Which one is Best Pellet Grill for Brisket?

[johnsethh4]

Hi Everyone! I am John Seth. Can anyone tell me Which one is Best Pellet Grill for Brisket? I am new to grilling and smoking. So I need your suggestions. Thanks in advance.

[Joe Blowe]

If you are new to both grilling and smoking, and set on using wood pellets as your fuel source, I would start by reading the reviews at Amazing Ribs.

[mgaretz]

Amazing Ribs is a great resource.  There are lots of pellet grills to chose from these days, but I would look for one with a large pellet capacity (if you want to do briskets) and also a PID controller.  I started with a little Traeger, but returned it because the temperature was too hard to control (it did not have a PID controller).  I bought a RecTeq and it's been great and they are even better now.

[TdeV]

Hello @johnsethh4. Welcome to eGullet - lots of great folk here.

[gfweb]

I'm sensing a pattern...

[Duvel]

24 minutes ago, gfweb said:

I'm sensing a pattern...

You can see the matrix ..?!

[md8232]

Climate plays a part in this.  It is currently 39F up on my hill.  I wouldn't try firing up my MAK 2 Star in this weather.

Not enough insulation to maintain heat for a cook.

I'm thinking about a Kamado Joe next Spring.  They have even introduced a Pellet Joe.

[Barrytm]

While pellet grills are more popular lately, one potential downside is that some complain they don't give a strong smoke flavor to the food - though in fairness some like a faint smoke .  The other issue is that brisket is often a very long cook, depending on the size, it can be 10 to 16 hours , for that reason, some prefer an electric or propane smoker .  Of course , the electric and propane smokers can't do grilling, and that may be one of the reasons pellet grills are gaining traction lately. 

[Toliver]

Some say that after 4 hours, the meat has absorbed all of the smoke it's going to absorb. Which means the rest of the cooking time your smoker is just being used as an oven to finish the cooking of the meat.

So why not, after 4 hours, remove the brisket, wrap it in foil/plastic wrap, put it in a pan (to catch any drippings) and finish cooking it in your kitchen oven? Low and slow and you should be good to go without wasting pellets. Just a thought...

[catdaddy]

16 hours ago, Toliver said:

Some say that after 4 hours, the meat has absorbed all of the smoke it's going to absorb. Which means the rest of the cooking time your smoker is just being used as an oven to finish the cooking of the meat.

So why not, after 4 hours, remove the brisket, wrap it in foil/plastic wrap, put it in a pan (to catch any drippings) and finish cooking it in your kitchen oven? Low and slow and you should be good to go without wasting pellets. Just a thought...

This. Wrapping a partially smoke-cooked brisket in paper then finishing the cooking is what Aaron Franklin does. Personally I've smoked pork butts on my small PID-less Traeger for 5 hours or so then wrapped in foil and finished in the oven at 275. Excellent results.

[gfweb]

17 hours ago, Toliver said:

 

So why not, after 4 hours, remove the brisket, wrap it in foil/plastic wrap, put it in a pan (to catch any drippings) and finish cooking it in your kitchen oven? Low and slow and you should be good to go without wasting pellets. Just a thought...

 

Or cook it sous vide. I do this with  meats that need gentle handling eg smoked turkey breast,  or meat that needs a long cook to make it tender eg pork butt.

[gfweb]

53 minutes ago, rrigreid said:

Hello Guys,
I been a 20 year best wood pellets user and got my 1st Traeger a few weeks back. I got a pro575 and love it.

The ? I have is I have used oak, maple, plum, and apple and competition blend. Idk if I'm just so used to the charcoal tasted but I'm not tasting a difference between all of them. I have used traeger pellets and the competition is pit boss.

I'm just thinking of mixing all of them and just using them together

 

I don't see a taste difference either. Smoke smells different, but not the taste.  Perhaps its all marketing jive.