About This Guide
The Traeger Pro 34 is the best overall starting point — 884 square inches handles a full packer brisket and a rack of ribs simultaneously, and the WiFIRE controller is one of the more reliable app integrations at this price so you can monitor a 14-hour brisket cook without camping in the backyard.
Everything You Can Cook on a Pellet Grill (It's More Than You Think) Buying Guide
Photo by Collab Media / PexelsQuick Verdict: Our top pick is the Traeger Pro 34 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker 884 Sq In Bronze (Best Overall) — 884 square inches fits a full packer brisket plus a rack of ribs simultaneously — you won't be choosing between them .... Priced at $729.99.
Budget Pick: The Pit Boss 71700FB Wood Pellet Grill 700 Square Inches at $366.98 — 700 square inches at under $400 is the most cooking space per dollar on this list, making it the most accessible entr....
Quick verdict: The Traeger Pro 34 is the best overall starting point — 884 square inches handles a full packer brisket and a rack of ribs simultaneously, and the WiFIRE controller is one of the more reliable app integrations at this price so you can monitor a 14-hour brisket cook without camping in the backyard.
## People Buy a Pellet Grill for Brisket. They Stay for Everything Else.
Here's how it usually goes: someone spends a weekend watching YouTube BBQ channels, gets inspired, buys a pellet grill, and makes their first brisket. It's better than anything they've made before. Then a month later they're smoking cream cheese as an appetizer for a party, making jerky on a Tuesday, and baking a pizza at 500 degrees that tastes like it came out of a wood-fired restaurant oven. Nobody warned them the grill would take over this much of their cooking life.
The reason is simple: a pellet grill is not just a smoker. It's a precise, wood-fired outdoor oven with a temperature range that covers everything from 160°F for gentle dehydrating up to 500°F+ for high-heat baking and grilling. If you can cook it in an oven, you can almost certainly cook it on a pellet grill — and it'll taste better because of the wood smoke.
Here's everything you can actually do with one.
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## The Full Use Case List: What to Cook and How
Brisket (225–250°F, 12–16 hours)
The flagship use case. A 12–14 lb whole packer brisket is the reason pellet grills exist in the minds of most buyers, and they genuinely deliver. The key mechanics: fat cap up (there's ongoing debate, but fat-cap-up on most pellet grills with top-down heat makes sense), smoke until the internal temp stalls around 160–165°F, wrap in butcher paper or foil to push through the stall, and pull around 200–205°F internal temp. Rest for at least an hour before slicing — the longer the better.
What pellet grills make easier than traditional offset smokers: you set a temperature and the grill maintains it. You're not managing a fire, adjusting vents, or adding splits every 45 minutes. For a 14-hour cook that starts at 10 PM, being able to check the temperature from your phone at 2 AM rather than going outside to tend a fire is a meaningful quality-of-life improvement.
Pork Ribs — 3-2-1 Method (225–250°F, 6 hours total)
Three hours unwrapped for smoke penetration and bark development. Two hours wrapped tightly in foil with a little butter and brown sugar to braise and tenderize. One hour unwrapped with sauce to set and glaze. The 3-2-1 method was essentially designed for the consistent temperature control that pellet grills provide — it works.
St. Louis cut spare ribs respond slightly better to this method than baby backs; baby backs are leaner and benefit from a 2-2-1 variation to avoid overcooking. Baby back ribs at 225°F for 4.5–5 hours total still produce excellent results.
Pulled Pork Shoulder (225°F, 8–12 hours)
The set-it-and-check-it cook. A bone-in pork shoulder (Boston butt) goes on at 225°F and comes off when the internal temp hits 200–205°F and a probe slides in with no resistance — like butter through warm butter. Wrap at the stall (160–165°F) to speed things along. Rest for at least an hour in a cooler wrapped in towels. Pull with two forks, mix in some of the rendered juices, and you have the most forgiving and rewarding cook in the pellet grill catalog.
Chicken (275°F for juicy, 375°F+ for crispy skin)
Chicken on a pellet grill comes with an honest tradeoff you should know upfront: at low temperatures (225–250°F), chicken absorbs smoke beautifully and stays incredibly juicy, but the skin comes out rubbery and pale. For crispy skin, you need to finish hot — 375°F+ for the last 20–30 minutes, or sear on a cast-iron skillet after the smoke cook. Spatchcocking (removing the backbone, pressing flat) helps enormously by getting the skin more exposed to heat and reducing cook time. If crispy skin is non-negotiable, the Camp Chef Woodwind's SideKick propane burner solves this problem entirely.
