FAQs
Our pellet grills provide the great flavour and cooking versatility that wood grilling provides, but with the ease of a gas BBQ.
Fill the hopper with wood pellets and the Canadian Grill will feed them into the fire-pot by slowly rotating the auger. An ignition rod automatically lights the pellets. Once they begin to burn, turn the controller to the desired temperature and the Canadian Grill does the rest, feeding the pellets into the fire-pot as required.
Unlike charcoal grills, the flames not are directly under the grill rack, so there are no flare ups or hot spots. A fan circulates hot air from the fire-pot up and around the food, like a fan forced oven. This means you have accurate temperature control and the ability to cook all kinds of foods that simply cannot be cooked on traditional barbeques and grills - beyond the meat and veggies, our Canadian Grills can cook pizzas, breads and even cakes!
Canadian Grills are easy to keep clean. The grease tray is sloped so that excess oil runs into a bucket for easy removal. Cover the tray with foil to make cleaning even easier! Our wood pellets burn completely so that only teaspoons of ash remain after hours of cooking and can be removed in seconds with a vacuum. The grill racks are ceramic coated, making cleaning easy without lots of scrubbing.
Some may say it is cheating to use a pellet grill – but would you prefer to slave over a hot grill, or enjoy time with family and friends while the grill does the work! Not only does a Canadian Grill make outdoor cooking easy, you can cook some of the most amazing food. Many Canadian Grill owners often find themselves using it during the week, not just for weekend BBQ parties!
What are the pellets made from?100% natural hardwood pellets — free of chemicals, additives, binding agents, and artificial flavourings.
Will the wood pellets expire or do they have a shelf life?Wood pellets don’t expire and should be good to burn, even after being adequately stored for a long time. However, there are a few things to avoid so that your pellets don’t degrade and become non-flammable:
1. Moisture. It’s best to always store your pellets in a dry place. Too much moisture from a humid environment will make the wood less efficient and more dangerous to burn.
2. Dirt. Too much dirt or mud will have an odour when you burn the wood. Please keep your pellets clean and sealed.
3. Hot Temperatures. Please store your pellets in a dry, cool space. Do not place your pellets in an extremely hot space, as they may spontaneously ignite.
Canadian Grills use wood pellets at about 1kg/hour (2.2lbs/hr) when cooking at high temps over 180°C (356°F) and 0.3-0.4kg/hour (0.66-0.88lbs/hr) when cooking low and slow (Smoke or 225°F setting). A 10kg (22lbs) bag will last 10-25 hours depending on the cooking temperatures. Cold and windy outdoor conditions will also increase the amount of wood pellets used due to more heat loss. Don’t always fill the hopper right up as having the pellets sitting for a long time is not ideal as they can absorb moisture and won’t burn as well. Pour in a quantity based on the time of the cook, plus a bit extra as a buffer.
How do I complete the initial start-up and burn-in?The Canadian Grill Initial Start-up and Burn-in process must be performed before your first cook on your new Canadian Grill. Like any pellet smoker, your Canadian Grill needs to be seasoned before you can use it. The process takes an hour to complete and enough wood pellets to run the grill on High for at least 45 minutes will be needed. You will also need to ensure that you perform this outside or somewhere with good air ventilation.
How do I turn the grill off?
Once you have finished cooking, turn the controller dial to Shut Down Cycle. The fan will run for 10 minutes and then the grill will turn itself off. Do not turn it off or disconnect the power before the shut down cycle has finished.
If cooking on High, turn the dial to Smoke for 10 minutes, then to Shut Down Cycle to ensure the fire can die down and burn out fully during the shut down cycle.
What is the correct way to cook on the grill?The beauty of the Canadian Grill pellet grills is that you DON’T need to babysit them. In fact, opening the lid constantly is a bad idea as it looses heat and causes more temperature fluctuations. The grill is more like a convection oven - opening the door impacts the cooking!
Follow these steps to cook food:1. Turn the power switch on with the controller dial in the Shut Down Cycle position.
2. Open the grill lid and turn the controller dial to Smoke. Once lots of smoke has been produced, shut the lid and set the desired grill temperature (any setting from Smoke to High).
3. Wait for the temperature to be reached before putting food in.
4. Don't leave the lid open, or open it frequently - if you're looking, you're not cooking!
5. Use food probes to monitor the internal temperature of the food as different meats require different internal temperatures to be safe to eat.
6. Enjoy the best meat and veggies you've ever cooked in your garden!
Can I cook on the Smoke setting?Yes, the Smoke setting is great for the first hour or so of a low n' slow cook to get maximum smoky flavour into the meat. Even at 107°C (225°F) there will still be plenty of smoke. On the Smoke setting the temperature will “swing” quite a lot between 70-90°C (158-194°F), which is key to getting the maximum smoke. The smoke won’t be constant, but rather in cycles as new pellets drop into the fire-pot and begin to smoulder.
Because the temperature is quite low on the Smoke setting, it can’t get the meat up to a suitable cooked temperature so a higher temperature setting should be used later on to properly cook the food.
What temperature can the grill heat up to?The Canadian Grill can operate from 160°F on the Smoke setting up to 230°C (450°F) on the High setting. The actual temperature will swing above/below the target temperature especially during the initial heat up period, when temperature settings are changed or if the lid is opened for a period of time.
How long does the Ignition Rod stay on for?When the controller is turned from Shut Down Cycle to Smoke, the ignition rod will turn on for 5 minutes to ignite the pellets. The fire in the fire-pot is then able to ignite the new pellets as they fall in without needing the ignition rod again.
How much electricity does the grill use?The maximum rated power draw is 300Watt, but during operation the unit will run between 50W and 250W. The main fan and auger motor are 25W each and the ignition rod is 200W but only turns on/off periodically to ignite the wood pellets. If you are planning to use the grill outdoors running off a generator or a car battery, a 400W 240V AC output is sufficient.
Why does it take so long for the temperature to drop?In most cases the grill will be set at a temperature for the whole cook, or start off low and then increase as the cook continues.
The grill can quickly increase temperature by delivering more pellets into the fire-pot, but dropping the temperature is a lot slower as relies on the grill naturally cooling down through heat loss to the surrounding air.
If the setting is changed from a high temperature to a much lower temperature, the grill can take a very long time (up to an hour) to drop the temperature down. To prevent the fire in the fire-pot from going out, pellets will be periodically delivered into the fire-pot, creating heat. So there is a battle between trying to drop the temperature and keep the fire alight, and that is why it takes so long.
The best way to quickly reduce the grill temperature is to turn the grill to Shut Down Cycle. This will turn off the auger (no more pellets) and allow the remaining pellets in the fire-pot to burn out.
The cool down speed will rely mostly on the outside temperature and wind speed. Opening the lid will also speed up the cool down. Once the temperature has dropped enough, turn the dial to the desired temperature setting and the ignition rod will turn on and pellets will be delivered into the fire-pot.