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Unpopular opinion: pellet grills make everyone a 'pitmaster' now
Read a forum thread where a guy claimed his Traeger turned out brisket as good as the old school offsets in Lockhart, Texas. I ran a stick burner for 12 years and there's a difference in that smoke flavor you just can't fake with pellets. Am I wrong for thinking the title should still mean something, or is it gatekeeping to say otherwise?
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david_hayes29d ago
That "same as Lockhart" line gets me every time. I ran a stick burner for years too, and I finally sold it because the time just wasn't there anymore. But I kept my old offset for one reason: the bark and the smoke ring. Pellets give you a clean, steady smoke, sure, but it's like comparing a campfire to a candle. You get that deep, dirty smoke flavor from real wood splits that you can't fake with a hopper full of compressed sawdust. That doesn't mean pellet guys are bad cooks, they can nail a tender brisket, but calling it the same product is just not honest. The title pitmaster should be about the craft and the struggle of managing a fire, not just pressing a button. If someone puts in the hours on a pellet grill and learns their machine inside out, I'll respect that, but it's a different skill and we shouldn't pretend otherwise.
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