*Official* BBQ N' Smoker thread

retfr8flyr

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Well it's getting close to spring and I thought I would kick this thread. I cook all year round and last Christmas I added a pellet grill to my Kamado collection. I did a lot of research and decided to go with a Traeger Timberline 1300 grill. This grill is really well made and the double wall construction provides insulation and lets me cook in the coldest temps, without going through large amounts of pellets. If anyone is thinking about getting a pellet grill I highly recommend the Timberline series. Here are some shots of the assembly and some cooks.







Here are some wings I was doing for a party.



Six pork butts when I first put them on.



How they turned out as I was pulling them.



A rib roast.



Lastly some babyback ribs.

 
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AndrewNagle

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Well it's getting close to spring and I thought I would kick this thread. I cook all year round and last Christmas I added a pellet grill to my Kamado collection. I did a lot of research and decided to go with a Traeger Timberline 1300 grill. This grill is really well made and the double wall construction provides insulation and lets me cook in the coldest temps, without going through large amounts of pellets. If anyone is thinking about getting a pellet grill I highly recommend the Timberline series. Hers some shots of the assembly and some cooks.







Here are some wings I was doing for a party.



Six pork butts when I first put them on.



How they turned out as I was pulling them.



A rib roast.



Lastly some babyback ribs.


Damn that looks great, glad it is almost lunch time !
 

01yellerCobra

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I'm going to be shopping for a new grill this summer. Mine is nearing the end of it's life. The bottom is starting to rust out and one of the burners just fell apart. Seeing as it's been used almost daily for the last 8 or so years I can't complain. But I think I'm going to step down to a 4 burner though. I haven't had a need for 6 burners for a long time.
 

joe_momma

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What would you pros recommend for a beginner to start smoking? I'm pretty sure I want to go electric, as I have a tendency to not remember stuff I've put on the grill. Also, I don't really want to dedicate a whole day to making some meat - I like the idea of set it and forget it (within reason obviously). I don't want to break the bank either. I'm primarily wanting to make pulled pork and perhaps some wings/ribs from time to time.
 

01yellerCobra

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What would you pros recommend for a beginner to start smoking? I'm pretty sure I want to go electric, as I have a tendency to not remember stuff I've put on the grill. Also, I don't really want to dedicate a whole day to making some meat - I like the idea of set it and forget it (within reason obviously). I don't want to break the bank either. I'm primarily wanting to make pulled pork and perhaps some wings/ribs from time to time.

I picked up an electric smoker when Amazon was having one of their sale days. I'm happy with it. Although I don't use it as much as I should. It's nice that it automatically maintains the temp. I have to add chips to keep the smoke up. It also has a remote controller/timer that you can keep in eye sight. I think the longest I've smoked anything is 12 hours. And that was a turkey. The only down side is the size. I have to cut the rack of ribs in half to fit on the shelves. One of these days I'll try a brisket.

Depending on your budget you might want to look into a pellet smoker. My grandparents have a Traeger and love it so much they gave away their grill. It really is set and forget. It controls the amount of pellets for smoke level and the heat.
 

joe_momma

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I picked up an electric smoker when Amazon was having one of their sale days. I'm happy with it. Although I don't use it as much as I should. It's nice that it automatically maintains the temp. I have to add chips to keep the smoke up. It also has a remote controller/timer that you can keep in eye sight. I think the longest I've smoked anything is 12 hours. And that was a turkey. The only down side is the size. I have to cut the rack of ribs in half to fit on the shelves. One of these days I'll try a brisket.

Depending on your budget you might want to look into a pellet smoker. My grandparents have a Traeger and love it so much they gave away their grill. It really is set and forget. It controls the amount of pellets for smoke level and the heat.
Those are pricey lol. I was thinking more in the $200-300 range?
 

JJ427R

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Those are pricey lol. I was thinking more in the $200-300 range?

I have an older Brinkmann Pitmaster, but I don't see them available anymore. They work great. You can use either charcoal or wood. I've seen similar by other brands but if you could find one of these get it.
https://www.amazon.com/brinkmann-805-2101-s-pitmaster-deluxe-smoke/dp/b00006ws5f

For smoking in that I use charcoal but add pellets for the flavor I'm looking for. Last batch of smoked pork chops we did smoked 4 hours at 200-250 and used Jack Daniels Honey Sauce with Lumberjack Apple Blend wood pellets, they were some of the best flavored chops I've ever had.
 

retfr8flyr

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Get a good pellet grill and the food comes out great, plus it is almost set and forget. I will still use my Kamado's for some things but most of my future cooks will likely be on my Timberline.
 

joe_momma

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Some pretty scathing reviews on the "entry level" Traeger on Amazon. Are these to be believed or are the people just not doing something right? Although it did have a pretty decent overall rating, some of the latest reviews weren't very flattering. This was for the Junior Elite model.
 

retfr8flyr

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Traeger, like a lot of companies, went down hill for a while and then were bought out and turned things around. The new Traeger is putting out some good products. They just released some new grills with better controllers and brushless motors for the auger. I am very happy with my Timberline but it's not an inexpensive grill.
 

joe_momma

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Thanks Earl. I guess the only way to figure out if it's something I'd like is to jump in! Maybe for Father's Day lol.
 

retfr8flyr

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There are a lot of good grill companies out there. What would your budget be, that will dictate which one to go with?
 

joe_momma

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I was initially thinking $200, but the offerings there are pretty weak, honestly. I was looking into a cheap electric, but the more I look at the pellet grills the more I like them. I'm thinking $300-400 range? Seems like there are lots of options in that price range.
 

retfr8flyr

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Pellet grills are all basically the same, you have a container for the pellets, an auger system, to feed the pellets into the firepot and a controller to tell the auger how many pellets to advance. The huge differences in price with pellet grills are basically the quality of the materials and the electronic controller. The higher priced grills will have thicker metals, or stainless steel and what thy call P.I.D controllers. I think you will need to up your budget into the $500 range to get a decent grill, a lot of the really cheap grills just don't do a very good job.

The Green Mountain Grills Danial Boone, without wifi is a great choice. You should also check out the Pit Boss lineup, they make some good grills at very good prices.
 

joe_momma

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Pellet grills are all basically the same, you have a container for the pellets, an auger system, to feed the pellets into the firepot and a controller to tell the auger how many pellets to advance. The huge differences in price with pellet grills are basically the quality of the materials and the electronic controller. The higher priced grills will have thicker metals, or stainless steel and what thy call P.I.D controllers. I think you will need to up your budget into the $500 range to get a decent grill, a lot of the really cheap grills just don't do a very good job.

The Green Mountain Grills Danial Boone, without wifi is a great choice. You should also check out the Pit Boss lineup, they make some good grills at very good prices.
Thanks Earl, I'll check them out.
 

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