The Best Pellet Smokers and Grills of 2022 - 华体会体育推荐

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Collage of photos of various pellet smokers — Serious Eats / Manufacturers

Straight to the Point

If you're looking for an entry-level, compact pellet smoker that offers excellent performance at a reasonable price point, we recommend theGreen Mountain Davy Crockett Wifi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill. You can read about more of our recommendations below.

Barbecue enthusiasm seems to be growing every year, and many backyard cooks, no longer content with burgers and chicken, are venturing into the mysterious—and myth-laden—realm of smoking. I've long been an advocate for pellet smokers, and it seems that this equipment is finally coming of age.

What is a Pellet Smoker?

Of all the different smoker designs available, pellet smokers are the easiest to use, because they're thermostatically controlled, like your kitchen stove. You just select a cooking temperature, and a controller maintains it by feeding wood pellets to a fire pot as needed to maintain your set temp. Set it and forget it. You can throw a brisket in a pellet smoker, set it for 225°F (105°C), go to bed, and sleep like a baby, knowing you'll wake up to delicious smoked meat.

It's true that even the entry-level models of pellet smokers are a bit pricey. But I've never met an unhappy pellet smoker owner, even if they paid a few hundred bucks more than the cost of their neighbor's grill. And manufacturers are rising to meet increased consumer demand, with more selections, more features, and more competitive pricing. While many folks struggle trying to get cheap offset and bullet smokers to work, with a pellet smoker, it's easy to make the bestsmoked ribs, brisket, andpulled porkin the neighborhood.

Where Did Pellet Smokers Come From?

In 1982, Oregon's Traeger Heating introduced a home heating system that burned wood pellets made from compressed sawdust, a by-product of local lumber milling. Since demand for these furnaces and wood pellets dropped off after winter, Traeger came up with a grill that would burn pellets and keep the business afloat over the summer months.

They had the field to themselves for a few years, but the idea was too good to go un-imitated, and soon competitors began popping up. In the early days, most pellet smoker controllers had only three settings—low, medium, high (LMH)—and there was no temperature probe in the oven to create a feedback loop. So, whether you were smoking a few slabs of ribs on a scorching summer day or six pork butts during a blizzard, the controller only knew pellet-feed on and off times for its standard settings. It had no information on the actual temperature inside the cooking chamber.

Today, all serious players in the pellet smoker market have switched to digital thermostatic controllers that dictate pellet-feed commands based on a temperature sensor inside the cooking box. Just like with the oven in your kitchen, you set the desired cooking temperature, and the heating system kicks on and off to maintain that set point. An LED display shows your set temp, and most models allow you to toggle between set temp and actual temp readings from the internal thermostat. Actual temperatures will fluctuate a bit as the controller switches on and off to hover around your set temp, but many sophisticated touch-pad controllers can maintain tighter tolerances than your indoor oven. Some pellet controllers also have integrated probes that let you monitor the internal temperature of whatever you're smoking. Wireless remote control and monitoring from your smartphone or tablet are also increasingly common. (You can learn more about pellet smokers onAmazingRibs.com.)

Using accurate digital thermometers to monitor cooking and internal meat temperatures is essential to being all that you can be in the backyard. Unlike the caveman-era heat estimators built into the lids of most grills and smokers, modern pellet smoker LED displays will give you the real story of what's happening in your smoker. Of course, if your smoker doesn't come with a dual-display system that monitors both cooking and meat temps, you'll still need anaccurate digital meat thermometer.

The Best Thermometers for Deep Frying, Candy-Making, and Roasted Meats

Is It a Smoker or a Grill?

厂商做广告this piece of equipment as both a smoker and a grill, but it's best to think of it as a superb indirect-heatconvection smoker, not a grill. Most models just don't do as good a job of searing a steak as acharcoal grillor even agas grillwith a sear burner can. You'll sear steaks better on a $20 hibachi than on most pellet smokers.

To solve this problem, several companies have come up with alternative ways to expose food to the flame by allowing you to use the small area directly above the fuel pot. It's still not as good as a charcoal or sear burner, but better than the designs that are strictly indirect. Check out the Memphis Elite, Fast Eddy's by Cookshack PG500, and the Yoder YS640 for this feature. Camp Chef also recently introduced its Woodwind pellet smoker, which has a super-hot gas-fueled sear box attached to the right side.

Another option is to put a griddle (orGrillGrates) on the pellet smoker when it's cranked to high heat, get it blistering-hot, add just a little oil to prevent sticking, and sear by conduction on the metal. It should take only two to three minutes per side. This is a good technique forreverse-seared meats: You start them indirect, low and slow on the cooking grate, with a little smoke, and then sear the surface with direct contact to the hot metal griddle to create a delicious brown crust. It's not as good as searing directly over hot coals or gas, but it's a good compromise.

