The primary appeal of pellet grills is that they make cooking flavor-packed food incredibly easy. Based on our years of experience cooking thousands of meals on pellet grills for our friends and loved ones, here are 14 of our favorite tips for consistently cooking flavorful and delicious food on your pellet grill.
1. Choose Pure Hardwood Pellets for Better Flavor
When shopping for pellets to use in your grill, we trust BBQr’s Delight Pellets, which are made from 100% natural hardwood. Pellet purity matters because additives or undesirable parts of the tree, such as bark, can lower the consistency and quality of the fire and expose your food to dirty or even contaminated smoke.
Consistent pellet size is also a key indicator of high-quality pellets. A slightly longer pellet between 1.0 and 1.25 inches in length will feed smoothly into the firepot and reduce the chance of a jammed auger. Consistent pellet size is also a sign that a pellet bag has been properly handled. This will minimize pellet dust, which can lower burn efficiency and clog smoker components.
2. Keep Pellets Dry with Airtight Storage
Extend the life of your pellets and maximize efficiency by storing them in airtight containers. One of the advantages of using pellets as a fuel source is their low moisture content, which allows for greater energy release and produces cleaner, higher-quality smoke. However, these benefits can be undermined if pellets absorb moisture from humid air or, even worse, get wet from rain.
An airtight container, such as the Broil King Pellet Storage Bin, not only helps protect your investment and ensure consistency, but also features a comfortable handle and retractable spout to make pouring pellets into the hopper of your grill quick and easy. Additionally, the bin is semi-transparent, allowing you to monitor pellet levels at a glance without needing to open the lid, and features two handles for easy transportation between locations.
3. Get Sear Marks with a Preheated Cast Iron Skillet
You can achieve a fantastic sear on steaks by exposing the entire surface area to the high heat of a preheated cast-iron skillet. ATBBQ Staff Chef Tom Jackson shows us how he does in his Tallow Basted Seared Ribeye recipe. The golden-brown sear isn’t just for looks. It’s also a sign that the Maillard reaction — a chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars that enhances meaty flavors — has been achieved.
To achieve this culinary magic using a cast iron skillet with your pellet grill:
- Place the skillet over the hottest part of the grill until it’s hot enough for water droplets to simmer immediately upon contact.
- Add a bit of olive oil or any other oil with a high smoke point to the pan and lay your steak in the skillet.
- Sear it for a minute on each side, flipping it until it reaches your preferred level of doneness.
4. Use GrillGrates For High Heat Grilling
For pellet grills with direct flame grilling capabilities, GrillGrates maximize the grill’s over-the-fire cooking potential by enhancing caramelization and forming beautiful sear marks. Made from hard-anodized aluminum, these durable grates provide maximum contact with the flame for the best sear possible on grilled foods. By delivering faster cooking times and more browning, GrillGrates are a quick way to upgrade your pellet grill without breaking the bank.
5. Clean Your Grill After Every Cook
Clean your grill after every cook to help it run efficiently and prevent it from producing bitter and rancid smoke, which can be caused by grease and old food particles, ruining your next meal. Take a few minutes after each cook to wipe down the cooking grates and interior walls while the grill is still warm. Grease that has been allowed to cool and harden will require more scraping. Therefore, spending a small amount of time to ensure everything is tidy right after cooking is worth it in the long run.
Once your pellet grill has cooled, finish cleaning up and ensure everything is ready for your next cook. Unplug and store your cord. Wipe down the control system and the outside of the cooking body, and remove any grease or food that you missed while the grill was still warm.
This is also a good time to ensure that any ash is cleared from the firebox and that the igniting mechanism is clean and free of debris. A clean igniter tip will help the igniter last longer and ensure that your grill lights up quickly the next time you need it.
Finally, cover your grill to protect it from the elements. ATBBQ offers water-resistant covers tailored for various models, complete with buckles that tighten to secure the cover in place and vents that prevent moisture buildup.
6. Run a Burn-Off Cycle for Easy Cleanup
Cleaning can be made much easier by cranking up the grill’s temperature to help burn off grease and food particles. Run the grill at 400+°F for 30–60 minutes after removing your food from the smoker, and then run a shutdown cycle to allow the grill to cool. This process burns off any remaining food, allowing your brush to remove debris with ease.
7. Keep the Lid Closed to Lock in Heat
There’s an old adage in barbecue that “if you’re looking, you aren’t cooking!” When cooking low and slow for long periods of time, keeping the lid closed locks in heat and exposes food to consistent airflow patterns. Every time you open the lid, heat escapes, causing the auger to feed the fire to recalibrate the temperature. During longer cooking times, this can significantly extend the cooking time and compromise moisture retention by allowing steam to escape along with the heat.
Temperature probes are a tremendous help in these situations because they allow you to keep the lid closed without cooking blind. Yoder Smokers are equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled ACS control systems that will enable you to monitor food and grill temperatures from your phone or tablet. And if your pellet grill didn’t come equipped with that functionality, the Fireboard Pulse, Fireboard Spark, or Fireboard 2 Wireless Thermometer are all capable of helping you track food temperatures, allowing you to wait to open the lid until your food reaches the desired target temperature.
