the elementary charcoal Weber.

Easy assembly or pre assembled would be nice as well.

What are you guys cooking on?
Green Mountain Grills and Green Egg
 

HuskyHawk

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Friend brought a vertical pellet smoker and his meats look perfect.

Time to step up my game! Looking at pellet grills or nice smoker. Would like one that controls temps and does long hour smoking of meats. Been eyeing the pit boss models but I have to believe there are many competitors out there.

Be nice for a quick hit meal as well. Only 2 of us but I'm ready to move on from the elementary charcoal Weber.

Easy assembly or pre assembled would be nice as well.

What are you guys cooking on?

Yeah, we've covered this but what the hell. Tom says it helps ad revenue.

  • Electric (Masterbuilt). Easy. Idiot proof. Requires frequent wood chip additions. Not going to produce the very best results with big cuts of meat like Brisket. Price: $
  • Vertical charcoal. Weber Smokey Mountain, Ugly Drum style. Somewhat easy, requires some prep work with charcoal and early fiddling to lock in temp. Holds temp well after that. Great capacity, nice flavor from Ugly drum as drippings land on the charcoal. Price $$
  • Pellet. Traeger brand. Almost as easy as electric. Take up a lot of space. Some aren't impressed with the smoke flavor. Big capacity. Price $$$
  • Kamado. Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe etc. More difficult to regulate temp when smoking. Works great as a grill or pizza over. Lower capacity. Kind of "cool". Great in the cold. Price: $$$+
  • Offset smokers. This is for the pros. Not recommended for you at this point.
I have a Masterbuilt, and it's now in the shed while I use my Ugly Drum smoker. Mine is homemade from a kit, but you can just buy really nice ones. Those will be more than the Weber Smokey Mountain.

Some are dedicated smokers, some can be grills. Not sure what you need. To compare options Check here. BBQ Smoker Grills | Meat Smokers : BBQGuys
 
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I have a pit boss pellet smoker that is great, but there is a huge negative with it.
Make sure that you run out all of the pellets in the hopper and auger because the humidity will cause expansion and the auger will seize up. The only way to fix it is to take the mechanism apart and clean it out. Thankfully I only made that mistake once.
 
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On a related note, we just got a burn barrel and this thing is awesome for burning anything you have to cut down. Once it gets going you just keep feeding it. Probably good for burning some burgers too.

DIY humor.
Facebook
 

TRest

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That is what I use. I had not figured out how to slow smoke until I checked some Youtube videos. Smoked a turkey using the snake method. OMG!!!
I picked up a used WSM 22" for cheap and find that the old kettle works almost as well. Racks of ribs can be tight on the kettle, otherwise I'm only cooking for a few people and really don't need all the space.
 
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I've haven't gotten to purchase this yet because of the late cold and allergy season but in a few weeks.

Gas grill with a rotisserie and a place for woodchips. What got me was the infrared searing station and the lifetime warranty.

It's made in the US unlike a lot of the Weber grills. I've read that the build quality has gone down a bit after having the parts out sourced to China.

 

Hans Sprungfeld

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I like this thread.

It provides a genuinely helpful overview (instead of critical comments about topic repetition), as well as an opportunity to witness those of varying passions in other spheres sharing information and good cheer.

I'll offer a heads up that when you make your pilgrimage to The Big Texan, be sure to time it right and enjoy the XIT Rodeo & Reunion in Dalhart, just 87 miles up the panhandle from Amarillo.
Screenshot_20210422-104917.png

 
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Yeah, we've covered this but what the hell. Tom says it helps ad revenue.

  • Electric (Masterbuilt). Easy. Idiot proof. Requires frequent wood chip additions. Not going to produce the very best results with big cuts of meat like Brisket. Price: $
  • Vertical charcoal. Weber Smokey Mountain, Ugly Drum style. Somewhat easy, requires some prep work with charcoal and early fiddling to lock in temp. Holds temp well after that. Great capacity, nice flavor from Ugly drum as drippings land on the charcoal. Price $$
  • Pellet. Traeger brand. Almost as easy as electric. Take up a lot of space. Some aren't impressed with the smoke flavor. Big capacity. Price $$$
  • Kamado. Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe etc. More difficult to regulate temp when smoking. Works great as a grill or pizza over. Lower capacity. Kind of "cool". Great in the cold. Price: $$$+
  • Offset smokers. This is for the pros. Not recommended for you at this point.
I have a Masterbuilt, and it's now in the shed while I use my Ugly Drum smoker. Mine is homemade from a kit, but you can just buy really nice ones. Those will be more than the Weber Smokey Mountain.

Some are dedicated smokers, some can be grills. Not sure what you need. To compare options Check here. BBQ Smoker Grills | Meat Smokers : BBQGuys
I bought a Large BGE on CraigsList for $500.....Deals are out there if you look for them.
 