So which pellet smokers and grills are worth your hard-earned dough? We've put together a list of the ones we think make the cut, organized from lowest to highest price. Sorry for the sticker shock—even a low-priced pellet model will cost more than many grills, and our first selection lists at $333, at the time of writing. These motorized, digitally controlled devices just plain cost more, but believe you me, they are worth it! And all of these selections have won theAmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold or Silver Medal.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Great Pellet Smoker

Since pellet smokers are generally easy to use and most are thermostatically controlled, you can start shopping for one based on size and budget. We do recommend choosing a pellet smoker that utilizes digital thermostatic controllers, because while it’s possible to use a digital meat thermometer, if the whole point of buying a pellet smoker is to have a device that regularly turns out excellent meat, you might as well buy one that can competently do the job. So, above all, look for a pellet smoker that has displays for both cooking temperature and meat temperature.

Prince of the Pellet Frontier: The Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett

Green Mountain Davy Crockett WiFi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill

Buy on Amazon

I believe the littleGreen Mountain Davy Crockettis the best portable pellet smoker currently on the market. Surprisingly, many of the portables out there still have an antiquated LMH controller, while Davy Crockett employs Green Mountain's advanced digital touch-pad controller, with an integrated meat thermometer that lets you check internal meat temp with the flick of a switch. Furthermore, it includes adapters to run the electronics from your car battery or cigarette lighter. And Green Mountain is aggressively—ahem, hello, price cut—promoting its WiFi capabilities, which enable you to monitor Davy Crockett from your smartphone or laptop.

This little smoker is just right for people who want small capacity and/or need a compact device for their condo patios; and despite its small size (or, perhaps, because of it) it's also one of the best pellet smokers for the money. Many of our readers who already have other outdoor cookers like to add Davy Crockett to their lineup, especially if they have everything but a pellet smoker.

Cooking Area:219 square inches (about 10 burgers)

Read more about the Green Mountain Grills Davy Crockett on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer
Blaze a Smoke Trail With the Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone

Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone Pellet Grill (Wif-Fi Enabled)

Buy on Bbqguys.com

Green Mountain pellet smokers offer innovation and good quality as well as relatively low price points. TheDaniel Boone modelis the midsized version. It boasts an advanced digital touch-pad dual-probe controller and stainless steel grates and drip pan, and, with 13.5 inches of headroom, Daniel Boone can accommodate large turkeys and roasts. Although the WiFi option adds a hundred bucks to the bill, few pellet smokers anywhere near GMG's price range offer WiFi control. Download the GMG app to your smartphone or tablet for a point-to-point connection, enabling you to remotely turn Daniel Boone on and off; monitor and control the internal meat temp, cooking temp, and timer; and even store the time- and temperature-based profiles of your favorite recipes. For example, you can set your Daniel Boone to "Tri-Tip Beef Roast" and have it start out cooking at 225°F (105°C) until the internal meat temp hits 110°F (43°C), then crank to 500°F (260°C) for browning until the meat registers 135° (57°C), then drop the temp to 150°F (65°C) to keep it warm.

Cooking Area:456 square inches (about 22 burgers)

Read more about the Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer
Pioneers of Pellet Smokers: Traeger Lil' Tex Elite

Traeger Lil Tex Elite 22 Grill

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We all know about Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, butTraegeris the true pioneer of pellet smoking. This company introduced the first pellet smokers, and it remains the best-known brand, although competition is growing. There's nothing fancy here. Instead of a touch-pad controller, Traeger employs an older-style digital dial controller. No WiFi or meat probes; just no-frills schmokin' from the industry leader.

In fact, 80 to 85% of pellet smokers in the USA are Traegers. The consensus is that they are reasonably well built, though some buyers complain that quality has dropped since manufacturing moved to China. But of course we hear more complaints—as well as more praise—about Traegers, since eight out of 10 pellet smoker owners have one. Traeger can be found in many national chains, like Cabela's and Costco. It's not unusual to find special deals on this popular product line, so keep your eyes open.

Cooking Area:418 square inches (about 20 burgers)

Read more about the Traeger Lil' Tex Elite on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer
Double Whammy: Camp Chef Woodwind Pellet Grill With Sear Box

Camp Chef 24 in. WIFI Woodwind Pellet Grill & Smoker with Sear Box

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Camp Chef's Woodwind Pellet Smokeris a quality smoker and super searing grill wrapped up in one. As I mentioned above, though pellet smokers are often referred to as pellet grills, most have a limited grilling capability at best. To fill this gap, in 2017, Camp Chef introduced its optional LP gas Sear Box, which can be added to any of its current SmokePro pellet smokers. Woodwind is a package deal that comes standard with the Sear Box and sells for about $50 less than a SmokePro with the optional Sear Box. As a bonus, Camp Chef is one of the few brands on the market with an ash-removal system that deposits ash in a cup under the smoke box for easy disposal.

Cooking Area:429 square inches (about 21 burgers)

Read more about the Camp Chef Woodwind Pellet Grill With Sear Box on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer

Continue to 5 of 8 below.
Heavy Metal: Yoder YS640

Yoder Smokers YS640 Pellet Grill

Buy on Atbbq.com

TheYoder YS640is 32 inches wide, weighs 313 pounds, and is said to have a cooking range of 150 to 600°F (65 to 315°C). Yoder is known for heavy-duty competition smokers, and the thick, 10-gauge-steel cooking chamber on this model is durable and great for heat retention. It comes with a sophisticated proprietary digital controller, which Yoder asserts is not based on any off-the-shelf temperature controller of any sort. Yoder states that it designed the board from scratch around a general-purpose micro-controller chip and wrote its own code from the ground up in an attempt to provide superior flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy.

