Pellet grills: The (almost) all-rounders.

About the picture: In the current FIRE&FOOD we tested the Broil King pellet grill Regal 400 together with grill expert Peter Zeitler.

What started in the USA is becoming increasingly popular here too: grilling with a pellet grill. The pellet grill offers an easy-to-use alternative to classic charcoal or gas grills. We'll give you a brief summary of how it works here.

Electricity is required to operate a pellet grill. The electricity supplies the control unit contained in the pellet grill. The grill pellets, pure wood pellets made from pressed sawdust, are filled into a container. These are very different from wood pellets used for heating, for example! Grill pellets are now available in various flavors, such as apple, peach, cherry, mesquite, hickory or oak. The latter have a more intense smoked aroma. The wood pellets are fed from the container via a conveyor screw into the combustion chamber of the smoker, where they are burned almost completely. The heat and smoke generated are distributed throughout the cooking chamber and the food is cooked indirectly. There is usually a heat shield and a grease drain tray between the burner and the grill grate, so that no direct heat reaches the food. As with a convection oven, the pellet grill works using convection heat and radiant heat.

The smoke escapes through the chimney on the pellet grill. When the pellet grill is switched on, there are usually clear clouds of smoke, but later on there is hardly any smoke to be seen. The pellets are burned very evenly, so that little visible smoke is produced. The grilled food gets a subtle smoky aroma. The smoke ring that is so popular with BBQs works perfectly with the pellet grill. The control unit on the pellet grill allows you to set temperatures of 75-400 degrees (depending on the model).

Due to this large temperature range and the simple controls, almost anything can be prepared with the pellet grill: from hot smoking to grilling steaks or baking pizza, practically everything is possible.

You can find more detailed information about pellet grills, delicious recipes and interesting product tests (such as the Broil King Pellet Grill Regal 400) in the current issue of FIRE&FOOD and in the next issue we will also take a closer look at the topic of pellet grills.