Grilla Grills Silverbac Alpha Smoke Wood Pellet Smoker BBQ Grill Review
There are some new players in the wood pellet grill niche that are bound and determined to take a piece of the market share pie away from long-time giants like Traeger. Grilla Grills is one such manufacturer who is making it a point to include some extra goodies with their otherwise high-quality wood pellet grill. All at a price that’s hard to beat.
The Silverbac is the largest wood pellet grill in their line and represents a major upgrade from the smaller “Chimp.” It has an impressively large 20-pound wood pellet hopper, which also has a small pellet purge feature. Four 20-pound bags of wood pellets are included in this bundle purchase.
The Silverbac has a PID digital control system that regulates the speed at which the internal automated auger delivers the wood pellets to the firepot. There’s also a meat probe included in the purchase, which helps you to further dial in the smoking characteristics.
A metal warming rack is also included in this bundle. This means you can set the Silverbac up for smoking and once the internal temperature of the primary cooking chamber properly preheats you can use this additional rack as extra cooking space. All told it provides you with up to 900 square inches of grate space.
Grilla Grills also includes a cover in this bundle purchase to help protect your investment. This is a somewhat new trend in the wood pellet grill industry that some of the larger names have yet to embrace. It’s one of those little brownie points that the Silverbac earns.
Construction & Ease of Assembly
Grilla Grills knew that they had to bring a quality material selection to the table if they ever hoped to take a big piece of the pie away from the leading wood pellet grill manufacturers. You see this in things like the double-walled construction for superior thermal efficiency as well as the extra durable powder coat and professional-grade stainless steel.
One small, possible complaint with the Grilla Grills Silverbac is that there is just a hanger for a drippings cup. It feels a little bit like a cut corner to invest in a big-money grill like this and then stick an old soup can in the hanger. Still, a lot of other high-end wood pellet grill manufacturers do this. The counterpoint argument is that you can just throw the drippings cup away, rather than washing out a reusable stainless steel cup.
Another area of possible complaint with the Silverbac is that it lacks any sort of WiFi, Bluetooth, or wireless connectivity. A lot of the competitors of the same size offer wireless features and paired smartphone apps.
This isn’t really all that big of a deal when you consider the PID control system lets you dial in your smoke characteristics. It only really matters if you set the Silverbac to smoke and you will be away all day.
When it comes to assembly, most wood pellet grills are a labor of love. Especially heavy units like the Grilla Grills Silverbac. Though this particular unit is surprisingly easy to put together. With another persona to help you move all the heavy parts, you should be able to fully assemble it in around 30 to 60 minutes. There are even some helpful online videos you can watch.
Grilling Performance
Just like most wood pellet grills, the Grilla Grills Silverbac uses indirect heat to cook the food. This makes it more effective as a smoker. Though when you turn the heat up high and let it properly preheat, this grill is capable of making a tasty, juicy Steak with just the perfect amount of smoky flavor. It just might not have deep sear marks like you often get with a traditional charcoal or gas grill.
Of course, what it might lack in direct flame the Silverbac makes up for in versatility. You can use the PID digital controller to handle just about any hot smoking application you can think of. Though it isn’t capable of temperatures low enough to handle more traditional “Cold Smoking” applications.
Still, all things barbecue is clearly on the menu with the Grilla Grills Silverbac. You might also want to consider baked goods like cornbread, biscuits and even pizza. Just use a cordite baking stone and let it preheat for a good 20 minutes before laying down a fresh dough pizza.
Grilling Areas
With the accessory “Warming” or “Upper” rack installed the Grilla Grills Silverbac offers an impressive 900 total square inches of cooking space inside the primary chamber.
Special Features
The PID digital controls with the probe thermometer really help you to dial in the temperature characteristics you want for the food you are cooking.
The double-walled construction of the primary cooking chamber is also handy. Not only does it improve thermal efficiency, to make the most out of your wood pellets, but it also helps the Silverbac to hold the correct temperature when you are smoking in cold weather.
Ease to Clean
Cleanup is where the argument about the disposable drippings cup earns its stripes. You simply let it cool down to the point where the fats congeal, and you throw it away.
From there the grill grates will need a good scraping, and you can use a shop vac to suck out any wood ash left in the firepot.
The Silverbac also has a small pellet purge feature that lets you empty out the hopper. If you leave wood pellets in the hopper for too long during humid weather they can start to break down into hardwood fibers that can jam up the auger.
Warranty
The Grilla Grills Silverbac comes with a 4-year warranty, which rides right in the middle ground between the competitors who only offer 3 years of coverage and the ones who offer a superior 5-years of coverage.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a high-quality wood pellet grill, but you don’t want to spend money just paying for a manufacturer’s brand name, then the Grilla Grills Silverbac needs to be on your radar. It has all the features you need, with quality construction, easy assembly and comes with 80-pounds of wood pellets as well as a high-quality grill cover.
