Pellet grills are the hottest trend in grilling. People are switching to pellet grills rather than sticking to gas or charcoal grills because this type of grill infuses their meats with a wood-fired, smoky flavor but also heats up fast, and maintains temperature precisely, and cleans up easily. These gills seem to be everywhere these days, but the real question is how do they work? And what to look for when investing in one? In this pellet grill buying guide, we break down everything you need to know about pellet grills before you buy one.
Table of Contents
What is a Pellet Grill?
It’s an outdoor grill powered by wood pellets and electricity. Imagine a side-hopper in place of a firebox in a traditional smoker. It is fueled with cylindrical wooden pellets – about one-quarter -inch wide and one inch long – consisting of compressed hardwood(sawdust). The sawdust is exposed to extreme heat and pressure, which activates lignin, “a natural glue” inside it. Pellets don’t add any additives apart from the flavor added through the addition of vegetable oil. They burn clean, leaving incredibly minimum ash.
Pellet grills can be used to fry food lightly “braise,” bake, roast, and Grill. Also, through the digital controller’s help, you can easily maintain and automate the cooking temperature for hours and are extremely easy to operate.
Why Are Z Grills Better?
Grilling, smoking, baking, roasting, searing, braising, barbequing, or char-grilling are at your fingertips with the push of a button.
PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) temperature control board ensures precise temperatures and perfectly cooked meals, every time you grill.
The Venturi-style design creates a burn pot cyclone of airflow for maximum heat distribution and complete combustion of the pellets with minimal waste.
The auger system and a variable-speed fan adjust the pellet feed rate and oxygen supply for steady, consistent temperatures. Fire up deliciously consistent results every time.
How Do Pellet Grills Work?
Once they’re plugged in and the controller is activated, the rotating auger starts moving the pellets to the fire pot that houses an igniter directly from the hopper. For some time, the rod glows to set the pellet on fire, combusting the pellets and then producing heat and smoke, which is then diffused by the induction fan and the grill grate’s metal plates.
Most pellet smokers burn wood pellets as fuel to produce smoke, flavor and cook all types of food. They also can smoke and cook larger quantities of food and span larger sizes than normal household appliances.
Externally, a pellet grill smoker looks like a conventional offset smoker, with the hoppers firmly fixed sideways and the firebox. It’s also referred to as a country smoker sometimes as it’s versatile enough to manage any recipe. Other names for a pellet grill include smoker grills, electric smokers, pellet smokers, and wood-fired grills.
Pellet grills make crowd-feeding much easier to achieve. It gives you access to a much easier process as the models come with temperature controls (along with other features, making them perfect for novices who do not possess prior cookout experience. Check out our article on how does a wood pellet grill work to learn more.
What Makes a Good Pellet Grill?
So, you’ve been barbecuing on propane (gas grills) and charcoal, but what is that people keep telling you about pellet grills? What the heck are pellets? Most importantly, what is the best grill to invest in? Who makes the best pellet grill? And What Makes a Good Pellet Grill? If you’re too shy to ask people about it, we’re here to help. Below are some of the important elements that make a good pellet grill:
A. Build Quality
Only pellet grill smokers with heavy-duty steel build are to be considered as the best pellet smokers. Smokers with low price tags are often made out of wrought iron, and they end up either getting rusted or broken up due to the slight mismanagement and are less durable.
B. Temperature Control
A pellet grill’s ability is largely based on its control board, the Grill’s central nervous system. Different types of controllers, including ones that feature an LCD and one-touch button, allow users to produce great food. Ideally, the control offers temperature control between 180 Fahrenheit 450 Fahrenheit. In addition, pellet grills feature P.I.D. Temperature controller. So, What is a P.I.D Temperature Controller?
P.I.D. temperature controllers are the rage in the pellet grilling community, and for a good reason. They regulate temperatures in a different way than a regular, timed control, which helps lessen temperature swings. The controller stands for Integral, Derivative, and Proportional. The controller adds more positive features to the regular temperature control method of measuring temperature and feeding the hopper with pellets to reach the desired temperature.
How Does a P.I.D Controller Work?
