Traeger vs Green Mountain

[garmp]

Think I'm in the market for a pellet grill. (By that I mean I haven't discussed this with the DW yet) Really, really want one, but which. Pretty much got it down to Traeger vs Green Mountain. Want quality, but price is a definite qualifier. Don't want something for the road, home use only. Won't be cooking for competition nor crowds, so a smaller one is fine. Love to smoke stuff on my charcoal Brinkmann, but want something I can set for 6+ hours of smoking without feeding charcoal constantly.
What's your thoughts?

[Rotis]

mike brez wrote:

garmp1 wrote:
So where's the best deal on pellets?

I get mine on amazon the guys on the smoking fourm were raving about them. I have been using them for a couple years now.

I have too, and it's nice to have them delivered right to your door. We travel in our RV a lot and we have them delivered right to our site, wherever we are.

[mike_brez]

garmp1 wrote:
So where's the best deal on pellets?

I get mine on amazon the guys on the smoking fourm were raving about them. I have been using them for a couple years now.

[ORbiker]

IDoMyOwnStunts wrote:
Have a Traeger, but only really because it was a Costco special. We love it. I might have gone GMG if it weren't for Costco. Both are good choices.

However, as a caution, if you use an external meat thermometer with the Traeger, wrap the wires where it enters the grill in some foil for protection. I went through several probes until I read that trick. Don't know if GMG has that heavy of a lid, but thought I'd throw that out there to save a little heartache.

You'll love grilling with pellets. Anything you can bake, you can also cook with pellets using the same recipes. One of our best was a whole turkey. Happy eating!

I don't know about the other Green Mountain Grills, but my Davy Crockett has a small hole with a slide cover for the meat thermometer that comes with the grill. Slide open the cover and poke it through to probe the meat. You can toggle from meat temp to grill temp on the grill or see both on the phone using the App.
Life is rough.

[garmp]

So where's the best deal on pellets?

[mike_brez]

Love my Davy Crockett. Brisket,ribs,fish

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

Have a Traeger, but only really because it was a Costco special. We love it. I might have gone GMG if it weren't for Costco. Both are good choices.

However, as a caution, if you use an external meat thermometer with the Traeger, wrap the wires where it enters the grill in some foil for protection. I went through several probes until I read that trick. Don't know if GMG has that heavy of a lid, but thought I'd throw that out there to save a little heartache.

You'll love grilling with pellets. Anything you can bake, you can also cook with pellets using the same recipes. One of our best was a whole turkey. Happy eating!

[garmp]

Grill just arrived!!! Got it to the back patio just before the rain came. Covered it with a tarp and will start assembly tomorrow, then the burn off or whatever it's called while I brine some pork chops and prepare for the initial smoke. Have to let you know in a day or two of our opinion of "pellet" smoking.
Thanks for all the info and help.

[davosfam]

garmp1 wrote:
Pulled the trigger today and ordered the RecTec RT300 (mini). Should have it in about 10 or less days. The gentleman on the phone was super friendly and helpful. His reassurance, online reviews, and forum posts, mostly about customer service, pushed me over the edge. More than likely won't be taking this on the road, for home use only. Pretty eager to try.

You won't regret your choice. We have been very happy with ours. If you have looked at other brands, you will be impressed with the quality of the RT.

[GoPackGo]

In addition to Pelletheads.com, which is excellent, here's a couple others for you:

Pelletsmoking.com

Amazingribs.com Not specifically a pellet grill site.

You might also visit the different pellet grill manufacturer sites as they all have a recipes section, some better then others.

Last - I use a Lavatools Javelin instant read thermometer. You can get them on Amazon for $20-25. Good stuff.

[garmp]

Pulled the trigger today and ordered the RecTec RT300 (mini). Should have it in about 10 or less days. The gentleman on the phone was super friendly and helpful. His reassurance, online reviews, and forum posts, mostly about customer service, pushed me over the edge. More than likely won't be taking this on the road, for home use only. Pretty eager to try.

[Rotis]

ORbiker wrote:

GoPackGo wrote:

ORbiker wrote:
I've got a hunk of pork loin doing a slow cook today.

ORbiker - could you provide the details ? How much did the loin weigh (boneless ?), what temp did you cook at, and for how long ? It also looks like your chimney cap is closed - do you cook this way ?

Thanks much.

I'm just learning. I read some ways to cook and then modify it.

The pork loin is about 6 lb. and has no bones.
I soaked it in a salt spice brine overnight.
I seared it at 500* for 15 minutes on each side with the chimney open all the way and then brought the temp down to 160* for 7 hours with the chimney just cracked. I flipped the meat twice during the 7 hours. The meat was at 155* then and we were getting hungry, so I brought the temp up to 255* to finish it off and got the meat up 172* in another 30 minutes. The last 30 minutes I put a little BBQ sauce on it too.

I don't know if this is the right way or if there is even a wrong way with a smoker like the GMG. The pork sliced easily with a knife and once in slices was easy to cut with a fork (even at an inch thick).
I used cherry wood pellets.

Looks and sounds great, you're going to get some outstanding food from your GMG. If I may give you one tip, always cook with the chimney damper wide open. GMG recommends it because of the way the air flows and it helps keep temps even across the cooking area.

There's a lot of good info on http://pelletheads.com, check it out if you haven't already.

[GoPackGo]

Thanks very much. I want a starting point, so I'll probably give your method a try.

[ORbiker]

GoPackGo wrote:

ORbiker wrote:
I've got a hunk of pork loin doing a slow cook today.

ORbiker - could you provide the details ? How much did the loin weigh (boneless ?), what temp did you cook at, and for how long ? It also looks like your chimney cap is closed - do you cook this way ?

Thanks much.

I'm just learning. I read some ways to cook and then modify it.

The pork loin is about 6 lb. and has no bones.
I soaked it in a salt spice brine overnight.
I seared it at 500* for 15 minutes on each side with the chimney open all the way and then brought the temp down to 160* for 7 hours with the chimney just cracked. I flipped the meat twice during the 7 hours. The meat was at 155* then and we were getting hungry, so I brought the temp up to 255* to finish it off and got the meat up 172* in another 30 minutes. The last 30 minutes I put a little BBQ sauce on it too.

I don't know if this is the right way or if there is even a wrong way with a smoker like the GMG. The pork sliced easily with a knife and once in slices was easy to cut with a fork (even at an inch thick).
I used cherry wood pellets.

[GoPackGo]

ORbiker wrote:
I've got a hunk of pork loin doing a slow cook today.

ORbiker - could you provide the details ? How much did the loin weigh (boneless ?), what temp did you cook at, and for how long ? It also looks like your chimney cap is closed - do you cook this way ?

Thanks much.

[GoPackGo]

garmp1 wrote:
GoPackGo, I have heard that the GMG DC grill has hot spot or uneven temp issues. Have you experienced this?

The left side of mine seems to run warmer then the right side. It's not enough to cause me any problems. I only noticed it when I cooked 2 chickens and the wing tips on the left chicken were noticeably browner.

I don't see any effect when I cook things for long periods of time at lower temps, such as ribs that get cooked for 6 hours.