Smoked Salmon (180°F, 2–3 hours)
Dry brine overnight (salt, brown sugar, dill) in the fridge. Rinse, pat dry, let the pellicle form for an hour at room temperature. Then 180°F with alder or apple wood for 2–3 hours until flaky. The result is deeply different from cold-smoked lox — it's firm, deeply flavored, and makes everything it touches better. Cream cheese. Crackers. Eggs on Sunday morning.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can you actually grill on a pellet grill, or is it just for smoking?
Yes, you can grill on a pellet grill, but with an honest caveat: most pellet grills top out at 450–500°F, which is lower than the 600–700°F a charcoal kettle reaches. For burgers, chicken pieces, vegetables, and pork chops this is plenty of heat. For steaks where you want a deep, dark crust from Maillard reaction at extreme temperatures, a standard pellet grill will underperform charcoal or cast iron. The Camp Chef Woodwind's SideKick attachment and Slide and Grill direct-flame feature exist specifically to address this — it's the most complete solution for people who want both smoke cooking and proper searing in one unit.
How much does it cost to run a pellet grill — how many pellets per hour?
At low-and-slow temperatures (225–250°F), a pellet grill burns roughly 1–2 lbs of pellets per hour. At higher temperatures (400°F+), consumption increases to 2–3 lbs per hour. A 20-lb bag of quality pellets costs $15–$25, which puts a full 14-hour brisket cook at roughly 18–28 lbs of pellets, or $14–$35 in fuel. That's competitive with charcoal for long cooks and slightly more expensive than propane. Pellet quality varies — cheaper pellets often have more filler (oak core with wood dust coating) and produce more ash; premium pellets like Traeger or Bear Mountain have higher BTU output and less ash.
Do pellet grills give enough smoke flavor or does it taste weak?
This is the most common concern and the most nuanced answer. At 225–250°F in the first 1–3 hours, pellet grills produce meaningful smoke flavor — enough for genuine BBQ results on ribs, brisket, and pork shoulder. As the cook progresses and the protein's surface dries out, smoke absorption slows regardless of the smoke source. Where pellet grills lose to offsets is in the character of the smoke: a wood-fired offset with a hot, clean fire produces different combustion compounds than a pellet grill's compressed wood pellets. Most backyard cooks won't find the difference significant. Competition BBQ purists might. For the applications in this guide — including pizza, smoked cheese, cream cheese, and jerky — pellet grill smoke is fully adequate.
Can I use any brand of pellets in any pellet grill?
Technically yes — pellets are pellets, and no pellet grill requires brand-specific fuel. Traeger will tell you to use Traeger pellets; that's marketing. The practical considerations are pellet quality (see cost question above) and moisture content. Some aftermarket pellets are less consistently sized, which can cause occasional auger jams. Premium brands from established BBQ companies (Bear Mountain, Lumber Jack, CookinPellets) are well-regarded alternatives to the grill brands' own pellets and often cost less per pound.
How long does it take to heat up a pellet grill?
Most pellet grills reach 225°F in 10–15 minutes. Reaching 350–400°F typically takes 15–20 minutes. Reaching maximum temperature (475–500°F) takes 20–25 minutes, including preheating a pizza stone which should always be done for 45 minutes at max temp for pizza. This is slower than gas (10 minutes to full temp) but faster than charcoal (20–30 minutes for a full chimney). Plan accordingly — a pellet grill is not the right tool for a 15-minute dinner decision.
Do I need WiFi on my pellet grill?
Not strictly, but for long cooks it's genuinely useful. A 14-hour brisket cook that starts in the evening benefits from being able to check temperature from bed at 2 AM without going outside. WiFi also lets you adjust the set point remotely if the grill is running slightly hot or cold. For cooks under 3–4 hours, WiFi adds no meaningful value. The tradeoff is cost — WiFi models typically run $100–$200 more than non-connected versions. If your primary use is weekend brisket and overnight pork shoulder, it's worth it.
What's the best first cook on a new pellet grill?
After the seasoning burn (30–45 minutes at 350°F empty), do a spatchcocked chicken as your first real cook. It takes 1.5–2 hours at 375°F, gives you a chance to understand how your specific grill holds temperature, produces a result that makes it obvious whether the grill is working correctly, and is forgiving enough that a beginner cook produces excellent food. Save the brisket for cook number three or four, after you've developed a feel for your grill's temperature behavior at different zones.
Can I leave a pellet grill running overnight?
Yes, and this is one of the defining advantages of pellet grills for long cooks. With a full hopper (18–20 lbs on most models), WiFi monitoring, and a working temperature controller, a pellet grill can maintain 225°F overnight without intervention. Standard precautions: make sure the hopper is full before sleeping, the grill is on a stable non-flammable surface away from the house, the grease bucket isn't close to overflowing, and you have a working smoke detector and ideally a dedicated pellet grill app notification set up for temperature drops. A sudden temperature drop (more than 30°F below set point) usually means a pellet jam or firepot issue — the app alert lets you catch it early.
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