best pellet grill under$1000 and $1500 for searing?

extremevalues

New member
I want to buy my first pellet grill, and I am budget conscious. I'd like to spend less than a grand, but am realizing with my research that maybe that is not possible.

I would like this unit to replace my gas grill as well as add smoking capability. I will be using it for mostly grilling. Is there a best do it all model that I can get with my budget?

What is the best for under $1000? under $1500?
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Trust me when I tell you that no one is more budget conscious than me. I absolutely cannot stand wasting money and wanted to be sure that when I did spend my money, that it was being spent the best possible way...

even if that meant I had to spend a little more.

And that is exactly why we settled on the MAK 1 star ($1300). There were certain things I knew I wanted. I wanted high quality, American Made, and versatility. The MAK 1 Star got us into the highest possible quality grill and let us add options as budget allowed.

Not once have we ever regretted our decision.
 

extremevalues

New member
I have my eye on a few models/Brands.

Under $1000
Green Mountain Daniel Boone

I'm concerned this will not work well for searing steaks


Under $1500
Yoder YS480 - with direct grill package
MAK 1 Star General - do I need to add something special for searing or is that included? I can't find the info I'm looking for.

Pushing the budget limits
Memphis Select - This thing is on the top of my budget and I would have no money for add-ons, so I'm not even sure it is in the running.

HELP!
 

51Phantom

New member
GMG DB is great for searing steaks, units gets up to 500 degrees and with some Grill Grates it is money for searing.
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
I own two MAK grills and have cooked on a Daniel Boone. If you budget is under $1000 the Daniel Boone would be your only choice. If you have the funds for a MAK I would recommend it.
 

scooter

Moderator
OK, here's my take on searing with pellets. Can it be done? yes but with limitations. Grill grates give you grill marks but that's about it. The marks look great with all the maillard flavoring that comes with it but all the meat in between the marks won't have the same browning/flavor as the marks do. Personally I prefer a steak that has the maillard browning all over it, not just in stripes. Yeah, the stripes are dramatic and purdy but I prefer taste over purdy anytime.
Another problem with running a pellet pit up to 500F+ is the powder coating will take a beating over a relatively short period of time depending on how often you run it up there. I don't want my black powder coat to get gray prematurely.
My solution to this issue is to use my MAK for low and slow and a simple and cheap charcoal grill like a Weber kettle for high temp grilling or even better yet, a BPS drum which does double duty. After years and years of cooking with charcoal, then 10 years cooking with gas (convincing myself that the flavor difference was worth the tradeoff for the ease of gas) I finally came to the conclusion that there's absolutely no replacement for grilling over charcoal!
It really all depends on you and what you'd be happy with. I know what makes me happy, a pellet pit and a BPS drum. I've got the best of both worlds all wrapped up in those two cookers.
 

TentHunter

Moderator
extremevalues said:
add options as budget allowed.

What options do I need to make this thing sear a steak?

just grill grates or the searing grate....


Like BP said, just GrillGrates or the MAK searing grate will work.

Or...

Another great and extremely overlooked option for searing is the MAK griddle. You can get some sear-ious ;) overall browning like scooter talk about with it.

For new MAK 1 Star buyers I swear by getting at least one upper half rack and the griddle/split grate combo (you need it to use the griddle). With that combo you immediately increase the versatility of the grill and what you can cook on it. That griddle is an incredibly versatile accessory, and at least one upper half rack increases capacity.
 

roburado

New member
Like BP said, just GrillGrates or the MAK searing grate will work.

Or...

Another great and extremely overlooked option for searing is the MAK griddle. You can get some sear-ious ;) overall browning like scooter talk about with it.

For new MAK 1 Star buyers I swear by getting at least one upper half rack and the griddle/split grate combo (you need it to use the griddle). With that combo you immediately increase the versatility of the grill and what you can cook on it. That griddle is an incredibly versatile accessory, and at least one upper half rack increases capacity.

absolutely Tent I do blackened steak on the griddle and a pan smoked that gives you superb maillard

Great! I was going to try that! Glad to hear that I'm not the only one. Over the winter we were doing some great steaks seared in our cast iron skillet, indirect heat in the oven, basted with butter back on the stove. (See "Momofuku" cookbook.) I was going to adapt the technique by either putting the skillet in our 2 Star or using the griddle.
 
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