UPSIDE
Flavour, duh.
Pair your sauces, spices and marinades with one of many smokey-rich flavoured pellet supplies. Cooking with food-grade pellets can change the flavour of your meat and frankly your whole world too. For the best flavour cook below 250 degrees; below this temperature will generate the most smoke.
Pellets
Typically a 20 pound bag of pellets should last you several cooks, or up to 20 hours – of course this can differ based on your temperature setting and how you like your meat, but 1-3 lbs of pellets should last approximately an hour. Cost wise, our most experienced grill masters, suggest accounting for approximately $1 per 1 lb. Pellet grills tend to generate a lot of smoke for optimal flavour, but for even more smoke flavour we recommend a temperature below 250 degrees. The range of flavour options available to you makes this a plus.
Speed
Pellet grills work similar to a convection oven and gas grill - they have digital controllers and can heat up in as quick as 10 to 15 minutes. This also means no flare-ups.
Temperature Control
You can typically pinpoint your temperature on a pellet grill in 5-degree increments. The thermostat will send a signal to the controller and will regulate the number of pellets moving from the hopper to the auger.
An exciting feature on the Broil King 500Pro is the newest WiFi control. Simply download the Broil King app and connect to the temperature gauge and easily set the temperature for grilling, smoking and more. It also has signals for cooling down and turning on. Truly "set it and forget it" friendly.
For your reference, the Broil King 500Pro can reach 600 degrees, whereas a good ol' Traeger can reach 450 degrees, our Lousiana LG900 also ranges up to the 600 degree mark and are great for cooking those briskets, or can go as low as 180 degrees. The ranges on these models mean you can cook hamburgers, chicken thighs or wings.
Simple and Versatile
You should not need to over smoke on a pellet grill; the smokey flavour will be subtle, but potent.
*Note that if you do not finish a full bag of pellets, our Broil King 500Pro does have a "purge" door in the back, for your convenience in emptying out that flavour of pellet and starting anew**
Pellet grills are so simple to use we won't even offend monkeys by saying they could do it. Smoking and barbecuing should be hard, right? If you are not an acclaimed pitmaster, you will probably struggle, RIGHT? No. not anymore.
The 'Set It and Forget It' method is here and every confused cook can now host the next barbecue. Simply buy your favourite flavour of pellets, using your household electricity. Turn on the grill with the digital controller, put the pellets into the hopper and let the auger move the wood to the fire pot. The higher the set temperature the more pellets that will be dispensed. Once in the pot, the hot rod ignites the pellets and a combustion fan keeps them burning. The grill turns on like a regular oven and works the same way in terms of temperature control, air flow and venting. It can do everything a smoker and gas grill can - from braising, baking, smoking and roasting and even grilling (while you may not get those dark grilling marks, the flavour will definitely be there).
DOWNSIDE
Price
Portability
Pellet grills use electricity and their dependency limits their portability. However, if you have access to a generator then you’re golden.
Technological Errors
As with any electric devices malfunctions can happen (our case against why robots should not become servers). Any of the electronic elements of the pellet grill such as the digital controller, the auger and the fan could unfortunately break down. There is always the possibility of having to get something fixed and having to deprive yourself of good barbecue while you wait to use your grill again. On that note, please keep all electronic appliance, but especially pellet grills filled with pellets, away from moisture.
*Pellets should be stored dry and stored. If the pellets dampen, they will disintegrate. Consider buying a cover for your pellet grill (also a great option for a electronic device, as such) *
Fuel
We aren’t sure if this is a downside or not. Pellet grills, obviously, only use pellets (compacted sawdust and wood product) for fuel. Be sure to use food-grade pellets and not regular heating pellets. Food-grade pellets should not contain any chemical additives. Luckily, this single type of fuel has many flavour variants including hickory, pecan, mesquite, maple, bourbon, cherry and more. Please do not attempt to use any other fuel options as this could void a warranty and be a costly fix to your auger.