Yoder's Variable Displacement Damper is another unique feature: Essentially, it's a metal plate that may be moved from left to right along the lower smoke box. Positioned all the way left, it concentrates heat directly over the fire pot for conductive searing with optional aluminum GrillGrates. Move it back to the right for even heat across the entire smoke box. Yoders are sold primarily through independent retailers.

Cooking Area:640平方英寸(约31汉堡)

Read more about the Yoder YS640 on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer
Take the Lead With Fast Eddy's by Cookshack PG500

Cookshack Fast Eddy's PG500 Pellet Grill

Buy on Bbqguys.com

TheFast Eddy's by Cookshack PG500 Pellet Smokeris a collaborative design from respected smoker manufacturer Cookshack and competition-barbecue-circuit pro "Fast Eddy" Maurin. The FEC (Fast Eddy's by Cookshack) line has been popular with competitive teams for years. While most FEC models have a utilitarian appearance, the beautifully crafted stainless steel PG500 fits right in with your shiny outdoor kitchen.

Most pellet smokers are wood-burning ovens: great for ribs, turkey, brisket, andpork shoulders,但没那么好了,因为烧烤牛排和汉堡. The FEC PG series was one of the first lines of pellet burners to offer a sear station, a cast iron cooking grate right over the fire pot where the wood pellets burn. It isn't the best setup for searing, but it's better than most other pellet searing schemes. The real beauty of the Fast Eddy's design is that it produces meat with a deep mahogany finish, much like a competition-grade offset smoker. It also has two upper-level heat zones, for a total of four distinct temperature zones.

Cooking Area:784 square inches (about 38 burgers)

Read more about the Fast Eddy's by Cookshack PG500 on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer
Built Like a Tank: The MAK 1 Star General Pellet Grill

MAK Grills One-Star General Pellet Grill and Smoker

Buy on Bigpoppasmokers.com

TheMAK 1 Star Generalboasts our favorite digital controller: It's highly programmable and easily accessed via the internet from anywhere in the world. Made entirely in the USA, the 1 Star General is solid-feeling, with a heavy-duty powder coat. The hood is a rolltop, meaning that, unlike a lot of its competitors, the 1 Star doesn't need much rear clearance, and there's plenty of room inside. An optional upper grill grate adds 190 square inches of cook surface. Our only criticism: Not only is it built like a tank, it kinda looks like one, too.

Cooking Area:429 square inches (about 21 burgers)

Read more about the MAK 1 Star General Pellet Grill on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer
Get Your Mojo Working With the Memphis Elite Pellet Smoker

Memphis Grills Wi-Fi Wood Fire Pellet Smoker

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TheMemphis Eliteis the largest cooker in Memphis Wood Fire Grills' impressive line of luxury pellet smokers. They're extremely well designed and well built. The top-grade 304 stainless steel is thick and extraordinarily well machined. Fit and finish are impeccable.Meatheadproclaims Memphis smokers to be "some of the best cookers [he's] ever had the pleasure to use." At $4,999, the Elite is clearly not in everyone's budget, but this beast is impressive enough for us to include in our2016 Top 10 Luxury Grills and Smokerslist, where prices go up to $50,000.

The Elite's digital control panel is a sophisticated touch-pad PID controller that holds set temps with more accuracy than most kitchen ovens. It's simple to operate and offers an integrated meat probe and some useful programming options. For example, you can set it to cook your brisket up to 200°F (93°C) and then drop to a lower cooking temp to keep it warm without overcooking.

Cooking Area:844 square inches (about 41 burgers)

Read more about the Memphis Elite Pellet Smoker on AmazingRibs.com.

Serious Eats / Manufacturer

FAQs

Which pellet smokers are made in the USA?

From our list of favorites, the pellet smokers and grills produced by Yoder, Fast Eddy’s, Mak, and Memphis Elite are all made in the USA.

Is a pellet smoker worth it?

Though they’re pricey even at entry level, pellet smokers are worth the investment if you want to smoke your own meat and aren’t worried about high-level grilling capability. That said, for ultimate versatility, a pellet grill is a great option because itcanbe used as a smoker, but you’ll also have a real-deal grill to work with.

The Best Smokers Under $500 for Ribs, Pork, Brisket, and More

Additional research by Summer Brons Rylander

The Best Pellet Smokers and Grills at Every Price Point

我们有很多首选,包括绿色Mountain Davy Crockett Wifi Control Portable Wood Pellet Grill.

Straight to the Point

What is a Pellet Smoker?

Where Did Pellet Smokers Come From?

Is It a Smoker or a Grill?

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Great Pellet Smoker

FAQs

Which pellet smokers are made in the USA?

Is a pellet smoker worth it?

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