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I like this thread.

It provides a genuinely helpful overview (instead of critical comments about topic repetition), as well as an opportunity to witness those of varying passions in other spheres sharing information and good cheer.

I'll offer a heads up that when you make your pilgrimage to The Big Texan, be sure to time it right and enjoy the XIT Rodeo & Reunion in Dalhart, just 87 miles up the panhandle from Amarillo.
View attachment 66998
Nice town, just a bit hard to get to!
 

HuskyHawk

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I like this thread.

It provides a genuinely helpful overview (instead of critical comments about topic repetition), as well as an opportunity to witness those of varying passions in other spheres sharing information and good cheer.

I'll offer a heads up that when you make your pilgrimage to The Big Texan, be sure to time it right and enjoy the XIT Rodeo & Reunion in Dalhart, just 87 miles up the panhandle from Amarillo.
View attachment 66998

Easier to just go to Kansas City to the American Royal. "The American Royal World Series of Barbecue is the largest barbecue contest in the WORLD" So I guess there is dispute as to world's largest. I have a friend who competes in this one and some others in KC.

Homepage - American Royal
 

ClifSpliffy

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last week, i noticed in the circulars that someone is selling the ubiquitous 2 burner gas grill for $100, an annual regularity.
fast cook? put ur stuff directly over the burner(s).
slow cook? turn one burner on low, put ur stuff over the off burner, walk away.
smoked stuff? do slow cook method after u figger out how to get hickory or applewood chips in the mix. youtube is ur friend.
ezpz. inexpensive, too.
 

jleves

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I'm sure I have some posts in those. I have the mid grade Traeger and it's great. Here are few things to keep in mind with a pellet smoker:
  • Everything takes longer so plan in advance
  • You are generally cooking at a lower temperature which is a good thing usually (more flavor)
  • Don't forget to figure in startup/warmup time - about 20 minutes
  • You need to be close to an outlet as they use electricity for the auger, blowers and ignition
  • Look for a unit with a super smoke option - this will fix most of the 'not enough smoke flavor from pellet smokers' issue noted above
  • Look for a unit that has wifi built in so you can check or change temperature from your phone
  • There are lots of creative options that are opened up with a pellet smoker. Here are some things I've done (easy to find recipes online):
    • Smoked deviled eggs - these will blow your mind if you like deviled eggs
    • Smoked meat loaf - cutting into the meatloaf and seeing a smoke ring was cool
    • Smoked pot roast - hands down the best and most tender pot roast I've ever had
  • Make sure you get disposable drip pans or the mess will be a huge turnoff
  • I still have a cheapy dual gas and charcoal grill for things like hotdog or hamburgers
  • Don't rely on the temp probe that comes with the smoker - get good leave in and instaread thermometers to nail correct smoking temps
  • Even though they are easy and foolproof, there's still a learning curve. Start with something easy like a smoked ribeye before moving up to briskets and pork butts. Ribs are a good intermediate project.
  • Costco has good deals on Traeger pellets
  • Setting up the Traeger was pretty simple. Took me and my wife about 30 minutes with simple tools
 

WaterDawg

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Weber Smokey Mountain paired with a digital temperature controller, in my case a BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2... set and forget. I much prefer the taste of real fire BBQ from charcoal or stick burners over the the taste of the food produced from electric, propanr or pellet smokers.

Having a digital temperature controller on my WSM is a game changer in terms of ease of use, especially for those long overnight brisket cooks.
 

HuskyHawk

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Weber Smokey Mountain paired with a digital temperature controller, in my case a BBQ Guru DigiQ DX2... set and forget. I much prefer the taste of real fire BBQ from charcoal or stick burners over the the taste of the food produced from electric, propanr or pellet smokers.

Having a digital temperature controller on my WSM is a game changer in terms of ease of use, especially for those long overnight brisket cooks.

I tried my new Thermoworks Smoke thermometer/monitor for the first time last Sunday. It works great giving me meat and interior ambient temperature. But....the separate "remote" device has an alarm, I can't hear. I set the alarms, and it vibrates and makes a noise. Kept waking up my wife an daughter early in the morning and annoyed them all day long. So I guess I will use it in "alarm off" mode next time. Still think it is a great addition, especially on a long smoke.
 

Hans Sprungfeld

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Easier to just go to Kansas City to the American Royal. "The American Royal World Series of Barbecue is the largest barbecue contest in the WORLD" So I guess there is dispute as to world's largest. I have a friend who competes in this one and some others in KC.

Homepage - American Royal
Apples vs. Oranges
Largest free BBQ meal for the crowd in TX.
Largest competition in KC.

I'd like to go to Kansas City some time.

Here's fuller look at what's in Dalhart...

 

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