What are the advantages and disadvantages of a pellet barbecue?

The pellet barbecue has been developing in Europe for several years. It gradually wins the hearts of users who try it and becomes a challenger to traditional gas and charcoal barbecues. But each device always has advantages and disadvantages. What are those of the pellet barbecue? Take a look and then you can decide if this is the ideal barbecue for your home!

How a pellet barbecue works

The first pellet barbecue was made in the United States in 1987 by Traeger brand. It is only recently that this type of barbecue has appeared in France and is offered by other brands.

Its peculiarity is that of being powered by wood pellets. The electronics developed in recent years allow, with pellets, automated ignition and temperature management. The user can thus concentrate on cooking with the barbecue and no longer on the sometimes complex management of the fuel.

The advantages of the pellet barbecue

The pellet barbecue stands out by combining the advantages of the charcoal barbecue and those of the gas barbecue: simple lighting and preserved wood flavor. But these are not the only strong points of these devices!

Quick and easy ignition

Like a gas barbecue, a pellet barbecue turns on with a simple button. Simply fill the pellet tank, connect the barbecue, adjust the cooking temperature and the device will light the pellets and heat them. In just a few minutes and without doing anything, the barbecue is hot and ready to be used for cooking food.

Indirect cooking but flavor preserved

Neither ash nor flames can touch the food in a pellet barbecue! The fuel is burned in a dedicated combustion chamber. White smoke comes out while starting the barbecue. Once this disappears, it’s time to put the food on the stove!

This indirect cooking avoids charring the food, like a gas barbecue, but the smoke released by the pellets gives them the unique flavor of wood, like a charcoal barbecue!

A whole range of cooking options

Pellet barbecues offer a wide range of possible cooking options. They generally offer a temperature setting of 70° up to 315° depending on models and brands. If you have needs regarding the desired temperatures, check this information carefully when purchasing, as each manufacturer has its own specifics.

Therefore, this fine adjustment within this wide temperature range allows numerous different cooking modes on a pellet barbecue: grilling, smoking, roasting, braising, baking like in an oven or simply like on a traditional barbecue.

Various flavors thanks to the different types of pellets

Unlike charcoal, which is charred and therefore has no particular flavor (aside from smoke), pellets are made from sawdust. Each wood has its own properties, and therefore during combustion it emits a different smoke, which adds flavor to the food.

There are therefore different types of pellets with specific woody species, which go better with certain types of food: red or white meat, fish, vegetables, game, etc. Each manufacturer indicates the pellet/food combinations it has identified to help you in your choice. This adds to the pleasure of enjoying a good grilled dish and puts the kitchen at the center of this convivial moment!

Fuel efficiency

Wood pellets alone offer numerous advantages:

• Ease and speed of ignition,
• Indirect cooking without contact of the fire with food,
• Better yield than coal,
• Few ashes after burning for faster cleaning.

A 9 kg bag of pellets allows you to make approximately (depending on the heating temperature) 6 hours of high temperature cookingor 20 hours of smoking.

The disadvantages of the pellet barbecue

Perfection does not exist despite the manufacturers’ determination to offer you the best products possible! The pellet barbecue therefore has some disadvantages to be aware of before making your choice.

An addiction to electricity

The pellet barbecue needs to be connected to an electrical outlet to work. In fact, automatic ignition and temperature management are managed electronically. This therefore reduces its mobility, limited by the proximity of an electrical socket or the length of the extension cord.

However, there are some models that can be powered by battery and the appropriate kit. This is the case of the Traeger Ranger barbecue which can be connected via inverter to the car battery to be used anywhere. Some manufacturers may offer other solutions of this type in the future.

A specific supply of pellets

Once you have chosen the brand of your pellet barbecue, anticipate your fuel supply.

In fact, pellet barbecues require specific wood pellets. Those used for domestic heating are not suitable because they are coated with additives not recommended for food use. Furthermore, each barbecue manufacturer has designed its own pellet tank and its own pellet feeding and ignition system. Food pellets from each manufacturer therefore have a specific size and particle size, which are not necessarily compatible with barbecues from other brands.

If you choose a Traeger pellet barbecue, you will therefore only have to purchase Traeger brand pellets. The same goes for Weber. Make sure you have a retailer of your chosen pellets nearby or choose to order online. Jardideco offers pellets from the different brands we distribute, namely Weber and Traeger.

This dependence on a specific brand of pellet therefore does not allow you to adjust your budget by choosing a lower quality and therefore less expensive fuel as in the case of coal. However, this ensures that you get the best performance from your pellet grill.

Summary table of the advantages and disadvantages of pellet barbecues

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