8. Use Wi-Fi Controls to Manage Cooks Remotely
With Wi-Fi-enabled controls, you no longer have to stay near your pellet grill to ensure everything is going according to plan. The ability to receive real-time temperature updates, adjust the grill temperature without touching it, and receive push alerts when your grill or food reaches specified temperatures means you can focus on the big game, complete some chores, or even run to the store while your pellet grill cooks away. Additionally, some connected devices, such as those from FireBoard, enable you to share links to your cooking sessions and save notes and photos associated with each session, so you never forget how to prepare the meals you love.
9. Use Digital Thermometers for Perfect Temps
Cooking to the correct temperature is the key to grilling meat perfectly. We’ve covered some of the advantages of using remote digital thermometers in the previous two tips, but instant-read thermometers are a crucial tool for measuring meat temperatures. For example, the Fireboard Spark is a versatile food thermometer that features an Instant-Read probe, providing fast measurement speeds. It also features a convenient leave-in probe port for extended temperature tracking.
The All Things Barbecue Digital Thermometer is another solid thermometer alternative under $50. Its read time is under two seconds, and with an easy-to-read rotating display, automatic backlight, ergonomic handle, and versatile magnet, it is well-equipped with features that make getting an accurate reading a breeze.
10. Insulate Your Grill in Cold Weather
Pellet efficiency and maintaining a consistent temperature are among the challenges faced when grilling in cold weather. And wind can exacerbate these issues, as cold winds will draw heat from the smoker, which can then result in temperature dips and subsequent spikes as the control system stokes the fire to raise the grill temperature back up.
Help your pellet grill out during adverse weather by insulating it with a specialized thermal jacket. For example, the Yoder Smokers YS640 Universal Thermal Jacket features a five-layer construction that’s specially crafted to insulate the grill body and protect it from winter winds without hampering your grill’s airflow or functionality.
11. Season Your Meats Well Before Grilling
Not only does seasoning meat enhance flavor, but the salt rubs, marinades, brines, and injections can also enhance the tenderness and juiciness of meats by breaking down muscle fibers, which allows them to reabsorb more moisture. Seasoning is a step we never skip when grilling meat, and as a topic we are passionate about, we have taken deep dives into it on many occasions. Be sure to check out our complete guides on:
- Seasoning Rub Basics
- The Seasonings We Reach For Again And Again
- Basics Of Marinades
- Dry Brining Vs. Wet Brining: Pros, Cons, And Tips For Each
- Basics Of Injecting Meat
- How To Season A Turkey For Maximum Flavor
12. Ensure Proper Airflow
Temperature swings, a weak fire, and fires in the auger or pellet hopper are all indicators that your pellet grill is experiencing poor airflow. With safety concerns and cooking quality both at stake, it’s crucial to ensure that your smoker is properly set up to breathe well, allowing your grill to perform at its peak levels.
A blocked chimney, malfunctioning fan, air leaks, or placing your pellet grill on an uneven surface are all culprits that undermine proper airflow. Explore our Tips To Maximize Airflow On Your Pellet Smoker and Troubleshooting 101: Diagnosing A Grill That Isn’t Working for guidance on how to identify and fix common pellet grill issues.
13. Check Pellet Levels to Avoid Mid-Cook Interruptions
Running out of pellets mid-cook can throw a giant wrench into your meal plans. As a general guide, expect to burn through approximately 2 pounds of pellets per hour for searing and other high-heat cooking methods, or 1 pound per hour for low-and-slow cooking. However, your burn rate may vary depending on weather conditions, the amount of food you are cooking, and the efficiency of your preferred pellet brand.
On most pellet grills, a hopper full of pellets should be sufficient for most cooking sessions. But it’s always a good idea to check pellet levels at the beginning of a cook and then again a few hours later to gauge the usage rate. You can easily add pellets while the pellet grill is cooking, as long as the hopper and auger aren’t completely empty. However, if you do run out of pellets completely, the fire will go out and the grill will begin cooling.
Setting a low-temperature alert on a Wi-Fi-enabled pellet grill or connected thermometer can alert you if your fire goes out. Many connected grills can send a push alert to your phone to notify you when you are either low on or out of pellets. One of the advantages of using a high-quality pellet grill, such as the Yoder YS640S, is that its welded construction-grade steel body is exceptionally good at retaining heat. So, if the fire goes out, you won’t experience a significant temperature drop if you can reload the hopper and re-ignite the fire in short order.
14. Experiment with Direct vs. Indirect Grilling
There was a time when pellet grills excelled at indirect cooking, such as low-and-slow barbecue, but struggled to reach the higher temperatures required for direct heat grilling, which allows you to sear, grill, and griddle. That has started to change as pellet grill quality has improved, and some grills, like the Yoder YS640S, can even perform direct flame and multi-zone grilling as well as gas and charcoal grills. While your pellet grill may claim max temps over 500°F, you’ll need a model that exposes food to direct flame as it cooks for maximum impact. As you experiment with different setups, temps, and accessories, you may find that your pellet grill can handle all of your grilling needs better than you thought, or you may be motivated to invest in one of the pellet grills on the market that has the versatility to meet all of your needs.
Explore Further: Five Things To Look For When Buying A Pellet Grill
That isn’t everything we know about maximizing your pellet grill’s capabilities, but it’s a good start. As your friendly neighborhood outdoor cooking enthusiasts, we have experience preparing thousands of meals on pellet grills for our loved ones and friends. We are always happy to serve as a resource and talk All Things Barbecue with beginners and seasoned enthusiasts alike, so feel free to visit us online at www.ATBBQ.com, call us at 316.440.3950, or drop by the store where we have dozens of grills on display for you to check out in person.
Happy Grilling!
