Z Grills are so versatile, able to deliver awesome results across a broad range of cooking styles and food types. An absolute feast can be cooked on your Z Grills smoker.
A brisket cooked overnight can be resting in the esky while veggies are baking in a tray… with snags and chicken drumsticks added in closer to lunch. And don’t forget a loaf of freshly baked bread, ready for snags and some tomato sauce!
Check out some recipes here on our website, or our youtube channel linked also below.
Low and slow smoking
Z Grills are built for doing low and slow classics like brisket, pulled pork and ribs. These cuts of meat require a long cooking time at temperatures of around 107 to 121ºC (225 to 250ºF) to break down the collagen, resulting in delicious, juicy tenderness.
Smoky flavour is achieved by running the grill at a low temperature with a small fire and dumping in batches of wood pellets every 60 to 90 seconds. The pellets smoulder releasing smoke before igniting and releasing heat.
The PID controller that manages the operation of the Z Grills smoker allows hours and hours of automatic temperature regulation.
To learn more about how the controller works, click here.
Aussie BBQ
Snags, rissoles, burgers, chicken wings/drumsticks and maybe a veggie or two are the key ingredients for a great Aussie BBQ, and these can all be cooked on a Z Grills smoker.
Food can be cooked directly on the grill racks, on BBQ hotplates, BBQ mats or even in a trusty cast iron skillet.
SNAGS come up a treat on a Z Grills smoker. Unlike a normal BBQs where snags invariably end up overcooked, burnt and dry, on a Z Grill they can be cooked at a lower temperature cooked to perfection without splitting the skin and loosing all the juices.
Cook at 107 to 121ºC (225 to 250ºF) with a temperature probe inserted into one of the snags, and pull off once up to 75ºC (internal temp).
Because the heat is indirect you don’t even need to flip them!
RISSOLES and BURGERS can be cooked directly on the grill racks or on a BBQ Hotplate, like the new stainless steel hotplate show below, compatible with the 7002B and 700E-XL wood pellet smoker models.
VEGGIES can go straight on the grill rack, or throw in a pan or foil tray with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Searing
Using a BBQ hot plate a great sear can be achieved on a Z Grills smoker!
Reverse searing is very popular on Z Grills and involves cooking the steak at a low temperature, giving it some smoke and wood fire flavour. Once up to about 55ºC (130ºF) internal temperature the steak can be finished off in a hot skillet (frying pan), over coals (for open flame sear), or in the Z Grill on the BBQ Hotplate Kit.
In normal operating mode the Z Grills max temperature is around 230ºC (450ºF), but by using the vented grease tray and a BBQ hotplate on the 7002B or 700E-XL, high temperature searing over 270ºC (520ºF) can be done.
Click here to learn more about the vented grease tray and BBQ hotplate kit.
Searing can also be completed in the Z Grills 450A with a cast iron hotplate plate or skillet sitting on the grill rack. To get really high temperature the grease tray can be removed as well. It is not advisable to remove the heat baffle.
Roasts
Cook roast pork with crisp crackling on your Z Grills smoker.
Start with the Z Grill at the highest temperature setting of 232ºC (450ºF) to form a crunchy crackling, then drop the temperature down to 162ºC (325ºF) and roast the meat until perfectly done.
Roast lamb and beef of course are amazing too. Just cook at the same temperature you would in a normal oven.
The meat will also take on a subtle wood fired flavour that puts it over the top!
Bacon
Home cured and smoke bacon is just as good as it sounds. Nothing better than frying up some bacon you made. And it is so easy using a bacon cure mix like this from our friends at Misty Gully.
Pizza
Pizzas come our great on the Z Grills smoker. Aussie are cooking up amazing pizza for their families every week, with just one such example shown below.
Cook fresh dough bases on a pizza stone and pre-cooked base pizzas directly on the grill racks. They come out crispy with a subtle wood fired flavour that family and friends will love.
At the high temperature there isn’t a smoky flavour, but you get the wood fired flavour, just like in a wood pizza oven.
Baking
At temperature above about 135ºC (275ºF), Z Grills operate with a clean burning fire, so very little smoke is released.
Anything you would bake in a normal fan forced gas or electric oven can be cooked in a Z Grills smoker. Bread, biscuits, cakes and even cheese cakes can be cooked with amazing results.
Below is a loaf of tasty fruit bread baked in a Z Grills 700E-XL smoker.
Click here to see more examples.
Fish
Z Grills smokers are amazing for cooking fish, either baked or hot smoked.
The smoked Smoked Salmon show below was brined and smoked by Russell. Click here to see the full recipe and video.
Cold smoking
With the grill off and using a Smoke Tube your Z Grills smoker is the perfect vessel for cold smoking foods such as cheese, butter or fish.
What else can I cook?
Want to see what else you can cook on a Z Grills smoker?
Check our some great recipes on our website and see what our community members are cooking daily by visiting our Z Grills Aussie Owners Group.