Can I Use Charcoal In a Pellet Grill?
Pellet grills have become increasingly popular because they let you prepare barbeques and cook other different high-quality cuisine at a relatively low temperature. Pellets are loaded and burned in a particular chamber on the pellet grill.
You can use Sawdust and paper to make pellets. However, it happens frequently that you might wonder if you can use charcoal in your pellet grill when there aren’t any pellets.
In this article, we’ll provide a detailed answer to all your questions; we’ll also discuss using charcoal-flavored pellets on your pellet grill
Can I Use Charcoal On My Pellet Grill?
You cannot use lump charcoal on a charcoal briquette or pellet grill. The high temperature of a charcoal fire is not intended to be handled by a pellet grill. The cooking mechanism and electronics inside a pellet grill might suffer substantial damage if a charcoal fire is ignited there.
However, food being cooked or smoked on a pellet barbecue can have a charcoal flavor thanks to the usage of charcoal-flavored pellets. After all, using charcoal for cooking meals enhances the flavor.
How Can You Try Out Charcoal In Your Pellet Grill?
Even though a pellet grill isn’t designed to take in traditional lump charcoal constantly, there are still situations in which you may need to utilize it in your grill if you must.
One method is to insert a metal container filled with charcoal into the drum of the pellet barbecue. All of the electronics should be left off since you will not be making use of them.
The pellet grill will be insulated from the high and direct heat of the charcoal by the metal container you inserted underneath. Also, before adding the coals to the grill, you might use a chimney starter to get them going.
The only drawback is that, whether your cooking session lasts for an hour or four, you will need to keep replacing extinguished coals once you get your coals burning within the grill.
Challenges of Lump Charcoal on A Pellet Grill
Using lump charcoal on your pellet grill comes with a lot of challenges which we’ll detail some of below:
- The Charcoal Sizes
Most charcoal briquettes out there are too big for a regular pellet grill. They won’t fit in the hopper or combustion chamber of your pellet grill. The only alternative is charcoal pellets that resemble wood pellets in size.
You can find different brands of charcoal-flavored wood pellets in the market to try out, which have the same flavor as charcoal but the advantage of controlling temperature.
- Difficulty In Temperature Control
Charcoal on a pellet grill makes it very difficult to regulate the temperature. It burns unevenly and ignites quickly. It can also reach very high temperatures (even above 500 degrees).
Pellet grills lack an internal mechanism for controlling the temperature and pace of coal combustion. Because it burns hot and quickly, charcoal is excellent for searing meat, but it isn’t easy to utilize for slow cooking.
The charcoal fire would require constant monitoring to determine whether it becomes excessively hot or cool. To reduce the heat, if it becomes too hot, close the air vents or take out the charcoal. If it becomes too cool, you must either lower the cooking grates or add additional charcoal to maintain the fire.
- Collection Of Ashes At The Bottom of The Pellet Grill
To gather ashes under your pellet grill, you would need to create a tray. This is usually a problem because your tray could impede the combustion fan and cause it to spew ash over the place and may end up entering your food.
If the tray is placed far from the combustion fan, then you will need to empty it while the food is being cooked slowly continuously. In contrast, with wood pellets, the firepot needs to be cleaned of ash after every two to three cooking.
In all of this, do not forget that we have an alternative to using charcoal in your pellet grill when cooking, and we’ll also want you to know about charcoal-flavored pellets. Let’s get going.
What To Know About Using Charcoal-flavored Pellets on Your Pellet Grill
If you want to achieve the same taste in your food as though you used lump charcoal to cook in your pellet grill, the only option is to use charcoal-flavored. It will give you the same taste as real charcoal.
The following are reasons to make use of a charcoal-flavored on your pellets grill:
Pellets with a charcoal flavor are made of natural hardwood and, when burned, emit a woodsy, charcoal-like scent.
When you use them as a fuel source, they perform as well as lump charcoal.
The tastes from the pellets are just as potent as those from lump charcoal over an open flame. Without the caustic smokiness of lump charcoal, the meat you’re cooking will take on the flavor of the charcoal.
Because of this, using the pellets to grill steaks, beef brisket, sausage rolls, pig butt, & chicken wings, etc., is a superior alternative. The pellets will make grilling more enjoyable. Also, It is excellent for people who wish to experiment with various flavors and fuels.
To fit the charcoal, your pellet grill does not need to be modified. The wood pellets with a taste of charcoal would fit perfectly well in your pellet hopper and burn normally.
Compared to lump coal, charcoal-flavored wood pellets produce less ash. While cooking slowly, the ash pan doesn’t need to be continually emptied.
Are there any differences between a pellet grill and a charcoal grill? Yes! There are so many differences, and it won’t be good if we end this post without pointing out at least one. Take a look at it below:
Any Known Difference between A Pellet Grill & A Charcoal Grill?
Pellet grills typically aren’t able to reach temperatures higher than 500° F. Even a few find it difficult to reach that temperature.
You may rely on them to maintain a more pleasant temperature in your home for a longer period. Charcoal grills can quickly reach very high temperatures.
Depending on the type of charcoal used and the size of the grill. 800° F or more may be reached by a charcoal grill (lump charcoal burns faster and hotter than briquettes). You can also use them to smoke foods at a lower temperature.
Wrapping Up
Finally, It’s not the same as regular fire if you use charcoal in a pellet burner. The size disparity between lumpy coal and your grill means it won’t work fine. For your pellet grills, you’ll need “Charcoal-Flavored Pellets,” which are made from compressed sawdust and are almost the same size as wood pellets.
Due to its slow burn, charcoal-flavoured is also excellent for slow cooking because it increases the likelihood of obtaining succulent meat with a smokey flavor.
