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Capacity For our calculations, a burger is 4 x 4″ with 1/2″ on all sides.
The Traeger Pro-22 is a mid-sized pellet smoker with straightforward controls but no interface with smart apps that reside on phones and tablets. While lacking in some of the common features, this unit is a good option for the price-conscious consumer. Check out our review to learn more.
This compact cooker reliably turns out several styles of pizza as well as baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, broiled fish, seared pork tenderloins and steaks and chops, pot roasts, braises, the ‘ol Easter leg ‘o lamb, and even low ‘n slow barbecue like smoked pork shoulder for a surprisingly low price. Read our review to get all the details.
Pit Boss earned their reputation as one of the best manufacturers of low-cost pellet grills, with a diverse array of sizes, colors, and features, plus a few exclusive models for mass merchants. Check out our full review of one of these — their mid-size Pit Boss Lexington 500 – Onyx.
GE Profile’s Smart Indoor Smoker is a sealed oven with a 1,550 watt electric element at the bottom for cooking heat. Wood pellets are burned inside to generate smoke. Smoke exhaust is eliminated by a catalytic system located in the back before being blown out from the front bottom into your home. A fascinating magic trick. Read our review to learn more.
Searwood is an all-in-one pellet smoker/grill that produces great smoke flavor, aroma, and color whether low and slow ribs at 225°F or sizzling steaks at 600°F.
From its attention to detail to its high heat searing capabilities, there is so much to love about the Louisiana Grills Founders Legacy pellet cooker. Check out our full Platinum Medal review.
Ninja Woodfire is an interesting entry into the small tabletop grill marketplace. But unlike most others, Woodfire at least attempts to offer a smoking option. The majority of Woodfire owners are pleased with their purchase so read our hands-on review.
The Traeger mid-size Ironwood and large Ironwood XL are upgraded versions of their Ironwood 650 and Ironwood 885. The new Ironwood includes some of the same features we liked in the older models plus a few upgrades along with a more modest MSRP.
The new Weber SmokeFire Sear+ continues to improve upon the many impressive features of Weber’s innovative, one-of-a-kind pellet grill design. Sear+ will not be available until sometime this spring, but we were treated to a sneak peek at Weber’s test kitchen. We’ll test Sear+ and publish our full, detailed review soon. Stay tuned.
We always advise our readers to stay away from cheap offset smokers and jump straight to high-quality, heavy metal models. But Char-Griller’s Grand Champ provides an intermediate alternative; not cheap as the $200 tin can models, but way less than classic quarter-inch steel competition smokers.
When we first saw the 2022 Traeger Timberlines we were struck by three things; the substantial construction, the rustic elegance, and the price tags. Since then we have conducted a thorough test of this cooker and have created this extensive review.
Camp Chef Pellet Grills have a knack for coming up with simple solutions to common pellet grill complaints and here they go again. To increase smoke flavor on their Woodwind Pro, Camp Chef adds a Smoke Box that slides in from the front over the firepot and burns wood chunks over the wood pellet fire. Does it work? Read our review to find out.
Pit Barrel Cookers’ original 18.5″ upright barrel smoker is a perennial favorite among our readers. In 2017, they introduced a smaller, 14″ model called Pit Barrel Junior. Now they go big with the 55-gallon 22.5″ PBX for larger cooks. This affordable barrel smoker excels in capacity, flavor, and ease of use.
Oklahoma Joe’s Bandera is a compact but capacious offset smoker thanks to its unusual upright vertical design. Though there are a few challenges to work around, the versatile unit is well-suited for the cook who wants to get a little more serious about smoking meats, fish, and vegetables over wood but isn’t ready to invest in a high-end offset cooker. Find out more about this entry-level offset cooker with our complete review and rating.
We love Hasty Bake! The clever and unique design features enable you to easily grill, smoke or roast whatever you like. Legacy easily wins our top Platinum Medal.
The Green Mountain Grills TREK Prime is a portable pellet cooker that is small and light enough to use for tailgating but large and sturdy enough for the back patio, too. Well-constructed and with excellent documentation, it is a great choice for condos or camp sites and earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medal.
Masterbuilt’s 40-inch Digital Charcoal Smoker marries technology, convenience, and affordability without sacrificing authentic charcoal and wood flavor. With a high-capacity vertical orientation, superior temperature control, and hands-off ease of use, it offers a lot of convenience and genuine smoke flavor for your dollar.
Just when we thought we’d seen everything in the world of kamados, Kalamazoo unveils their striking Shokunin Kamado Grill. Kalamazoo occupies a rarefied space in the BBQ cosmos with some of the best grills money can buy, and you’ll need a lot of money to buy one. They can cost as much as a car! We give this unique, ultra-luxury kamado our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Read our review to learn why.
The new Hasty Bake Gourmet PRO 258 is an upgraded version of their Gourmet 256. We have never tested and reviewed a finer charcoal grill. Hasty Bake easily earns our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. There is nothing you can’t do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. It is the Swiss Army knife of grills.
The Ledge Prime from Green Mountain Grills might be the pellet cooker to show you the pleasures of these machines. It’s their most popular model, a mid-size, mid-priced smoker with WiFi, a robust smartphone app, solid all-around performance, and more extras than most in its price range. Read our full review!
Iconic Weber Kettles are some of the most popular and respected backyard grills in the world. Those who’ve mastered a kettle can do everything on it from grill a steak to bake a cake and these Summit Kamados are kettles on steroids. If you like your Weber Kettle, you’ll love their Kamados. We give these babies our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medals!
