# Does anyone cook with a pellet grill?



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

I've been looking at the Camp Chef and Traeger pellet grills and am considering getting one, anyone here use either one of them and can give some feedback on them. I've eaten food from both of them and they seem to be pretty good but I have no cooking experience with them.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

I have one. The Treager Lil Tex. Love the thing. I just follow the cook book that comes with the grill and everyone raves about the food. Just did two 11 lbs turkeys for thanks giving. I barely got enough left overs to make one sandwich. Ribeyes come out incredible. Our son has one and they love it. Just thinking of Carne Asada makes my mouth water. I hear that there's one called Green Mountain that's a good one too. They are kind of expensive but they are great.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

I bought a Camp Chef DLX on Friday. Had been looking at the Tregars as well. 
We sell both at the store, and have done demos on both. Both do a great job. The Camp Chef does
everything the Treagar does, but costs less. And, the clean outs are a great option and easy to use.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

Green Mountain Grill. The guys at Green Mountain worked at Traeger and wanted to see some innovations, but Traeger was content with the idea that if it ain't broken, don't fix it. I like the WiFi. I can start my grill, adjust the temperature, see the temperature of the food, and get an alert if I'm running low on pellets, or even preset a cooking profile from my phone, iPad, or iPod.

⫸<{{{{{⦇°>


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## neverdrawn (Jan 3, 2009)

I have the camp chef smoke pro and love it. The only down side is once you start using it you may as well throw away your barbecue grill, you'll probably never use it again.


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## bow_dude (Aug 20, 2009)

I have a Traeger and I use it a lot. Still prefer the Gas BBQ for the Rib Eye Steaks and my Master Built smoker for fish and jerky, but for most everything else, the Traeger gets the nod.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

This is a competitor, there are tons of similar models in different brands, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BK7L2CG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It was a scatch and dent from Amazon and additional 20% off, so it was like $300. Works pretty well. I had a Traeger once for about two weeks that would not hold steady temps, so I returned it. I think they had some manufacturing issues a few years back, they seem to have resolved that now. 
Turkey is probably the easiest thing to do. ONly issue is that you shouldnt smoke anything >15 lbs as the temp is too low and there will be bacteria issues. I found that by breaking the spine, cut it with a recip saw, crack the breastbone and lay it out flat and I have since done two 22 lbers and they were great and cooked in 4 hours, I was planning on 6 hours.
I also made an ugly drum smoker and I enjoy it when I have a lot of time to check on it when I am just at home working on a project or camping. I used to do a lot of brisket, but they then got way too expensive. Cattle prices have since dropped about 60% yet, prices at the store have hardly changed. So, I now do mainly Boston Butts and I argue that they are just as good at half of the price or less.


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## 2full (Apr 8, 2010)

The wife and I broke in the Camp Chef I bought Friday for dinner tonite. 
Did some chicken thighs and some brat's. 
It was outstanding. I can't decide if I liked the brat's or the chicken the most. 
Can't wait to do some ribs and/or brisket.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

2full said:


> The wife and I broke in the Camp Chef I bought Friday for dinner tonite.
> Did some chicken thighs and some brat's.
> It was outstanding. I can't decide if I liked the brat's or the chicken the most.
> Can't wait to do some ribs and/or brisket.


Like motorcycles............... it's not what you own , just ride !!!!


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

I think I am going to order a Camp Chef today. Amazon has the one I want on sale for cyber Monday $105 cheaper than it is anywhere else with free delivery for Friday of this week.


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## caddis8 (Sep 10, 2007)

you'll love it. 

Several are very nice. The cleanout is really nice. I love ours. Smoke lots of salmon, pork, and did turkey for thanksgiving.

You don't get the deep smoke penetration as you would from a smoker, but you get convenience. You get good smoke flavor, though. And you use it as an oven in the summer so you don't heat your house up. Bread, cookies, pie, pizza, burgers, you name it. Big fan.


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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

I have a Camp Chef LUX and really like it. I have the jerky racks for it, and have cooked 56 lbs of pork butt on it and had more room. Camp Chef also has the sear box as well, that allows you to sear steaks/burgers at about 900 degrees and put a nice sear on them. 

This weekend, I did 10 lbs of waterfowl jerky, burgers and hot dogs, and cooked most of our thanksgiving meal on it. 12 pound turkey on one end of the smoker and had the small pans of green beans, sweet potatoes casserole, and dutch oven potatoes on the other end of the smoker.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

The grill arrives on Friday. Is there a good place locally to buy the camp chef pellets at a reasonable price or are there other pellets that work better????


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## Idratherbehunting (Jul 17, 2013)

LostLouisianian said:


> The grill arrives on Friday. Is there a good place locally to buy the camp chef pellets at a reasonable price or are there other pellets that work better????


I use the camp chef pellets, and have seen them for sale at the Cal Ranch stores and IFA's for good prices. I've heard Lumberjack pellets are pretty good. If you are on Facebook, there is a Camp Chef Smokers Smokers group that can help you learn a lot about using the smokers.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

The camp chef pellet grill came in Friday. Assembled it yesterday and did the burn in on it. Threw a Costco brisket on at midnight and it's smelling pretty danged good out there right now. Last time I checked it the meat was up to 152 degrees. Going to let it set up for about 2 hours after it gets to 200 degrees. Anyone got any good video's on how to properly cut up a brisket? I've been told that cutting it the right way makes all the difference in the world. It's 6:45 AM and my mouth is watering for it already.


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

I own a Treager. Saw the Camp Chef yesterday being demo'd at the Sportsmans on Riverdale. Very nice smoker grill. I'm impressed.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

what I know about Camp Chef is that after 2 years of heavy smoker use I had a gas leak underneath. I called them up and they said come out at lunch. They gave me everything but the smoker shell. I asked them how much and they said enjoy. Tough to beat that.


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## Dunkem (May 8, 2012)

LostLouisianian said:


> The camp chef pellet grill came in Friday. Assembled it yesterday and did the burn in on it. Threw a Costco brisket on at midnight and it's smelling pretty danged good out there right now. Last time I checked it the meat was up to 152 degrees. Going to let it set up for about 2 hours after it gets to 200 degrees. Anyone got any good video's on how to properly cut up a brisket? I've been told that cutting it the right way makes all the difference in the world. It's 6:45 AM and my mouth is watering for it already.


Here ya go, give this a look.

Videos of How to properly slice a brisket


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks dunk!


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## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

I've had a Treager for about 10 years and love it. Here's a couple of pellet grill winter tips. Line the inside bottom and sides with fire brick. Buy a welding blanket to drape over your grill. Both of these will help retain heat in cold and windy conditions. I like to burn hickory and mesquite in cold temps because it seems to burn hotter. 

Smoke a meat loaf. You'll never cook one in the oven again.


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