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[jdmessner]

One of the joys of moving is playing the "Clean Out the Freezer" game. For the latest round I had two ribeyes and three small tuna steaks. It seemed like an odd combination for surf and turf, but at this point you use what you got!

As part of the moving process my small grill that I had at home has already been sent up north. However I have a portable fire pit and an oven rack to cook on. Since renouncing charcoal, there was none on hand and I wasn't about to buy some. It would have gone against the only rule of the moving game, use what you have.

My attention was soon directed toward an open bag of pellets. I was curious to see if they could be used as a charcoal substitute. It actually ended up working better than expected. I started the fire with lighter fluid and let it smolder for about 30 minutes. It was mostly the top pellets that were burning, so I stirred them up a bit and relit them. About 30 minutes later I put the meat on. There was a lot of smoke which was nice. The fire never got real hot like sticks or charcoal, but I was able to cook on it just fine!

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[Bar-B-Lew]

very creative.  Now if I only had a firepit I could cook with pellets when the power goes out

[Brushpopper]

Next time I cook over charcoal I'm throwing some pellets on the fire to see what happens.  Thanks for the idea JD.  And the "Clean Out The Freezer Game" is always interesting.

[Canadian John]

 Most interesting.

 Brushpopper - I often drop a few pellets into the lump of my kamado to help it get going if it's slow starting. The result is smoke and short lived flames.

[Bentley]

No bottom opening or air flow?  I can't believe you got them to burn.

[jdmessner]

No bottom opening or air flow?  I can't believe you got them to burn.

There is a slit on the bottom, so there was a small opening. At first I was not sure the pellets would burn. When I stired them up and relit them for a second time it seemed to help, but it was still more of a smolder than a burn. However, they stayed lit! It never got hot enough to do any kind of a real of a sear, but it was hot enough to cook on.

[Brushpopper]

 Most interesting.

 Brushpopper - I often drop a few pellets into the lump of my kamado to help it get going if it's slow starting. The result is smoke and short lived flames.

I'll try it then!  Certainly can't hurt anything.

[reubenray]

I made a basket once to try burning pellets in a firepit.  It worked, but it did not burn long without having to add pellets.