Previously bad grillers: have you tried pellet smokers/grills?

December 14, 2023 6:37 PM

I’m not very good at grilling, and I’ve never smoked anything. My friend swears that I could effortlessly succeed at both of them with a pellet grill. I love the idea but I am skeptical of the “set it and forget it” claims. Pellet grillers of MetaFilter: what are your experiences? (bonus request: do you have a brand or recipe that you particularly like?)
posted by AgentRocket to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

You can. My partner went from “I vaguely know how grilling works” to “This is the best grilled chicken I’ve ever eaten” within three meals with his Trager 780 Pro. For the first months he used the recipies that the brand had on their website and it helped him learn the basics well enough that he can pretty much make anything delicious now.

Smoked salmon on it is also amazing.
posted by lepus at 6:52 PM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I hang around with people who regularly compete in bbq competitions. A lot of them have transitioned over to pellet for the control over temps.
posted by Runes at 7:45 PM on December 14, 2023

It's absolutely true. Smoking 8- or 12-hour things (brisket, turkey, etc.) does require a bit of monitoring but I can crank out burgers or (slightly) smoked pork chops in 30 minutes and everything tastes great! For simple cooks it's as easy as your indoor oven.

Also very good for pizza.

I have a Traeger but Pit Boss (sold at Walmart) is good too! I actually have a portable Pit Boss and take it camping.
posted by mmoncur at 7:55 PM on December 14, 2023

I struggled to get consistent results with a propane grill, but I've had great luck with a pellet smoker. I bought a basic Pit Boss model at a big-box store, and use it with a Bluetooth thermometer and phone app to monitor the internal temperature of whatever I'm smoking - most smoker recipes specify a final temperature, which makes it much easier to figure out if something is done or not. It's also great for cooking side dishes like a grill basket of vegetables or a fruit cobbler while the main course is smoking. And set to higher temperatures, it works very much like a propane BBQ grill if you just want to cook burgers or hot dogs.
posted by zombiedance at 10:40 PM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

My son has had a pellet smoker/griller (Pit Boss) for a few years now and, yeah, it works just as advertised. And the results are delicious. I’d love to have one myself.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:34 AM on December 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Just adding another voice to the choir - getting a pellet grill in 2020, combined with work-from-home, was a revelation. I could do basic high-heat grilling on a charcoal grill, but I always struggled with temperature control over long cooks with the charcoal, whereas a pellet smoker makes long, low-temperature smokes dead easy. The hype is genuine, they really work well. These long low-temperature cooks result in remarkably flavorful, tender meats in ways that you can't quite get from an oven or a gas grill.

It sounds like a gimmick, but I would recommend a model with Wi-Fi. Many recipes are "set and forget", and getting alerts on your phone both when the smoker is up to temperature and then when what you're cooking reaches its final temperature is very, very handy.

The downside of a pellet grill is the need for fairly frequent cleaning. Not only do you need to clean the grates and grease pan (not unlike other grills) but you'll also really need an ash vacuum to clear the wood ash out of the fire pot and the body of the grill once every several smokes.

The best thing to try out a new pellet smoker with? Just grab a cheap whole chicken from the supermarket, season it to taste (salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil all good), bring the pellet grill up to 225°F, put the temperature probe deep in the breast, put the chicken on the grate, plug in the probe, close the lid, and then take out the chicken after its internal temperature reaches 165°F. Let it rest for 15m, and you'll have some of the best chicken you've ever had. Super easy, super good.
posted by eschatfische at 5:15 AM on December 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

I effortlessly succeed at smoking meat and vegetables with an electric smoker - I'm sure a pellet smoker is just as good. It's so easy to make better than restaurant quality food.

Second getting a electronic temperature probe (wifi is cool too, but mine doens't have that and it's fine) and cooking it to the recommended temperature on the recipe or from the web or whatever.

Also wrapping in butcher paper after a while - it preserves the juices while still allowing it to cook.

The downside is the deep online rabbit hole of temperature, temp to wrap, length of cooking time, searching for sales for meat to cook, and extreme disappointment at what you thought were previously good restaurants known for smoking meat - which you will still occasionally go to because the cooking process is easy but the cleaning process still sucks.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:59 AM on December 15, 2023

Yes. My dad used to have a Traeger. I hated the propane grill, but would happily use the Traeger. I even baked on it when it was too friggin hot to turn on the oven. We got rid of it when he passed. But when I finally moved into my new place, a pellet grill is going to be one of my first purchases.
posted by kathrynm at 11:01 AM on December 15, 2023