Alright, let’s talk about something a bit different I tried recently. I spend a lot of time with my pellet grill, you know, the usual stuff – briskets, ribs, chicken. Love that smoky flavor. But then I got thinking, why just stick to savory? Could I actually bake, like, desserts on this thing?
So, I decided to give it a whirl. Didn’t want to get too fancy for the first try. Figured I’d start simple. An apple crisp seemed like a safe bet. It’s pretty hard to mess up an apple crisp, right?
Getting Started
First thing, I got the grill fired up. Went with a milder pellet for this, maybe apple or cherry, didn’t want anything too overpowering like hickory messing with the sweet stuff. Set the temperature around 350 degrees Fahrenheit, just like you would in a regular oven. Waited for it to get up to temp and stabilize.
While that was heating, I prepped the crisp. Just peeled and chopped some apples – whatever I had in the fridge, mostly Fuji I think. Tossed them with some sugar, cinnamon, a squeeze of lemon juice. For the topping, you know the drill: flour, oats, brown sugar, butter, mixed it all up until crumbly. Dumped the apples into my trusty cast iron skillet, spread the topping over ’em.
The Cook
Okay, grill’s ready. Opened the lid, put the skillet right on the grates. Closed it up. Now, the waiting game. I was kinda curious, kinda nervous. Would it taste like an ashtray? Would it even cook right?
I kept an eye on it, peeking maybe once or twice. Didn’t want to let too much heat out. Could smell the apples and cinnamon mixing with that light wood smoke. Honestly, it smelled pretty amazing.
After about, I dunno, 40-45 minutes? The topping looked golden brown and the apple stuff was bubbling nicely around the edges. Looked just like it does coming out of the kitchen oven.
The Result
Pulled the skillet off – carefully, that thing was hot! Let it sit for a few minutes. Then scooped some out into a bowl, added a dollop of vanilla ice cream, ’cause you gotta have ice cream.
And the verdict? It worked! Seriously, it was delicious. The apples were tender, the topping was crisp. And that hint of smoke? It wasn’t overpowering at all. It just added this… extra layer. Something different, really nice. Didn’t taste like a campfire, just had a subtle warmth to it.
Since then, I’ve messed around a bit more. Tried a peach cobbler, that was great too. Even did some simple grilled pineapple slices brushed with brown sugar and cinnamon – super easy, super tasty. The key seems to be using a milder wood pellet and just treating the grill like an outdoor oven.
So yeah, turns out pellet grills aren’t just for meat. Baking desserts is totally doable and adds a cool twist. Definitely worth trying if you got a pellet grill sitting there.
