If you are struggling with a gas and charcoal grill choice, the right answer is - forget both and get a pellet grill instead.
Pellet grills offer the best of both worlds. Their wood pellets give a finely controlled, perfectly smoky barbecue experience that only the best grills offer.
Handling is simple, and you can find them in various sizes and price ranges.
Are you wondering how do wood pellet grills work? In this post, we have all the information for you.
What is a Pellet Grill?
The pellet grill and the pellet smoker are outdoor stoves that combine elements of charcoal smokers, kitchen ovens, and gas grills for a truly unique cooking experience. Pellet grills get their name because they use wood pellets to create smoke and give the food a smoky taste.
There are numerous models and sizes you can get, from family use to those for larger events.
You can use a pellet grill for smoking as well as other cooking techniques. Pellet grills are top-rated for outdoor cooking due to their ease of use and versatility, and convenience for various recipes or ingredients.
You can use various types of wood pellets as fuel for this BBQ. The wood pellet is cylindrical in shape and small in size, making it suitable for transport and easy to fill the hopper.
4 Steps in Using Pellet Grills
How does a wood pellet grill work? The answer is straightforward with the following instructions.
1. Load hopper and fuel the fire
The pellets are placed in a chamber called a pellet hopper. An auger connects the hopper with the fire pot. When you switch on the grill, it will move pellets from the hopper through an auger to the fire pot at a controlled speed.
This speed can be adjusted depending on which temperature you want to grill or to smoke.
Suppose you change the desired cooking temp in the firepot. In that case, the grill automatically pulls the required amount of pellets from the hopper through the auger to maintain the temperature regularly.
2. Light up pellet smoker and start cooking
With a pellet grill, lighting up the fire is easy. It is equipped with automatic ignition, and you can turn on the device, but give it 10 to 15 minutes to warm up.
By simply selecting the temperatures in the smoker, it will heat in a short time, and you are ready to start cooking.
This makes a wood pellet grill suitable as a gas grill, but with the added flavor of hardwood cooking.
3. Measure the temperature and control it with a fan
To control the heat, most pellet grills and pellet smokers have a fan and digital temp controller. You can specify a heat range and see it on display.
Using temperature control is great when you want to use your device for smoking.
You can regulate temperature in your smoker easily to smoke at low and slow heat within the desired time in a temperature-controlled environment and be sure that everything is fine in the chamber.
Fan plays an essential role in the device as it keeps the fire circulating the heat throughout the grill, maintaining the right temp.
4. Collect liquids in a drip tray
You can collect grease and food dripping from a pellet grill in a drip tray, so the device’s surface is hygienic and very easy to clean.
How are the Pellets Made?
A wood pellet is a small piece of hardwood 1/4 inch in diameter and looks like a long pill. Due to their small size, wood pellets burn cleanly and quickly into a fine ash.
You may associate the pellets with stove fuel, but grills use pellets different from ordinary industrial pellets.
Granules for the food industry differ in that they do not have any chemical additives; they are 100% natural and healthy pellets that work as excellent fuel for barbecue.
They create a lot of smoke, are available in many varieties, and give the meat a great smoked smell.
A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.
— Thomas Keller, American Chef
What Flavors of Pellets are Available?
Wood pellets come in a range of flavors, ranging from hickory and oak to cherry, apple, or mesquite.
The temperature and flavor they provide are made through wood pellets burned low and slow during the wood pellet grills operation.
Related Articles:
- What is a Pellet Smoker?
- How To Use Wood Pellets On A Gas Grill
- What's the Best Pellet Tube Smoker?
- Are Wood Pellets Toxic?
5 Reasons Why Pellet Grills & Pellet Smokers are Good Options
1. Easy to set up
The grill does almost everything itself. After you determine the desired grilling temp first and add the pellets in the hopper, the grill doses them itself and maintains the heat.
That is why it is often said that you will set it and forget it because setting up a barbecue is as easy as turning on your oven.
Pellet grills are thermostatically controlled, as is the oven, making them easy to adjust and use.
2. Better Taste
Wood pellets don't just fuel the fire, but it creates a smoke flavor to the food you are cooking on this grill.
That is why pellet grills make great devices - you can control your food’s flavor and taste by simply changing the wood pellets used.
While wood pellets give the food a delicious smoked aroma, different wood pellets give the meat a different taste.
For example, if you use apple pellets, the food will have a sweet smoky taste. Make sure to get the right one when you cook your food.
3. No smoke and ash residue
The pellet grill smokes less than some other grills, so no flare-ups. It allows easy grilling, smoking, and maintenance, all free of smoke and ash.
Also Read: Best Smokeless Grills
4. Versatile cooking
Since you can quickly determine the heat, you can cook a variety of foods on this grill.
You may cook quality meals like classic BBQ or chicken, even pizza, without fear of temp fluctuations.
You can prepare smoked, stewed, dried, or roasted meats in addition to the classic grilling.
5. Healthy grilling
The cooking is airy, so it spreads over the entire surface. Due to the indirect opening, the flame does not come into contact with food.
That eliminates the risk of harmful substances such as benzopyrene that develop when fat comes in direct heat contact.[1]
Recommended Articles:
Conclusion
Many people will find using a gas grill a unique experience. Some others prefer charcoal because of the specific flavor it gives to the food.
We say get the pellet grill as it can offer much more than quality food. Additional features like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, for example, enable remote monitoring even when you are not close to it.
Depending on the type of grill you are searching for, take the one that suits your needs - you’ll see it will pay off.
References:
- https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet
