The Best Pellet Grill 2024
Although most modern pellet grills have a digital temperature readout and do a pretty good job of maintaining the temperature, this is not always the case.
To determine the best pellet grill and find out exactly how these products perform in different cooking scenarios, we conduct three tests. Based on different meats, methods and heat settings, these tests show us how effectively and evenly the grill cooks (or doesn’t).
Smoking pork ribs low and slow is a perfect test for a pellet grill.
Ribs
We connected each grill to a sensitive thermocouple thermometer at the grill level. This sensor is also attached to a laptop running data logging software.
Well-smoked ribs should be juicy, tender and deliciously smoky.
Next, we fire up the grill and set the temperature to 225 degrees F and start burning. Next, we remove the outer membrane from a rack of pork back ribs and season it with the all-purpose cream we use for ribs and chicken. Once the grill thermometer reads that it has reached the desired temperature, we place it on the grill for at least three hours with the lid closed the entire time.
Beer Canned Chicken is a great way to add flavor and moisture to your chicken while it’s cooking on your pellet grill.
chicken
To test average cooking time at medium heat settings, we grill a whole chicken at 400 degrees F. After trimming and seasoning the bird, we insert one temperature probe into each chicken breast, for a total of two probes per chicken. To keep our results as fair as possible, all chickens are as close to 5.5 lbs as possible.
To mix it up, we also tested chicken in a beer can to give another way to measure the bird’s cooking. By standing the chicken upright while cooking, it introduces another level of cooking precision for the grills, as not all of the meat is relatively the same distance from the heat. Using the same methods of tracking temperatures throughout cooking, the chickens turned out juicy and delicious under the smoky heat of 350 degrees.
Cooking burgers at high heat helps us see how the pellet grill cooks the meat.
burgers
Burgers are our final test for our grill reviews. We measure out 5.3 ounces of 80/20 ground beef and press them into even patties. These patties go into a grill basket and we insert a temperature probe into the center of each patty at a 45 degree angle.
With the grill preheated for 10 minutes on the highest heat, the basket is placed on the grill. After six minutes of cooking, turn the basket over and observe the internal temperature. Once the last burger in the basket reaches 145 degrees F, the batch is complete. A good burger in this test is one that has both a nice charred exterior and a slightly pink center.
Burger testing indicates any hot spots on the grill’s cooking surface if one burger consistently reaches 145 degrees F before the others in each round.
Pork chops
Buying a whole pork tenderloin and cutting your own steaks is a great way to not only save money but also get even pork chops to cook.
For the chops, I bought a whole pork tenderloin and cut it into roughly 1 inch thick chops. Doing this is not only more economical, but also ensures that the chops are uniform in thickness for more even cooking. After some seasoning, the center-cut pork chops went on the grill.
Temperatures are monitored while cooking on a 350-degree grill using the same methods as hamburgers. The chops cook evenly and relatively quickly since there are no bones to contend with.
Boston pork butt
Boston pork butt is a great cut of meat for pellet grills as it can take on a lot of smoke and provide delicious pull-ready meat.
For a longer cooking test, I used approximately 6-pound Boston pork butts or pork shoulder with a mixture of sweet and savory dry mix with yellow and Dijon mustard as binders. With the pellet grills set to 225 degrees F, each piece of meat was given two meat probes to monitor the temperature.
After cooking to 165 degrees F internally, I wrapped the meat in butcher paper and placed it back in the grill until it reached 195 degrees F. Then it was time to let the meat rest for about an hour. Once that was done, I put the meat on a tray and shredded it by tearing it up, resulting in juicy, smoky, tender pork for sandwiches, mac and cheese, and so many other dishes.
Breasts
Beef brisket can be difficult to cook because it requires a long time at low temperatures to properly break down the fat and meat fibers.
The final test was an even longer cooking with beef brisket over a period of 13 hours. The meat was trimmed, treated with coarse kosher salt, yellow mustard and smoked beef rub, then three meat probes to monitor the temperature of the large piece of meat. After all this, the breast is placed in the middle of the grill at 225 degrees.
After about six hours and an internal temperature of 165 degrees, I wrapped the breasts in butcher paper and placed them back in the grill. Once it reached 195 degrees, I wrapped aluminum foil around it to keep the moisture in and finished cooking at 225 degrees.
Grills produce juicy meat with beautiful smoke that cuts well. The ability to maintain even, consistent heat for something like brisket that requires a long cooking time is vital to properly breaking down the fat and protein fibers for a delicious meal.
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