Searing with cast iron on a pellet grill?

[Ted Levine]

Hi everyone. Ted here. I’m new to the club. I’m planning to reverse sear some steaks, but I ONLY have a pellet grill. My Green Mountain Daniel Boone goes up to 550 F. Meathead’s instructions suggest using a superheated cast iron skillet or griddle. Just wondering if heating it in my 550 F pellet grill will be enough, or if I should just do the searing over the stove inside the house. Anyone ever try either way or have thoughts?

[Jfrosty27]

I also have a pellet grill. Sure you can crank it up and sear on it. But if it were me, I would do it in the CI on the stove. Takes a lot of fuel to kick the pellet grill that high. Plus it will take a bit of time to heat up. On the stove is quick an cheap. One caution though. It will smoke up the kitchen unless you have a decent exhaust fan.

[Sweaty Paul]

+1

[RichieB]

I can't chime in as I do not have a pellet grill.

What I can do is say, Welcome from Western Massachusetts.

[RonB]

I can't help either, but welcome to The Pit.

[rickgregory]

I'm withJfrosty27 - much easier to sear on the stove.

[lonnie mac]

Welcome!

I am in the camp to do it on the stove. I have seared in CI many times on the pellet grill, but really it is a waste of fuel and a LOT of time to get the grill and the CI hot enough to impart absolutely no smoke flavor in the end. I avoid everything I can to not heat up my house here in Texas, but I would do your reverse on the grill, and the sear on the stove.

[Sweaty Paul]

+1

[bbqLuv]

HI from Portland OR.

[swartzster]

Have you tried GriilGrates?

[Ted Levine]

No, but do they get hot enough on the pellet grill for a nice sear?

[treesmacker]

If you want to do it on a stove without smoking up the house, think about getting an induction burner. Works great with cast iron. Smoke and splatter stay outside.
The cast iron will certainly work in your pellet grill, though will use lotsa pellets and time as previously mentioned.
If you want to dispense with some cash, I really like searing in cast iron in my Ooni Fyra using pellets... and bonus - you can make pizzas in it too.

https://www.amazon.com/Secura-9100MC...bap_d_rp_1_1_t

https://ooni.com/products/ooni-fyra?...BoCReQQAvD_BwE

[Ted Levine]

Great suggestions! This would be a great excuse to buy and play with two new toys!

[Sweaty Paul]

Salutations from Hays, Kansas!

[Loren]

Welcome from the Portland (Or) Metro Area!

I am not a fan of using pellet smokers for high heat...I have an older (still made in China though) Traeger and I can watch the hopper level visible drop every few seconds when it's cranked to max (coughcleaningcyclecough). And then when the door is opened....byebye heat hello long warm up cycle :/

[Mr. Bones]

Howdy from Kansas Territory, Welcome to Th Pit!

Lookin forward to learnin along with, an from ya!

Agree wholeheartedly to CI Pan on a burner, vs pellet cooker

[klflowers]

Welcome from TN. Agree with what they said - if you want to do it outdoors, and you have some extra cash, what about one of these:

https://smile.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-T...mpingcooks1-20

We have one and it works great. Caution about me and my bro's and sis's - we like to spend other peoples money lol

[Ted Levine]

LOL! When I make space for it, I may just get a Weber charcoal kettle grill.

[glitchy]

My experience was that traditional style pellet grills take a long time to get to 450+ and recover slowly after opening the lid and putting steaks in the pan or flipping them. I gave up pretty quickly on this method, but it can/will work with enough patience and practice.

[willxfmr]

Welcome from Wisconsin. Glad you could Join us!

I'm going to join the club and say yes to CI on the stove. That's how I have been doing it for years, so it must be the "right" way.