5 Tips For Making Dessert on the Pellet Grill
A pellet grill is a magical piece of cooking equipment! It heats up quickly, is relatively hands off, can give a variety of flavors by changing up the type of hardwood pellets, and can be used to cook ANYTHING. Yes, pellet grilling gives amazing results for those low and slow cooks for pulled pork or beef brisket, but can also be used for a quick cook like grilled veggies or the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever had in your life. This is because pellet grills work like a convection oven, allowing your dessert to cook just as quickly (or faster!) than your conventional indoor oven.
By making your entire spread on the pellet grill, from appetizer to dessert, you avoid heating up your house with the oven, an maximize time spent outside with friends and family. You can also minimize the amount of dishes – win-win! With these tips, you’ll impress your guests with a smoked dessert, and you may not have to use your oven again until the snow is too deep to shovel a path to your pellet grill!
Prep ahead of time
Do what you can to get your dessert ready hours before you intend to cook it. You can make a pie early in the morning to bake for dinner, whip up a batch of cookie dough the day before, or prepare your cheesecake pan and crust before guests arrive.
Keep it simple
The star of a pellet grilled dessert is the light smoke flavor, and the way it combines with the chocolate and banana flavors in your Grilled Nanna S’mores, or plays off of the slight caramelization of the Grilled Pound Cake. There is no need to make it any more complicated than necessary, unless you’re a serious baker and really love it! So go ahead and use store bought dough for your pie crust, or a pound cake that you picked up in the freezer section.
Try grilling fruit
Odds are if you are having a rich main course such as Garlic Cream Cheese Stuffed Strip Steak Pinwheels, you will appreciate a light and refreshing dessert. Grilled fruits are amazing – with or without a scoop of ice cream on the side! You can grill them for just a few minutes on each side so they begin to soften, and the natural sugars begin to crystallize along the grill marks. Stone fruits such as peaches, nectarines and plums are great for this. Our Smoked Watermelon Recipe is a crowd pleaser for the same reason.
Smoked Watermelon
Find a super sweet watermelon, and cut into small triangles. Keep watermelon at room temperature.
Set grill at 400.
Place on grill, and smoke 5 minutes per side.
Remove watermelon from grill, and drizzle maple syrup lightly over pieces.
Serve!
Follow your favorite recipe
Make what you like! There is no certain type of dessert you can or can’t make on the pellet grill. We are partial to this Smokin Apple Pie recipe. You can use fresh apples, add any seasonal berries such as raspberries or cranberries, or even a little caramel for a twist. If you’re short on time, buy a store-bought pie. There are no rules here!
If you have a favorite cookie, brownie, or cheesecake recipe, you can make it on the pellet grill with little modification. Because a pellet grill functions like a convection oven, you may find that recipes bake a bit faster on the pellet grill than in a conventional oven. So follow your favorite recipe as usual, but begin checking for doneness several minutes sooner than normal. No need for any other modifications.
Use a lighter flavored 100% Hardwood Pellet
Use the right type of pellets to get the flavor you want. Save the big smoke flavors for brisket or ribs – when doing dessert on the pellet grill, you want it to have only a touch of that smoke flavor. Our new 100% Sweet Maple Pellets impart that extra light smoke flavor with a hint of sweet that would pair well with most desserts. Definitely experiment with Perfect Mix or 100% Black Cherry Pellets for stronger flavor on muffins or The Bacon Cookie! A favorite for desserts from pie to grilled fruits is Apple Mash Pellets. There are so many options that will impart a unique flavor to desserts for your next family dinner or party. Try a few combinations, and please let us know what your favorites are! Happy pellet grilling!
