Advertising | My barbecue collection grows and grows! However, what has been missing until recently is a pellet grill or pellet smoker. This has now changed thanks to the new PG1 pellet grill from BBQ-Toro*. I would like to introduce this one to you a little bit, as good as that is already possible for me after the short time. Starting with delivery, assembly, instructions for use and of course it has already had its first test run with Pulled Pork.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: In the meantime, several pieces of meat and vegetables have passed through the pellet smoker. Everything works fine. More about this in the updates below.
Pellet Grill / Pellet Smoker
Why do you actually need such a pellet grill?
Honestly, with a gas grill, charcoal grill, and gas smoker, I have all the grills available to do the same things I do with a pellet grill. However, this works with a pellet grill much more relaxed, stable and offers especially in the field of low-and-slow and so-called longjobs even more advantages, which I will discuss later. Of course, there are also disadvantages, and these should not be concealed here.
In addition to the actual grill body, a pellet smoker has a so-called pellet chamber into which the grill pellets used, such as beech pellets, are filled. An electrically driven screw conveyor then transports these pellets one by one into the combustion chamber, where, in the PG1, a heating rod ignites the pellets and releases the smoke and heat to the grill body and the food inside. The supply air and circulation inside the grill body is provided by a fan. Temperature setting and control are performed by a digital control and a temperature sensor in the grill body. Dripping grease or other liquids fall onto the slanted grease drain pan and are directed outward into a small bucket via a groove.
By the way, the pellets are special, single-grade barbecue pellets without additives. This is not the case with the usual heating pellets, and therefore they can not be taken as a substitute. Regardless of this, a pellet grill usually also requires a certain size of grill pellets so that they can be transported without interference with the screw conveyor. Here, these are the usual 6 mm. With heating pellets, on the other hand, there are different sizes.
Delivery and assembly of the pellet grill
The BB-Toro pellet grill is delivered by forwarding agent on a multi-use pallet. This is worth mentioning because in addition to the reasonable shipping costs, you will have to pay about 9 euros to the shipping company if you do not have a reusable pallet to exchange at home. The package, which weighs about 100 kg, comes well packed and is wrapped in foil. Luckily, because it rained for hours here and I didn’t really feel like a wet heavy cardboard box.
Upon opening, it is immediately apparent that the pellet smoker is very well secured against damage during transport. All corners and edges are secured with hard cardboard and/or styrofoam. All accessories and attachments are individually and securely packaged.
Structure
The detailed and easy to understand assembly instructions are much more detailed than needed, because especially the connection and attachment of the pellet chamber to the grill body is not necessary, because it is delivered already pre-assembled and connected. Nevertheless, with the manual you are prepared in case of need to disassemble and reassemble the unit.
The required screws are individually packaged by group, a screwdriver and two assembly wrenches are included. So then it can already start, and in pairs! The easy assembly of the base cabinet with doors can be done on your own, but lifting and setting down the grill body including the pellet chamber is not. At least not without risking back damage or damage to the pellet grill. You will still be allowed to align the doors, which at least I found rather difficult. Otherwise, the tires could be a bit bigger if you move the pellet grill frequently. However, since mine is getting a permanent spot, it’s not relevant to me.
Conclusion
Assembly for two
In total, the entire assembly should take about an hour, possibly less. Since I took pictures and videos in between, it’s hard for me to estimate. The overall impression after assembly is very satisfactory. Good material feel, no sharp edge or burrs, everything fits. I also like the color. Not always just uniform black, but ok, there are different tastes. At first I thought that another sealing tape would be useful for the lid, since it does not lie flat on the grill body, but has a certain gap due to the side parts. However, this did not prove true in operation. I only ever saw smoke escaping through the chimney, never at the lid. This is probably due to the circulation in the pellet grill.
Function test and burn out of the Pellet Smoker
The necessary functional test before the first start-up is explained in the assembly instructions in an understandable and comprehensible way. Therefore, here is just one point that you can check off in case it should also occur with you and irritates you. After switching on and setting to “Smoke”, the auger did not start moving immediately as indicated in the instructions. It simply took a little time for this to overcome the first resistance and for the lubrication to take hold. After that, it also ran in my pulled pork test for 17 hours without complaint.
Burnout
The burnout is important and you should also do it as described in the instructions for 45 minutes at the highest temperature. This removes production residue and makes your food taste like what it’s supposed to taste like. Not to mention health aspects. Particularly in the case of the flame guard above the combustion chamber as well as the grease drain pan, the burnout also made sense. By the way, don’t expect higher temperatures to automatically mean more smoke. Rather the opposite is the case! In general, the visible smoke from a pellet grill is low, you rather smell the smoke, and in combination with the smell of the meat is exactly what we want!