A normal controller will time the wooden pellet feed to the firepot to reach the expected temperatures; a P.I.D., the controller, add in Integral, Derivative, and Proportional variables to control the timing of the feed more precisely. These variables, via an algorithm (yes, lots of math), adjust and adapt to variances in the set temperature and the desired temperature and anticipate and adjust to external influences such as environmental factors like heat and wind. The P.I.D. controller senses and adapts to these influences with more speed and precision than a standard temperature controller can, which helps mitigate the grill’s internal temperature swings.
C. Cooking Surface & Pellet Hopper
Cooking surface is something you should consider before you shop for any grill. It depends on what you want to use for – “larger backyard parties or small family dinners”? Also, take note of what type of food you’d like to grill. Most will comfortably fit in your typical BBQ fare, like ribs, and burgers but if you want to smoke a large piece of meat, a large grill is better.
Cooking Area & Size: Small pellet grills usually feature 100-150 sq. feet of the upper rack and 450 sq. an inch of primary cooking area. It isn’t much different from larger grills that feature 500-700 sq. inch of primary cooking area. For relative big families, a cooking surface of 350-800 sq. inches should be enough.
The size of the pellet grill hopper affects how long you can leave the pellet grill unsupervised, in addition to how often you’ll need to buy more pellets and refill the hopper with pellet. A larger hopper allows long smoking without having to check the grill on every second. The pellets used per hour varies based on the grill and pellet. It also varies based on the intensity of the temperature used – more pellets burn at a higher temperature versus a lower one, but lower temps mean longer cook times and more pellets.
D. Versatility
The most fascinating and modern era feature of pellet grills smokers is their ability to adapt to different activities. This means you can get an array of yummy food ready in minutes. Pellet grills can be used to cook all sorts of food, ranging from braised short ribs to chicken wings.
Pellet grills offer versatility to grill, bake, roast, smoke, barbecue, braise, char, or even sear all your favorite foods! The Z Grills 600 series pellet grill is even designed with a direct flame option. In this mode, the cooking temperature reaches up to 750 degrees Fahrenheit.
E. Clean Up
If you’ve ever used a charcoal grill, then you know that they’re a mess to clean up. The ash box fills quickly and often, requiring frequently cleaning. But with a pellet grill, ash cleaning is way easier. First of all, pellet grills use 100% all-natural hardwood pellets made of compressed wood, which will burn into less than 1% of ash. This means you can burn a 40-LB bag of wood pellets and have just a ½ cup of ash leftover. If the pellet grill includes an ash cleanout system, ash removal can be achieved at a pull of a lever – Simply detach an ash tray and dump the ash in the garbage. (check out our article on how to clean your z grills pellet grill),
Pellet Grills vs Gas Grills vs Charcoal Grills
TYPE | Pellet Grills | Gas Grills | Charcoal Grills |
Cost | More costly | More affordable | More affordable |
Cook Time | Longer | Shorter | Longer |
Temperature | Vast | Limited | Hard |
Fuel Source | Electricity and wood chips | Gas line or propane tank | charcoal briquettes or lumps of charcoal |
Key Feature | Temperature control | Uses natural fuel | Uses natural fuel |
Maintenance | Easy to main | Easy to maintain | Requires tending |
What Size Pellet Grill Do I Need?
The best pellet grill is the one that meets your needs. Choosing the right size pellet grill all depends on what you need it for. Do you cook just for family, or do you regularly use your grill to entertain a large crowd? No matter what size your family or friend group is, Z Grills has the perfect high-performance grill for you. (Check out our article on what size pellet grill do I need)
So, now you have all the necessary information about the pellet grill buying guide. All you need do now is to make a good choice from the plethora of options available. Ultimately, your cooking needs, budget, and occasion will determine the choice of griller and smoker you will purchase.
Grilling gets more comfortable when you have the knowledge and the right tools. Now is the right time to make your choice, and we hope you will make a sound choice with all the information at your disposal. Cheers to your Luxurious meal!
Z Grills is the best choice for you to enter the world of wood-fired grilling. Z Grills is a grill manufacturer with over 30 years of experience within the industry. With over 650,000 pellet grills sold and 85 million cooks made.
Plus, All Z Grills wood pellet grills come with a 3-year warranty and will be delivered to your doorsteps free of charge.