The Z Grills 450B is part of their Basic Series and, true to the name, it is a straightforward, no frills, mid-size pellet smoker. This generic model looks like many other value priced pellet smokers and has similar features and performance. It competes with lower priced models from Camp Chef and Pit Boss and is worth a look if you’re on a tight budget. Read our review to learn why it gets our Best Value Silver Medal.
Big commercial smokers like the Ole Hickory EL-EDX are made for the high output needs of restaurants and caterers. Pitmasters around the country swear by them. Read our review to find out why.
We’ve always loved the PK Original and now that the family is growing, there’s even more to love. PK’s quest to build a better mousetrap has proven successful so far and appears to be gaining momentum. Their approach has been logical and elegant in equal parts.
Our Burch Barrel Review shows it’s not your Grandpa’s Cowboy Cooker. It blends an open fire camp grill with a vertical lift Argentine style mechanism. It is well-built, versatile, unique and a ton of fun to use. That’s why it wins our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill has some very unique and clever features: a lever that shifts from smoke to sear and the best pellet hopper clean out system we’ve seen. During our testing and review we found a lot to like about OKJ’s Rider DLX, but some serious flaws prevent us from recommending it at this time.
Can’t decide between a charcoal, wood, or gas grill? Char-Griller’s Flavor Pro Multi-Fuel Grill allows you to use all three thanks to a unique design first seen with Kalamazoo’s much costlier hybrid grill. While our review revealed some issues, this grill should be appealing to someone who wants multiple fuel options.
The Pit Boss 5-Series Vertical Cabinet Smoker is a good unit for this price point. It’s easy to use and maintain, produces great results on a variety of meats and has a small footprint coupled with a large cooking capacity. Read our review to learn why we give the Pit Boss 5-Series our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Slow ‘N Sear Charcoal Kettles are mighty nice. If you’re in the market for a new charcoal kettle grill, SNS may be for you. We award them our Platinum Medal.
MAK took the pellet world by storm and quickly developed a reputation as a best in class producer largely due to their sophisticated “Pellet Boss” controller. MAK makes some of our favorite pellet smokers that we’ve ever tested and reviewed, easily winning our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal Award.
When the previous iteration of Bullseye rolled out, we were among the many who were disappointed. It was quickly discontinued. Read our review of this new model which appears to address some of our complaints.
Read our review to learn why Cuisinart has once again won us over with their bounty of useful extras that make their Woodcreek an appealing package deal. The charcoal insert provides sear power, and if you haven’t used a griddle outdoors, you will after trying theirs. Both items expand Woodcreek’s versatility and merit our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Blowin’ Smoke’s Gameday is a big trailer smoker for pitmasters with big aspirations. Read our review of this big boy. The 60 inch long smoke box is separated into two sections and the large section is big enough for a whole hog. Blowin’ Smoke adds a charcoal grill on the front and a gas burner on the back for a fry pot.
The BBQube Kamado Go 275 is a portable charcoal-fired The BBQube Kamado Go 275 is a portable charcoal-fired smoker/grill that will appeal to tailgaters and backyard chefs who want a dual-purpose cooker that can operate off the grid. Read our review. Kamado Go earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
Masterbuilt’s Gravity Series 560 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker is a one-of-a-kind machine. It marries the ease of thermostatic control with smoky charcoal flavor. We haven’t seen anything quite like the Gravity Series. Read our review to learn why we love it in spite of a couple significant flaws.
Weber has a new pellet smoker and it is alone among pellet cookers in that it can properly sear steak across the entire cooking area. Read our review of this groundbreaking design.
Our new favorite charcoal grill is the Hasty Bake 357 PRO. It is just about the perfect charcoal grill/smoker combo. The core concepts of the design go back to 1948. Since then, Hasty Bake has refined and polished off the rough edges. We tested and reviewed their new 357 PRO which easily earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Grilla Grills’ Silverbac pellet cookers are solid, well-built and well thought out pieces of BBQ equipment with solid, heavy-duty construction. Silverbac offers a few extra perks beyond the competition at a price point below most in this league. We tested and reviewed this cooker and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Pro Series is the entry level line in Traeger’s first wave of WiFi enabled pellet smokers. Pro is a good, solid pellet smoker from an industry leader. We love their WiFIRE app and believe it is a primary selling feature of the new Traeger lines. We tested and reviewed the Pro 575 and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco is a low cost barrel smoker with hinged lid, gasket, side shelf, wheels, grilling capabilities, adjustable dampers, and ability to smoke low and slow up to 12 hours on one load of charcoal. What’s not to love? Read our review for the details on why we award this relatively low cost phenom our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal!
Most kamados can’t be set up for 2-zone cooking with a hot direct zone and moderate indirect zone. Not the new Slow ‘N Sear Deluxe. Read our review to learn why. Built around Slow ‘N Sear’s patented Slow ‘N Sear charcoal kettle insert, it is a kamado grill that easily provides low and slow smoking and hot and fast searing simultaneously and wins our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Hunsaker makes Upright Barrel Smokers for competition teams. Clever and useful features such as big competition-grade wheels, a floating lid hinge, wind resistant air intake and the unique Vortex Charcoal Basket differentiate Hunsaker from other brands. We tested and reviewed Hunsaker and award it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
The Slow ‘N Sear is the single best accessory for the Weber kettle making it into a great smoker and searing machine. With it you can easily convert a standard Weber Kettle into a much better grill as well as a smoker capable of making restaurant quality smoked ribs, pulled pork, brisket, salmon, and so much more.
