Charcoal grills are the most versatile
types of grills because unlike their gas-fuelled counterparts, you can use
alternative types of fuel to heat them up. In addition to charcoal, one of the
things you can use is wood pellets. With wood pellets, there’s more to the
efficient and eco-friendly fuelling, and the best thing I love about them is
the different flavours they add to food.
So if you’re looking forward to doing
something different with flavours, you can choose from the cherry, alder,
maple, apple, hickory, oak and mesquite pellets depending on what excites your
taste buds. One thing that you should know before heading to the store to grab
a few pieces is that not all the wood pellets are suitable for charcoal grills.
Therefore, insist only on grilling wood pellets because other types like heating pellets are infused with chemicals that can easily contaminate your food. Many still don’t know how to use wood pellets in a charcoal grill, and if you’re one of them, we’ve got you covered. We will walk you through the basics that you have to observe once you have decided to use wood pellets for your next grill.
Step-step
guide on how to use wood pellets in charcoal grill
It’s always recommended to mix wood pellets
with charcoal when grilling. This is to let the charcoal do the heating as the latter
brings flavour as you desire. A combination of the two will have your food
ready in relatively shorter duration unlike when you heat up the grill with
pellets only, helping you conserve energy.
There’re many ways to start-up fire in a charcoal grill,but I prefer to use a chimney starter. It will have you incurring extra expenditures, but it’s relatively faster and effective. They’re also durable, so you won’t need to make any replacements any sooner.
- Transfer the coals to the grill
With lit coals at hand, your grill will
heat up in no minute after you’ve transferred them from the chimney
starter. After this, remember to put the
grill lid on to retain the heat. To speed up the process further, leave the
vents fully open. Leaving them closed will have your already lit charcoal
dying-out and you may end repeating the first process, which is already
time-consuming.
Before adding wood pellets, you have to
see-to-it that the grill is heated to the desired temperatures, depending on
what you’re planning to grill. There’s absolutely no limit to the amount of pellets
that you should add. You should be guided by how much smoke and flavour you
want in your food and for how long you’ll be cooking.
On average, half a cup of wood pellets will
keep the flavour flowing for close to 30 minutes. Today we have different
flavours of wood pellets as we have seen. This makes it easy to match the
flavour with whatever you’re preparing for a tastier outcome.
After adding wood pellets over the charcoal,
you’re required to give them time to ignite before placing your food on the cooking
grate or grilling mat. This takes time depending on the quantity that you used.
This helps in actualizing the needed amount of smoke and also allows heat from
the coal to fully reach the food.
The final step is to close the lid and let
your grill handle the rest. Having opened the grill vents the entire time, you
should ensure that they are only half-open at this point. This is key,
especially for foods that need slow cooking. Leaving the vents fully open will
run out your fire, prompting for addition of fuel.
However, you may also require to have them
closed, and the best way to know this is by using a grill thermometer that
helps figure out if the cooking temperatures are running high or low. For foods
that require cooking times that go up to an hour or more, always check on your
grill to know if you need to add extra wood pellets or charcoal to keep the
process going.
Summary
There you have it; all made simpler. Learning
how to use wood pellets in a charcoal grill makes it easier to embrace this
modern aspect of grilling that will leave your guest amazed at how flavourful
the food is. You don’t even have to worry about the pellets getting the grill
all messed up.
Unlike charcoal or regular wood, they leave
minimal traces of ash after burning out, giving you easy times when cleaning
afterwards. However, it’s important to note that they burn out way faster than
charcoal. Therefore, if you choose to use them without adding charcoal, you
might need to keep adding them to the fire in order to bring your grill to the
desired heat levels.
Another thing that you should note is that for genuine flavour, always buy from trusted brands. This applies to all stores, whether you’re buying them online or at the local store. With them you’ll only need a few pieces of pellets to actualize the true flavour, saving you money. It also guarantees you safety, with no fear of any added harmful substances during preparation.
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