Who has one and what model? I’ve looked at old threads. Think I’m going to get the Deck Boss 800. Hints? Favorite pellets? Favorite accessories?

I’ve got a Traeger woodridge pellet grill. It’s great for long slow cooks like Boston butt, ribs, brisket…

It’s not that great for steaks and burgers. Can’t get a good sear.

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

They are easy and convenient though.

I've had a 590 for a few years now and have nothing but good things to say about it. I usually use Bear Mountain pellets but I have used Pit Boss and have no complaints with them either. We're moving in a few months and I'll probably leave it with the house and replace it with a new model at the new house.

Not an owner, but I coveted my neighbor's. I have a Green Mountain which has served me well, tons of room for a big bird.

Not familiar with what Rectec offers but ensure you have a good temp probe, the secret to all things smoked. Rib racks are handy, as is a finely screened tray for shrimp or similar.

BIG fan of Lumber Jack pellets.

Congrats on the smoker, it's a good unit, I still run my Traeger, it's well over 15 years old.

I've run Traeger pellets and Pitt Boss, basically get the same results. For now I use Costco's Kirkland Premium Blend. It's a blend of Oak, Hickory, Maple, and Cherry plus you get 40 pounds for the cost of Traeger or other brands 20 pound bag.

Link Kirkland Blend Pellets


Being a blend it does a great job on everything, you can always pickup a bag of a straight wood blend like Hickory if you are doing Carolina Pork, or Mesquite for foul/fish like a Turkey, Chicken.

Traeger has a premium gourmet blend and it's pretty good as well.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
I've had a 590 for a few years now and have nothing but good things to say about it. I usually use Bear Mountain pellets but I have used Pit Boss and have no complaints with them either. We're moving in a few months and I'll probably leave it with the house and replace it with a new model at the new house.

How much stuff can you fit on the 590? I think the 800 may be a little big, but I’d rather be able to clean out the freezer and do a lot at once instead of wishing I had more room.

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
I’ve got a Traeger woodridge pellet grill. It’s great for long slow cooks like Boston butt, ribs, brisket…

It’s not that great for steaks and burgers. Can’t get a good sear.

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

They are easy and convenient though.

Try smoking your steak at 250-275 until 122-5°. Sear at 600+ on grill or screaming hot pan to add color and sear. 60-90s per side.

Ends up with a steak that doesn't have doneness gradient, nice smoke flavor, and solid crust on the sear.

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
I’ve got a Traeger woodridge pellet grill. It’s great for long slow cooks like Boston butt, ribs, brisket…

It’s not that great for steaks and burgers. Can’t get a good sear.

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

They are easy and convenient though.

I have the big Weber kettle I’ll keep for steaks and such

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
I’ve got a Traeger woodridge pellet grill. It’s great for long slow cooks like Boston butt, ribs, brisket…

It’s not that great for steaks and burgers. Can’t get a good sear.

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

They are easy and convenient though.

Try smoking your steak at 250-275 until 122-5°. Sear at 600+ on grill or screaming hot pan to add color and sear. 60-90s per side.

Ends up with a steak that doesn't have doneness gradient, nice smoke flavor, and solid crust on the sear.

will try that too!

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
I’ve got a Traeger woodridge pellet grill. It’s great for long slow cooks like Boston butt, ribs, brisket…

It’s not that great for steaks and burgers. Can’t get a good sear.

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

They are easy and convenient though.

I have family members who want dinner really early. I need to be able to do big things overnight and not run out of fuel. Butts and briskets aren’t done on time when I start the (even early) in the morning.If it were just me and my sister and we couldn’t eat until 8:00 or 9:00 it would be fine.

I have the 590. Been using it for about five and a half years now. I prefer the Costco Kirkland branded pellets. They have one of the better flavors I have had, and I have tried a lot of pellets over the last few years.

Best accessory is a stainless steel welders brush from Home Depot. Best $6 grill brush I have bought.

When you are considering the size to get, I find that the sweet spot is in the center of the bottom rack (assuming the smoker has 2 racks). I have used the full cooking space plenty of times, but I prefer to cook in the center. The temperature and smoke seems to be much more even. This is based on my experience with 2 pellet smokers and my offset stick burner. What does this mean to you? It means bigger is better, even if you don't need the advertised capacity. Clearly, if you have other size constraints, that will factor in.

