From Derrick Riches,
Your Guide to Barbecues & Grilling.
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In 1985 Joe Traeger started up Traeger Grills and introduced the first pellet grill to the world. Since then the Traeger family has continued to make top of the line pellet grills and smokers that have developed a larger than cult following. The flavor and the versatility have made them a favorite among serious backyard cooks. A pellet grill will grill, roast, and smoke.

A wood pellet is a small, 1 inch long, 1/4 inch diameter piece of hardwood. Because of their small size, wood pellets burn cleanly and quickly to a fine ash. Wood pellets burn at about 8,500 BTUs per pound. Wood pellets come in a wide variety of “flavors” ranging from hickory and oak to cherry, apple or mesquite. The pellets in a normal pellet grill are fed from a storage hopper to a burning box at a controlled rate. This rate is adjustable based on whether you want a high temperature for grilling or a low temperature for smoking.

Because of the automated feed of the wood pellets you can literally turn the unit on, give it 10 to 15 minutes to heat up, and be ready to grill in almost no time. This makes it as convenient as a gas grill but with the added flavor of hardwood cooking. Traeger offers an option temperature control unit that will allow you to set the temperature to within 25 degrees of your idea temperature. This automation is also great when it comes to smoking. You can smoke for hours in a temperature controlled environment with little work from you. It is also virtually impossible to get a flare-up on a pellet grill.

One consideration on Pellet grills, is the cost and availability of fuel. A pellet grill runs only on pellets, so you should know of a good source for them. Traeger sells pellets at about $10 for a 10-pound bag or about $35 for a 40-pound bag. So even at the bulk price you are looking at about $.85 per pound. On high a pellet grill will consume about 2 pounds per hour. This would be the temperature you grill steaks and burgers at, You probably wouldn’t want to have the unit running for a full hour. On the smoke setting it will consume about 1/2-pound per hour so if you plan on smoking for 10 hours you will use 5 pounds of pellets. I have heard from people who tell me they can get local sources of wood pellets for as $16 for 40-pounds. I suggest you call around and price pellets before you buy a pellet unit and consider the fuel cost before you commit.

If you are serious about real wood fire flavor in an easy to use unit, then you really should consider a pellet grill. Most units start about $600, but you can also find stainless steel units up to $2,000. As with anything, shop around to get the best deal you can.