When pellet cookers first came out, people used them mainly as smokers because they could not produce high heat for grilling. Even after more than ten years of design changes and improvements, most pellet burners available in the market weren’t still up to the task.
This Fast Eddy Pellet Grill review discusses the PG500 Pellet Grill, one of Cookshack’s highly innovative smoker and griller combos.
About Cookshack and the Fast Eddy Lineup
Cookshack began as a small family business producing sauces and rubs for all types of smoked meat.
At first, they tested their products on different charcoal grills, but they knew that they had to develop more efficient cooking methods. They moved on to testing their recipes in stone furnaces and tried out homemade welded metal boxes.
As they have made improvements on the metal box technology, their recipes have also improved. Meanwhile, Ed “Eddy” Maurin began his BBQ and catering business in 1990 and started developing his line of competition smokers.
Since he found the need for commercial-grade smoker units, he collaborated with Cookshack so that both companies have a wider pool of resources. Fast forward to today, Eddy still works hand in hand with the Cookshack team to develop state-of-the-art smokers and grills.
Fast Eddy Pellet Grill Review
Fast Eddy’s PG500 Pellet Grill is a combination outdoor cooker with a small but powerful direct grilling area and an ample smoking space. It has a reasonable price for its feature set and packs the cooking capabilities of many pellet grill and smoker combos in one device.
Additionally, it boasts high-quality construction and is relatively easy to operate, even for those who have no experience with outdoor smokers.
Who Is This Product For?
The Cookshack PG500 is the smaller version of the PG1000, a commercial-grade outdoor cooker. Since it is smaller, it is the perfect option for BBQ enthusiasts specializing in smoking and grilling meat in their backyards.
It’s also a competition-grade pellet cooker, as its multiple cooking zones provide the best results in cook-offs. If you want to have an edge in competitive BBQ events, the Cookshack PG500 is your go-to pellet cooker.
What’s Included?
If you purchase Fast Eddy’s PG500 Pellet Grill, you will also get a detachable side shelf, a drain bucket, an ash drawer, and a warming drawer. Other accessories include a flame deflector, a grease shield, and a drop chute feed system.
The PG500 also has pre-installed casters for easy unit repositioning, and Cookshack adds 40 pounds of pellets as a freebie. The set also includes a product registration card, an operator’s manual, and one Cookshack Cookbook.
Finally, this product comes with a limited warranty that spans two years, including the first 90 days of free parts and repairs services.
Overview of the Features
The PG500 measures 56.5 inches wide, 42.5 inches tall, and 23.5 inches deep and has an overall shipping weight of 330 pounds. Some of its top features are:
- Fuel and Power Source
While its primary fuel source is 100 percent wood pellets, it requires a power supply of 5A 120VAC to run the 36,000 BTU burner. The device uses a 56-inch power cord to draw electricity and consume a pound of wood pellets per hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nevertheless, it allows a maximum temperature setting of 600 degrees, unlike other pellet grills that max out at 500 degrees.
- Unique Construction
Unlike many pellet grills, the PG500 uses stainless steel as its primary material for the device interior and exterior. It also does not have a lift-up hood, which other grills usually have. Instead, it has two different-sized front-swinging doors for the cooking zones.
This design is better than a lift-up hood mechanism, which is, more often than not, a heavy thing to lift. The front-swinging doors have hinges that carry their weight, and you can open either one to access specific cooking zones.
- Four-Zone Cooking
Like the PG1000, this device has four grilling zones that provide each cook with versatility. Since the burner sits at the bottom left portion, a 10-inch by 18-inch cast-iron grate directly above it functions as the direct grilling area.
If you haven’t heard about the PG500 before, you might have been hard-pressed looking for this function on a smoker. Right next to the direct grill is an 18 by 18-inch indirect cooking area with a nickel-plated grate. This larger space receives heat indirectly, and it is where you can accomplish most of your smoking and roasting.
