When I first started looking at pellet grills, I was trying to work out what all the fuss is about, and what the were exactly. I was into the charcoal smoking and seeing whether it would an upgrade option.
They are a type of smoker but also a bit more actually.
A smoker for most people is something that can hold a low temperature over an extended period of time so that you can flavor the meat and also render the fat. Specifically, I’m talking about your classic low & slow hot smoking, but most smokers I’ve used have some kind of ability to be cold smoke as well (since you just need a smoldering bit of smoke on the side).
I also want to help those discovering pellet grills and compare pellet grill to some other smokers I have used.
I definitely don’t think pellet grills are for everyone, but I do think they are for those looking for convenience and a hands-off approach which nowadays I love.
Is a Pellet Grill a Smoker? Yes, a pellet grill functions as a smoker, it provides wood-fired smoking at a set temperature. It automatically feeds pure wood pellets to provide smoke & flavor.
So in a nutshell that’s your answer, it stacks up really well compared to what people call a ‘stick burner‘ which is basically a woodfired smoker, generally used in an offset smoker.
How Does a Pellet Grill Compare to Traditional Smokers
Offset smoker being a chamber for burning wood, next to a chamber for smoking and cooking the meat.
It’s pretty simple, a well-insulated heavy construction, you burn the wood or that matter charcoal.
That’s really what the purists of Southern States love, and in many of those groups you don’t even want to mention a pellet grill or you will start a whole new conversation.
But my love for pellet grills is mainly about the convenience and it’s about producing hour after hour of quality clean combusted wood smoke vapor which holds all the flavor. You literally get ‘quality smoke’ all the time. Which can be half the challenge of wood and charcoal smoking.
It’s funny how quite a few barbecue competitions syndicates have actually banned pellet grills after they have competed against traditional charcoal wood offset smokers and won.
Pretty much any pellet grill will bottom out and produce somewhere around 130-150°F. You’re pretty much always looking for about 200-250°F.
Can a Pellet Grill Grill a Steak?
And on the top end of the scale, most of them are getting to around 500°F. Which is definitely enough for baking, brazing was searing.
But to sear effectively you really need some form of heat retention so that you holding the heat that’s been produced from the combusting wood pellets. If you don’t you can still have ok grill session but gets this little upgrade brings in the versatility of have a searing grill which is amazing.
An old cast-iron pan or another form of heat-retaining grates that holds the temperature is basically something that can provide that grilling flexibility that most people are after/
How Good is a Pellet Grill at Searing?
Straight out of the box give you a picture of what it looks like to grill some steaks, these came out a little bit above medium rare and they still tasted very good. Being organic sirloin’s which were well aged for 30 odd days.
But as you can see, the caramelization of the proteins to create that searing crust on the outside wasn’t quite there (but pretty close) and this was with a higher-end Traeger timberline which gets up to about 500°F, we still have a good feed at my friends place.
Once you get that heat retention, however, you can crank out some reverse sear or criss-cross grill marks no worries.
What Fuel Can You Use in a Pellet Grill?
You can’t use woodchips on a pellet grill, you can only use wood pellets. The way the fuel is fed into the fire pot where it gets combusted means that the fuel has to be the uniform same size so that it can be screw fed through the auger with ease.
I have seen some modifications where guys have created little metal burning chambers above the firepot so that you could stick certain wood chunks in there. But personally, I don’t think it’s very necessary because you have a clean-burning environment to savor, too much smoke doesn’t take good and isn’t good for you. But as always people out there that want to play around with there smoking toys I guess.
Which is the Best Pellet Grill?
This is one of those questions which pretty much can be answered in any blog post. But as much as I want to get paid for you clicking a link to a product (which is how it works), I still want to give you the best advice.
It doesn’t really just come down to listing my top five it’s more about giving you all the information you need. So hopefully, you can make your decision (and become a pellet pooper like me)
For most folks the best is about price, performance, ease of use, technology, longevity or versatility – likely a mixture of these aspects.
The best pellet grill is one that has the functionality you want, it’s in the budget that you want and it has a reputable reputation that you can trust to get a few years out of generally speaking.
If you are thinking about pellet grills for smoking and grilling, I spend a lot time putting together a comparison tool to easily compare some of the decent pellet grills around, if you want a look check out the page here.