We reviewed the Pitts & Spitts Maverick 1250 pellet grill which is their most popular mid-size model and rivals the best thermostatically controlled cookers in the business. This premium set-it-and-forget-it pellet smoker does not disappoint, although all cookers have their little quirks, and Pitts & Spitts is no different.
Vertical gas smokers are to easy to use. With Masterbuilt’s ThermoTemp line, smoking on gas just got easier. Masterbuilt successfully offers groundbreaking use of thermostatic control on a gas smoker at an affordable price. We tested and reviewed their large XL model and award ThermoTemp our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Here’s a comprehensive, hands-on gold medal review of the Smokin Brothers Premier 30 pellet grill, the best selling model for this family owned and operated smoker and grill company. The “made in the USA” Premier 30 is a high quality pellet cooker featuring a total cooking surface of 792 square inches.
SG is short for Slide and Grill. The metal heat diffuser slides away exposing foods to the direct wood pellet flame for high temp searing. Read our review. After testing SG we were disappointed in the Slide and Grill Sear function, but it is otherwise a solid, well made smoker with many useful features earning our Silver Medal.
This pellet smoker that looks like a charcoal kettle grill caused a bit of a stir, capturing our attention with the claim that it can smoke and grill for “the best of both worlds.” Alas, we are disappointed in REC TEC’s Bulleye and cannot recommend it. Click here to find out why.
Read our review of Kamado Joe’s Classic II 18”. It’s is a well-crafted ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 18″ models in the premium priced market with a number of remarkable upgrades that exemplify the elegance and innovation that are hallmarks of Kamado Joe. We give it our top Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Pit Barrel Junior is a smaller version of the popular Pit Barrel Cooker charcoal smoker. Both are designed to produce a cooking environment in which one temperature fits all. This AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winning smoker is one of the more impressive products we’ve tested and reviewed.
The high sticker price of popular kamados prevents many consumers from jumping into the kamado ring. Char-Broil’s Kamander changes all that with a list price of $349.99 making Kamader one of the lowest cost kamados on the market. We tested and reviewed Kamander and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
After successfully establishing Monolith in Europe, this German company is now working with BBQ Guru to bring its kamados to the US market. The special BBQ Guru Edition kamados sweeten Monolith’s package deal by adding integrated BBQ Guru temperature controllers. We give this model our AmazingRibs.com Silver Award.
We tested and reviewed this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Fully welded with solid construction, H2O 48 incorporates Mixon’s signature water pan design with a clever auto fill feature. It’s fully insulated with double walled construction and filled with “military grade insulation”.
After testing, we award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to FireCraft’s Q-450. In addition to being made almost entirely of stainless steel this mid-size pellet smoker has a couple other unique features. Foremost is an impressive optional sear station with a three stage small flame, medium flame, and high flame firepot.
We tested and reviewed this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. With 33 square feet of cooking capacity, the Myron Mixon G33 Gravity Feed Smoker is a large smoker meant for commercial use. “The first gravity feed I ever saw was made by Tom Dominey in Orlando in the 1990s, “says Mixon.
Read our review. Char-Broil’s Digital Electric Smoker With SmartChef Technology is an insulated, double walled, steel cabinet smoker with a couple neat features like SmartChef Technology which enables you to monitor and control this smoker from CB’s SmartChef App on your smartphone. This gasser gets our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
You can smoke, bake and grill anything on Woodwind effortlessly. Woodwind’s optional gas burner produces all the heat you’ll need to sear whatever you want.
Traeger’s Timberline is a technologically advanced wood pellet smoker with a sturdy design and a muscular look and feel unlike anything in their extensive catalog. We tested and reviewed Timberline. You quickly get spoiled using the intuitive smartphone app to control and monitor this AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winner.
PK360 takes all the great elements of the classic 1952 PK, improves the design, beefs up construction and delivers one beautiful charcoal grill. We tested and reviewed this classic, versatile charcoal grill and gave it our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. The rectangular shape makes it a 2-zone king.
This luxurious, high quality gravity-feed charcoal smoker for outdoor kitchens wins our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. We reviewed this incredible smoker. The terms luxury and charcoal smoker rarely appear together and, to the best of our knowledge, Kalamazoo offers the only under counter, stainless steel outdoor kitchen cabinet smoker on the market,
The Barrel House Cooker makes an 18 inch diameter UDS that very closely resembles Pit Barrel Cooker, a company we admire very much. Indeed, Pit Barrel took legal action against Barrel House. Read our review. In a settlement, the owners of Pit Barrel received a lump sum and acquired Barrel House.
We tested and reviewed Red Box and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal. A similar version of this portable charcoal smoker was previously offered by the venerable Backwoods Smokers as their Patio model. Since the 1980s Backwoods has made top quality smokers for home, catering and competition.
Vision’s Signature Series has some unique and interesting features not found on other ceramics. Get the details in our review. Their ProZone System is a slide out ash tray with dual intake dampers and a slot for the included electric fire starter. Vision Signature Series models with ProZone earn our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Vision’s Professional C Series has some unique and interesting features not found on other ceramics. Find details in our review. Their ProZone System is a slide out ash tray with dual intake dampers and a slot for the included electric fire starter. Vision C Series with ProZpne earn our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Pit Boss PB K24 is a low cost kamado from Dansons, makers of Louisiana Pellet Smokers. We reviewed this big kamado. Some owners complain of chipped ceramic and wobbly misaligned lids, others are pleased with the great deal they got, and great deals on all Pit Boss models are available. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Bronze Medal.
