When checking out pellet grills, it's a good idea to look at what accessories come with the grill and are available for purchase, too. Traeger has loads of different accessories in its grill lineup. For the Ironwood series, because it uses Traeger's Pop-and-Lock system, you can easily add shelves, hooks, cup holders and more. And it offers cooking add-ons like a griddle, a fish and veggie tray and more. Recteq is similar in its accessory offerings, but a smaller brand like Brisk It has fewer add-ons. You may want to keep these things in mind when shopping for a pellet grill.
To determine which pellet grills were best, I wanted to see how these products performed under a variety of cooking scenarios, so I conducted six separate tests with a variety of meats. Based on different meats, methods and heat settings, these tests showed how efficiently and evenly a grill does (or doesn't) cook.
Before testing the grills one by one, I wired each one with a sensitive thermocouple thermometer at grate level. This sensor was also attached to a laptop running data-logging software.
Then, I ignited the grill and set the temperature to 225 degrees F and started recording, and I removed the outer membrane on a rack of pork back ribs and seasoned the ribs with an all-purpose rub I use for ribs and chicken. Once the grill's thermometer reported that it hit the desired temp, I placed the ribs on the grates for at least three hours with the lid closed the entire time.
After testing all the grills this way, I tasted the ribs for a quality check, as I did with each meat.
To test a midrange cook time at medium heat settings, I grilled a whole chicken at 400 degrees F. After trimming and seasoning the bird, I inserted one temperature probe into each chicken breast, for a total of two probes per chicken. To keep results as fair as possible, all the chickens were as close as could be to 5.5 pounds.
To mix it up, I also tested out beer can chicken to gauge cooking the fowl another way. Standing the chicken upright while cooking presented another level of precision for the grills. With the same methods used to track temperatures throughout the cook, the chickens turned out juicy and delicious over the smoky 350-degree heat.
I measured out 5.3 ounces of 80/20 ground beef and pressed it into uniform patties. Those patties then went into a grill basket, and I inserted a temperature probe into the center of each patty at a 45-degree angle.
With the grill preheated for 10 minutes at its highest temperature setting, the basket then went onto the grill. After six minutes of cooking, I flipped the basket and monitored the internal temperature. Once the last burger in the basket reached 145 degrees F, which is my personal preference for the doneness of burgers, the batch was finished. In this test, I was looking for the best outside char on the burgers.
Burger testing helped point out any hot spots across the grill's cooking surface.
For the chops, I bought a whole pork loin and cut approximately 1-inch thick chops from it. Doing this is not only more economical, it also ensures the chops are equal in thickness, for a more even cook. After some seasoning, the center cut pork chops went onto the grills.
Temperatures were monitored throughout the cook over a 350-degree grill using the same methods as with the hamburgers. The chops cooked evenly and relatively quickly, as there were no bones to contend with.
For a longer cook test, I used approximately 6 pounds of Boston pork butts, or pork shoulder, with a mixture of a sweet and savory dry rub with yellow and Dijon mustard as binders. With the pellet grills set to 225 degrees F, each piece of meat got two meat probes to monitor temps.
After cooking to 165 degrees F internally, I wrapped the meat in butcher's paper and put it back into the grill until it reached 195 degrees F. Then it was time to let the meat rest for an hour or so. Once that was done, I placed the meat into a tray and shredded it by pulling it apart. I used this test to determine which grills produced the most juicy, smoky and tender pork for sandwiches, mac and cheese and other dishes.
The final test was an even longer cook, with beef brisket over a 13-hour period. The meat got trimmed and received a treatment of coarse kosher salt, yellow mustard and a smoky beef rub. Then I stuck in three meat probes to keep track of the temps across the large piece of meat. After that, I put the brisket in the middle of the grill at 225 degrees.
After about six hours and an internal temp of 165 degrees, I wrapped the brisket in butcher paper and placed it back into the grill. Once it hit 195 degrees, I wrapped aluminum foil around it to help maintain moisture and finished the cook at 225 degrees.
The grills produced juicy meat, with a beautiful smoke ring, that sliced up nicely. Being able to maintain even, consistent heat for something like brisket, which requires a long time to cook, is vital for properly breaking down the fat and protein fibers for delicious food.