By Dylan Clay
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The main reason I purchased the Grilla Grills Silverbac was the owners, more specifically Mark Graham aka “the bald guy in the videos,” as Grilla puts it.
I’ve been doing BBQ for a long time and seeing how Mark interacts with his customer-base and reading the positive customer-support experiences had me sold (I’m talking about User Comments on their videos, not testimonials on their website).
In an age of marketing gimmicks, it’s hard to wade through the endless number of companies that pump out inferior products. When you combine engineering prowess (materials and construction) with customer service from people who actually care, you get a superior product.
A number of brands in this industry will start off right only to end up mass producing products made of lower quality materials and then outsourcing their customer support to people who don’t know the ins and outs of the product.
Grilla Grills is different. In a good way.
At the time of writing this, Grilla Grills featured five different cookers:
Note: When I purchased my Silverbac in February 2020, the All Terrain model for the Silverbac did not exist. This review is based on the Silverbac Alpha.
Upon purchasing the Silverbac, you’re sent an email telling you what to expect. You’re given a delivery estimation and you’re told that you’ll be called to schedule an appointment with the Freight Carrier (based on the Grilla you buy).
You’re also given information about shipping damages and what to do if you discover damages upon arrival.
Here is said email:
Three days later, Grilla Grills emailed me and told me that “The last item from your order is in for shipment!”
Again, Grilla reiterates:
A few days later the freight carrier gave me a call and we scheduled a delivery date.
The freight carrier arrived on-time and the Silverbac showed up as expected; On a Pallet, delivered to the end of my driveway. After chatting with the Driver for a bit about what Pellet grills were, I used my two wheeler and brought it back to my Barn, pallet and all.
From there, I disassembled the box it came in and laid out the parts. I’m rarely impressed with how manufacturers package products but Grilla Grills impressed me with how things came. Nothing was damaged and things were packed in a way that minimized the potential for issues.
My only qualm was with the tape, pictured on the left side that keeps the hopper closed during shipment. Initially when I tried to remove it, I ended up slightly scratching the lid of the hopper. The adhesive took roughly two weeks to come off on it’s own.
After watching a Harry Soo video from December 2020, it appears as if they use blue Painter’s tape instead of Masking tape, which should address the issue above.
While I’d consider myself to be a stalky person, I knew that it was in my best interest to call my father to help me place the grill chamber atop the base. I was glad that I made this decision as it would of been cumbersome to do so on my own.
Note: I knew before ordering the Silverbac that it was an all steel construction. I also knew that the grilling chamber was a higher gauge steel (16 gauge) than my last Pellet grill. A quick look at the technical specifications above tells us that the overall weight is 170 lbs.
The instructions were fairly straightforward. Overall, assembly took at most an hour to do. Again, you can read the manual to have a preview of what assembly looks like (page 6): Assembly Instructions.
I will say, it was nice to have tools that were actually decent. This is the first time I’ve seen a company provide me with an actual screwdriver.
After following the instructions, it was time to season the grill. Again, this process is outlined in the manual, however they are as follows:
The above process pre-primes the auger with pellets and the high temperatures helps to cure the high-temperature paint.
The grill can give off a slight odor during this initial seasoning/burn-in time. Grilla Grills notes that this is entirely normally.
One of the biggest reasons people invest in gas-powered grills is because of how easy they are to use. You simply dial a knob and it outputs the temperature, similar to a range or oven.
If you’re someone who is on the fence about owning a pellet grill, don’t be, I’d wager to say that they’re easier to care for and operate than Gas Grills. Not to mention, if you buy from a manufacturer that actually cares about their products, it will last you much longer.
Regardless of brand, most pellet grills essentially work like this:
1. Plug the pellet grill into an outlet.
2. Load up the hopper. In the case of the Silverbac, it has a 20-lb pellet hopper. Simply dump the pellets in and you’re done.
Note: The Silverbac hopper features a pellet dump. If you opt to use a different type of wood based on the meat like brisket or ribs, it’s easy to add and remove pellets.
