My new pellet grill review and tips

My favorite cooking device is my GRILL.

There is just something about 

sweating (and sometimes freezing)

your booty off while watching

your food sizzle its way to Flavorville 

that makes it more fun.

*All of the food in all of the pics on this page were made on my pellet grill*

The gas grill has been my grill of choice 

ever since I started grilling, which was 20+ 

years ago.  When I first moved out, 

I admittedly was not the best cook. 

Over the years, I have learned from 

others and read 100's of recipes, and 

now I can cook pretty decent.  

We all have the occasional flop. :)

Steak is probably the one thing that

I got the best at grilling.  

I learned when to flip to get that 

medium to medium-well juiciness 

and flavor.

 I love veggies and chicken and fish and

many other things on the gas grill, but 

it is harder to cook because of the flipping 

required to cook both sides evenly.

It is not as easy to 

flip a flaky filet of fish...

(say that 5 times fast).  :)

Enter the pellet grill...

 picture an aura above it like the 

heavens are shining down...ahhhh...

 well maybe not that much, but it really is

pretty dang neat.  It is like a smoker and

oven and grill all in one. 

So far, I have smoked butts, grilled chicken, 

roasted corn, potatoes and broccoli, made burgers and hot dogs...and

made a pan of chicken parmesan casserole...yep!

Although I did make a frozen pizza on there, 

 I burned the bottom...I gotta look into

that one.  ha:)

I have picked up a few pointers from

friends about the pellet grill.  I have yet to cook 

bacon on mine, but have been told to

look into a Frogmat or similar.  It is a mat

that looks kind of like a screen door that

you use to cook bacon or veggies on instead

of using a baking pan.  It lets the grease

drip through and makes the bacon 

crispy-fied.  :)  Also I was told to cook it

around 250-275 for about 40-45 minutes 

instead of at a high temperature like

I originally thought.

I am looking forward to future bacon.

More pointers I was given...

Make sure the pellets do

not get wet inside the grill, or they will

pretty much turn into concrete and 

not be fun to get out of there. 

Eeeek!

Clean the pellet burn pot out at least after

every other grilling.  This is where the 

pellets fall into and burn.  There is a 

little ignitor that sticks out in the pot 

and makes them burn.  If you don't

vacuum them out or at least scoop them

out (which is what I did so far) they can 

build up a good pile of ashes and 

might cause a fire.

Keep your pellet feeder pretty full at

all times.  I did run out while cooking,

and it is quite a pain in the ass to

remove the food and make sure you 

get the grill lit back correctly.  

So...just don't let your pellets run out.  :)

If you set the temp at 250 for example, 

the grill tends to stay between

240 and 270 for the most part.  

If you are debating on a temperature,

I would stick with the lower temp

and cook a little longer.  The 

food will get more smoke and 

will not as likely burn.  I gotta say

most food does not have the propensity

to burn on the pellet grill...well aside

from frozen pizza I guess.  

My biggest concern is

probably just that...what 

TEMPERATURE????

  The main thing is 

to think of the temperature that 

you would use in your oven to cook a

similar food.  And also keep in mind that

the grill heat is much closer

than the heat in the bottom of the oven...

this is why I burned my pizza bottom. 

We live and learn from our mistakes.

May your grilling experiences be

all good and not burnt.

If you have any pointers, PLEASE 

share them with me in a message 

or on Facebook 

or however! 

As far as brands of pellet grills...

I purchased mine on a spur of the moment...

"I want it today!"

kind of moments.  haha.

It is a Pitboss from Walmart.  

$396 at the time. 

My boyfriend's dad does have a 

Traeger, which is a little more expensive,

but after reading the reviews they are

really close to the same, and I don't think

I would ever know the difference.  

So far mine has worked great!

Sorry for the rambling...I just kind of 

spit out all the pellet 

knowledge that I have thus far. 

 Whew!  Lots to learn. 

Happy grilling, people! :)