The Top Seven Reasons to Pellet Barbecue Grill

By Mr. Stoven
John Kuntz

Wood smoke flavoring has been added to cooked meats and vegetables for centuries. Originating in Mexico, the term “Barbacoa” (referred in America as “Barbecue”) generally means, “Slow cooked over a fire”. With today’s newer Hardwood Pellet-Fired barbecues, you get the best of old world cooking with modern-day convenience. Here are seven reasons to consider why to cook with Hardwood Pellets.

1. Flavor

All-natural hardwood pellets used for pellet barbecuing produce superior smoke flavoring as compared to charcoal or gas. These pellets, composed of 100% natural compressed hardwood scraps and sawdust when burned emit natural smoke flavoring directly to the food both by the direct combustion or indirectly when added to a heat plate to smolder. There are several hardwood-pellet types such as hickory, mesquite, apple, cherry, alder, and oak pellets each adding their own unique accent to various food types ranging from steaks, chicken, ribs, burgers, vegetables, pizza, and much more.

2. Tender and Juicy

Pellet-fired barbeques bring in air from outside the cooking chamber by means of an induction fan. Because of this, your food comes out completely cooked and juicy. In addition, the induction fan circulates the air inside the cooking chamber giving you a more even top and bottom cooking temperature. Gas and propane grills take the air for combustion directly from the air circulating in the cooking chamber therefore dehydrating your food giving you a dried-out less tender finished product.

3. Economy

Because hardwood-pellets are composed of compressed hardwood scraps and sawdust the retail price for a 20lb. bag of pellets is approximately the same cost and sometimes even less per cooking session when compared to a 5 gallon propane bottle used for gas grilling. You won’t need to buy extra hardwood chunks sometimes added for flavoring when used with charcoal and gas grills. Pellet grills burn small wood pellets and are automated to make them easy to use and you never use more fuel than you need. If you grill frequently you will end up spending a lot more in fuel with a charcoal grill than you would with a gas grill or pellet grill. While most charcoal grills cost less than gas grills the fuel cost will more than make up for the difference.


4. Safety

Hardwood-pellet grills require less open space to avoid unwanted fires. Also, unlike pellet-fired grills, charcoal can’t be simply turned off. You can, of course dowse coals in water but this can be damaging to a charcoal grill. If you are restricted by local laws or limited to a small balcony then you may not be permitted to use charcoal. Propane and gas grills on the other hand pose a significant explosive hazard by just the nature of its’ fuel. A yellow flame for a gas burner can be a sign of a serious problem. Insects can create webbing, build nests, and lay eggs in the grill’s gas supply (venturi tubing) obstructing the gas to flow to the burner resulting in fuel blockage or leakage. An ensuing explosion can happen from excess fuel flow while running and/or upon initial start-up ignition resulting in serious injury or death.


5. Portability

Because pellet-fired grills require electrical power to operate the fan and drive motor a new generation of pellet-fired grills now offer a 12-volt DC power configuration. Power can be supplied from a regular home power outlet with a standard transformer, or an automobile’s 12-volt DC jack, or even a battery with a clip-on receptacle. Virtually allowing you to take it anywhere. When you’re done cooking just turn off the pellet dispenser and the induction fan continues to help burn all remaining dispensed pellets until they are consumed. After 10 to 15 minutes of the fan’s cooling you’re ready to transport it home making it great for campers, tailgaters, and recreational vehicle owners.


6. Convenience

Pellet-fired grills come either self-igniting by an electronic heating element to ignite the fire pot or other more affordable models use a manual lighting technique. Both types are ready to cook in usually 5 minutes. Charcoal grills require that you buy charcoal and that you have plenty of time to get the fire going. Generally you should plan on 20 to 30 minutes from the time you light the charcoal until you are ready to grill. Hardwood pellets are conveniently sold in either 20lb. or 40lb. bags at many local hardware retailers or are even available to purchase and directly ship over the Internet. Five-gallon propane gas models require you to re-fill an empty tank at a local filling station or tank exchange. Not only do grillers sometimes run out of their propane fuel during their cooking session, but also when it does run out, the re-fill process includes the inconvenience of the tank removal and cumbersome tank transportation.


7. Environmentally Friendly
Hardwood pellets are clean, easy to fill and store, and are made of waste products from the timber and agricultural industries otherwise known as biomass. The amount of carbon they produce burning is the same amount as the amount absorbed when the biomass was growing, which makes the heat they produce carbon neutral. The residual ash remaining is less than one per- cent of the amount of fuel burnt. This tiny quantity of waste gives an indication of just how efficient these stoves are.