The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is a radical departure from George Stephen’s original Weber Kettle and Weber’s first major upgrade to the kettle in decades. It is bigger, badder and more versatile with a price tag to match. We tested and reviewed this excellent cooker and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of M1 which straddles the territory between a rugged traditional Texas wood burning smoker and an attractive charcoal grill that fits right in on any patio without taking up a lot of space. This 2 in 1 device eliminates the need for a separate grill and dedicated smoker earning our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is a radical departure from George Stephen’s original Weber Kettle and Weber’s first major upgrade to the kettle in decades. It is bigger, badder and more versatile with a price tag to match. We tested and reviewed this excellent cooker and awarded it our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Pit Boss by Dansons, makers of the popular Louisiana Grills, has moved quickly into the growing pellet smoker arena dominated by Traeger. Danson’s strategy to create a likeness of Traeger at a much lower price apparently worked. We tested and reviewed this model and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
The Broil King Keg is not a fragile ceramic kamado, but an insulated steel kamado for less money. An optional trailer hitch let’s you easily transport Keg 5000.
Char-Broil’s Simple Smoker With SmartChef Technology is an updated version of their Big Easy Electric Smoker. After testing Big Easy we were not impressed. Construction was flimsy and, as with most electric smokers, it didn’t produce good smoke.
Forget about hot spots and flare-ups with Char-Broil’s Kettleman Charcoal Grill. Read our review about how you can grill a load of greasy burgers and never see a lick of flame. Kettleman also makes a fare smoker without the need for add-on devices. We tested this contender and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
We reviewed this mid-size, charcoal vertical cabinet cooker which is gaining popularity for home and competition use. Although crafted from heavy steel and 1200° insulation with locking latches that clamp the firebox and smokebox doors shut, it is not air tight and leaks smoke in certain areas by design.
The Good-One Heritage Oven is designed as an Outdoor Kitchen Insert. It looks like their large Marshall smoker that has an upper cabinet oven with three adjustable height racks, but is more related to their popular Open Range model and has an identical firebox. We reviewed Heritage and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Myron Mixon Trailers come in small, medium and large sizes and can be ordered with any Mixon smoker(s) and a variety of options like grills, coolers, burners, storage, log baskets and sinks. We reviewed MMS trailers and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to Pitmaster Mixon’s stick burners on wheels.
Texas Original Pits Luling Offset Smoker 20″ x 32″ x 18″ is their most popular model. We reviewed this heavy metal classic offset. Yes it looks like those cheap offsets sold in big box stores, but this is the real deal: a classic, no-frills, 1/4″ thick steel Texas Pit named after the Luling Oil Field northwest of Luling, TX.
Myron Mixon’s 750 is his mid-size rotisserie smoker. Not for home use, this 3000 pound, We reviewed this AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winner. It is made for high capacity commercial cooking. Rotisserie or carousel smokers are very popular with BBQ restaurants as the multiple racks hold a lot of meat and don’t need to be fussed over.
We tested and reviewed the larger version of this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Fully welded with solid construction, G20 is built to withstand the rigors of commercial and competitive cooking, while providing ease of use for the aspiring backyard pit master.
We always liked Grilla, but the original price seemed steep. We felt a premium was being placed on the cool cosmetics. Read our review because in 2016 Grilla Grills made a substantial price cut. That drew us off the fence and earned Grilla our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Char-Broil’s Digital Electric Smoker 725 Deluxe is an insulated, Double walled, steel cabinet smoker with a couple neat features. We reviewed this Deluxe model that has a window to look while you cook and a remote with LED display that lets you control and monitor the smoker up to 100 feet away.
Char-Broil’s Digital Electric Smoker 725 is an insulated, Double walled, steel cabinet smoker with a couple neat features. We reviewed this model which features a programmable digital controller with an integrated meat probe that displays cook temp and internal meat temp.
Black Olive’s patented design is billed as “The World’s First Pellet Kamado Grill”. The novel concept grabbed the attention of many. If Black Olive had worked as envisioned by the creators, and been brought to market for the right price, it couldda been a contender. Alas we cannot recommend this product.
Gateway Drum Smokers make colorful, hot and fast, award winning drum smokers. Gateway competition teams formed a club called The Insane Can Posse. Read our review about their unusual air control system which consists of two intake pipes welded to the bottom of the drum to feed air into the firebox.
EcoQue’s Wood Fired Pizza Oven and Smoker design is based on Fontana Forni’s dual chamber pizza ovens that are made in Italy. The fire is built in the lower chamber and your food is baked and cooked in the upper chamber. EcoQue adds a second cook chamber which can be used for smoking and roasting.
Cabelas’s 7 in 1 Cooker/Smoker is made by Masterbuilt and is identical to Masterbuilt’s 7 in 1 Smoker and Grill. It can use gas or charcoal as fuel. It converts into a brazier or a tripod for boiling water or deep frying. Versatility offsets the light weight construction earning our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Bradley 6-Rack Digital Electric Smoker is a front loading cabinet smoker with a patented “smoke generator” on the side. Read our review. The smoke generator burns proprietary wood “bisquettes,” puck like disks of compressed sawdust, and blows the smoke into the cabinet which has an electric cooking element.
This value priced smoker will get the job done, but read our review to learn why electrics are our least favorite smokers. Without combustion from a gas, charcoal or wood flame, you just don’t good smoke flavor. Manufacturers use minimal ventilation to hold in heat: great for keeping foods moist, not so good for browning meat or crisping skin.
The Southern Country 2 in 1 Water Smoker and Charcoal Grill, as the name indicates, can be used as a bullet style water smoker, or converted to a “lock and go” portable grill. We reviewed this clever design which allows you to place the lid on the base and turn clockwise until it locks. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Bronze Medal.
