Vermont Castings Woodland™ 750 Sq. In. Pellet Grill

I love my grill but have two things to pass on to people so they are aware. There are two scenarios that can be challenging. Dusty pellets can coat the inside of the grill with dust and uncontrollably burn off in the middle of a low temp cycle if you use poorer pellets or do not clean your grill adequately. This is true for all pellets grills. The hopper on this unit will let the auger run empty if you don't keep filling it or poking the pellets toward the auger during long smokes. If this happens the flames can make their way through the open auger and light the hopper on fire. Clean your grill and always run with a full hopper to have consistent results with very little effort or cooking knowledge.

Bought this on sale and already assembled as it was the demo model in the store.

Glad I did, not only for the savings, but this thing is a beast and not having to assemble it was a blessing.

This Vermont Castings unit weighs at least 200lbs and it took four Canadian Tire employees to lift it onto my truck. Unfortunately it was only me and a neighbour to get it off but we managed it.

After the initial burn off I finally got around to throwing some actual meat on it the other day.

Strip loin steaks done at 450F to an internal temp of 130F for about 5-7 minutes per side and a quick sear followed by a tin foil wrap for about a half hour (it was still cocktail hour) and these babies came out perfect medium rare and juicy as could be.

Cant wait to do a low and slow smoke on it and Ive got a tri tip in the freezer with Vermont Castings name on it.

Very pleased with this unit. A better build than a comparable Pit Boss or Traeger in my humble opinion.

Definitely recommend for anyone looking to take the plunge to a pellet grill.

for 1000 plus bucks I wouldn't expect the thing to be rusting in several spots. It's been under the bbq cover since i got it. And of course I called them and it's not covered by the warranty. Also the hopper is badly designed. I have to manually push the pellets down all the time with a chop stick.

Great pellet grill. I was surprised how quickly it gets up to temp and wish I would have bought one sooner. Could almost replace my propane BBQ. I do recommend getting the insulated blanket - helps keep the heat a bit more controlled in cooler temps.

I've owned this unit for 2 years now and it's definitely a great pellet grill but comes with a hand full of issues that has me on the fence about upgrading.

Pros:
-After working through the issues listed below, this thing can cook! Consistent results and beautiful smoke color/flavor - just don't walk away from it for very long.

-Well built and very attractive design. From its heavy duty cast iron construction to the sleek body, you will proud to show this thing off.

-Very easy to clean and maintain. I clean my unit maybe every 3-4 big cooks and can get it opened up, vacuumed and scrubed down in 30 minutes.

-Has many feature not even seen on high end smokers. My favorites are its 3 built in temp probes and the very handy foldable front shelf.

-The high temperature mode is great for pizzas and the open flame option gives a steaks the perfect sear.

-It's cooking area and size of the barrel is perfect. For example it can easily fit a 20lb turkey or and large brisket.

Cons:
-The most glaring problem is that you shouldn't trust the built in thermometer, it will consistently read 10-20 degrees (some times even higher) over the set temp. I would recommend learning your unit and purchasing your own grill thermometer. Do not set it and forget it!

-You need to watch the hopper closely on longer cooks. This grill is not only pellet hungry but the walls of the hopper are shallow and will only feed less than 3/4 of the pellets before having to guide the rest of the pellets down or refilling. Expect the refill every 3-4 hours depending on the temperature.

-It just doesn't do well on lower temperatures. My particular unit has a very hard maintaining the "smoke" mode for things like beef jerky.

-There are pretty big jumps between the pre-set temperatures. The issue of running too hot wouldn't be too bad if there were more control to really dial in your temp.

-Beware of the hot spots. Even when you get the temp set just right, you will have to learn where to place certain parts of the meat and when to rotate. This isn't unheard of but is pretty extreme on this unit.