I have a question for Johnathon. I believe yesterday you mention something about the Green Mountain Smoker. I have been testing the electric Masterbuilt for temperature control with my new (but old version) GrillEye wirless thermometer. The temperature difference is almost 20 degrees from the top to bottom. I can work with that but I don’t have a constant temperature swing. I don’t think I will be successful with the snack stick making with these obstacules. I am looking for a new smoker that will do the job and one other thing on my wish list, I want the smoker to be able to sear meat. If you own a Green Mountain I wanted to find out what you thought. I have a Lynx BBQ that is almost 20 years old and I bought it because I never wanted to buy another but the problem is I will never be able to sear my steaks on it. I will give you my feed back on the GrillEye next week after I test it this weekend. One more thing since my avatar on the live stream was blue I joined the blue team. GO BLUE
sbtech I guess I’m a little confused, how is your Lynx BBQ grill not searing? Being 20 years old, maybe it has some issues, but I thought those were pretty high end grills? Most pellet grills that are able to sear that I know of, all you to remove a piece of the drip that allows for direct access to the flame. If money is no issue I would look at Memphis Grills or a Yoder YS640. The Memphis is stainless, the Yoder is built like a tank. One could buy a less expensive grill such a Green Mountain, Traeger, Pit Boss etc and buy some grill grates to put in and probably get a sear as well. I’m a firm believer that each type of grill, be it charcoal, gas, pellet, kamado style, etc all serve there purpose, some do one thing really well, other a couple things really well, but I don’t believe there is one grill out there does everything great.
sbtech I have a Masterbuilt 30 smoker and have made snack sticks, salami and summer sausage in it with no problems. As far as the Green Mountain goes, I have the Daniel Boone Prime w/Wifi model and bought the grill grates for it and it works great. With those grates on there you can sear your meat with no problem at all. If you can buy a Green Mountain in your area I highly recommend them, since I bought mine I tend to grill a little more often than I did prior. It is just so easy, it takes maybe 10-15 minutes to get up to temp once you turn it on and with the Wifi I can check the meat while sitting in my recliner.
AdamCA Thanks for your response. My Masterbuilt was giving me everything I tried to make until it came to the snack sticks. My wireless thermometer died so I was using a digital handheld. It was giving different temperatures than my smoker. I got a Grilleye and tested my smokers temperature. The difference from the top to the bottom was 25 degrees. The temperature swing was about 20 degrees when the smoker reached it set temp. This was the first time making the sticks and they just came out horrible. I called Masterbuilt about a week ago to ask if they sell the thermostat and they just got back to me and said it is the control panel. So I am just wondering if I should put the money into it or get a new smoker. You gave me the information I wanted about the Green Mountain. If the Masterbuilt does not work out I think I am going for the Green Mountain. Thanks again for your input.
sbtech I must’ve gotten lucky with my Masterbuilt because I have never had any issues with it and the temp between the top and bottom have never been more than 2-3 degrees apart. I don’t smoke stuff very often and when I do it is usually sausage, or snack sticks, summer sausage or something like that and as long as I did the processing correctly I haven’t had issues with the final product. Hopefully you get it sorted out and as far as using the Green Mountain to smoke sticks or sausage is concerned, you can do it but you will have to play with it a little (propping the lid open) to get the temps low enough for the beginning of the cooking process. But what I really like about it is it’s so easy to use and control and if you buy the grill grates for when you are just grilling it will sear the meat.
sbtech I’ve never heard anything but rave reviews of peoples Yoders and if money really isn’t a limiting factor that, or the timberwolf line from traeger both get to searing temps. Sorry for the delayed response I have been out of the office.
Another option (cheaper) would be to get some Grill Grates this is what I use on my older GMG and they sear well. Not perfectly but WAY better than the original grates
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