‘Should I buy a charcoal barbecue or a pellet grill?’
This is a question we get all year long. Although both are fueled by wood, they make your barbecue experience completely different. Depending on your grilling background, knowledge, time, and needs, both styles may have characteristics which you consider favourable. In this blog, we'll review the practical differences and then explain what you can achieve with the flavours that each style produces.
Practicality: time, money, and technology
Practicality is often a barbecuer's main deciding factor when choosing a grill. Here are some practical differences between charcoal and wood pellet grilling.
Pros of Charcoal Grilling:
- There is a wide variety of charcoal grills available today, including the iconic Weber Kettle, which is relatively inexpensive, a Broil King Keg, or you can get the world-renowned Kamado Joe or Big Green Egg for a few extra bucks.
- Burning charcoal gives you a great bang for your buck as you may be able to reuse the larger lumps in multiple cooking events.
- Charcoal is very cost-efficient, so you won't have to feel guilty about experimenting with a variety of charcoal to see what combination of flavours and types you love the most. Big Boy Charcoal and Buffalo Charcoal offer a variety of flavours that are very easy on a budget.
- Charcoal allows for operating temperatures of 200°F to well over 1,000°F. This means that charcoal helps you to smoke, grill, and sear with ease.
- With new enhancements in charcoal technology, you can set it and forget it with products like MasterBuilt’s Gravity Series, Kamado Joe’s Konnected Joe, or by adding a Charcoal Controller to your existing Kamado (EggGenius, Thermoworks Billows, Fireboard, etc.).
Cons of Charcoal Grilling:
- Bringing charcoal up to your desired temperature can take up to 30 minutes.
- Managing the temperature of a charcoal fire throughout each cook takes far more effort than with pellets. While a lot of people find this inconvenient, it's not a drawback for everyone; many pitmasters prefer the art of charcoal!
- The difficulty in working charcoal doesn't end when you’re finished cooking. Charcoal tends to be a whole lot messier and takes much longer to cool off and extinguish.
Pros of Pellet Grilling:
- With the technology available in modern pellet grills, you can set it and forget it. *Don't forget to use a leave-in thermometer or temperature probe to keep your phone up-to-date as the cooking progresses. Just set your desired temperature and hang out until your food is ready. Today, many pellet grills have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities to help you monitor the temperature remotely. Check out the Yoder YS640s to see one of our Staff Favourites and Best Sellers.
- Pellet grills are generally much easier to clean with the ash being more manageable during and after your cook.
Cons of Pellet Grilling:
- Pellet grills are more expensive up-front than charcoal barbecues, but of course, you will get your money's worth for whichever barbecue you decide to buy.
- Fuel costs are also more expensive. Charcoal and Pellets typically will range in price similarly based on weight. You will use more volume of pellets on a typical cook (sometimes twice as much). That said, a 20lb bag of Big Boy pellets is only $9.99 (50₵ a pound) every day.
- Pellet grills do require electricity, which limits their portability. It's fine for the backyard barbecue but they may not be your best choice if you like to bring your grill along on a camping trip.
Final Flavours: Variety and Cooking Style
So far, we've talked about what might make you get one or the other. In this next part, we're going to tell you the results you can expect in your food if you cook on a charcoal grill vs if you cook on a pellet grill.
Benefits of Charcoal Grills:
- Charcoal grilling is a journey with a delicious final destination. There is something beautiful about starting a fire, tending it, and cooking your food to perfection over it. You may not perfect the craft right away, but the experiences you'll take away from learning to control the flame and smoke will give you a sense of pride that you can only get through trial and error. The pride that comes from the perfect charcoal-smoked piece of meat is like no other. And when you achieve this, you'll get something you can't get with pellet smoking – and that's ... Nostalgia.
- Remember those family cookouts you used to have with the smell of charcoal smoke in the air while you tossed the football around because you were waiting for those perfectly charred burgers and hotdogs? Even if Uncle John accidentally burnt them, you still loved the food. You can't beat that classic taste and tantalizing smoky smell that charcoal provides - that's why so many people prefer charcoal grills over pellets.
- Charcoal has the ability to create a high-heat sear, grill direct or indirect over live fire, or smoke low and slow for hours.
Benefits of Pellet Grills & Smokers:
- There is a huge variety of flavoured pellet grills and smokers available for your cookouts. If you prefer a more flavourful and aromatic smoke for your food, pellets are the way to go.
- We've already mentioned that pellet grills are easier to control, as they often come with technology compatible with smartphones, but we didn't quite touch on what that can do for your food. With the pellet grill route, you can set your cook low and slow, so that your foods will absorb a great deal of the smoke that the pellets produce over a longer time - days if you prefer.
- There is also a wide selection of flavoured pellets including Hickory, Mesquite, Oak, Maple, Apple and other combinations of flavoured pellets called Competition blends that infuse into your food. These exceptional flavours can't quite be achieved with charcoal grilling, except through the use of additional smoking chips or chunks.
- You can cook with this super cost-effective, bang-for-your-buck Big Boy Ash Kickin' Pellets.
Now that you know the differences between charcoal barbecuing and pellet grilling, which one is right for you?
Generally, those who pursue pellet smoking love the journey of seeing how far they can push the envelope with their intricate pellet blends until they find the perfect one for them.
If you have a natural gas or propane barbecue, you can still enjoy infusing some smoky flavour by using pellets and one of these cool accessories:
the Napoleon Stainless Steel Smoker Pipe, or A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (pictured), or try the Big Boy Smoking Pipe.
Thanks for stopping by our blog. If you want more in-store expert advice, and to lift the lid to see for yourself, then come and visit any of our 5 locations across Canada. We've got two in Calgary, Alberta (North Location & South Location), as well as three across the Greater Toronto Area: Burlington, Oakville & Etobicoke, Ontario.