Taste the difference!

If you would like a safer, more environmentally friend alternative to grilling with charcoal or gas, Kollman Appliance has the solution: Traeger Handcrafted Pellet Grills.

With Traeger Pellet Grills, you will experience no gas explosions or hot coals. Instead, you will be cooking outdoors with safe "politically correct" all natural, hardwood barbecue pellets. Pellets are a 100 percent renewable heat source, formed from sawdust that is dried, pulverized and extruded through a rotating die under enormous pressure. Because the pellets are natural, they burn 98.7 percent efficiently, producing very little ash.

In addition, there's no open flame to worry about. Traeger Pellet Grills have very few flare-ups.

Here's how the Traeger Pellet Grill works: After the grill is plugged in, all natural wood pellets are poured into the hopper. When you push the "On" switch, the hot rod activates for about four minutes, igniting the pellets in the firepot. The auger automatically feeds pellets from the hopper to the firepot where convected air is added, acting like a miniature forge. Heat and wood smoke surround the food, resulting in fantastic taste. Drippings are channeled out of the cooking chamber into an external bucket for easy disposal. Flipping the three-position switch to "High" allows you to grill. On "Medium" you can slow cook. The "Smoke" setting allows you to hot-smoke food. In the "Smoke" mode, the grill delivers an even smoke to your food without having to tend the fire. Traeger gives you the convenience of gas and the flavor of real wood.

John Kollman, owner of Kollman Appliance, said the Traeger Pellet Grills are ideal for individuals who don't like to cook with gas and want the opportunity to do "true barbecue."

Barbecuing is a low n' slow cooking process that is often done using indirect heat, meaning that the food and and the flame are kept apart from each other. Barbecuing temperatures can range from 225 degrees to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Barbecuing is much slower than grilling, which is a hot n' fast process in which you place the food directly over a flame or heat source and cook at temperatures above 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

"With some traditional grills, you can't turn them down low enough temperaturewise to do true barbecue and smoke, but with the Traeger Grills you can. The Traeger Grill offers the versatility of four appliances in one: a grill, a smoker, a barbecue pit and a wood pellet fired oven," Kollman said.

You can hot smoke with the Traeger Pellet Grill, another process that is next to impossible on a regular gas grill because it requires lower temperatures. Hot smoking occurs when the temperature range is between 180 degrees and 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot smoking is used to add flavor to meat, fish and poultry. Hot smoking is most often used to make jerky and provide smoke flavor to foods.

Because you can adjust the temperature when you're using the Traeger Pellet Grill, you can smoke salmon, make beef jerky, grill a steak, bake a cake, and more without using any other appliance! You just use one of the 11 recommended pellets for different recipes. The result is delicious food cooked with no toxins.

Kollman saw the Traeger Pellet Grills at a trade show and was so impressed by their capabilities that he wanted to share them with Siouxlanders. He got the Traeger Pellet Grills in last Friday and smoked a turkey breast and bratwursts on them. On Tuesday at 10:45 a.m., he started smoking beef jerky. By 3:45 p.m., it was ready.

The Traeger Pellet Grill line, the world's finest wood pellet fire grill, makes a great companion to the world's finest gas grill, the Holland Grill, which is also available locally at Kollman Appliance.

Made and inspected in Mt. Angel, Ore., the Traeger Pellet Grills come with a three year warranty on parts.

You can see the Traeger Pellet Grills in action this Saturday and the first three Fridays in October. Kollman will be making a pork loin, a Bloomin' Onion and a whole chicken.

Don't miss this opportunity to experience the Traeger Pellet Grills for yourself and "taste the difference." Kollman Appliance, located at 409 W. Seventh St., in Sioux City, is open Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information about the Traeger Pellet Grills and other innovative products available at Kollman Appliance, call (712) 255-6650.