We have the RT-700 “Bull” and have been very happy with the meats we’ve done. The WiFi unit is a real convenience and allows one to monitor a cook without actually being there. I’ll put a pork butt on the smoker late evening knowing it will take 12-14 hours until it finishes. I never get up to check it as the controller takes care of everything. I might wake up at night to make a head call and look at the app on my phone to see temps but that’s it.

We’ve been most satisfied with Lumberjack pellets.

We’ve had the 1100 for almost 4 years. Love it.

Accessories, smoke tube for smoking cheeses in the winter time. ThermoWorks Thermapen. I’ve used both the Kirkland pellets and the Sam’s Club pellets. Both have worked well. Haven’t had a bad meal cooked on it. From normal BBQ (pulled pork, ribs, brisket) to salmon, chicken wings, tons of appetizer/snack foods. Haven’t use my Weber gas grill since we bought it.

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

This is my concern as well, one of the reasons I haven't pulled the Traeger trigger.

I also have the RT-700 Bull. Have had it for more than five years. Love it. Just smoked an 11 pound pork butt last weekend. Put it on at 11:15 PM Saturday night with a full load of pellets at 225 degrees. Got up at 6AM thinking I might need to add pellets. To my surprise, the smoker had not used much and did not need to add. Smoked it until 11AM to get meat to about 155 then off to the 300 degree oven for about four hours to bring it up to 210. Turned out great. Highly recommend the Rec-Tec.

The 11 pound pork butt took up half the surface. I could have done two of those without a problem.

Only complaint is that I sometimes get inconsistent readings from the temperature probes - one reads high - and have replaced them once or twice over the years. But, I've learned to account for the inconsistencies by periodically checking the temp with an instant read thermometer and it's not a huge problem.

I mostly use their pellets and buy a couple hundred pounds at a time. In a pinch, I use the Treager pellets that I can get locally at Home Depot.

Agree with below that the folding shelf is a must.

I also got 4 "grill grates" for grilling and searing. Work great. The Rec-Tec. set at max with the grill grates in place and sprayed with a non=stick spray can do great steaks or searing as needed. I like to do steaks low for a while to put some smoke on them then crank up the heat to sear them. Can you tell I love my Rec-Tec?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sailor1911,

I've got a Bullseye and love it!

Had buddy over about a month after I first got it and slow smoked some ribeye steaks. Pulled them, heated the grill and seared them. At the end of the meal he bought one to replace two other smokers he had.

It does really well at low smoke, but if I want to sear something it rocks. This is really where it sets itself apart from most other pellet grills. The ability to go over 700°.

This size works perfect for me and would be suitable for a small family pretty easily.

I agree with the Kirkland pellets working really well.

If you don't have hi-temp silicone gloves I would recommend some.

The only other accessory you will want with any bbq will be good thermometer probes or a quality instant read.

Cheers~

quote:

Recteq

Buy the folding front shelf for whatever model you choose, having a place to place a tray to pull cooked food is a good addition and will be well used.

Link

Also a Storage dispenser for open bags of pellets is a great tool. I dump the bag into the dispenser helps with storage.

Link storage dispenser

quote:

Originally posted by MelissaDallas:


How much stuff can you fit on the 590? I think the 800 may be a little big, but I’d rather be able to clean out the freezer and do a lot at once instead of wishing I had more room.

My RT590 is discontinued but was middle of the road sized in their lineup when I bought it. I think it's about 19" front to back and around 27 wide on the grates and holds plenty. Comfortably 2 full racks of ribs and could easily do 4 or 5 on edge. I've done 4 pork butts at a time with room for a couple me.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:

Also, I don’t get a lot of smoke flavor from a pellet grill

This is my concern as well, one of the reasons I haven't pulled the Traeger trigger.

I have the same results with mine. Bought a couple of the pellet smoke tubes and had a weird back draft and smoking out the fire box the first time I used it. Had never had the issue before or since only the time i tried the smoke tube.

While I really like the looks of the heavy smoke ring I am better off not eating it.

I was reluctant to get a pellet smoker but came across a deal i couldn't pass up. I really like the convenience of them. Just feed them pellets and keep it clean. So easy. No bottles. Starter fluid. Just turn it on and set the desired temp and your good to go. It holds the temp better then anything I have ever used besides the oven.