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[MysticRhythms]

Have you found any significant difference in the quality of the food you have cooked on the various pits you have used?
I'm not talking about the ease of use of one pit vs. another, or the temp variances, or any of that.
The basic question is: Is there really any difference in the taste of the food coming off of a basic Traeger or off of a top of the line (insert pit of choice here)?
I suspect I know the answer and can say for me the answer is no, once I learned the individual cookers the FOOD tasted the same on my cheap Lil Tex or my PG500.
That doesn't mean I wish to go back to the Lil Tex, I like the PG500 "extras" too much.

[yorkdude]

No difference here but I have only GMG’s and a Traeger so not a high end kind of guy in the pit dept.

[Canadian John]

No taste difference here; Traeger Lil Tex vs Memphis Pro... Charcoal is an other story.

[Bar-B-Lew]

No difference here an I have 5 and cooked on another Traeger as my initial entry into pellet cookers for a two weekend sample by the dealer.

[Canadian John]

 There is one thing I forgot: If there is a direct flame cooking ability, that produces a different flavour profile. "Kissed by fire" or better known as char. So based on this there is a difference..

[dk117]

I think the answer is no.  No significant difference in quality of food.   Traeger, GMG, Louisiana, Gator. 

DK

[silverbullet]

 There is one thing I forgot: If there is a direct flame cooking ability, that produces a different flavour profile. "Kissed by fire" or better known as char. So based on this there is a difference..

I agree, I've owned a Traeger, 2 GMG's & a Louisiana. Smoked food is all the same. Having the flame kissed meat is a nice option to have.

[Trooper]

MAK II Star
Memphis Advantage
     No dif in smoke flavor

I use these for Low & Slo + medium heat cooking only.
For flame & sear I use my Weber charcoal or sometimes just the charcoal chimney with grate.

[Bentley]

No.

The basic question is: Is there really any difference in the taste of the food coming off of a basic Traeger or off of a top of the line (insert pit of choice here)?

Yes.

If there is a direct flame cooking ability, that produces a different flavour profile. "Kissed by fire" or better known as char. So based on this there is a difference..

When it comes to grilling and high heat cooking, yes....there is a difference in my opinion....

[triplebq]

No difference in quality of cook that I can tell on any of my pellet units.

[BigDave83]

I know that the GMG and the Pit Boss will give a better/stronger smoke flavor than my Rec Tec, it is almost nonexistent, using the same pellets.

[glitchy]

I’ve had 2 Traegers, a GMG, and now a Memphis. In general, I’d say no discernible difference in the taste of low and slow foods. However, the the best of about everything I’ve ever made has come of the Memphis, but I attribute that to better and more practiced techniques as I’ve only been doing the smoke thing for about 10 years and still learn something just about every cook and from reading here.

The only true difference I attribute to the pit is the food appearance. The food from the Memphis is definitely ‘cleaner’ from less fly ash landing on it. Some designs just must keep more ash off the food. Since the food tastes the same, it must not take much to make a visual difference either.