Finally, above the direct and indirect cooking zones is the 10-inch by 28-inch top rack. While complete access to this rack requires opening both swing doors, the smaller side will be hotter since it sits above the direct grilling zone. As a result, you should divide the top rack into two unique zones, allowing the device to have a total of four cooking areas.
All in all, the device boasts a cooking space of 784 square inches.
- Dual-Function Warmer
The PG500 has a warming drawer, which should be enough to keep your food warm while you finish the rest of your cooking. If the warming drawer does not provide enough space for all your cooked food, you can benefit from the device’s lack of insulation.
The flat top surface can get pretty hot since it is not an insulated metal box and uses front-swinging doors. As such, you can keep your food warm on pans sitting on top of the device.
In addition, the warming drawer can work as a cold smoker with the device on a 160-degree temperature setting. All you have to do is take out the drain bucket and add a baking tray full of ice into the main grilling area.
- Convenient Pellet Feeding
The wood pellet feeder of the PG500 uses an electronic auto-feed system that provides the burner with fuel only as necessary. Additionally, we like that the wood pellet hopper on this device has a 22-pound capacity.
Since most purchasable pellets come in 20-pound bags, you can dump one whole load into the hopper all at once. Also, the extra two-pound capacity allows you to load another whole bag of pellets while the grill is still cooking.
Another convenient feature of the pellet hopper is its quick-empty trap. It prevents the PG500 from burning more fuel when the cook is already complete.
- Useful Side Shelf
The designers of the PG500 know well that being a versatile outdoor cook requires juggling several tasks simultaneously. As such, they incorporated a spacious side shelf for plates, utensils, rubs, sauces, and anything you might want to set aside to free up a hand.
- Ease of Maintenance
The Fast Eddy’s PG500 Pellet Grill is relatively easy to clean. The removable ash catcher makes ash disposal very easy, and the drain bucket catches most of the grease. Plus, all the drawers and grates are dishwasher-safe, as long as you scrape off any large debris.
On occasion, you might also have to scrape or wipe off any scaly build-up on the interior walls and get rid of sawdust accumulation in the pellet hopper.
Pros:
- Smoker and griller in one unit
- Uses a charbroiler technology
- Has a precision temperature controller
- Multiple grilling zones
- Includes a warming drawer
- With an automatic pellet feeder
- Rugged and durable construction
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- Indirect grilling space can be limiting
- Needs improved insulation
- No built-in probes or wireless connectivity
How To Use the PG500
The Fast Eddy’s PG500 Pellet Grill offers straightforward utility right out of the box. It has “On” and “Off” switches for automatic ignition and powering down.
It also features up and down keys for temperature control. Use these keys to set the desired temperature on the LED, and let the built-in thermostat and pellet feeder complete the remaining tasks.
Alternative
If you need to look at another alternative, you might want to check out the Memphis Beale Street Cart. This all-in-one outdoor cooker features a lift-up hood, a front-loading pellet hopper, and shelves on either side.
It is slightly cheaper than the PG500, yet it offers more cooking capabilities. With it, you can smoke, grill, bake, sear, and roast, and you can use it for convection oven cooking and open flame cooking.
However, its cooking temperature only ranges from 180 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit, and its cooking surface is limited to 558 square inches. While you can increase the cooking surface to 817 square inches by purchasing the optional grate, its temperature range is pretty much set.
Another disadvantage is the 12-pound capacity of the pellet hopper. It should be enough for regular home-cooked barbecues for a family, but it can be inadequate and time-consuming for parties.
Nevertheless, the Beale Street Cart boasts control and monitoring through WiFi-enabled devices, a feature that the PG500 does not have.
Verdict
While the unit featured on this Fast Eddy Pellet Grill review may have minor drawbacks compared to other options, it features authentic wood fire cooking. It also provides cooking versatility for both home cooking and competitive barbecue events.
With the Cookshack Fast Eddy’s PG500 Pellet Grill, you can smoke and grill in one unit, and you can get the savory smoked flavor every time you cook.