
That fan cycling on and off (done with a thermostatic controller) and the frequency or speed the pellets are delivered to the fire pot both help maintain the temperature inside the grill. A fan feeds air to the fire pot to start and keep it burning hot. The pellets are fed to a fire pot, where an electric heating element ignites them at startup.

Pellet grills and smokers are basically wood-burning cookers, fueled by pellets made from compressed sawdust. We’ve reviewed the best, as determined by our testing, in hopes you you find the right smoke show for you. Whether you’re looking for a huge cooking surface to crank out burgers for a hungry weekend crowd or a grill you control through an app on your phone, there’s a pellet grill for lots of different budgets and lots of different patio spaces. You’ll come to appreciate how easy it is to begin cooking similar to the push button starters of gas grills while also getting a literal taste of the smoke flavor that charcoal or wood smokers offer to fans of barbecue. Indeed, pellet grills sit at a unique intersection between traditional grills and offset smokers. Now you can buy a pellet model from almost every grill brand, and competition has driven development that has made them easy to use and versatile-able to grill, smoke, roast, braise, baste, and bake. Traeger’s grills became available in the late ’80s and were the only ones of their kind for nearly 20 years-until the patent expired in 2006. Dating back to 1985, when Joe Traeger patented the design, pellet grills feature an auger that feeds these hardwood pellets into a fire pot, where they burn and create a nice smoke.Ī fan feeds air to the fire to ensure that robust combustion and temperature are maintained by the frequency the pellets are delivered. Pellet grills get their name from their fuel source-compressed bits of hardwood shaped like bigger pieces of rabbit food.

Pellet grills-versatile workhorses that can function as either a grill or a smoker-produce tender, savory racks of ribs and infuse smoke into everything from cheddar to portobello mushrooms. Barbecue doesn’t always have to be hard work.