The Bradley 4-Rack Digital Electric Smoker is a front loading cabinet smoker with a patented “smoke generator” on the side. We reviewed this model. The smoke generator burns proprietary wood “bisquettes,” puck like disks of compressed sawdust, and blows the smoke into the cabinet which has an electric cooking element.
Although we feel flavor from electric smokers is inferior, many people love them, and for some apartment and condo dwellers electrics are the only option that satisfies their building and association codes. This model should be a step up from the typical low cost smokers you find in hardware stores,
Masterbuilt’s 30″ Digital Electric Smokehouse is loaded with bells and whistles. Read our review of this thermostatically controlled smoker that allows you to set cooking temp from 100 ° to 275°. All functions can be controlled and monitored with an included RF remote. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
The Master Forge Charcoal Smoker/Griller, like the notorious El Cheapo Brinkmann line, is a low cost bullet smoker aka water smoker. We don’t recommend this model.
Char-Broil’s stripped down electric smoker is one step up from a box with a heating element on the bottom. Be that as it may, we like Char-Broil and feel they often deliver a little better quality and customer support in the value priced categories so this offering receives our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Yet another generic vertical gas smoker for your consideration. The good news is the price. A hundred and twenty bucks doesn’t leave much room for complaints. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
The Master Forge Vertical Gas Smoker is an average cooker, built OK for an OK price. Most gas smokers are pretty generic, but get the job done and we far prefer them over electric smokers. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
Not recommended. Char-Griller tried to hop on the pellet smoker bandwagon with this halfhearted attempt at making a mid-size product. Had they introduced this closer to 2010 at the same price, it would have been a viable entry level pellet smoker. Now it’s a relic from a company with notoriously poor quality.
Dyna-Glo’s Vertical Charcoal Offset Smoker is one of the few low-cost Vertical Offsets we’ve reviewed. We advise readers to avoid purchasing cheap horizontal barrel offsets, but this inexpensive vertical smoker should mitigate one of the primary flaws of horizontal offsets: heat travels upward not sideways.
The Dyna-Glo Dual Zone Charcoal Grill looks good on paper, but we are skeptical of the quality from this manufacturer. The good news in our review is that it has two, independently adjustable charcoal trays, a unique feature which could be useful, and a removable firebox divider to isolate the two zones.
Smoke Hollow’s 30″ Vertical Propane Smoker is a generic, low cost device. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. Unlike many gas smokers that have cast metal round burners, this one uses a 10,000 BTU stainless steel tube burner. The wood chip tray is long and rectangular to conform to the burner.
By replacing the heavy ceramic used for thousands of years with modern lightweight materials, Char-Griller appears to have created a cooker that performs pretty close to traditional Kamados at a fraction of the cost earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal Award. This model comes with a small cart.
Masterbuilt’s Dual Fuel Smoker has a “Flame Disc Bowl” located above the gas burner and under the water bowl. It can be used for wood chunks when smoking with gas or, alternatively, filled with charcoal. Hence the Dual Fuel moniker. We reviewed this model and award our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review of Vision’s Professional S-Series which has some unique and interesting features not found on other ceramics. Their ProZone System is a slide out ash tray with dual intake dampers and a slot for the included electric fire starter. It can also convert to a gas grill! Vision S-Series earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
The Landmann (aka Great Outdoors) 34″ Two Drawer Gas Vertical Smoker features a cast brass burner with rotary ignition. Lightweight construction give a flimsy feel to this cooker. Read our review. The main door uses magnets instead of a latch and there is no insulation. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Englander’s 21-PG100 Pellet Smoker was designed in conjunction with Fast Eddie Maurin, whose award winning pellet smokers are well known on the competition circuit. We reviewed this model which indeed has many similarities to Fast Eddy’s PG500. Unlike most pellet smokers both the PG100 and PG500 have one direct and two indirect zones.
We reviewed this unusual device. The Cajun Express Smoker is a pressure cooker with smoke. Moisture is introduced into the double walled, sealed smoke box via a patented hydration system. Wood chips create smoke within the high pressure, humid environment cooking meats quickly while imparting smoke flavor and retaining moisture.
We reviewed Dyna-Glo’s Gas Vertical Smoker And found it is an average cooker, built OK for an OK price. Most gas smokers are pretty generic, but get the job done and we far prefer them over electric smokers. So this one receives our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal Award.
We don’t recommend most side by side smoker grills. Read our review to learn why. Charcoal/Gas combo grills like this Smoke Hollow model are offered by a lot of manufacturers. For about the same cost, two separate grills are a better option. Even Weber kettle charcoal grill can sell for under a hundred dollars and you trip over all the low cost gassers every time you walk Lowes or Home Depot.
Arizona BBQ Outfitter’s Scottsdale Cooker is a clever design that melds an adjustable height charcoal grill with a Santa Maria, vertical lift grill. Read our review of this unique cooker. Most vertical lift grills have no hood, which limits their capability to some degree. Scottsdale employs a removable hood and back windbreak.
The Traeger Select PRO is a large residential pellet smoker mounted on a double door cart. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Lil’ Tex PRO is a medium size starter model in Traeger’s line of residential pellet smokers. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Texas PRO is a large model in Traeger’s line of residential pellet smokers. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review of this unique commercial cooker. American Barbecue System’s Judge 4 ft. is a large capacity smoker suitable for commercial and competition use. It has an electric rotisserie that rotates meats on eight stainless steel shelves. As the rotisserie racks move in a carousel path, juices drip to the racks below to self-baste.
