One temperature probe is provided, but there are ports for three more. Smoking in the 560 is as easy as setting the temperature and a timer. Using lump charcoal will provide a smoky flavor, but if more smoke is needed, wood cuisinart griddler elite chips can be added in the ash bucket where they’ll burn slowly as embers fall on them. On our first cook, a small brisket we had on for almost 6 hours at 220°F developed a fantastic crust—it was so easy, and so tasty.
Aside from the burner controls, or the material burning in the grilling drawer, controlling airflow via a vent on top of the grill also help control heat within the grill. We cooked a whole chicken using the rotisserie with the infrared burner. To keep temperatures low, we had the burner set low and used indirect heat from charcoal, off in one side of the grilling drawer. The skin became a nice, dark, brownish gold with some blackened highlights—for our first time testing a rotisserie, we couldn’t have been happier.
After building the pellet grill, we proceeded with the initial burn-off process without any issues. The next day, we fired up the grill to smoke a brisket, and that’s where the trouble started. The auger continuously fed pellets into the fire pot, but they never caught fire. The ignitor was active and glowing red-hot, but the smoldering pellets were continuously covered with new pellets. We attempted to remove the excess pellets and help the ignition along with a handheld bellow but to no avail. After some time, the grill shut itself off and would not turn back on.
Another great option from the pellet grill gurus at Traeger is this Pro Series 780. The Pro Series isn’t quite as advanced as the Timberline series, but it’s ideal for anyone just getting into pellet smoking and still more than enough for most grill masters. If you’re intimidated at the prospect of having a smoker, Cuisinart’s Clermont is the ideal tool. It’s easy to use, incredibly simple to clean, and it even has notches to hold your cooking tools and paper towels. It’ll quickly become a staple piece of your backyard, and the results will speak for themselves.
These apps also allow you to change the grill’s temperature, activate any smoke boost functions, set a timer, monitor the pellet level in the hopper, and turn the grill off. We wanted to see how each pellet grill could handle low smoking temperatures and tough cuts of meat with a lot of intramuscular fat and connective tissue. After setting the temperature to 250°F, we added a whole packer brisket, trimmed to have a 1/4-inch fat cap. We returned the brisket to the grill until it reached 202°F. This 4-burner gas grill features four 12,000 BTU burners made of durable stainless steel. From now until May 31, BBQ Guys will throw in a free grill cover with your purchase of the Nexgrill Deluxe Gas Grill.
Some people may prefer only to clean what’s necessary at any given point to more efficiently use their time. Deep cleaning, however, will require you to clean everything at once. Do a burn-off — wait 10 to 15 minutes to let your grill burn away the remaining food and grease on the grill grates. Performing a burn-off loosens any stuck-on grease and makes it easy to scrape off the ash.
STOK Quattro – This is the transformers of grills. You can change the inside to have a wok, pizza oven, skillet and of course a grill. The Big Easy® Oil-less Turkey Fryer – We LOVE this guy for wings, turkey and ribs.
A thermostat and an onboard computer control the grill’s auger, fan, and ignition system. Next up, we wanted to know how the pellet grill worked with high-heat temperatures. We cranked the dial up to 500°F (or the highest setting if the grill didn’t have that setting). After preheating, we cooked a dozen chicken wings, hoping they would crisp up as well as they do in an indoor oven without burning. Traeger is the original name in pellet grills, so it didn’t surprise us when the Traeger Ironwood 650 ranked higher than any pellet grill in the test group. Here are the best pellet grills and smokers we tested ranked, in order.
After building each grill, we ran it through the initial burn-off process specified in each owner’s manual. This process removes any machine packing oils and ensures the auger and fire pot work properly. Then, we cycled the grill on and off dozens of times to test ignition times and see if there were any issues with the pellet auger system. After selecting several top-rated pellet grills available online and at local retailers like Lowes and Home Depot, we got started with the tests.
So let’s discuss the cooking area provided on the Clermont. Well, Cuisinart states that a cooking area of 1,400 square inches is provided. However, with cooking areas on pellet grills/smokers, you always have to take the figures in context. As you’d expect from Traeger, there’s no shortage of power and versatility with the Pro Series. A brushless DC motor-driven auger and a wide temperature range ensure smooth, easy cooking with any slap of meat. The hopper fits 18 pounds of pellets, which should be enough for nine hours of cooking on high heat or 18 hours on low.