5 Things Every Pellet Grill Beginner Should Know!
Six Years and 500 Cooks, Boiled Down to Five Tips
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Introduction
What I Wish I Knew Before My First Pellet Grill Cook
What's up BBQ fans! Welcome to the patio. Today is for anyone thinking about a pellet grill, or anyone who just got one and wants to get the most out of it.
A little background first. I got my Yoder YS640s six years ago, before I ever thought about starting a YouTube channel, and I've put over 500 cooks on it. I started smoking meat about 30 years ago on an electric drum smoker, then moved to a Weber Smokey Mountain, a Kamado Joe, the Yoder, the Komodo Kamado and now an offset. I tried pellet grills from two of the three most popular brands before the Yoder and wasn't happy with either.
The difference between the food I make today and what I made six years ago is night and day. Here are the five things that made the biggest difference, plus a bonus.
Tip 1: Pellets Matter
Pellets aren't just your fuel. They're your flavor source. Cut corners here and you won't get the same results.
I use Bear Mountain Oak pellets, and I've tested seven brands side by side. You can grab a cheap 40 lb bag at Costco, but in my experience those are some of the worst pellets out there for smoke flavor. Bear Mountain isn't available in Canada yet, but Lumberjack is a good option there. Just like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.
Tip 2: Keep Your Firebox Clean
Pellet grills need a little more maintenance than a gas grill. Pellets drop into the firebox, the igniter lights them, and a computer feeds more pellets to hold your set temperature. When the cook is done, ash stays behind in the firebox.
After every cook or two: dump the ash. The Yoder has a removable firebox tray, so this takes seconds.
About once a month: pull the diffuser and vacuum out the whole pit.
Get a cheap shop vac for this. Don't use a good one. Home Depot's bucket shop vac runs about $25 to $30 on one of their five-gallon buckets.
Why bother? A dirty firebox can cause a flameout. You come back an hour or two later and your fire is out and your meat is cold. A clean firebox means a proper startup and a successful cook.
If you use the Yoder Wood-Fired Oven, vacuum before you cook with it, so there's less ash blowing around.
Tip 3: Stop Stressing Over Temperature Swings
I see so many people online freak out over this, and it's wasted energy. You set 225 or 275°F, see the display swing up and down, and start adjusting the temperature to outsmart the computer.
There's a live fire in there, and pellets aren't all the same size. As the controller feeds pellets to chase your set point, the temperature will fluctuate. That's normal. Your indoor oven swings up to 50 degrees, too. You just don't see it because it has no display.
Some brands hide the swing and show you a flat line. When I had the Konnected Joe, its graph was flat, but my real-world data showed it wasn't. If the swings bother you, put a piece of tape over the display. Set your temperature, focus on your cook, grab a drink and relax.
Tip 4: Lower Your Temperatures
Pellet grills aren't known for putting out the most smoke, especially compared to an offset burning big splits. You've got a small fire pot, and the hotter you run it, the cleaner the fire burns. A cleaner fire means less smoke.
Keep it at or under 275°F if you want good smoke flavor.
Better yet, start super low, at 180 to 200°F. It stretches the cook by a couple of hours, but the result is way better.
For a brisket, I'll do two or three hours at 200°F, about four hours at 225°F, then 250°F, then at least six hours at 275°F to help render the fat. Get as much smoke in at the beginning as you can.
Tip 5: Get a Smoke Tube
A smoke tube adds supplemental smoke. Fill it with pellets (they burn longer than chips), light it with a torch, let it go for a minute, then blow it out. A full tube lasts roughly 4 to 4½ hours.
My rule of thumb now: don't run a smoke tube for more than about half the cook. An eight-hour pork butt gets one tube. A four-hour rack of ribs gets maybe half a tube. I see people run two tubes the whole cook, and that way overdoes it.
The exception is brisket. I run two tubes back to back, then hold the brisket for a long rest at about 150°F. That combination is one of the biggest reasons my brisket has changed the most in six years.
Bonus Tip: Have Fun
This one's probably the most important. Backyard barbecue is about sharing food with your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. There's no right or wrong way to do it, and my own opinions have changed a lot over 15 years.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Failure is life's greatest teacher. Try new things, like making your own sausage or bacon, and don't take it too seriously.
Final Thoughts
Buy good pellets, keep the firebox clean, ignore the temperature swings, start low for more smoke, and use a smoke tube for about half the cook. Do those five things and your pellet grill food will get better fast.
If you're looking to take your pellet grilling game to the next level, check out my Pellet Grill Mastery Bundle. It's 46 pages and about 220 images with everything I've learned, and it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.
Thanks For Watching
Whether you're a seasoned pitmaster or a novice, these tips will enhance your cooking skills and leave your family and friends raving about your delicious, smoky creations. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more step-by-step videos, and let's together become the barbecue heroes we were meant to be!
*Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. You will pay the same price, but I will earn a small percentage, which will help support the channel.