American Barbecue System’s Pit–Boss is a large capacity smoker suitable for residential and commercial use. Read our review of this unique design. It has an electric rotisserie that rotates meats on eight stainless steel shelves. As the rotisserie racks move in a carousel path, juices drip to the racks below to self-baste.
American Barbecue Systems Bar-Be-Cube is a charcoal cabinet or vertical smoker with a couple neat design twists. Read our review. Four of the five stainless steel shelves inside the smoke box may be accessed by the front door, while the fifth sits on top under a hinged hood like a regular charcoal grill.
Cookshacks are the gold standard for electric smokers earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medals. REad our review of their Super Smoker which is a mid-sized model with a 750 watt 7 amp heating element. Impressively solid, it is stainless steel and very well insulated so it does not get very hot on the outside.
Kamado Joe BigJoe is a well crafted, red ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 18″ models in the premium priced market with a number of remarkable upgrades that exemplify the elegance and innovation that are hallmarks of Kamado Joe. We reviewed this model an awarded our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Primo’s Large Round Kamado is a high quality ceramic cooker. Read our review. Their unique reversible cooking grates have a clever design. They are two sided. One side places the cook surface up high, flip it over and the surface drops down 2” closer to the coal. This model gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Stump’s XL Stretch is a large, commercial capacity gravity fed charcoal smoker suitable for commercial use. Read our review of this classic smoker. Built solid and well insulated with a 18.5″ width x 25″ height x 22″ depth internal cooking area and thick 1800° insulation. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to XL Stretch.
As the name indicates, Stump’s Baby XL is slightly larger than their popular Baby gravity feed charcoal smoker. We reviewed this smoker with a fun name. Built solid and well insulated with a 18.5″ width x 25″ height x 22″ depth internal cooking area and thick 1800° insulation. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to Baby XL.
The Stump’s Baby is their smallest gravity feed charcoal smoker. Read our review. Built solid and well insulated with a 17.5″ width x 14.5″ height x 18.5″ depth internal cooking area. Thick 1800° insulation is enclosed in a double walled, 16 gauge welded housing. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to this Baby.
Cookshacks are the gold standard for electric smokers earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medals. Read our review of the AmeriQue, (French readers please note it is pronounced Ah-mair-ee-Q), which has a 1000 watt 7 amp heating element, with a temperature range of 140° to 300°.
The Good-One Marshall is a big combo grill and smoker recommended for hunting clubs, tailgating, competitions, or light commercial use. We reviewed this cleverly designed charcoal unit that uses the same concepts of an offset smoker, but works better. The Good-One lives up to its’ name and receives our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
A charcoal grill with a smoker spliced on top. The Good-One’s Patio Junior is a mini version of their popular Open Range. Read our review of this cleverly designed charcoal unit that uses the same concepts of an offset smoker, but it works better. The Good-One lives up to its’ name and receives our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
One of Ole Hickory’s smaller BBQ smokers made exclusively for Big Poppa Smokers. We reviewed this model. Unlike Ole Hickory’s large smokers with rotating carousel shelves, the Ace BP has three slide out, 26.5″ x 26.5″ nickel-chrome cooking racks. We like Ole Hickory and Big Poppa so this gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of Masterbuilt’s 40″ Vertical Gas Smoker. It has large capacity with four racks that are approximately 22″ x 15″. Powered by a 15,400 BTU stainless steel burner, it has two doors to facilitate replenishment of water and wood without opening the smoke box. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
A heavily insulated competition smoker with unique design features. It comes in two basic configurations: the Internal Firebox and the Meat Monster Offset Firebox We reviewed Meat Monster and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Placing a firebox inside the smoker is very interesting.
We reviewed Vision’s Classic B Series which is slightly larger than standard, 18″ large round kamados and has some unique and interesting features. Vision kamados are rather well made, especially considering the modest price which is often reduced dramatically for promos. We give them our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Grill Tender is a computer controlled cooker that regulates user set cooking temps by mechanically opening and closing vents. We’ve seen only a few motorized vent control designs. One wonders how these Rube Goldburgesque solutions stack up against popular air controllers like BBQ Guru.
A large pellet smoker with an old fashioned Ortech style digital controller with notched temperature settings. We reviewed the RG5000 which Royall claims burns 2.35 lbs. of pellets/hour, but doesn’t specify at what temp. They offer custom colors and stainless steel options
The FEC500 is a big commercial/competition grade pellet smoker, the second largest in Fast Eddy’s catalog. We reviewed this 100% wood burning, pellet fired rotisserie smoker which cooks 500 lbs. pork butts (hence the FEC500 name), 450 lbs. brisket, 150 lbs. ribs or 70 whole chickens fully loaded.
The wood burning Southern Pride MLR-150 is one of their smaller wood smokers meant for catering and competition. We reviewed this beauty and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. SP claims it can handle 16 butts, 24 slabs of Saint Louis Cut Ribs (120 with 12 rib racks), 48 chickens or 8 beef briskets.
The Smoke E Z is not a smoker, but an effective accessory that turns your inexpensive Charcoal Kettle into a smoker and doubles cooking capacity. We tested this clever device and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to The Klose 20″ x 30″ residential offset smoker. Read our review. With 720 square inches of primary cook surface the 20″ x 36″ Heavy Duty Pipe Smoker can handle 12 to 20 people. BBQ Pits by Klose has made some of the most highly regarded pits since 1986. Many top competitors use Klose pits.
