What you need to know before you buy a pellet grill.
Grilling season is here and maybe you are in the market for a new grill. Here are my thoughts and some things to know before you buy a pellet grill.
I’ve owned a couple pellet grills. Ten years ago a tried a Traeger and after 3 weeks decided a pellet grill wasn’t for me. Two years ago I saw a lot of changed and decided I would give a pellet grill another shot. After trying Traeger and then Yoder, I ended up keeping the Yoder.
Most pellet grills can’t sear.
If you remember a while back, Traeger has a great marketing campaign where they had a guy who was cooking with “gas” and had flames coming out of his grill. It was a great commercial and genius marketing by Traeger. Since they pellet grills have been on my radar, but I didn’t expect to own one again. Here is why I own one now.
Let’s talk pellet grills:
Pros
Easy of Use - There is not much of a learning curve and you can could great food easily. You can also use temperatures from other videos and transfer the recipes to a pellet grill pretty easily.
Convenience - There is no direct flame (unless you have one that is in sear mode) which means you don’t have to babysit your food. You can come home after work, turn on your pellet grill to 450, go get changed, pour a drink, and start grilling in 20-30 mins. Then you throw your chicken breasts on 12 mins a side, no flare ups, just great tasting chicken.
Technology - You can use an app to remotely control your grill and monitor your food temperatures.
Cons
Lack of smoke flavor - You can get good smoke flavor, but you can’t get that intense smoke flavor that you would get from true smokers or a Kamado style grill.
Lacks some grilled flavor- This is subjective, some love it, some don’t. You can get great flavor, but not going to have that cooked over charcoal taste.
Temperatures - Not a huge con, more education. The top level is cooler than the bottom level. If you are cooking a lot of meat you will need to rotate the meat to get even cooking.
Longer cook times - These use convection cooking. These cook slower than something like a kamado. Not a deal breaker, just something to know.
Tips
Low and Slow for more smoke - Cook at 225 or 250 to get the most smoke flavor.
Use top rack - Your meat will get the most smoke on the top rack.
Cold smoke - use a A-MAZE-N smoking tube do a cold smoke to add more smoke flavor.
Use quality pellets- Not all pellets are created equal, make sure you use a quality pellet.
Searing Options - Only get one that can do at least 600F and has a searing option.
Brands
Personally I’m a fan of Yoder and Pitts and Spitts. I have not tried a P&S, but it looks like a good product from what I can tell. Both are built in the US and are quality products.
Pellet grills are a great way to introduce some smoked food into your life. They are easy to use and allow you to cook a wide variety of food. If you would like more a more detailed video, I have a video that is much more in depth, if you are looking for more details check out my video called “What’s the difference between the grills I own”
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