A pellet grill uses pelletized hardwood as its fuel. With the help of electronic components (control panel, motorized feed auger, and hot rod igniter) the pellets are fed into a burn pot in a controlled manner, and a set temperature can be achieved.

All pellet grills provide indirect heat via convection, as every pellet grill features a fan to feed the pellet fire with sufficient air for combustion, which also distributes heat and smoke around the cooking chamber.

Some pellet grills also offer direct heat, sometimes referred to as direct-flame access or a flame broiler. However, this source of direct heat will be primarily just above the burn pot. Typically direct-flame access will provide a grate temperature of 650 degrees plus.

The maximum temperature settings of pellet grills vary quite a bit. At the low end, there are models with a maximum temperature setting of 450 degrees, though 500 degrees is a common maximum temperature setting.

However, there is an increasing number of models which have a maximum temperature setting of 600 or 700 degrees. Our database can be filtered to show pellet grills that have these higher temperature settings.