Klose Pits has made some of the most highly regarded BBQ smokers since 1986. Read our review of this 30 inch x 6 foot competition pit that has all the bells and whistles and earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. The model pictured in our review is loaded with options like over size tires, chrome Mags and counterweights for the doors.
Jambo Pits’ offset smokers produce award winning BBQ in sleek, colorful trailer mounted rigs that often resemble hot rods. Read our review to learn why their quality construction and thoughtful design features make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Jambo Pits’ offset smokers produce award winning BBQ in sleek, colorful trailer mounted rigs that often resemble hot rods. Read our review to learn why their quality construction and thoughtful design features make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Pitmaker BBQ Safe Smoker is a scaled down version of their popular Vault Smoker. Like all Pitmaker cookers we have reviewed, the Safe has heavy insulation, durable construction and plenty of colorful options for the exterior. These well made, well designed smokers get our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Pitmaker’s popular BBQ Vault cabinet smoker has big capacity. Each shelf is designed to hold two standard catering pans. We reviewed these solid, heavily insulated cookers which are known for durability, superb performance and colorful finishes. These well made, well designed smokers get our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Read our review of Lang’s 36″ Hybrid Patio Smoker combines their popular 36″ residential smoker with a 30″ charcoal grill. We always give thumbs down to low cost combos that are a gas grill bolted to a cheap offset smoker because each side is poor quality Not so with Lang’s superb Hybrid which earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
We tested and reviewed this model. Like all Lang smokers, the 36″ Original has their signature reverse flow design which some believe provides more even air and heat flow than traditional offsets. We award our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal to this model which is Lang’s most popular for residential use.
Read our review of Green Mountain’s Davy Crockett. Green Mountain describes their small portable smoker as the Ultimate Tailgater Pellet Grill. It’s also gaining popularity with people who want to add a small, set it and forget it smoker to their BBQ arsenal. We tested Davy Crockett and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medal.
Big Poppa’s Drum Smoker Kit is gaining popularity. We reviewed this kit which includes everything you need to make an Ugly Drum Smoker, aka UDS, including a high quality stainless steel barrel.
AmazingRibs.com readers should take note, however, that Q3 is not made by Myron Mixon Smokers: it’s made by Mojak, a company that manufactures mower lifts, hand trucks and other material handling products. Made cheap to sell cheap with a couple bells and whistles thrown in. We give it our Bronze Medal.
We reviewed this party size charcoal smoker which fits nicely in any backyard and can perform with the pros in BBQ competitions. Wherever award winning BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. The G2 Party earns our Gold Medal Award.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We reviewed the G2 Chubby and award our Gold Medal. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Backwoods Smoker Chubby can run for 6 hours on 10 lbs. of charcoal.
Oklahoma Joe’s is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, as the brand gains autonomy from Char-Broil and produces more models that are grabbing our attention. Read our review of Longhorn. It offers a step up from cheap offset smokers for a little more money than the tin can junker brands and earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal..
The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 14″ is a small version of their popular 18″ charcoal smoker. Read our review. WSMs are high quality, AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winning, charcoal fueled, bullet-shaped smokers. They are often seen competing head to head with large commercial cookers at practically every competition.
We reviewed the Gridiron pellet smoker which is Blaz’n Grill Works’ largest model. The basic design is typical of many pellet smokers, but Blaz’n Grill offers a few unique features. Foremost is the easy clean burn pot which allows you to bypasses the task of lifting the greasy grates and drip pan to clean out ash.
Read our review of BX50. Solid and super insulated with a unique and clever gravity fed water system that looks like a water cooler. Thoughtful design coupled with quality construction and craftsmanship earns Meadow Creek’s BX 50 our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Many gas smokers have limited temperature range and can’t get down and hold low and slow temps of 225⁰. We reviewed this big beauty that can go down to 160⁰ and crank up to 400⁰! AND it converts to natural gas so you don’t have to worry about you LP tank running out. We tested this model and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Cheap Offset Smokers like this Brinkmann can ruin your day, party and marriage. Don’t buy them! We have a lengthy dissertation explaining why. In short: they are hard to use and don’t produce the best results. This one is just like a Char-Broil offset and we suspect they are made at the same Chinese factory.
Just say no to cheap offset smokers like American Gourmet. Read our review to find out why. You definitely get what you pay for. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks so tough and cool, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually learn to make halfway decent stuff.
Read our review to learn why we do not like or recommend cheap offset smokers like American Gourmet. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks like your BBQ dream come true, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually get one to work OK.
Read our review of this commercial smoker. Eighteen racks, said to handle up to 1000 pounds, move slowly on a rotary carousel. The rotary motion promotes even heat and allows meats to self-baste as drippings are recirculated to the racks below. When the front doors are opened, dampers operate automatically to hold smoke in and prevent it from billowing out.
This mid-sized pellet smoker is comparable in capacity to Traeger’s popular Lil’ Tex Elite, but much more sophisticated and easy to find for well below its list price. It’s one of the few pellet smokers we’ve seen with an ash removal system. We tested and reviewed this innovative smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
As the name indicates, this is a smaller version of Traeger’s popular, full size, entry level Lil’ Tex Elite smoker. With 292 square inches of cook surface, Junior Elite is about 3/4 the size of Lil’ Tex. With the small size comes a small price. We give Junior Elite our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
We tested and reviewed the larger version of this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Fully welded with solid construction, H2O 36 incorporates Mixon’s signature water pan design with a clever auto fill feature. H2O 36 holds 16 slabs of baby back ribs and is big enough for a small pig.