3. The Silverbac Alpha features a PID controller which allows you to digitally set a temperature and maintain a +/- 5 degree Fahrenheit difference. However, you could also use the standard mode which has more of a temperature swing (results in more smoke due to smoldering of the pellets).
4. Upon setting the temperature, leave the lid open and the auger will begin feeding the fire chamber with pellets. Initially as the pellets ignite it will create A LOT of smoke, this is normal.
5. Once the smoke clears, you can close the lid and allow the temperature to build. Due to the superior insulation of the Silverbac, this happens quite quickly.
6. Once your desired temperature is met you can add your food.
The above process is fairly straightforward. However, the process can change based on what you’re cooking.
If you’re smoking, you may even opt to probe the meat, which again is straightforward. Simply plug the probe into the port and slide the probe through the pre-drilled probe hole and into the meat.
I will note that the shut down process was a bit different from other pellet grills. With that said, I also understand why it’s necessary.
Once your food is done, you need to follow the shut-down process:
During shutdown I’ve had several times where I drop the temperature down to 180 and then walk away to enjoy the food I just cooked. Only to walk back and find the code: ErL.
This code means the grill was below 110 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
In the 20 months that I’ve owned the grill I’ve cooked Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Steak (ribeyes, tips, etc), Chicken (thighs, breast, wings, etc), Fish, Vegetables, Fruits, and a ton more.
I’ve also smoked Brisket, racks of ribs (I still prefer my Pit Barrel for ribs), Pork butts and shoulders, Hams, etc.
The above are my beef back ribs smoked on the Silverbac – be sure to check out the recipe.
If you’re cooking steak or hamburgers and hotdogs for a cookout, the PID controller (mode 1) will set and maintain those temperatures. If you’re after more smoke, the standard mode (mode 2) definitely has more of a swing and as a result, more smoke.
I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos above, but I live in New England. We have terribly cold winters and even when it was -2 degrees Fahrenheit out, the Silverbac had no trouble maintaining temperatures.
The above photo is of my wings I do on pellet grills – be sure to check out my recipe!
I’ve used pellet grills for roughly 8 years. In that time I’ve tested an upwards of 20+ brands for pellets. Needless to say, the brand and type of pellets you use can have an impact on smoke output.
Some brands feature compressed pellets made primarily of fillers (alder and oak) and scented woods (wood oils).
If you’re planning to use a pellet grill to smoke, brands like Lumberjack, CookinPellets, BBQer’s Delight, B&B are solid and feature exactly what’s stated. You can read my reviews of wood pellets and also read about what makes a good pellet for a pellet smoker.
With that said, I think it’s important to quickly address a common pellet related question:
“Do you have to use the same name brand pellets?, ie Pit Boss Pellets with Pit Boss grills or Grilla Grills Pellets with Grilla Grills?”
Grilla Grills notes that you can use any brand you want. Just because you own their grill DOES NOT mean you have to use THEIR pellets.
Grilla does note in their manual that the Silverbac is “only approved for burning barbecue wood pellets.” They go on to qualify this statement by listing general specifications for barbecue pellets:
I remember reading of other brands requiring you to agree to only use their pellets in order to maintain warranty coverage. This practice is illegal, and you should avoid any brand with conditional warranty coverage.
Something my Father taught me about grills was that they last a lot longer when you take proper care of them. That means reading the provided care instructions and regularly cleaning.
Grilla grills offers lots of details in regards to maintenance and cleaning instructions. After previously owning a pellet grill, I sort of knew what to expect.
While page 14 of the manual details exact “Maintenance and Care” instructions, some sections are somewhat vague, granted they have to be as Grilla Grills has no way of knowing what you plan to cook/smoke.
Typically, I clean my pellet grill every third cook. This is usually sufficient for short cooks like Steak, Chicken, Fish, etc. Something that doesn’t require a lot of time (build-up of debris from pellets) or large quantities of food (development of grease and foodstuff on the drip pan/aluminum foil).
