Help on Grill Selection

[elcoate80]

Hi,

Just joined the site but thrilled this exists! Im really desperate to get a solid smoker bbq in the UK (london). I am looking for something like a traeger texas style quality. The only thing putting me off it is the electric auger. In my experience particularly with bbq's simpler is better particularly with anything electric. I don't like the auger but otherwise it looks perfect. Can anyone recommend a smoker bbq without electric auger similar available in the uk. I don't mind paying a bit extra for good quality.

Cheers,

[Steve]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I don't know if you're aware, the Traeger is a pellet cooker, thus the auger is essential as it is the mechanism that feeds the fire. When you ask for something similar, do you mean in terms of looks? If so I guess what you're after is an offset. There aren't that many around in the UK unless you want to spend serious money. There are a few cheap offsets around but they tend not to be that great, a reasonable offset is likely to cost you in the region of £1000.

As far as recommendations go, if you're set on an offset and are happy to spend the money, there are a few guys on here with offset experience who can recommend good ones. If you are new to smoking, you might want to look at a bullet like the Weber Smokey Mountain or the Pro Q Excel. These are easy to use, good quality and will cook some great food.


A quick word about the Auger in the Traeger, you're right in thinking that having an electric auger does mean there is more to go wrong. Auger jams, wet pellets, electrical failures are all considerations, as these are potential issues with pellet cookers. However, these aren't things that happen often if the units are looked after and cookers like the Traeger give consistent results time and time again as well as being very flexible and having great temperature control. They are very good cookers. But as with anything, there's pros and cons to owning them, personally I own both charcoal smokers and a Traeger. The Traeger is my latest toy and I love it, I'll still use charcoal probably just as much but I'm very happy to have a pellet cooker in my collection.