Why Would you Want a Pellet Grill instead of Other Types of Smokers?
Here are a few reasons why I think pellet grills could be something you want over other smokers.
- No Mess
- Set & Forget (yes a cliche)
- Easy to Use
- Woof Fired Clean Smoke
No Mess
Even though I do crank out a charcoal smoked brisket, I know it’s always going to be a bit of a mess. Whenever I get the charcoal out, even if I’m using tongs I have to rustle around a fair bit with that black chalky stuff.
When you compare this to pellet grill smoking it’s on a whole different planet. Since all the pellet grills just sit in a pellet hopper and automatically feed into the smoking burning firepot from the touch of a button, it’s all pretty straightforward.
As long as you’re pellet grill keeps out of the wet and you take out the pellets every now and then. You will get many years of easy and ultra-tasty smoked barbeque.
Set & Forget
Yes, I know it really is a cliché, but that’s exactly what a pellet grill is and why it’s such a great smoker.
The problem is a lot of times people compare pellet grills to smokers when actually your better off comparing a pellet grill to an oven.
Pellet grills have thermostat control and so do kitchen ovens but pellet grills also have Wi-Fi enabled abilities (on some models) as well as you get to smoke outside and enjoy the backyard.
And pretty much pellet grills are way cooler than using a kitchen oven. You generally don’t stand around a kitchen oven enjoying delicious tasty beverages.
Easy to Use
When it comes to the actual operation of a pellet grill it’s a pretty simple process.
Push a button, turn a knob, it starts the cycle, it hits desired smoking temperature, so put some meat in – so easy.
Compare that to 30 minutes of charcoal lighting, then spend another 15-30 minutes getting airflow correct. Then start cooking, but keep an eye on it, because it will need tweaking of course over the cook.
Some pellet grills have a Wi-Fi control over it, so you end up just going to app and you can adjust what you’re finished meat internal temperature you want and see in real-time the temperature inside the grill.
It’s some pretty easy operation once set up from the pellet grills I’ve seen. And it’s basically just like a thermostat controlled oven if you want a bit more info on which pellet grills have wifi, and see how it works. I wrote a full post on wifi pellet grills, you’ll find it here.
If you are looking for entry-level wifi pellet grills, I wrote on the cheapest ones around here.
So I mentioned that pellet grill smokers are probably not for everyone and I don’t think they are. If you like the traditional approach/purist thing or you really like lighting the fire and tending to it. Adjusting airflow throughout the cook, you may be better off with something a bit more straightforward.
Like drum smoker or charcoal smoker.
The offset smoker is something normally something people get once they learn the ropes but doesn’t mean you can’t start off with one.
It just comes down to how much you’re going to put into it. It’s not that difficult as long as you can hold a low temperature and you get a fatty enough piece of meat to render down and you will learn the craft soon enough.
My brother compared a pellet grill to a kamado grill smoker and he decided, I think primarily because of the high heat you get from a kamado and the alien aesthetics design. The kamado was the way he wanted to go.
Fair enough – some people prefer the kamado is another piece of kit that really can do a great job at grilling or smoking, but they normally cost significantly more than a pellet grill or any other type of smoker grill.
I wrote about the comparison of the kamado & pellet grills, when we were having chats about it, you can find that post here.
And an electric smoker is another way to go for a more budget-conscious approach. Since it’s just the electric element heating up with wood burning and smoldering (normally a pretty small tray, but you can feed it externally). You pretty much stick on the element, smolders away, it definitely doesn’t have the sophistication /technology that a pellet grill has. But if you’re wanting to get into low & slow smoking, you can definitely start with an electric smoker. It’s also an oven and doesn’t have the complications of messy charcoal including the fire management.
What Type of Smoker Do You Want
So if you want a pellet grill here is a link again to the comprehensive comparison tool that I created which pretty much should help you figure out what type pellet grill might be suited to you.
But if you’re more interested in some other type smoker here is a link to my other website that talks a bit more about electric and charcoal smokers.
At the end of the day if you’re into technology don’t mind a bit of a gadget and you want a no-mess easy to use functional smoker then the pellet grill might be the best thing for you.
