Pellet grills are a relative newcomer to the world of outdoor cooking and offer the smoke flavor of wood-fired grills combined with the convenience of a gas grill. A pellet grill utilizes food-grade wood pellets as fuel, about one inch long and 1/4-inch in diameter, composed of hardwood sawdust compressed into a cylindrical shape. Pellets are automatically fed from a hopper into the grill’s firebox, where they are quickly kindled by an electrical ignitor, producing fast, efficient heat. An integrated blower fan continuously circulates heat and smoke flavor from the pellets around the food. The grill runs off standard household AC current and no natural gas or charcoal is required.

Why Should I Buy Pellet Grills?

Over 300,000 pellet grills were sold in 2014 and their popularity among backyard chefs is growing rapidly. Here are some of the reasons why:

  • Great versatility. A pellet grill can barbecue, smoke, roast or grill food, as well as bake.
  • Quick heat. Hardwood pellets combust rapidly and produce plentiful BTUs, bringing a cold grill to full cooking temperature in about 10 minutes.
  • Fine-tuned temperature. Pellet grills permit greater accuracy in cooking temperature. Many are designed with adjustment increments as small as five degrees, allowing you to achieve very precise temperature settings. A thermostat incorporated inside the cooking chamber is connected to a controller that adjusts the rate of pellets fed by the hopper, regulating the heat produced.
  • Even cooking. A pellet grill functions like a convection oven as heat generated in the firebox is circulated throughout the cooking chamber by the blower fan. This method exposes food on the grill to uniform heating on all sides, unlike a gas burner flame or a layer of charcoal.  Don’t worry about uneven cooking ever again!
  • Flavorful variety. Pellets used to fuel a pellet grill are available in a variety of smoke flavors. They’re produced by natural flavored vegetable oils incorporated in the pellets. A sample of available flavors includes standards like hickory, mesquite and maple, as well as more unusual wood flavors like pecan, apple, cherry and bourbon.
  • Fuel efficiency. Provided in 20-pound bags, a single bag of pellets is usually enough for several cookouts. Of course, that depends on weather conditions and the desired cooking temperature. In a typical scenario, the pellet grill burns about a half-pound of pellets every hour for smoking. On the highest temperature setting, 2.5 pounds burn per hour.

If you have any questions on grill selection contact us here or call us at 281.499.3990.