i just picked up a louisana grill from costco and its amazing. also has a smoker box on the side that it came with. its about 1500 worth of stuff on there website and costco has it for 799.
I have the smallest Traeger and I’ve enjoyed it for the price. It is easy to use, easy to clean, and makes great food. My buddy has a rectec and loves it. I’ve borrowed a Pit Barrel Cooker for a couple big cookouts and that thing is a beast. Full packer brisket done in 7 hours as opposed to 13 on the traeger and just as good tasting. Pit Barrel Cooker will probably be my next BBQ purchase. I’d check into all of those and the BGE. Good luck.
Following.
We are moving in a couple months and are gonna be purchasing a pellet grill. In my research there are a lot of choices and it can get really expensive. Curious to hear what everybody has to say.
Love my Traeger, particularly for large bone in hams....from deer, bear, goats, mountain lion, etc. Smoking your own thanksgiving turkey is the bomb as well. We did a 30 pounder this year.
I have been kinda looking a the Traegers as well. They are kinda spendy, but the company seems to really support hunting and hunters, so that makes it a little bit easier to get one vs one of the other companies out there. Following their Instagram feed, or John Dudley's, or a couple of the Traeger pro staff people will make you hungry for sure.
I’ve got a green mountain grille that has been one of my best purchases. I like it because I can monitor temps from my phone even if I’m not at the house. Definitely a good choice if you like tech. Traegers just work. Rec Tec look really nice and hold a ton of pellets. Camp chef has a few models with side box searing. All just depends on what features you want.
I like doing Wings, brisket, ribs, reverse sear steaks, chili, beer can. It all comes at good and is easy. I also enjoy traditional smoking with coals and chunks of wood or just plain wood fires but you can’t beat the simplicity.
My traeger is the Bomb!! I cook everything on it from cookies to bacon to all kinds of meats. I highly recommend getting one. I have had mine for over 5 years and the only issue I have ever had was the hot rod burned out after 4 years of pretty heavy use. Buy one and do not ever look back.
I bought a pit boss because I am cheap. I'm overall quite happy with it but I've never had anything but a cheap propane grill. I like the versatility of charring burgers, baking bread, and smoking brisket all in the same unit. I will say that for smoking the temperature regulation is not close to a dedicated smoker unit but if you can babysit it a little it still works well.
I have a Traeger and really like it. They make anyone an expert. It doesn't have the ability to monitor or adjust temp remotely but I use a wireless thermometer in whatever meat I'm grilling and it works perfectly.
I also just bought a smaller Green Mountain Grill for base camp type hunts. It runs on 12v or 110v which is awesome. It connects to my phone via wifi and allows remote temp adjustment and monitoring of bbq temp and meat temp. The Green Mountain is not as quiet or "smooth" running as the Traeger but it seems to do a great job and I've been really happy with it so far.
Traeger with elk steaks that are just about done, then the GM with bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, then both for size comparison, another of the GM closed, and the GM phone app.
I got the Pitboss 340 Tailgater and it's perfect for just doing a couple pieces of meat and veggies. Walmart has them for $300, couldn't be happier! Whatever brand you go with, I think you'll like how it cooks! Meat thermometers are a must have though!
I work part time at a hardware store that sells traegers, have seen probably 100+ go out the door and have only seen one issue ( control board and traeger took care of it. ) That said I borrowed the stores demo and cooked a 15lb turkey on it for Easter and it was awesome and super easy. My understanding is a bag of pellets equals similar total btu’s Of a grill sized propane cylinder.
I'd recommend going to a BBQ specialty shop, don't know where you're at but the one I went to in the Denver area carries several different brands and they tack on their own warranty in addition to the manufacturer warranty and really know the products. They demo'd several different ones for me and I ended up with a Traeger but there are several really good brands out there.
Great stuff guys. I'm leaning towards the new Traeger model. It's got all the "from your phone" bells and whistles. Man is it pricey though. I have some prepaid visas from rebates to bring the price down a little. Would be a nice touch for the new house.
I really like my Green Mountain Grill. I have the Daniel Boone model with Wifi. It works awesome. I was skeptical at first because these grills are on the expensive side but it was well worth the money. I've made some of the best tasting food and it is stupid easy. Works great as a normal grill and as a smoker. I've done pork shoulders, whole chickens, burgers, chicken breasts, summer sausage, etc... List goes on and on. Only draw back is waiting on the grill to get up to temp sometimes if your in a hurry to get dinner done. Other than that I love it. I would recommend getting the thermal cover if you purchase one to help retain heat. Makes a big difference.