Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Gringo]

Used to do a lot of smoking on a Weber kettle.  Got pretty good at it, but wanted something bigger.  So, about 15 years ago I bought a big stick burner.  Turned out some pretty good cooks on that thing.  But I live in a 2 story house with a walkout lot and as I got older, I got tired of running the stairs down to the ground in the backyard to check on the temp/fire constantly.

Then, one Saturday my wife went to a Kitchen store here in Minneapolis.  When she came home, she said "You should see the new grill they have and are demoing!"  So,  I had to go take a look.  It was a Memphis Pro.  Needless to say, I was impressed, but not sure I was ready to spend that much $$$.  Over the next 2-3 months, I couldn't get it off my mind,  trying to figure out a way to justify spending that much money to both myself and my wife. 

Then one Saturday, my wife said "Put your shoes on, we're going for a ride."  When I asked where we're going, she told me "To Kitchen Window to buy that Memphis Pro!"

I think I'll keep her!   

[Jimsbarbecue]

Had a Weber 18 inch bullet and a friend had a Traeger. My first pellet grill was a Royall and in their defense one of their first ones. Had a few issues and returned it for a MAK 2 star based on the review Bentley did. Still have and cook on that one to this day. The Royall sold me on the concept and later ones had none of the issues I had.

[Free Mr. Tony]

Probably around 2009 or 10, I would see traegers at the ace hardware stores. They had the normal traegers with the old wood handles, and 3 speed controllers. They also had the pink pig, and the steer models. Always loved the concept, but at the time the price seemed way out of whack.

A couple years and xxxxxx purchases later, I got 2nd place in a poker tourney. I didn't feel as bad spending other people's money on a traeger lil Tex. Sold that (not one issue). Got a pg500. No issues, but I had also purchased the whole hog so the pg500 went to my brother in law. Still have the whole hog.

I have personally facilitated the purchase of three pellet grills for other people. All of them have told me every chance they get that they couldn't be happier.

Unfortunately, the pellet world has cost me a boatload of money. On top of the 4500 or so I've spent on pellet pits, they also gave me a taste for quality equipment. I've also bought a Lang,  270 smoker, and hunsaker vortex drum as a result of becoming addicted to the hobby. Makes that 700 dollars I didn't want to spend on the traeger look like pocket change. I guess blame it on the poker game.

[Clonesmoker]

My brother knew I had couple electric smokers and knew I like to piddle around. I went back home for Christmas a couple of years ago and he bought me one for $300 GMG DB non WiFi model. He had a buddy at work whose dad was selling them so a couple others latched onto the same deal. He even got me the cover for it. 

[Lothar1974]

Being in MN back around 2006 ish there was not really any good BBQ places.  I had been to a place called Rudolphs as a kid with my parents and recall it being good. After revisiting years later I did not care for it.  I started looking for bbq places and recipes and how to cook bbq. I researched for a few years then stumbled upon a pellet smoker site.  I did alot of reading / research. I really liked the idea of not having to baby sit Q all day.  I started looking on CL and one day saw a Traeger Lil Tex for sale fairly cheap compared to a brand new unit. The kicker was it was brand new, never used. The guy won it in a Papa Johns contest and it just sat in his garage for several years.  I promptly called him and said I'd take it.  I drove out that day after work and got it. I beleive that was 2008 or 2009.  Been pellet smoking ever since.   

[MysticRhythms]

When we moved back to Spokane after 5 years in Moscow Idaho I needed a new grill. Bought a Chargriller Duo. It was 1/2 gas and 1/2 charcoal. Shortly I was using nothing but charcoal. Then SWIMBO and I saw one of those traveling cooking shows and they showed baby backs. We both looked at each other and said "I want that!"

So I bought a firebox that attached to the charcoal side of the BBQ and got smoking. Lots of really bad white billowing smoke with the added bonus of not being able to maintain temp worth a xxxx.

I saw that I could get a propane insert for the firebox. That didn't work for me either.

I knew there had to be a better way so off to Google I went. I soon discovered pellet grills and bought a Traeger 075. Then I found Larry, Bentley and their friends. Soon I was actually producing some kind of good food. Then I found the review section and really wished I had found that site before I bought my Traeger. It was great for me but not quite what I wanted, still too much babysitting. So I bought a PG500 based largely on the performance testing and I couldn't be happier.

Now if I could just find a few more recipes that fit into our new diet plans!

