If you ask me, you can grill anything. From steaks to pizza, whatever you put on the grill, you are sure to taste the flavor that you have been missing. For years there has been a big debate, Gas or Charcoal. In the last 5 years, you can throw pellets into the mix. Pellet grills are showing up at almost everyone’s barbecue and for good reasons.
Pellet grills have become popular due to many factors. The main one is, they’re just easy. They are very consistent making them great for long cooks. I run my Traeger Ironwood for 14 hours or more when smoking a shoulder or brisket. It will stay around 5 degrees from where I set it. One other nice feature that Traeger and Pit Boss have on most models is an app allowing you to control the grill from your smartphone or tablet. This is very convenient for long cooks as it will allow you to monitor the level of pellets, the grill temp, and the internal temp of the meat you’re cooking. You can also make adjustments as needed all while never going near the grill.
With a variety of pellets available from Traeger, Bear Mountain, Cowboy Charcoal, and Royal Oak. You can add that sweet taste with a fruit wood such as cherry to chicken or pork ribs. You can add a bold smokey flavor such as hickory to beef or pork shoulder. They even have charcoal pellets for the charcoal lovers out there. Imagine being able to change the taste of your food more than just seasoning and sauce. My favorite pellets are the Cowboy Charcoal charcoal/hickory blend. Grill up some chicken that’s seasoned with Meat Church Holy Gospel, mopping with a touch of Blues Hogs Champions’ Blend sauce just before the chicken is done. Allowing the chicken to finish and the sauce to caramelize. This will make a whole flavor profile that will knock your socks off!
While there are mainly good things about pellet grills there are always a few downsides. One downside is that they need power and require you to plug them into a standard 110-volt outlet. This is not a big issue unless you’re tailgating, but hey, that’s what generators are for right? The other is maintenance. With a pellet grill, you have to keep the fire pot clean and get rid of the ash build up. This promotes good airflow allowing your grill to burn cleaner and hotter. They also typically don’t burn as hot as a gas or charcoal grill. This makes it more difficult for you to sear, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cook a fantastic steak on a pellet grill! Pit Boss is starting to put a damper over the fire pot allowing you to sear directly over the flames. I still feel that the pros outweigh the cons.
Come by Hudson’s Hardware today and let us show you the perfect grill from Traeger or Pit Boss. This August, we are running a promotion on all of our pellets to go with them. We also carry a wide variety of sauces and rubs to help you complete your own flavor profile!