How Do Pellet Grills Work? A Plain and Simple Guide to Pellet Grills

How Do Pellet Grills Work? A Plain and Simple Guide to Pellet Grills

Posted by Home Billiards on 21st Feb 2023

Everyone suddenly swears by pellet grills. But here’s the thing most people won’t tell you: if you don’t understand how they actually work, you can end up with an expensive backyard ornament instead of the flavour-packed upgrade you were promised.

So what is a wood pellet grill really, and is it worth making the switch this summer?

By the time you’re done reading, you’ll know exactly where you stand. You’ll discover how pellet grills compare to gas and charcoal, what kind of cooking experience they actually deliver, and whether they live up to the hype or just look good on your patio. More importantly, you’ll learn how to choose the right setup and get the most out of it.

Here’s what you’ll walk away with:

  • A clear breakdown of how pellet grills work, minus the technical confusion
  • The real difference between grilling, smoking, and pellet cooking
  • What kind of flavour, control, and convenience can you expect
  • How pellet costs, cook times, and versatility stack up
  • Whether a pellet grill fits your cooking style and budget

This guide comes from Home Billiards, Vancouver’s only certified Traeger grill repair centre. That means we don’t just sell pellet grills; we service, troubleshoot, and bring them back to life every day. We’ve seen what works, what fails, and what actually matters once the lid closes and the cooking starts. If you’re thinking about upgrading your BBQ game, you’re in the right place.

What is a pellet grill?

A pellet grill is an outdoor cooker that burns compressed wood pellets to produce heat and smoke. It uses an electric auger to feed pellets into a fire pot and a fan to control temperature, typically between 180°F and 500°F, for grilling, smoking, roasting, and baking.

Why are is a pellet grills better?

Pellet grills are superior to other grills in several ways, including

  • Even cooking: temperature in traditional smokers can be hard to keep consistent, but pellet grills allow you to set and maintain the exact temperature you want throughout the entire cooking process.
  • Strong, smoky flavour: cooking with all-natural hardwood pellets infuses a distinct smoky flavour.
  • Easy to use: traditional smoker grills aren’t always the easiest to use, requiring constant monitoring and adjustment. However, pellet grills are about as easy to use as your standard kitchen oven.
  • Environmentally friendly: instead of gas or charcoal, they run on electricity and burn compressed hardwood pellets, producing minimal ash.

Learn more about the most environmentally friendly grills.

How do pellet grills work?

At a basic level, wood pellets are fed into a fire, generating hot smoke that is then directed and circulated to the grill's cooking area for perfect, even cooking.

More technically, here’s what’s happening under the hood:

  1. You dump wood pellets into the hopper
  2. These pellets are transferred to the fire pot by an auger
  3. In the fire pot, the pellets are ignited by the HotRod
  4. A PID controller, RTD probe, and fan cycle work together to keep the temperature just right
  5. The fan circulates heat and smoke for even, consistent cooking
  6. While this happens, a drip tray keeps flames off your food and prevents flare-ups. - The drip tray also collects the fat and drippings from the food; a liner makes cleanup easy.

Caption: A visual representation of the process powering Traeger wood pellet grills.

This process is controlled by a simple controller (called a PID controller) and a temperature probe (called an RTD probe), similar to the one in your kitchen oven, which controls the fan cycle and maintains precise temperature.

On most Traeger models, including Pro, Ironwood, and Timberline, you can even control your pellet grill from a distance using wifi and the Traeger app.

To learn more about each Traeger model, read through our Traeger buyer's guide. 

The Traeger Ironwood 885 with grill hood open and food on the grill.

Is a pellet grill the same as a smoker?

Whereas “smoker” describes any grill that uses smoke to cook your food, a pellet grill refers to a specific type of smoker that cooks using the smoke of small pellets of wood.

In the past, smokers have referred to grills that use large pieces of food or charcoal as their sources of smoke. But given the recent rise in popularity of pellet grills, people have started to see them as their own thing, as a standalone product rather than just a type of smoker.

Despite this, pellet grills still belong to the family of smokers.

How is cooking on a wood pellet grill different from traditional grilling?

Traditional grilling involves placing food either directly or indirectly over a heat source (such as hot charcoal or a gas-lit element), which results in fast cooking but, generally speaking, less intense flavour.

Grilling with wood pellets takes a different approach. Instead of cooking your food over a concentrated heat source, your heat is distributed more evenly around your food, producing a stronger, smokier, more evenly distributed flavour.

How long do wood pellets last in a smoker?

How long pellets last in your smoker depends on your cooking method, but here’s how much cooking time you can expect across several different styles:

Traeger wood pellet burn time. How long do wood pellets last?

Is cooking time the same on a pellet grill compared to traditional grilling?

You will find that wood pellet grills take longer to preheat than traditional grills. This is because you must wait for enough heat and smoke to generate from your wood pellets before you can begin cooking.

Traditional grilling with gas-lit elements only requires a flame from a lighter, and you’re ready to start cooking almost immediately.

That said, cooking times are comparable once you’ve reached your desired temperature. Plus, longer warm-up times on pellet grills mean more time to prep your ingredients and entertain your guests.

Non-pellet wood grills that use large pieces of wood cannot predict exact cooking times due to differences in wood type, size, and consistency. Still, wood pellet grills allow you to precisely control the temperature throughout your cook.

The result is a cooking time as long or as short as you want, depending on the flavour, smokiness, and recipe you’re targeting.

What kinds of pellets should you use?

The main thing to look at when choosing your pellets is what they’re made of.

Your pellets and the smoke they produce heavily influence the final taste of your food, so you want to make sure they’re made from high-quality, all-natural hardwood. No fillers or binders are required.

Beyond their make-up, you next want to look at their flavouring.

Different-flavoured pellets will complement different kinds of meals, so choosing a flavour that matches the cooking you plan to do is important.

Traeger’s Brisket Blend of wood pellet.

For example, sweeter and subtler flavours like cherry and apple work well with poultry, pork, seafood, and baked goods.

Bolder flavours like oak, hickory, and mesquite better match beef, wild game, and vegetables.

Can you do more than just grill with pellet grills? What kinds of food can you cook?

One of the most attractive features of wood pellet grills is their versatility, offering capabilities similar to both conventional ovens and traditional grills, allowing you to smoke, roast, bake, grill, and sear just about anything.

Are wood pellet grills more expensive than traditional grills?

There’s a wide range of price points for wood pellet grills, but generally they start as low as $699, comparable to, if not more affordable than, many traditional grills on the market.

If you’re looking for a portable wood pellet grill, you’ll find even more affordable options.

There are also long-term savings to consider with wood pellet grills, such as the much greater burning efficiency of wood pellets compared to charcoal.

Get started with wood pellet grills today

Ready to grill with smoky flavour? Check out our selection of Traeger Grills.

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