Anyone have one of these? I'm trying to convince myself to spend 800 bucks on a grill. www.traegergrills.com
If I were going to spend that type of money on a grill I'd be getting a big green egg. http://www.biggreenegg.com/
Interesting...........I've never cooked with wood pellets, and although I'm naturally inclined to dismiss them, I'd probably give them a try. I have a big green egg XL, and about a 700 lb. steel offset smoker (can't remember the brand, but it is heavy). The BGE is awesome for certain things: searing steaks and baking pizza are my favorite things for it, and low and slow for a boston butt for pulled pork is another. BUT, if you like really good Texas style brisket, I just can't seem to get the right flavor in the BGE.........not enough smoke. For briskets, I still prefer my offset smoker. I bought it at HEB in Victoria, TX, and I'm not sure I've seen them hear at the HOuston stores..........though I may have just missed them. They run about a grand, but I got mine on sale for about $750. It is HEAVY, but it works really well. If I had to do it over again, I would not buy the one with upright chamber (mine has three chambers; the fire box, a horizontal smoking chamber, and an upright smoking chamber at the end); I'd just get the less expensive two chamber model. Those wood pellets sound novel, and who knows, they may provide all the flavor you need with a better approach to regulating heat, BUT they ain't cheap. And wood is always easy to find. I'd really look close at one of those Traegers--I just looked at their website and the "Texas" model is over a grand and it only weighs 165 lbs. That just doesn't seem like something that will last when left outdoors all year long; that and the fact that it has electric/moving parts and I'd be wanting a "disposable" price to match the disposable nature of the product. To those of you who already have smoker/grills, I've discovered a new way to protect them if you start to burn off the black paint on the outside. I keep a can of cheap wal-mart brand "Pam" near the smoker, and when it is hot, I spray some of the oil on the areas where the paint has been burnt away. It "seasons" the grill much like you would with a cast iron pan and keeps the rust away. It's a good stop gap measure in between paintings..........if you ever really need to re-paint at all. It's true: you probably would need to babysit a more typical offset smoker than you would with that Trager. And by babysit, I mean keeping a closer eye on the fire to regulate heat, but hell..........that's half the fun.
Yeah, I looked at the green egg too. I would love to go charcoal or real wood....that's real cooking. My issue is the homeowners assoc rules won't allow charcoal grills on the wooden deck. The pellet grill is supposed to be safer than charcoal, so I've been lobbying for a few months to get a pass to use one of these.
MoonDogg...did you ever pick up a wood pellet grill? I'm considering the cheapest Traeger (Junior)...but have read a few negs about it. Can't really stretch the budget to pick out one of the more expensive loaded models. Anyone else have experience with wood pellet grills?
I agree... but I'd go a slightly different direction and get the Primo Grill. http://www.primogrilloutlet.com/
I never was able to convince the rest of the board members on the homeowners association to allow one of those in the complex because we have wooden decks. so I never got one. Primo looks kinda cheesy:grin:
My wife bought me the Junior for fathers day. I'm going to test it out with some ribs this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.
