Advice on what to buy..

Hi Rob, welcome to the forum. I have both. Two electrics and 1 PG500. I have to tell you, that since I bought the PG500 18 months ago, I have only used my electrics when I didn't have enough pellets on hand. So there is the first rub. (no pun intended.) It's more expensive to operate a pellet grill. I go through about 1-2 pds an hour depending on the temp. Good bags of pellets can be had for $15 for 20 pounds. I got my price down to $6 per 20 pounds by buying in bulk.

But, I prefer the product coming out of my PG500. It's my preference. May not be the same as yours or the next guys. I am lucky enough to have both. I like the dryer environment in the PG500. The electrics hold moisture really well. It still creates enough bark in the electrics. The temperature swings in the PG500 are a bit more drastic. But nothing horrible. I can watch it go from 225 to 235 and down to 210 but it usually levels out over time on the longer cooks. The Electrics are very stable in my opinion. Once they get to temp they stay there within 1-5 degrees. And most of the time don't even budge. I know it's a lot of random information. Maybe some others will chime in. Let me know if you have any other questions.

How do you compare the strength of smoke between the the electric, and the pellet????

Rob:

I have not used a pellet grill/smoker so really can't comment on them. I have 3 Cookshack electric smokers, so I am pretty partial to them. Since just before last Thanksgiving, I have done 30 pounds of pulled pork, 2 turkeys, 50 pounds of cheese, 50 pounds of Summer Sausage, 60 pounds of brisket, 2 Prime ribs, and a ham. I am going to do salmon tomorrow. I have done Jalapeno Poppers, Bologna, and meatloaf. These smokers do a great job cooking pork and beef ribs. They will cold smoke and hot smoke. I fire up the gas grill, and do a reverse sear on things like Prime Rib, and Tri-tip roasts. You could do this with burgers, and steaks. I am not a big chicken fan, so haven't spent much time trying to learn to cook it. I know there are people here that do a great job cooking chicken. I could go on and on, but since you asked for a recommendation, get the biggest residential Cookshack smoker you can that fits your budget.

Rob: Meat will only take in a smoke flavor until it reaches 110 to 120 degrees internally. I went through the more smoke and longer smoke thing. Everything started to taste the same. I finally learned that smoke after the 120 degree area was just laying on the surface. It becomes bitter. I finally realized that it smelled and tasted like creosote. You can over smoke food in a Cookshack. Some of the good cooks on this forum say they don't add wood when they are doing mild meats like chicken and fish. The seasoning that builds up on inside of the smoker gives off enough smoke flavor.

I found the pellets produced better flavor of smoke then the wood chunks. Just my opinion. I use 100% Cherry and 100% Hickory. That fits my flavor profile. I like to mix at 60/40 blend with hickory being the 60. There is another benefit to pellets. You can control the mixture a little bit better then the electrics.

I am not one to argue but, I could have sworn the fine cooks on this site taught us that meat will take on smoke up to 140 internal. But, I could be wrong.

Padrefan: I was just guessing about the temp that meat would take in the smoke flavor. I know that I read this about 10 years ago in something that Smokin Okie wrote. I am not arguing with you. You can over smoke meat, and some of the cheaper smokers keep feeding wood pellets during the whole smoke. I don't have a FEPD500. Can you cold smoke on these?

Rob,

As to smokers, I've owned a Cookshack electric, a Louisiana pellet grille, a Cookshack FEC-100 and now have ended up with a Cookshack PG1000.

It is easy to over-smoke with an electric if that is what you want to do.
The pellet cookers tend to have a lighter smoke profile which many people like.

I ended up with the PG1000 because it will smoke and or grill and is insulated, thus it is now my go to outdoor cooker

The PG500 / PG1000 have ALOT of control over pellet feed so are extremely flexible in that area, allowing for changes in pellet brands, outdoor temperature and cooking temperature.

As to grilling over a hot open hardwood fire, you can do that with the PG500 / PG1000 and it is wonderful.

I have cold smoked cheese and smoked sausage in my electric and in my FE-100 so I see no reason why I couldn't do it with my PG1000, I just did not do any this last year.

Yes, you can cold smoke with the PG500/1000. They say that the warming drawer can be used as an area to cold smoke. I haven't done it this way. My favorite way to cold smoke in these is to use an A-maze-n Tube smoker in the firepot area. I do cheese and almonds this way.