UPDATE 06.04.2020: Just as it can be read in other reports on pellet smokers, it is also confirmed with the PG1. Visible smoke development can only be detected at temperatures up to 135 degrees. At higher temperatures, the pellets burn too quickly to produce visible smoke. Nevertheless, a certain smoky aroma can still be detected on the cooked food, which is also reflected in the color. For example, I had wonderful burger patties that were deliciously red and lightly smoked at 176 degrees in the smoker.
By the way, when heating up and then burning out, I immediately checked the temperature display. During the entire process, a sensor of my Inkbird IBBQ-4T* was also in the cooking chamber, and the values differed only minimally by 1 degree or at most times 2 degrees Celsius. The thermometer in the grill body works reliably!
Pulled pork in pellet grill
With a smoker, there has to be pulled pork or ribs for the housewarming.
Sort of the equivalent of layered meat in the new Dutch Oven. I had chosen Pulled Pork because it allowed me to watch the pellet grill for a long period of time. The recipe for this Pulled Pork from the Pellet Smoker will be in another post in the near future. It’s best to subscribe to my newsletter, then you won’t miss it.
Launch
The Pellet Grill was started according to the instructions with the lid open on the “Smoke” setting. After a few minutes you can see smoke rising, then it’s time to close the lid and set the desired temperature. In my case, that was 107 degrees. At the same time, the cooking chamber temperature and the core temperature of the three pork necks were monitored with my IBBQ-4T*. For this, the pellet grill has a silicone grommet for thermometer cables on the side of the cooking chamber, which can also comfortably accommodate 4 cables. Once the pellet grill reached the desired temperature, the pork necks were placed on the 66 x 49.5 cm grill rack. Two more pork necks would have fit on it without any problems. Oh yes, in order not to mess up your grease pan and not to have to clean it all the time, you should line it with aluminum foil.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: Even six large pork necks are no problem on the lower grate, and have since been made into wonderful Pulled Pork. Two more necks or pieces of meat could be placed on the warming rack. If you need even more space, check out the PG2 Pellet Grill, link below.
Some may wonder why there are only fixed – and rather seemingly arbitrary – temperature levels, and no stepless temperature control. The temperature levels of 82, 107, 121, 135, 148, 162, 176, and 190 degrees Celsius are simply conversions from Fahrenheit to Celsius, so they seem a bit crooked. However, this covers the most common and necessary temperature ranges. Stepless adjustment is offered by other devices in other price ranges.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: There is of course another temperature setting, namely “High”. With this setting, the PG1 has reached a maximum temperature of 235 degrees. This extends the range of application, e.g. with regard to certain baking recipes. At this temperature, you could see the flames flickering slightly upwards in the left part of the pellet grill. It should be noted that in this way, of course, a developing grease fire, which should be prevented by the existing flame protection, can not be completely ruled out. Therefore, I would not leave the pellet smoker running unattended at these temperatures. A long-term test at this maximum temperature is still pending.
Smocking
Then the pellet grill began its work.
These pork necks definitely took their time, so the Pellet Smoker ran for 17 hours straight. The temperature curve over this time period shows that there were no major variations in temperature. The pellet grill ran constantly at 107 degrees +/- 5 degrees. For the most part, there were only small fluctuations in the range of 1-2 degrees Celsius.
A noticeable feature of a pellet grill is the clearly audible fan, as is the case here, although a certain amount of noise is present in all pellet grills on the market. After a while, you get used to it, and I then no longer found it annoying. However, if you want to operate the pellet grill on a balcony and/or have very sensitive neighbors, then this aspect may need to be considered.
I can’t tell you the exact consumption of pellets because I didn’t pay attention to it. However, this also depends on the pellets used and the ambient conditions. Once I refilled the pellet chamber, so over the course of 17 hours, a rough estimate of 8-9 kg of pellets were consumed. This would put it in the range of what you hear and read elsewhere about pellet grills, which is about 0.5 kg per hour.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: The pellet consumption is of course dependent on the set temperature, since depending on this the screw conveyor transports more or less pellets into the combustion chamber. For the low and slow range up to 121 degrees, the figure of approx. 0.6 kg per hour seems to fit quite well. At higher temperatures, there is then of course a correspondingly higher consumption.
Smoke
As mentioned above, you can only occasionally see some smoke rising from the chimney. To this in contrast, the pork necks very quickly began to take on the smoke and acquire a reddish color. Also, the end result with a big, beautiful smoke rim and of course great flavor highlights one of the advantages of a pellet smoker: light smoke flavor and great redness (smoke rim). When using other pellets, such as those made from hickory wood, a more intense smoke flavor can of course be achieved. Also, you could see very clearly how the smoke began to increasingly settle in the grill body and on the warming rack.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: Just this beautiful, red smoke edge is a clear argument for the Pellet Smoker. Not only with pork neck, but also with ribs, steak and burgers I was allowed to enjoy it in the meantime.
