Gave up my stick burner for a pellet grill, no regrets yet

After 4 years of babying a offset smoker in Austin, I finally borrowed my neighbor's pellet rig for a brisket cook last Saturday and the bark came out just as good, maybe better. The steady temp control meant I actually slept instead of babysitting the firebox every 45 minutes, and the meat had that same smoky bite without the ash taste I expected. Anyone else make the switch and stick with it, or did you end up going back to sticks?

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irisowens11d ago

And that's exactly where I think you're wrong. You got lucky with one cook, but pellets are for people who want a grill, not a smoker. I've had both for years and the difference shows up in the long cook. My stick burner gives me that deep, layered smoke that changes over the cook, and the bark gets that dark, glossy finish you can't fake. Plus, you're paying for convenience with a bag of compressed sawdust that has no soul. Sure, you slept more, but you also gave up the whole point of smoking, which is the ritual and the skill. I'll take my ash taste over a machine doing my thinking any day.

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