For instance, if you intend on smoking a brisket for 8+ hours, you’ll likely need to clean the grill the next time you intend on cooking.
Over time you’ll learn when it becomes appropriate to clean the grill. I would say the longest amount of time I would go between cleaning is 3 cooks.
In terms of cleaning the grill, invest in the following items:
The above is really all you need in order to properly clean the grill.
For a more thorough break-down of the cleaning process, I created an article on how to clean pellet grills as well as a video to accompany it.
The following is a typical cleaning day for the Silverbac:
1. Use Pliers to grab the grill grates and place to the side.
2. Remove the drip tray and place to the side.
3. Remove the heat baffle.
4. Grab your vacuum cleaner and use it to remove the pellet dust and debris that has accumulated in the fire chamber and around the inside of the grill. Pay attention to areas like the drip trough and ensure there are no obstructions.
5. Place the heat baffle back in the grill.
6. Remove the old grease covered aluminum foil from the drip tray and discard it. Place new aluminum foil on the drip tray and place back in the grill. Ensure that the drip tray is sloping downhill.
7. Place the grill grates back on the grill.
8. Heat up the grill to your desired temperature and allow the old foodstuff to fall onto the new aluminum foil laden drip tray.
9. Use your wire brush to remove debris from the grates. I typically clean them hot rather than cold as it’s easier to do so.
Overall, this process maybe takes 10 minutes to do. After which, your Grill is now up to temperature and ready to cook the next meal.
Avoid using smaller sheets of aluminum foil. I’ve noticed that they tend to leak no matter how tight I wrap the drip tray. It can be a real pain when removing the old foil.
If you’re more visually inclinded, here’s a video I recorded of me cleaning the Grilla Grills Silverbac:
Dylan, this was helpful as I am considering the silverbac as well as the Traeger ironwood 650. The question I still have on both is whether they can sear a steak. Do you have an opinion on that?
thanks in advance for your help
Mike
Hey Mike!
This is a great question and something I definitely overlooked in this post; Thanks for asking it!
So searing ability is something that most if not all pellet grills suffer from, unless they have a dedicated sear box like the Camp Chef Woodwind. However, the Woodwind also costs like $500-600 more for that feature (and a few others). Instead, I purchased GrillGrates ($90-100) to accompany my Silverbac and I have no complaints (review coming soon!). On a pellet grill, GrillGrates are able to produce surface temperatures 200F greater than the regular grill grates. They also very simple to use and are simply placed over the grates.
You can learn more about GrillGrates here: https://www.grillgrate.com/pellet-grills/
Apart from using GrillGrates, the only other option is to position the meat (like steak for example) over the hot zones outlined above and then closing the lid. Typically if I’m finishing something at the end and want extra crispy skin, I’ll put the meat over these sections just to get some char.
-Dylan
I have a Silverback by Grilla Grill, It replaced a 23 year old Traeger. I find it is a pellet grill not a smoker. I have tried almost every brand of pellets and it does not smoke. Any suggestions? My old Traeger always put out smoke this does not and I find no smoke ring on my meat. I am a very dissatified customer with the Grilla Grill. I have contacted there support and all I get is you need a high quality pellet. Even with Grilla Grill pellets there is no smoke.
Hey Wade!
So, in my opinion, pellet grills are lackluster in terms of smoke flavor regardless. I’ve used tons (apart from the new Camp Chef models that use wood chunks near the firepot) and all are very tame in terms of actual smoke flavor; That list also includes a Traeger.
The current brand of Pellets I default to is Lumberjack and for any sort of “smoke” flavor I use PID Mode 2 for the smoke swing on the Grilla Grill. I have an older model so I’m not sure what their current controller uses.
If I ever want actual smoke, I usually drop my temperatures lower to around 180F, and then bump it throughout the cook. I’ve also yet to try these for my article on Barbecue FAQ but I know folks like Steve from Smoke Trails BBQ report good things: Smokin’ Pecan pellets.
If you opt to try the above, let me know how it goes. Those pellets I listed are on my “to-do” list for testing soon.