Shut Down Cycle
After the first Smoke process over 17 hours, I was extremely satisfied, except that I had to get out of bed at half past one in the morning to take out the pork necks. Even if you are in a hurry, you should not forget the last point before turning off the pellet grill. The control unit is now still set to “Shut Down Cycle”. In the following 10 minutes, the fan continues to run, the heating rod is switched off and the screw conveyor does not transport any more pellets into the combustion chamber. This serves the purpose that no more pellets can ignite. The remaining pellets are still burned by the air supply. As soon as the fan goes off, you can turn off the pellet grill.
Cleaning
Once everything has cooled down, it’s time for cleaning. I was very curious to see how much ash was left after 17 hours of use. First, remove the foil on the grease pan. If you didn’t have aluminum foil on your grease pan now, you’ll probably have burnt-on grease stains that won’t go away. Then remove the grease tray and fire protection plate. The sight had surprised me then but very much: 8-9 kg of pellets were burned, but the amount of ash in the combustion chamber and on the bottom of the grill body was equivalent to about a small coffee cup. It’s amazing how cleanly the pellet smoker burns the beech pellets from BBQ-Toro*.
UPDATE 06.04.: I can only confirm the clean consumption. However, contrary to my statement above, it is best to take two layers of foil for the grease pan, one is sometimes not enough. Alternatively, you can also place aluminum or stainless steel trays under the food.
The easiest way to remove ash is with an ash vacuum, but a little sweeping and a mini shovel will do the trick. With the combustion chamber I have helped myself with a tablespoon to get the ash out, who has there still an elegant solution (except ash vacuum cleaner), always her and writes it to me in the comments.
Finally, I wiped down the grates and some of the surfaces and removed the smoke dust. There is really nothing more to do. Since the pellet grill is not covered at my place, it’s great that BBQ-Toro also comes with a matching cover.
Conclusion about the pellet grill PG 1 from BBQ-Toro
Low-and-slow with great price/performance ratio
Of course, there can only be a limited conclusion once you’ve used a new grill or smoker. However, I hope to have given you a first impression of the PG1 Pellet Grill from BBQ-Toro*. I will also add to this article. Certainly after a few weeks when I’m more familiar with it and ribs, fish, vegetables and more have taken their place on the grill. However, also when things particularly strike me or to answer recurring questions.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: A few weeks have passed. I can now support and add to the limited conclusion a little more.
Is it something for me?
If you want a longjob and low-and-slow machine at a very good value, then by all means! Easy assembly, good workmanship, uncomplicated operation, constant temperature, clean burning of the pellets, great smoke edge and taste here at the Pulled Pork, easy cleaning – fits everything! By the way, with the PG2 Pellet Smoker* BBQ-Toro has another version with one more grate level in the range.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: Other cuts of meat such as steaks, ribs and burgers also get a great smoke edge and a pleasant smoke flavor, depending on the pellets selected. I can now recommend the beech pellets* from BBQ-Toro as all-round pellets without hesitation.
If you are thinking of using the pellet grill for direct grilling of steaks, pizza baking, bread baking in addition to smocking, then this is rather not a good fit. For this, the maximum temperature of about 220 degrees is not enough. A corresponding conversion to direct grilling with grill grate can be realized more or less easily with all pellet grills. However, with these pellet grills, which manage 400 degrees or more, we are then also in significantly different price spheres.
UPDATE 06.04.2020: The maximum temperature for me is 235 degrees. Depending on the ambient conditions and the pellets used, a few degrees more are certainly possible. Of course, this does not turn the pellet grill into a pizza oven or a steak machine. However, there is nothing against baking bread or a cake in the pellet smoker, or using it for Sunday roasts. Of course, you can also cook your steak in it and give it a little smoky flavor. The roast aromas are then obtained in the pan, in the grill or on the grill grate. However, its strength and purpose remains Low and Slow with great smoke flavor and smoke edge.
For me, the pellet grill from BBQ-Toro comes just right: turn on, put on, go to sleep, enjoy! The grill for the steaks we have anyway as a charcoal or gas grill at home, right?
(*) The products linked in the post are so-called affiliate links. If you click on such an affiliate link and make a purchase via this link, I will receive a commission from the online store or provider in question. For you the price does not change, but I would be happy if you would support my work with it.
The pellet grill was kindly provided to me free of charge by BBQ-Toro. Regardless, the post reflects my personal and honest opinion. I was not given any specifications by the company, and I would not accept these for any product test.
