What are y'all grilling/smoking with ??

[PanthersATL]

49 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

My dad got one about a year ago. I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

Almost any suburban neighborhood gathering will have variations folks trying to make "Traeger" a verb.

It's just a pellet smoker. Recteq, Green Mountain, Daniel Boone, Weber, and others... they all cook with pellets pretty much the same way, and for way less $.  Have heard good things about the newest Weber pellet cooker update vs their 1.0 model.

But Traeger has marketing clout to make it seem like they're the only ones in the market. They've taken over Home Depot and pushed Weber down the aisle a smidge, for example -- which likely costs them a bit of inventory floorplan marketing money to do. 

But if you go to a dedicated BBQ grill store that caters to hardcore cooking people? You won't see any Traegers anywhere

 

[PanthersATL]

7 hours ago, SuperBowlBound said:

First timer here.Anything else you suggest accessory wise that a beginner should have? 

Doesn't matter what you're cooking or how you're cooking it.

The #1 recommendation (which I alluded to earlier) is to get at least one quality digital meat thermometer and a temperature chart that covers as many different items as possible.  Don't trust anything other than the thermometer until you have hundreds (thousands?) of cooks under your belt to go by gut or a finger test.

If you do nothing else, cooking your food to the correct desired temperature will increase the quality of your eating tremendously.

If you haven't been temping your food, you'd be surprised at the difference between chicken at 155 degrees ("chef temp") vs waiting until it's at USDA-approved 165 before you pull it off the grill.  Or how fast a rare filet mignon can jump to medium if you're not careful.

(Ex: A friend was grilling chicken and was just going by eye as to whether to pull the chicken off or not.  Every piece I temped was at 180-200. WAY overcooked, but he didn't know)

https://blog.thermoworks.com/chicken/3-keys-to-perfect-chicken-breasts/

 

[SuperBowlBound]

19 hours ago, PanthersATL said:

Keep in mind that a Traeger (well, pellet cookers in general) are more like an oven with smoke flavor rather than a traditional smoker. You're not going to get massive smoke from any pellet vs a dedicated smoker -- the food will still be good, but if you're looking for a heavy smoke profile you may be disappointed.

You also are unlikely to get any decent "grilling" on a pellet cooker. You may want to check out GrillGrates for anything that needs a post-smoke sear

Appreciate the information! I’m a legit first timer so I probably won’t do traditional smoking for a bit. I’ll definitely look into the thermometer. First cook will be a pork butt Saturday. Doing the first burn tonight. I think I’ve got everything else taken care of. 

[PanthersATL]

2 hours ago, SuperBowlBound said:

Appreciate the information! I’m a legit first timer so I probably won’t do traditional smoking for a bit. I’ll definitely look into the thermometer. First cook will be a pork butt Saturday. Doing the first burn tonight. I think I’ve got everything else taken care of. 

The important thing is to enjoy what you're doing. Some advice (like using a thermometer, or ways to utilize a piece of grilling equipment) is practical and can apply to everyone.

There are lots of different BBQ/grilling websites to reference to grow your own knowledge and skill.

Bookmark the AmazingRibs.com one for sure - Meathead and crowd are similar to Kenji's writing on SeriousEats.com in terms of trying to break down the science behind why various foods cook a certain way. Get rid of the myths that have been passed down from 1950's Backyard Grilling Dad to 1960's Backyard Grilling Dad (etc) that have since been proven to not always be the best advice

[PanthersATL]

On 9/27/2023 at 6:24 AM, SuperBowlBound said:

Appreciate the information! I’m a legit first timer so I probably won’t do traditional smoking for a bit. I’ll definitely look into the thermometer. First cook will be a pork butt Saturday. Doing the first burn tonight. I think I’ve got everything else taken care of. 

Howd things turn out?  

[SuperBowlBound]

On 10/1/2023 at 1:14 PM, PanthersATL said:

Howd things turn out?  

Came out great!

[LinvilleGorge]

Gonna be some good eatin' tonight

[Chimera]

On 9/18/2023 at 2:23 PM, Mayor Qumiby said:

Just seeing what the other backyard chefs are using to grill/ smoke their gameday food with .

 

I'm currently running a masterbuilt gravity, after years of using a stick burner offset I'm beyond happy with the ease and results this things has put out. Makes for a damn good smoker and a great grill. Has the convenience of a gas and pellet grill yet I still get the flavor as I did with the offset.

 

Doing surf and turf tonight with smoked crab legs and some reverse  seared ribeyes !!

 

How is cleaning the masterbuilt? I've been eyballing them off and on for about a year. I'm content with my old kettle smoker, but I'll be looking for something new soon. 

[PanthersATL]

For those with a classic 22" or 26" Weber Kettle, go and get yourselves two things:

a) the VORTEX. It's basically a piece of heavy-duty sheet metal formed into a volcano/cone shape. Sit that in the middle of your kettle and pile in your charcoal. Crank the coals up to max temperature (open all the vents, you know the drill) and put chicken wings or thighs around the outside of the center ring.   You've got yourself the best air fryer setup for some incredible super-crispy grilled wings.  Lowes shows it at $40, but your local Walmart may have it for under $15, check the clearance rack  https://www.lowes.com/pl/grills-outdoor-cooking/grilling-tools-accessories/vortex/4294610365-721174412814 
 

b) Envious of all your friends with a wifi-enabled pellet grill? Add wifi control and accurate temp management to your Weber kettle with the SPIDER GRILL's VENOM controller. Get complete temp control for your kettle with this electronic add-on (no drilling holes required!). 
 

 

[MechaZain]

Akorn makes some automatic Kamados with temp control that I can't bring myself to pull the trigger on. I'd probably use it 10x as often but all the fun for me is taming the fire. Maybe if I ever have the space for a full outdoor pit setup.

Edited July 7, 2025 by MechaZain

[PanthersATL]

On 6/30/2025 at 6:46 PM, PanthersATL said:

Envious of all your friends with a wifi-enabled pellet grill? Add wifi control and accurate temp management to your Weber kettle with the SPIDER GRILL's VENOM controller. Get complete temp control for your kettle with this electronic add-on (no drilling holes required!). 

 

Cooked a 7+lb pork butt on the kettle with the Venom. Set it at 225, held temp all day long (it was a 14hour cook, the stall at 155 took hours to clear). The temp graph in the app showed a +/- 3 degree variation for hours on end.  Other than constantly checking the phone because I felt like it, it was mainly hands-off

Because I was using lump instead of briquettes (ugh, lump was NOT my choice, but the bag is almost done) I had to restock/reset the fuel after about 5 hours, which was fine.  Finally pulled the pork once it got to 195 - I wasn't going to wait any longer for 200.   (I didn't wrap it through the stall, which was probably another poor choice)

Let it sit for 30m, then pulled it.  Great bark, great flavor.

[HaricotVert]

Ive relied on snakes for shoulders and ribs but the venom sounds awesome

[PanthersATL]

Check Walmart today/this week -- B&B charcoal for $10/bag

 

[PanthersATL]

1 hour ago, HaricotVert said:

Ive relied on snakes for shoulders and ribs but the venom sounds awesome

It's made charcoal grilling super easy for someone who doesn't want to deal with setting up the snake method