Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. I’m looking forward to smoking a ham tomorrow and following it up with split pea soup next week. While it’s not the most experimental Easter dinner, there are only a few opportunities to cook a ham through the year.
Those that follow CookOut News on Instagram know that I got a new offset smoker to test this week. While those are optimal for flavor, they aren’t nearly as convenient as a pellet grill.
HALO took pellet grilling convenience to the next level this week by releasing the first battery operated, full size pellet grill. The grill can run for 15-20 hours off a charge. It also has a ton of innovative features, like Hopper Rumblers, which HALO has become known for.
Pellet grills may not be the only grills we’ll see with battery power. A patent came out this week from Char-Broil where they have an idea to use battery power for an extra boost on an electric grill. It would work in conjunction with a household outlet to overcome the current power limitations.
Char-Broil’s new CEO, Tom Penner, was on a local Sunday morning show last week where he talked about the importance of innovation. He also covered some other topics about the state of Char-Broil, including that they’ve been working to move manufacturing away from China. They now have 30% of their production in other countries.
You can’t get manufacturing any closer than Pitts & Spitts, who does it down in Houston. They also are working on some new products. Ryan Zboril, owner of the company, was on The BBQ Central Show this week and talked about what they’re working on. They will have a built-in, stainless steel pellet grill this year, and may even have a griddle on the horizon.
Academy Sports, a Pitts & Spitts retailer, went public a few years back and have seen success with their business. They’ve been opening stores like crazy in 2022 and 2023, with more planned. According to an investor call this week, they’re also moving their footprint further west past Denver, and north into our home state of Michigan. Hopefully they bring some of their great smoker offerings up here.
There’s been a ton in the news lately about problems in the banking sector, especially at Silicon Valley Bank. While there aren’t many tech start-ups in outdoor cooking, we learned this week that Ooni had a £50 million credit facility with them. Thankfully for Ooni, HSBC bought the Silicon Valley Bank’s UK loan portfolio, so their line’s capacity should be preserved for working capital and expansion.
Finally this week, Monument Grills officially launched their Denali gas grill series. They’re affordably priced grills with Bluetooth connectivity. Monument Grills sent us one to test out, so we’ll have a full review in the coming weeks.