Pellet Grills and Smokers Are the Outdoor Cooking Alternative You Need This Summer

The Gear Patrol Podcast is our weekly roundtable discussion focused on products, their stories, and the culture surrounding them.

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In this episode, Editor Will Price joins to talk about the newest–and perhaps least-well-known–type of grill: the pellet grill. (Or to be more precise, pellet grills and smokers.) Will makes the case that pellet grills and smokers, which have been around only since the mid-Eighties and benefit from precision computer controls, are a super low-effort alternative to charcoal and gas grills, particularly if you’re slow cooking food like ribs or brisket.

Will talks about how the things actually work and how they’re best used, the benefits and (very few) downsides to the category, and offers plenty of advice for pellet grill and smoker novices and pros alike. He ends with a rundown of our top three recommendations for pellet grill and smoker shoppers. If you’re interested in a “set it and forget it” approach to grilling and cooking out this summer, this one’s definitely for you.

Show Notes:

Episode Navigation:

• 01:25 – What Is a Pellet Grill and Smoker, and What Are “Pellets?”
• 03:40 – The Complex Components That Make Pellet Grills So Simple to Use
• 07:30 – Why Pellet Grills Are the Most Precise of Grilling Options
• 09:15 – Pellets Aren’t a Big Hassle, and These Are Set-It-and-Forget-It Devices
• 13:00 – Why Pellet Grills Are Also Smokers, and What They Cook Best
• 20:00 – Comparing Pellet Grills to Other Types
• 21:50 – Traeger, and the Genesis of Pellet Grills
• 23:15 – The Ecological Impact of Pellet Cooking
• 26:40 – The Surprisingly Low Prices of Pellet Grills
• 29:30 – A Rundown of Our Top Three Pellet Grill Picks
• 44:05 – What Is Will Grilling With This Summer?

Featured:

• The 10 Best Pellet Smokers and Grills You Can Buy in 2021
• Pellet Grilling Isn’t a Fad, It’s the Future — Here’s Why
• Back in Stock: The Best Tailgate Smoker You Can Buy
• The 12 Best Charcoal Grills You Can Buy in 2021
• The 11 Best Gas Grills You Can Buy in 2021
• The 30 Best Things to Cook with an Instant Pot or Multicooker
• 8 Tools You Need to Take Your Grill Setup to the Next Level
• 9 Things Your Dad Taught You About Grilling That Were Completely Wrong
• 25 Grill Recipes You Should Bookmark Right Now

The Gear Patrol Podcast is our weekly roundtable discussion focused on products, their stories, and the culture surrounding them.

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Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, our website, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Reach out at [email protected].

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