Pellet Smokers

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

If anyone is in the Ozark area the Christian county discount freight store has The Pit Boss Sportsman 500 for around $300.  Well worth it.   I usually go to the Farm and Home store in Ozark for pellets. They sell Bear Mountain pellets which i like a  lot and they are reasonably priced

[Ryan Miloshewski]

I like my Camp Chef for the usability. So easy to use it to cook after work, and when I do smoke something it does a dang good job. 

One thing I don't get (for the price and lack of mobility) is the bigger Blackstones..it's just a stationary, large griddle. Just get a double burner Coleman and put a griddle on it. The practicality just isn't there for me. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

17 minutes ago, Ryan Miloshewski said:

ne thing I don't get (for the price and lack of mobility) is the bigger Blackstones..it's just a stationary, large griddle. Just get a double burner Coleman and put a griddle on it. The practicality just isn't there for me. 

I got the small one from Lowe’s that folds up.  Blue rhino I think.  It’s great for just my wife and daughter and I.  
 

You guys are going to make me get a pellet smoker yet😆

[BilletHead]

12 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I got the small one from Lowe’s that folds up.  Blue rhino I think.  It’s great for just my wife and daughter and I.  
 

You guys are going to make me get a pellet smoker yet😆

         We like ours. No real searing options with our Trager but we have other sources for that. Another thing that Pellet grills are good for is baking and oven cooking outside during warm weather. Love to bake potatoes outside. Meat loafs are the bomb too. 

[Flysmallie]

7 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

 

You guys are going to make me get a pellet smoker yet😆

I fought it for a long time. 

[Maverickpro201]

6 hours ago, Flysmallie said:

I fought it for a long time. 

I pulled the trigger yesterday. Menards $444. with rebate. Bought the 850 model. Assembled it, Burned it off. Let it cool down then fired it up and made a slab of ribs. They turned out ok, but there is a learning curve for me since I have been burning in the wood smoker pit for so long. 

[yowoodchuck]

Hey-I swore by my homemade giant plate steel smoker with a smoking cabinet that was 5 ft x 2ft with 6 heavy wire mesh racks and a outboard firebox that was 36 x 30 x 24 to put wood in.  The problem was, it took 2.5 hours before it was all up to temp and ready to smoke.  I could smoke 20 king salmon sides, along with  deer rump roasts and tenderloins in that thing.  Then I used my friend's Pit Boss pellet smoker a couple times and it seemed so easy.

So, I bought a 1000 sq. inch pellet smoker of the Cuisinart brand on sale at wally world and will probably never use the plate steel monster again.

Set the temp and it holds within 5 degrees all day in wind, rain or snow.  I can get a read out on my tablet and even put the probe it and have it send me an alarm when my desired internal meat temp is reached.  Plus--it also makes for a great way to cook a pizza at high temp, with a bit of smoke.  Downside is that it does not ever seem to get quite smoky enough for me, but my wife likes the lower level of smokiness better.

Do not use too cheap of pellets, they are much more prone to get jammed in the auger. 

[slabseeker]

I ditto most of the above. I read about all the issues and watched all the videos & kept putting it off.  Three years ago my wife pulled the trigger for us and got the 850 at Academy we have loved it ever since. We keep it on our covered back deck with a cover on it year round and have had no issues (knock on wood). We use it two or three times a week. We use it for stuff we would normally bake in the oven also. Especially in summer when we don't want to heat up the kitchen, but we use it year round. As mentioned I like it better as a grill/oven than a smoker. Doesn't give that classic hickory smoke flavor we like for pulled pork, ribs, beer butt chicken. I still use my Akorn Kamado for smoking those.

I only use Pit Boss pellets. I get the 40lb. bags at Menards when on sale for $12.99 + rebate.

For me there was a learning curve, it took a while to get use to it. I grilled on a Weber with charcoal my whole life. Now I don't really like the charcoal taste. Pit Boss is just a cleaner, juicier taste and much more convenient in my opinion. After each cook I let it run at 450 degrees for a few minutes for cleaning to dry out any schmutz.  About every five or six cooks I scrape off the heat shield and vacuum it and the ashes out of the burn pot with shop vac.

[snagged in outlet 3]

9 hours ago, slabseeker said:

schmutz.

Plus 10 points for using the word “Schmutz”.  😆

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

12 hours ago, slabseeker said:

I ditto most of the above. I read about all the issues and watched all the videos & kept putting it off.  Three years ago my wife pulled the trigger for us and got the 850 at Academy we have loved it ever since. We keep it on our covered back deck with a cover on it year round and have had no issues (knock on wood). We use it two or three times a week. We use it for stuff we would normally bake in the oven also. Especially in summer when we don't want to heat up the kitchen, but we use it year round. As mentioned I like it better as a grill/oven than a smoker. Doesn't give that classic hickory smoke flavor we like for pulled pork, ribs, beer butt chicken. I still use my Akorn Kamado for smoking those.

I only use Pit Boss pellets. I get the 40lb. bags at Menards when on sale for $12.99 + rebate.

For me there was a learning curve, it took a while to get use to it. I grilled on a Weber with charcoal my whole life. Now I don't really like the charcoal taste. Pit Boss is just a cleaner, juicier taste and much more convenient in my opinion. After each cook I let it run at 450 degrees for a few minutes for cleaning to dry out any schmutz.  About every five or six cooks I scrape off the heat shield and vacuum it and the ashes out of the burn pot with shop vac.

I think keeping them under a covered area is probably key,  I wheel mine out of the garage and back in when im done and have never had an issue