I have an electric SM025 and a PG500 pellet grill. If I were to have only one, I'd probably go with the PG500. It can smoke and grill. It can't handle the volume that the electrics are capable of, but for my use it would be sufficient. But, I'm not about to give up my electric, either. I will say, though, that the PG500 has convinced me to get rid of my old propane grill.

I have sen several comments along the same lines - better the PG500 than a propane grill. But I wonder, why is it desirable to "get rid of" a grill that lets you fire up, grill a steak or two to med-rare, and be eating it in 20 minutes total, with essentially no clean-up or attention required? What about doing 40 hot dogs quickly for an outdoor party? I mean, why give up that option? Just wondering.

To end the NAGGING about having "too many grills" on your deck!

After not even taking the cover off of my WEBER for over a year I was glad to give it to someone who uses and appreciates it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jay1924:
I have sen several comments along the same lines - better the PG500 than a propane grill. But I wonder, why is it desirable to "get rid of" a grill that lets you fire up, grill a steak or two to med-rare, and be eating it in 20 minutes total, with essentially no clean-up or attention required? What about doing 40 hot dogs quickly for an outdoor party? I mean, why give up that option? Just wondering.

My old propane grill is just that, 15+ years old, burners corroding, grills getting thin, but still usable. It was due for replacement but with the PG500 there is no real reason to. Yes, the direct grill area is significantly smaller, but you can always start the cooking on the indirect side and transfer to the direct side to finish and sear the outside. I must say, though, even if the propane was newer I think it would be rare when I might choose to use it over the pellet due to the extra bit if flavor that the burning wood adds to the cooked food. JMHO.

Rob - A lot of good information here. I have been mulling over my reply and doing some prowling around the web gathering info. One source is run by a fellow named Meathead. Easy to find.

I have done years of smoking on a weber kettle and then an offset smoker. The smoke profile is definitely different than with an electric. Wet chips always went into the Weber with the coals banked on one side of the grill. The offset burned a mix of lump mesquite and chunks of hardwood. The smoke exiting the chimney when visible was very wispy and light. Meat came out flavorful with a nice mahogany color. On the Amerique, the smoke is a tad heavier, not wispy, sort of an opaque white. The meat comes out with a darker crust. Not bitter, just different.

According to Meathead, thin blue smoke it ideal, and can really only be obtained with burning wood as the heat source. In an electric, or any system with wet chips, the wood smolders, does not burn, and the chemicals it releases effect taste. Because there is no flame, the particulate matter that makes up the smoke is larger and that gives it the whitish color. Actual wood combustion has smaller particulates and thus the smoke is thin and blue (some of the time) depending upon the smoker system. The hotter the fire, the thinner the smoke.

I went electric because I was tired of having to tend the offset on long smokes. I loved the flavor and and the color but I can achieve similar in the electric. Very little wood, just a couple of ounces. It pretty much comes down to your personal preference for the system, how it will be used, and what research on your part reveals. And of course the budget.

Here is a link to Meathead:

http://amazingribs.com/tips_an...que/zen_of_wood.html

I hope posting this link did not violate any rules.

Dave

Same question regarding pellet vs electric for low, slow, 20 hours, 225F cooks.

The information from Meathead regarding electric smoking has me looking at pellet smokers. But then I hear pellet smokers have a faint smoke flavor.

When it comes to burning wood in an electric, it was mentioned using soaked wood chips. I presume you can use dry chips and/or chunks. Perhaps the flavor will be better? Maybe A-MAZE-N would work?

Here are my priorities:
1) Smoke flavor to rival stick burner or on par with charcoal/wood. Love the smoke flavor from my WSM+wood.
2) Convenient (set & forget).
3) Efficient.

I want #2 and #3, without sacrificing #1.
Thought about electric, but I don't want to sacrifice smoke flavor(#1).
Thought about pellet, but it sounds like it sacrifices #1 too.

How much would I be sacrificing smoke #1 if I went electric?
How much would I be sacrificing smoke #1 if I went pellet?

Or which is the closest to #1?

My Amerique gives great smoke flavor, sometimes too much (for anyone else than me ) I rarely use more than 3-4 oz. of dry chunks. The flavor is not like charcoal gives, less pungent and chemical-tasting. I set it and walk away, and it is certainly efficient for long cooks like butt, short ribs or brisket. Just my $.02.

On the electric, what color is the smoke?
Is it blue, white, grayish?

Cloudy white to begin followed by thin blue.