Ok gentleman, I recently gifted my Webber Spirit to a family member because I needed something bigger. Now I’m back in the market for a new outdoor cooking device. Torn between a Webber Genesis, Blackstone or a Traeger. What say the hive as the ultimate outdoor cooking appliance? Or do you need to have one of each haha.

Thanks for your input!

They do different things. I have both a Weber Spirit and a Recteq Bull. I can do some grilling on the Recteq, but it's built more for controlled low and slow cooking. Whereas I can get ripping hot temps on my Spirit within a few minutes. The Spirit is also cheaper to run since propane is cheap and it's fuel-efficient, so it's great for regular cooks where I'm just grilling some meat or similar.

Also be careful with Traeger. I know a few years ago they shifted a lot of their manufacturing to China and their QC took a huge hit; not sure how much of that's still true but you need to do a lot of research before you pull the trigger on any of their products. Yes, the Recteq is made in China as well, but they do a lot of checking and QC with it, plus have phenomenal CS, and it seems like the factories they use aren't the ones churning out crap, they spend a little more care in materials quality and assembly.

Have had a Recteq 1250 for a month now, have made some great brisket and pulled pork. Tried a take and bake pizza the other day with mesquite pellets and grill grates, turned out great.

I have a Genesis and have never said "I need a griddle or smoker."

Of your suggestions

1 - pellet grill for flavor and ease
2 - Weber Genesis for ease and quality of grill
3 - griddle it’s more versatile but lackluster and high maintenance

As suggest above look at ceramic cookers. It’s likely be my next purchase but quite a way down the road.

Pellet grill but not a Traeger.

recteq

This, you can put a pizza stone or a griddle on it and have the ability to put it in riot mode which is 749 degrees for a great sear.

I have the bullseye which is fine for two people.

RecTeq!

Traegers suck for anything but low and slow. Take forever to warm up (coming from someone who mainly uses charcoal) and you can't get a good sear.

For "all purpose" out of the ones listed, I'd go with the gas Weber, with an asterisk: if you make burgers a lot, want to be able to saute, want to make breakfast food, and never need to bake pizza etc, griddles are awesome. Grill burgers are inferior to griddle burgers.

Personal preference is the pellet smoker. I didn't think I would use ours as much as we do. I cook on it at least 3x per week.

If I had the space I would also have a Blackstone.

A Webber kettle is an inexpensive way to get a good sear on steaks and burgers.

Propane would be my last choice. I haven't cooked on it for years. I tossed the old Webber gas grill we had 2 years ago from lack of use.

Double tap.....

And this is why I posted here. I didn’t know anything about the Recteq, now that I’m looking into it , they look awesome.

Also, as an FYI, you can get a griddle attachment for the Weber Genesis and many Recteq grills. I would recommend that for the gas burners as they can get better temps than most pellet smokers.

Masterbuilt gravity and a blackstone.



Charcoal will always be better than pellets

Get a hybrid and you can use charcoal, pellets, or wood.

Like this

Home: Blackstone 28" and Pitboss 1600

Tailgating: Blackstone 22 E-series and Portable pitboss

RT is probably where id put my money on intro pellet smoker.Go bigger than what you think you need, you always want more space i never hear people say they want less.I have several of the old weber line before they became tinfoil and one is of legal drinking age now and still going strong.

As far as value goes, I have had a pit boss kc combo and just got an Oklahoma joes pellet smoker when I moved to a new house. I love the ease of use for pellet grills, but if I did more high heat cooking I would consider an egg. I may just add a pizza oven to what I have now.

Things I hated about the pit boss: no unloading of pellets, auger jams a couple times a year, one control board replacement in 2 or 3 years. Pellet side worked fine, but gas flat iron burners were weak.

Oklahoma Joe's fixed most of my issues. Can unload pellets easily after a session, easy cool down/clean cycle, controller seems more active/efficient. The grill can also flame broil a bit and holds heat well. I have got it to 550 so far and the pellet feed is much better.

Don't think I will ever go back to stick or gas unless I add a flat iron to it.

Get them all.

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All the things!

Gravity fed FTW, with a ceramic for sears and fast cooks.

A propane grill, pellet smoker, and flat top all have a place in an outdoor setup.

You can't easily do this on a propane grill or pellet smoker:



And you can't do this on a flat top:



And then, there is this, sometimes you are stuck with a portable when on a mission:

Napoleon Natural Gas Grill for the win. Cooks everything well.

Those are all very different things.  Pellet smokers suck at grilling due to a hot spot where the pot is.  Honestly they suck at smoking too but they're very convenient for people that can't manage a fire.  Griddles can't grill or smoke...so you either want/need a griddle or you don't.  Grills don't smoke great and won't griddle great.  

If I had to choose only one outdoor cooking device, I would get a Weber Kettle charcoal grill.  A charcoal grill is the most versatile.  However, it's not going to be great at griddle things.  Smoking is decent, and obviously grilling is great.

After that, it really depends on what you plan on doing more.  If you want to do a lot of breakfast type foods in large batches or smash burgers, a griddle would make sense.  If you want to smoke ribs/brisket/pork butt/etc.  A more dedicated  smoker will make more sense.

So really, what do you want to cook?  That will make the decision on what device to get.  


Gas grills are useless IMO.  They're incredibly expensive for a quality ones, cheap ones are junk in a few years.  Grilling/smoking with gas just sucks and is tasteless.  I don't see any reason to own one...especially considering how cheap a Kettle is while providing worlds better flavor and longevity.  My kettle has sat outside in the Wisconsin weather for 15+ years now...still works great.  I've replaced the air intake system at a cost of $20 3 times in that period.  My buddy has gone through at least 5 or 6 gas grills in this time.  Spent THOUSANDS on them....all because 'he doesn't have time for charcoal to start' even though he lets his gas grill warm up for 20 minutes.......lol