Home LivingGardenBarbeque3 things I wish I’d known before buying a wood pellet BBQ grillWood pellet BBQ grills and smokers are great, but you should know this before you buyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Home LivingGardenBarbeque3 things I wish I’d known before buying a wood pellet BBQ grillWood pellet BBQ grills and smokers are great, but you should know this before you buyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Wood pellet BBQ grills and smokers are great, but you should know this before you buy
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Traeger)
(Image credit: Traeger)
I review a lot of barbecue grills and smokers for T3.com, with me curating ourbest BBQ,best gas BBQ,best portable BBQandbest smokersbuying guides.
And, over the past few years, I’ve become a convert to wood pellet-fired smoker grills that shun charcoal and gas as a fuel source for something a lot more interesting.
Sounds pretty cool, no? Well, they are and over the past few years I’ve definitely become a wood pellet grill convert.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
1. They’re not as fast as gas, or as slow as charcoal
Ok, the first thing to know about wood pellet grills is that they don’t heat up as fast as gas grills, but they are quicker than charcoal grills.
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This is in no way aproblem, but youdohave to plan it into your BBQ event, as you can’t cook anything before the grill is at temperature and then you have the actual cooking time before you can serve food.
For me, if I want a quick mid-week BBQ for just a few people then I’ll likely use a gas grill, as I can have it out and up to temperature in minutes. But if I want to cook for a lot of people on a sunny Saturday, say, and I’ve got more time to play with, then I use the wood pellet grill. Same with if I want to slowly roast or smoke a larger piece of meat of whole bird.
Basically, don’t buy a wood pellet grill and expect it to be as quick as a gas grill.
(Image credit: Weber)
(Image credit: Weber)
2. They’re incredible smokers and roasters
The two major produces of wood pellet smoker grills, Weber and Traeger, manage this as they infuse their pellets with various flavourings, meaning you get both the smoky taste of a traditional smoker as well as extra flavor on top.
Traeger, for example, sells wood pellets flavored with hickory,appleand cherry infusions, as well as offering pellets that are designed to enhance specific produce like brisket, ribs or poultry.
And, due to most wood pellet grills also offering large capacity cooking drums, they’re perfect for roasting larger cuts of meat ranging from chunky steaks to chickens and right up to suckling pigs. You can roast and smoke and the results are fantastic. The wood pellet flavorings also enhance vegetables and fish in my experience.
Basically, from a smoking and roasting point of view, wood pellet grills are king.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
3. They’re louder than gas and charcoal grills
Ok, here’s one of the biggest things I didn’t anticipate with wood pellet grills – due to their furnaces requiring a fan to blow air over the ignited wood pellets, theydomake a background fan noise most of the time.
In a garden party or public gathering this with be inaudible as the fan noise is low level, but if you’re near the grill in a quiet garden with no other noise then it is definitely noticeable and, I for one, wouldn’t want to sit right next to it.
When you’re the grill master in charge of it it is a different story, though, as the fan noise along with the roar of the fire pot furnace adds to the drama of using the grill, adding maximum cool points to each usage.
Basically, you should think of a wood pellet grill as an outdoor fan oven and, just like your fan oven makes a background fan noise, so too will your wood pellet grill. This is obviouslynotsomething you have on a gas or charcoal grill, which don’t require built in fans, so overall I’d say they are quieter.
(Image credit: Traeger)
(Image credit: Traeger)
Here’s my current top wood pellet BBQ grill top picks
I realise both of these are top, top-tier wood pellet grills, though, and costa lotof money, so if you’re looking to go wood pellet for less, then I suggest also checking out theWeber SmokeFire EX4andTraeger Pro 575– the latter ringing in for well under a grand. There’s also the portable wood pellet grill from Traeger, theTraeger Ranger, which is good if you travel and grill a lot, and retails for just over half a grand at most retailers.
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