PELLET GRILL
“I think finally we’re at the point where the grill is an appliance and people aren’t going to just go get that poorly made $200 grill that happened to be at the corner hardware store. They want something that’s going to last and yields consistent results year-round.”
DIVA Q
Traeger pellet grills are highly regarded and are the choice of many celebrated outdoor chefs. Diva Q is one of those chefs, and I caught up with her to find out what makes her such a devotee.
“When I first started in competitive BBQ, lots of guys were put off by a woman with a pellet grill. But once I proved myself, those same guys are now asking advice on how to use the pellet grill, wishing they’d listened when I said, ‘You know I’m working smarter, not harder, right?’” For Diva Q, her pellet grill yields the “most consistent results with the easiest learning curve,” opening the door for grilling newbies and enabling veterans to experiment. While the new app-controlled pellet grills are easy to use, there are some essentials to learn.
“One of the key things is, not all pellets are created equal.” Diva Q says the compression rate, moisture content and sourcing of the wood all play key parts in a quality pellet. Softwood is not great and is usually what’s in cheap pellets. All-natural hardwood gives the best fire and flavor. The flavor profiles of apple, cherry, hickory and oak are all different. Diva Q feels it’s best to establish a base flavor that’s softer and then mix in a harder one like mesquite. Also, the hotter a pellet grill gets, the less smoke it produces. This is good for baking and high-temperature dishes that don’t need smoke. But at temps less than 250 degrees F, “they produce all kinds of beautiful mild smoke that brings that great flavor to the food.”
Most pellet grills don’t sear a steak as well as a gas or charcoal grill. But Diva Q says she’s learned a lot about the science of grilling, and she now knows that caramelization for the desired char from searing still happens with low, indirect heat. With a pellet grill, you can still get what’s called the “Maillard reaction,” which gives browned food its singular flavor, but not with the same high-heat char like on a direct heat charcoal or gas grill.
Diva Q says she can smell when the sugars are changing with low heat, and that she doesn’t really need an app to cook. She will use the Traeger app if she leaves the grill unattended. She says the real benefit of the app is its library of recipes. They designate timing, temperature and serving size, all enabling anyone to execute exceptional grilled food.