The 6 Best Pellet Smokers of 2023 | by Simply Recipes

Best Pellet Smokers - Simply Recipes — Chloe Jeong / Simply Recipes

First things first, what exactly is a pellet smoker? A pellet smoker, or pellet grill, uses ignited hardwood pellets as the fuel source to produce heat for cooking. The wood acts along with a system of fans to heat food to a specific temperature, almost like an outdoor convection oven. Almost anything you can cook in a standard oven can be made on a pellet grill; it can be used to smoke, grill, bake, and even braise food, which makes it wonderfully versatile.

These grills are among the easiest backyard cooking appliances to use, just plug them in, set your temperature, and let them do all the hard work for you. You’ll get the taste and flavor of a wood smoker along with the convenience of a gas grill. And if you’re a barbecue nerd, rest assured, pellet grills are even sanctioned in Kansas City Barbecue Society contests. Since pellet smokers plug into a standard electrical outlet, they’re great for car camping and tailgating, as they can be powered with car batteries, battery packs, or gas-powered generators. When choosing pellet grills for this list, we looked at features, including the size of the hopper, the cooking area, and special features such as Wi-Fi, controls, and more.

The Rundown

Best Overall:

Traeger Ironwood 885 at Amazon

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Runner-Up, Best Overall:

Camp Chef SmokePro DLX Pellet Grill at Amazon

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Best Budget:

Pit Boss Deluxe Wood Pellet Grill at Amazon

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Best for Beginners:

Z Grills 700D Wood Pellet Grill at Home Depot

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Best for Searing:

Camp Chef Woodwind WiFi 24 Pellet Grill at Home Depot

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Best Portable:

Green Mountain WiFi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill at Amazon

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4.8

Amazon

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What We Love: Quality construction, cooks food evenly, large grilling space

What We Don't Love: A bit on the pricier side of pellet grills

Traeger invented the original wood pellet grill more than 30 years ago in Mt. Angel, Oregon, and they remain the top name in the pellet smoker game for good reason. This grill stands out as a backyard hero with its excellent craftsmanship and knack for cooking meat beautifully time and again.

Traeger’s WiFIRE technology allows you to monitor and control your cook from anywhere via your smartphone, and a powerful D2 drivetrain helps this smoker get hotter faster and maintain consistent temperatures in any condition. Its double-wall stainless-steel interior helps sustain a perfectly even cooking temperature and keeps smoke inside.

It even has enough grilling space to hold up to ten chickens or seven racks of ribs, so you can cook for a crowd. The downside is that all this doesn’t come cheap, but this is a tool you’ll enjoy for many delicious meals over the years.

Price at time of publish: $1,600

Dimensions (LxWxH): 53 x 27 x 47 inches | Cooking Area: 885 square inches | Hopper Capacity: 20 pounds

4.8

Amazon

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What We Love: Automatic pellet auger, automatic ash cleanout, controlled smoke

What We Don't Love: Hard to get pellets out of the hopper

The SmokePro DLX Pellet Grill delivers an easy, reliable cooking experience every time. Its 570 square inches of cooking space has controlled smoke, which lets you tailor the amount of smoke your meal gets, and PID technology. An automatic pellet auger dispenses when needed and shuts down when done, and an automatic ash cleanout minimizes mess.

Reviewers comment on its ease of use, easy cleanup, and quality of smoke. To get a true high-temperature sear, you’ll need to purchase an additional Sear Box accessory. Another con: it can be difficult to get pellets out of the hopper for storage.

Price at time of publish: $600

Dimensions (LxWxH): 50 x 20.5 x 47.5 inches | Cooking Area: 570 square inches | Hopper Capacity: 18 pounds

4.2

Amazon

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What We Love: Affordable, heats up quickly, made from heavy-duty steel

What We Don't Love: Hopper is small

The Pit Boss PB440D2 pellet grill showcases a nice-size cooking surface of 465 square inches and is one of the more affordable options for pellet smokers. More compact in size, weighing only 96 pounds, it heats up quickly and is made from heavy-duty steel with a beautiful mahogany-colored powder coat finish. Not only can you smoke and grill, but you can also bake, braise, and sear, making it an extremely versatile outdoor cooker.

The grill has a cooking temperature range of 180 to 500 degrees and a convenient 200-watt auto igniter. You can also direct flame sear up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit with the Flame Broiler™ Lever. There's even a stainless steel bottle opener for those hanging around cooking. If smoking meats that require a long time to cook, be prepared to fill the hopper every few hours as it is small, holding only 5 pounds of pellets at a time.

Price at time of publish: $349

Dimensions (LxWxH): 50.2 x 24.02 x 39.8 inches | Cooking Area: 465 square inches | Hopper Capacity: 5 pounds

Related: The Best Smokers

ZGrills Master 700D - 8 in 1 Wood Pellet Grill & Smoker

Courtesy of ZGrills

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What We Love: Easy to assemble, large cooking space, electronic auto-start ignition

What We Don't Love: Doesn't have an automatic ash cleaner

Beginners can’t go too wrong with any pellet smoker since they’re perfect for “set it and forget it.” The stainless-steel Z Grills Premium ZPG-700D is an especially good pick for novices with its great value, ease of assembly, three-year warranty, and precise temperature control that will keep your food within 10 degrees of your target temp for hours and hours.

This model comes with enough cooking space for 34 burgers and a hopper capacity for a full day of cooking. It can handle anything between 180 and 450 degrees, and heavy-duty locking wheels mean you can easily move it around the backyard if needed. Electronic auto-start ignition means one button is all you need to get cooking, and a real-time LED temperature display makes everything crystal clear. Cleanup can be a bit messier as this grill doesn't have an automatic ash cleaner.

