grilling basics

Hello all

brand new to grilling purchased the cabellas grill how do I get a crust or grill marks on chicken and fish?

First, welcome to the forum! Which model did you get?


The Cabelas Pellet Grill are made by Camp Chef, so you can also find info about them by searching for that brand.

With the Cabelas units, since they only get to 500°, you can get some decent sear marks with a set of GrillGrates. Put them in, turn your grill on, set the temperature to its highest and let them preheat for a good 20 minutes.

We have a set for our second pellet grill which is only rated for 450°, and they work pretty well.




We got ours from Big Poppa Smokers:
GrillGrate Anodized GrillGrate Kit - Gas Grill, Charcoal Grill | Big Poppa Smoker


Also, the pellets you use will make a difference! Be sure to use a 100% Oak pellet, as that will give you your best overall BTU rating.

Hey Cliff, don't those things do better maillard work on the other side (flat)?

As Scooter mention you can use either side of the grill grates

scooter said:

Hey Cliff, don't those things do better maillard work on the other side (flat)?

Click to expand...

I know a lot of folks use them that way, but do they work "BETTER" flipped over? Not from what I've seen. But then again, they're designed to concentrate the heat on the rails in the normal position, like a heat sink, and that's where I think they perform best.


GrillGrate now makes a GrateGriddle which is flat and has no rails or vent holes. My friend Tommy has a set and they work great. It's designed to capture all the heat and distribute it evenly across the flat surface. If I didn't have a MAK Griddle, I'd be ordering some for myself.