How did you discover.......

Pellet cooking?

For me I visited a friend who had a Traeger pro and the food he was cooking with it was amazing, I started looking around and learned about this wonderful world of cooking and I had to join in!

How about you, how did you come discover cooking with pellets?

Several of the guys at my golf club bought Traegers last year and were bragging them up. I got on line this spring to find a Traeger dealer not knowing much at all about pellet smokers. Thanks to the internet I discovered this site and learned a bunch before I ordered my MAK instead. I have been tracking it and it has arrived in Mpls. I take delivery on Monday. Can't wait! Unfortunately I will be out of town until Thursday night. Recieved my frog mats, grill grates, spices and rubs yesterday and have ordered more pellets already after reading several post replies to others that the sample pack will not last very long.

My wife and I attended a KCBS BBQ cooking class with Rod Gray. He cooked all the meats on both a stick cooker and a pellet grill. After comparing the tastes of each, I felt that the flavor from the pellet grill was consistently superior to the stick cooker. It also had the advantage of being a more repeatable cook when compared to a stick cooker, IMO. The pellet cooker was less likely to over-smoke the meat. I don't care for heavily smoked meats. Big Poppa was a big help when it came time to order my MAK. I haven't looked back. Smoke on!!!

Art

A couple guys at work had Treagers and like above they talked them up. I took their word for it since I never tried pellet cooked meat.

started w/ a traeger and now use a mak. couldn't be happier.

Had almost given up on home smoked meats after bad results from my gas fired smoker....saw a Traeger at the store where we buy pool supplies and picked up a brochure...got online and found BPS and PSF....didn't take long to figure out I really needed a MAK....but, never having used a pellet cooker, and it being right before Christmas, went with a Lil Tex to get my foot in the door. Best culinary decision I've ever made!

Rip fed me!

Seriously though. The wife and I visited with Rip and his family last month. He cooked on his Lil Tex for us three days in a row. Chicken. Ribs. Filet Mignon & Shrimp. Knowing he had to make room for his soon to arrive MAK 2, he made us an offer we couldn't refuse.

So here we are!

Sirius76 said:

Rip fed me!...

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And we are glad he did!


For me...

Six years or so ago I'd asked my wife to grab a bag of wood chips from Walmart where she worked. They were out so instead she grabbed a couple bags of BBQ'rs Delight 100% flavor wood pellets. I was intrigued that a small handful of pellets could produce such great flavor and started using them instead of wood chips.

I'd read about Fast Eddy Maurin in a BBQ book and how pellet cookers were becoming popular on the BBQ comp circuit. Last year I came across Big Poppa's YouTube vids using MAK & Memphis cookers. Started posting on the BPS Grillin' Gallery, then BP started this forum and I kept seeing how much you guys love your pellet cookers.

Got my first real pellet grill for my B'Day in March (the Stoven attachment for Weber kettles). I am loving pellet smoking/grilling more and more!

Nepas fed me!

Nepas started posting great looking meals cooked on his Traeger on the Bradley forum before the 1st Nepas smokeout. Then I attended the smokeout and saw the Traeger in action (pre Nepas MAK days). I left knowing I would have a pellet grill before the next smokeout.



3rd Nepas smokeout is next month - Rick you need to revive that thread

I wanted something more than burgers and steaks on the gasser. I looked and seasrched the world wide web for something better until I found the pellet poopers. I'm in love with the pellet. My gasser and off set smoker are now bee hives. I guess I should clean them out and make planters of them.

After listening to my parents and my brother go on about his Treager, I got interested in pellet cooking . My gas grill and the charcoal grills (both Weber) couldn't do what I wanted with smoking and grilling. So I researched pellet grills and almost bought a Treager but it didn't have all the features that I think are needed on a pellet smoker. Then I found BPS, watched the videos (all of them, even the one about asparagus!). After reading more web-sites than I care to mention I decided that the MAK 2 Star was what I was looking for. The rest is history and MAK 402 is now a proud addition to the deck.

Fred bernardo from freds music and bbq sold me a traeger. the rest is history.

amen. now, play ball....

After almost dumping our VERY heavy Kingfisher over the side of our ramp into our toyhauler a couple of times, our cooker sponsor opened a box and said you are taking this (FEC 100) instead of that monster. The rest is history.....

Btw, great thread Carter!

Deb said:

Nepas fed me!

Nepas started posting great looking meals cooked on his Traeger on the Bradley forum.

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Like you Deb it was Nepas, SquirtTheCat, and KyNola among others on the Bradley forum and their MAK. Haven't looked back since!!

smoker pete said:

Like you Deb it was Nepas, SquirtTheCat, and KyNola among others on the Bradley forum and their MAK. Haven't looked back since!!

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yup -- squirt and KyNola and others too, but nepas fed me and let me fill the pellet hopper

I had moved from an offset, to a rotisserie offset, and it seemed like every cooker we used, we modified heavily to control airflow, in the pit, and aircontrol for the pit. I had started playing with one of the first PitMinder/BBQ Guru Pit Boss setups. Shortly after that, I came across Matt/Smokin 101, and Smokin Guns, Emerald Buffalo...and been introduced to pellets. Also met Rod Gray... and seen his successes coming into BBQ... I was very intrigued by the pellets. BBQ Bonanza was/is a sponsor for me, and provided pits, and fabrication to them when we found things that needed tweaking. I was also his "bird dog" for new and different equipment. I showed him the cookshack stuff, and he became a dealer almost immediately. Loading my 650+ rotisserie into the trailer one thurs afternoon, we high-centered the steel wheel on fire box rolling it into the trailer. (on the breakover ramp)

After horsing that around to get it free, Bob said some expletives, and went storming out of the garage of the trailer. Out of the bldg, on the fork lift came a crated up FEC. (old traeger controller.) He plopped it onto the sidewalk and said " We are never loading that rotisserie again!!! Think you can give it up for one of these", pointing at the FEC. I coudlnt believe it! A couple years later, the Lousiana Grills arrived, and I had a kentwood to play with... then Country Smokers showed up... we put the first Whole Hog into service, and immediately won Chicken at the GAB in it, in 2007! From that first taste of the FEC, I've been a pellet head and never turned back. The first contest I got to cook with it at was at Marshalltown, IA. I believe it was 2005 - across from Smokin 101... and Matt welcomed me to the darkside! I've never looked back!!! Pellethead for life here.

At a local brick and mortar here. They had reps with a pellet grill and green egg cooking all day. A few samples here and there and we walked away with one of each

A couple of years ago on Thanksgiving Day I arrived with my clan at Big Poppa's house and found about twelve different smokers by the pool. I don't remember all the brands now but I do recall the big green egg, plus the mini egg sitting on the counter as well as the komodo kymata and others. Big Poppa cooked about seven huge turkeys and other goodies. I was like what ARE these?

Later he started grilling (pun intended) me about getting a smoker. At first I resisted. Now I'm wowing the family.