Pellet smokers, commonly known as pellet grills, are outdoor cookers that have a combination of gas grills, charcoal smokers, and kitchen ovens. They can smoke and grill when fuelled by wooden pellets. Baking can also be done using an electronically controlled panel that automatically feeds fuel pellets to the fire, regulate the grill`s airflow and also maintain temperatures. Pellet grills have their origin in pellet stoves during the 1973 oil crisis. During this time, there was an increased demand for affordable home heating sources. This led to an alternative heating source, which included wood pellets. Pellet grills use food-grade pellets that are entirely made of hardwood and contain no additives. In rare circumstances, manufacturers may use soybean oil or vegetable oil as a lubricant during production. When wood pellets are used as a fuel source, an alternative and easy source are provided as compared to other smoking options. An incomparable flavor is also infused in food. It is important to note that using pellet grills has its advantages and disadvantages.
Pros:
1. They provide a variety of flavor options-commercial wood pellets chips usually come with various flavor options. These are hickory, pecan, maple, cherry, apple, not to mention alder. It is more convenient than other smoking options. A small pellet bag can be used to cook many times.
2. The best option to perfectly smoked meat-this is because pellet smokers, unlike charcoal smokers, don’t need a lot of expertise to be well-smoked meats. The wood pellets used are perfectly and commercially designed for this purpose. For more smoke, you can add strongly flavored wood chunks in your pellet grill.
3. They offer more options to users-according to your taste, you can barbecue, roast, and smoke with a pellet grill. They also have an option for direct grilling.
4. They are easy to manage when it comes to temperatures-many pellet grills tend to be sophisticated. They tend to have a regulatory temperature system with a thermostat option. You can control the heat to the extent of five to ten degrees centigrade.
5. They have the capacity to preheat very fast-this takes place in a matter of ten to fifteen minutes. By doing so, pellet grills take lesser minutes than other types apart from gas grills.
6. They function as a convention oven-by, allowing you to load the cooking grate without fear of uneven cooking; they function as convection ovens. This is not applicable to other smokers.
7. They have relatively large capacity-pellet grills are made to provide much space when it comes to cooking.
8. The Flavor-The real benefit of pellet smokers is that they offer a high-quality flavor of the food when you make them.
9. They are easy to use-Unlike many other options available in the market today, pellet smokers are very easy to use. As a matter of fact, they have controls that you can sit and wait.
10. The Value-These smokers might cost more but the value at the end of it all is surprisingly incomparable.
Cons:
1. They are dependent on electricity-this may be very disadvantageous, especially if you are planning for an outdoor smoking party.
2. They are very expensive when compared to other mainstream grills like charcoal grills; their price seems to be very high.
3. They can break very easily-pellet grills tend to have many movable parts and electrical components. This gives them a high risk of breaking down. Other grills, such as charcoal, come into one piece and thus don’t have this type of risk.
4. They cook very slowly for perfectly smoked meat-this comes as a repercussion. Pellet grills will cook slowly but perfectly. So, when it comes to time, you better have another option other than this. If the temperatures are adjusted to being high, the less smoke it will produce to flavor the meat.
5. They require regular maintenance and cleanliness-this ensures that pellet grills don’t rust. Some people are very lazy when it comes to keeping the grill clean. If that’s the case, grease and grime will build up, making it difficult to clean. Grease fires can also occur.
6. They can cause burn backs-pellet grills can cause burn backs. They may be very rare but very serious. A burn back is when the wood pellets are ignited and cause a fire.
7. They are very unreliable-their warrants are very unreliable as compared to priced gas grills.
8. They have temperature instability- many factors tend to fluctuate the temperature of pellet grills. This may be termed as temperature swings. This will happen because most pellet grills have cheap temperature controllers.
9.
They are not good for wet conditions-These devices can actually malfunction when they get wet. This means that you are supposed to keep them dry every time.
10. Less flexibility in terms of size. When you take size into consideration, these grills are not very flexible.