[GREG-B]

Near as I can remember this is how it came about.   Started with a little chief smoker for  while until it broke then I got a bigger upright gas smoker and it wouldn't produce enough smoke unless it got so hot it cooked rather than put smoke into it.   Got rid of that and started researching pellet smoker that somebody had mentioned and a friend of a friend who knew somebody in GMG got me a deal on a DB.   Still not sure what his function at GMG is but it was a pretty good deal from what I had found locally so went for it.   Then I found Bentley and his posse.  Thanks guys and gals.

[pz]

My story is kind of like a few others - accidentally got into it.  About 15 years ago my wife told me that her dad was cooking on a grill fueled using wood pellets - I my naivete I though she was nuts and must have misunderstood - who would be dumb enough to cook using pellets glued together with who knows what kind of toxic chemicals. I'd never heard of a pellet cooker before that.

Then in 2006 or so (I think), she called me and said "Bring the truck to Costco; I just bought a grill". I'm accustomed to that kind of phone call from her so I didn't even ask what it was, and just went. I was shocked to see her waiting outside Costco with a couple of large boxes and a couple of bags of pellets. Now I was the one that felt dumb 

She had purchased it for herself, but in the years since, I've gradually taken it over 

[RobertG]

I live in Oregon and I really wanted a Traeger.   It was back in the 90's and the grills were still made in Oregon.  I decided I couldn't afford a Traeger at the time so I planned on getting another cheap gas grill.  I went to Home Depot picked out the gas grill I wanted.  They didn't have the grill I wanted in a box, the ones they had in stock were already assembled.  The box would have fit in the car but the assembled grill would not fit in the car so I left without a grill.   Shortly after that there was a sporting goods store called G.I. Joes that  had just started as a Traeger dealer and they were cooking that weekend and had a big sale.  I went to the store had some of the food they cooked saw the sale price on the grills and went home with an Oregon made Traeger.   The grill has an Ortech controller and 3 settings. smoke, medium, and high.   Two years ago I purchased my second pellet grill.  It is a Blazng Gridiron. 

[ShireSteve]

I was wine tasting, the winery owner was showing me round the machinery involved in making the fantastic Shiraz I was tasting. He noted that he would be having the same wine with with pellet smoked veg and bone in leg of lamb. The way he described his upcoming dinner had me sold. Much googling later as pellet grills are not very common in Australia yet, a GMG DB arrived in my backyard.
Absolutely love the thing, consistently makes outstanding meals, still got lots to learn to really get the best from it, but loving the ride.

Bought the pizza oven for the DB recently, very happy with how that turns out my pizzas too

[Kristin Meredith]

Good topic.  Thought I would bump and see if there are some additional answers out there.

[Maineac]

Mine was a logical progression in the smoke life.  I went from electric to a Weber Smokey Mountain and that thing required bending and other work that my body didn't like so I starting looking for alternatives.  My barber had a pellet grill and raved about it so I sought them out.  As near as I can tell there was only one pellet grill dealer in Maine at the time and he carried MAKs so I ended up with a 1-Star #184 and still cook on it.

[mrtune]

Was visiting my cousin in 2013, he had a GMG and this was the first pellet grill I had ever seen. I knew I had to have one. So searching the net and also looking for someone who offered financing I decided on a Rec-Tec. After using it for 3 yrs I knew then what I was looking for in a pellet grill Last year purchased my Cookshack Fast Eddy PG-500 and completely love it!!!

[Greg1]

I come from a fairly large family and about 6 or 7 years ago we were having a large fall party.  My boss let me borrow his traeger texas elite is the model i believe it was.  I fixed pork loins and pork shoulders for pulled pork and everyone went nuts for it.  I was hooked I couldn't afford a new one so the search was on for one of my own.  Well my patience finally paid off when I found a same as new Louisiana LG900 for a steal of a price and I haven't looked back.  I have it and a big horn pellet grill not a hi tech fancy grill but it had only been used a couple times and was $50 at a garage sale.  I am currently scouring craigslist and offer up trying to find a third one to add to the fleet.  If anyone in the greater indy area hear's or has a good used one for sale let me know.

[TLK]

I was building an outdoor kitchen and wanted an attached smoker.  I didn't like the design that I kept coming up with for some time of off-set so I started looking at pellet grills.  My neighbor had a traeger and loved it.  After doing more research on them (and a handful of cooks on my friends unit), I bought a Yoder y640 and have never looked back