Price at time of publish: $639

Dimensions (LxWxH): 45 x 28 x 49 inches | Cooking Area: 694 square inches | Hopper Capacity: 20 pounds

Related: The Best Grill Brushes

Courtesy of Camp Chef

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What We Love: Heat is maintained automatically with the Wi-Fi and PID controller, multiple smoke levels, patented ash kickin clean out system

What We Don't Love: Setup of the Wi-Fi connection can be tricky

Searing can be the missing X factor for pellet grills. If you just love that crispy exterior that only high heat can deliver, the Camp Chef Woodwind Pellet Grill with Sear Box is an excellent bet.

Its “slide and grill technology” allows direct flame cooking with temps reaching up to 650 degrees. This doesn't mean it skimps on low and slow cooking too. The grill's 25,000 BTUs have a smoking range of 160 to 500 degrees, with ten different smoke levels. Equipped with PID and a Wi-Fi-enabled controller for maintaining the grill's heat automatically, you can change the temperature, set timers, and receive notifications when your meat reaches its ideal temperature (it comes with four probe thermometers). Steak happiness achieved. Clean-up is a breeze with Camp Chef's patented ash kickin cleanout system, too. Just be aware that it can be tricky when first connecting it to Wi-Fi.

Price at time of publish: $900

Dimensions (LxWxH): 42 x 30 x 49 inches | Cooking Area: 800 square inches | Hopper Capacity: 22 pounds

4.8

Green Mountain Davy Crockett WiFi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill

Amazon

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What We Love: Good for tailgating or camping, folding legs, lightweight

What We Don't Love: Customer service experience is not the best

Since pellet smokers simply need electricity and pellets, they are the perfect mobile BBQ experience. Weighing in at only 57 pounds, with legs that fold compactly, the Green Mountain Davy Crockett grill is perfect for throwing in your car and bringing along to your next tailgate or camping trip.

With a cooking surface of 34 x 23 inches, it comes equipped with a digital Wi-Fi controller, a meat probe, and Sense-Mate, a thermal sensor that constantly monitors the grill temperature. Some reviewers complained of subpar customer service from Green Mountain, a company based in Tennessee.

Price at time of publish: $399

Dimensions (LxWxH): 34 x 23 x 31.75 inches | Cooking Area: 219 square inches | Hopper Capacity: 9 pounds

Final Verdict

A massive amount of grill space with consistent temperatures and smokiness makes the Traeger Ironwood 885 WiFi Pellet Grill and Smoker our best bet when it comes to pellet grills. Being able to control your smoke level is a great reason to buy the more affordable Camp Chef SmokePro DLX Pellet Grill.

What to Look for in a Pellet Smoker

Hopper Size

A pellet grill works its magic by generating heat from wood pellets placed in a chamber called a "pellet hopper." The cylindrical pellets are made from sawdust that has been compressed under high pressure and come in varieties like hickory and mesquite. (Make sure to keep them dry; wet pellets are useless.)

Those pellets move through an auger to a fire pot, which heats the grill’s cooking chamber. A fan system disperses heat and smoke to cook your food indirectly, which means the food is not directly exposed to fire. Pellets burn at about 1 to 3 pounds per hour.

Capacity

Meanwhile, every grill has cooking space measured in square inches. Pellet grills with between 200 and 400 square inches of space can handle a whole brisket or rack of ribs but are usually light enough to be portable. Pellet smokers with up to 800 square inches of space are great backyard grills for small families and the occasional summer dinner party. If you regularly cook up multiple pork shoulders and dozens of burgers for a crowd, look for smokers with more than 900 square inches of cooking space.

Features

Pellet smokers tend to be higher tech than gas grills and often come equipped with state-of-the-art digital PID (proportional integral derivative) controllers, Wi-Fi connectivity, and moving parts. This means more possibility of something breaking, making warranties important.

Think about your grill’s controller, the brains of the operation. These will maintain a consistent temperature, which is essential, especially for cooking in the cold, wind, and rain. Three position controllers, also called LMH controllers, have only three temperature settings: low, medium, and high. Multi-position controllers allow for more precision, at 25-degree increments. The most sophisticated type of pellet grill controller is the PID controller, which uses sophisticated algorithms to achieve and maintain the desired temperature within a few degrees. They continuously measure the grill’s temperature and adjust its cycle accordingly, adding pellets when necessary to achieve the correct cooking temperature throughout.

FAQs

Do pellet smokers need electricity?

Yes, pellet smokers do require electricity to operate. However, you don’t need anything beyond a standard plug for one, as the amount of electricity they require is minimal. A cable or extension cord will work with them.

Are there different types of wood pellets?

Yes, there are, and they have different strengths. "Most hardwoods will have subtle differences in the flavor they give onto the meat," says Chef Derek Wolf of Over the Fire Cooking. "I love to use hickory and oak wood when I smoke most beef and pork. Apple, cherry, and pecan do really well with seafood and poultry."

Is it worth having a pellet grill?

If you enjoy a bolder smoky flavor along with delectable, melt-in-your-mouth tender meats, then yes, a pellet grill is well worth it. Cook up some burgers, chicken wings, baby back ribs, and more for a taste that is incomparable to cooking on a propane or charcoal grill.

Why Trust Simply Recipes?

Hannah Howard has been writing about food and cooking for over a decade, including the memoirs "Feast" and “Plenty.” She is married to a Kansas City Barbecue Society-certified barbecue judge and dedicated meat lover.

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