Jambo Pits’ offset smokers produce award winning BBQ in sleek, colorful trailer mounted rigs that often resemble hot rods. Read our review. Quality construction and thoughtful design features make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Read our review. Although Pitt’s & Spitt’s Combo 18″ X 30″ Smoker Pit is one of their smallest models, with 810 square inches of cook surface it’s large for residential use. We like residential offset smokers with the firebox underneath rather than on the side because heat naturally travels upward, not sideways.
The Cobb Premier Portable Charcoal Grill is a unique, versatile, stainless steel cooker that claims to do it all. Weighing just 8 pounds and needing only 8 charcoal briquettes to cook for 3 hours, Cobb Premier can grill, smoke, boil, fry or bake. Read our review, however, to learn why we don’t recommend it.
We advise readers to avoid cheap horizontal barrel offsets, but this inexpensive vertical smoker mitigates the basic design flaw of horizontal offsets: heat travels upward not sideways. The vertical smokebox allows heat go where it naturally wants to go: UP! We give this model our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Backyard Pitmasters read this review. Junior lacks the size and pizazz of Jambo’s big, colorful competition rigs, but shares the same quality construction and thoughtful design features that make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
You’ll be flabbergasted as you create one perfectly smoked delicacy after another with little more effort than preparation. We are impressed by Pit Barrel.
We tested and reviewed Smokenator. It is not a cooker, but it is such an effective and economical accessory, we decided to include it in our searchable data base and award it our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal for folks who want to grill and smoke, but don’t have the budget for two dedicated cookers.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We testing and reviewed chubby and gave it our Gold Medal Award. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Don’t be fooled by the small size, Backwoods Smoker Fatboy can handle 20 slabs of baby back ribs!
Read our review of this big commercial smoker. The Southern Pride SPK-500 is one of their more popular smokers combining features, footprint, capacity and price into a package that is just right for many applications. This beauty gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of this big commercial smoker. The Southern Pride SPK-500 is one of their more popular smokers combining features, footprint, capacity and price into a package that is just right for many applications. This beauty gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Elegant in its thoughtful, straightforward design and built to last, this versatile cooker is the second largest trailer mounted smoker in the TS line. We reviewed this model and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. The trailer has 15″ highway wheels, a heavy duty wheel jack, trailer lights (4 prong flat), and safety chains.
Like all Lang smokers, the 36″ Original has their signature reverse flow design which some believe provides more even air and heat flow than traditional offsets. We reviewed this model and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to this model which is Lang’s most popular for large capacity mobile model on a trailer.
Yoder is revered by competition cooks for well-designed, high end offset smokers and grills. We reviewed their Yoder Frontiersman II 30″ Trailer which is a heavy duty traditional BBQ offset smoker offered in three sizes. This is the real deal folks and we give it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
The modular trailer frame can be custom configured and finished to mount any Pitmaker gear with your choice of color. We reviewed it and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to these well made trailer units. Plenty of options available from grills to storage to sound systems. 15 foot length with 15 inch wheels.
Not many brands get respect on the competition circuit like Klose. We reviewed this big 30 inch diameter x 6 foot long and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. The model pictured in our review is loaded with options like over size tires, chrome Mags and counterweights for the doors.
Bigger is better! Horizon feels their 30″ offsets distribute and hold heat more evenly than junior models. We reviewed this big boy with a 72″ horizontal cooking chamber and is mounted on a large trailer. Horizon classic 1/4″ pits receive our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal Award.
Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack FEC100 is the smoker that competition teams dream about when they are sleeping in a tent next to their smoker so they can get up at 3 a.m. and shovel in more coal. You can set it and forget it just like an indoor oven. We reviewed FEC 100 and give this famous smoker our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review. Bubba Grills 250 Reverse Flow Smoker/Grills and trailers have many options and range in price from $2600 to $4400. The loaded models have two 61″ x 21.5″ top cooking racks, a 61″ x 25.5″ bottom rack and four 24″ x 28″ racks in the rib box. All models come standard with 15″ wheels.
The Brinkmann Roadmaster is their Dual Function Charcoal/Gas Smoker and Grill on wheels. We don’t care for these combo side-by-side grills. That said, if you want a grill on a trailer, you’ll be hard pressed to find a package like this for $1000. We give this our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We testing and reviewed Chubby and gave it our Gold Medal Award. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Backwoods Competitor is a big boy capable of handling 32 slabs of baby back ribs!
The Smokin Tex Residential BBQ Smoker is essentially a clone of the Cookshack Smokette Original Model SM009. The SmokinTex has larger capacity, slightly more wattage, four wheels instead of two, five racks instead of three, it comes with rib hooks and a storage cover. We reviewed Smokin Tex and give it our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
We reviewed this inexpensive, electric smoker and award our Silver Medal. It is primarily used to make smoked fish, cheese nuts and meat jerky. But not suitable for cooking large BBQ items like brisket. Small and lightweight, fishermen love their Big Chiefs. It’s perfect for fishing trips when you have access to electricity.
We reviewed Pro Smoker’s PK 100. Pro Smoker claims it can cook at a lower temp than most other electrics, starting at 60°F, low enough for smoking cheese without melting it and for smoking sausage without cooking it. It can heat up to 250°F: high enough for cooking the classic barbecue smoked meats like ribs and brisket.
The Old Smokey Electric Smoker is a drum shaped electric smoker that’s been around since 1953. There’s something here to love, but is it just nostalgia? Read our review. Be that as it may, many owners are nuts about their Old Smokeys earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. AmazingRibs.com.
Meco, the company that owns Aussie Grills, sold two Electric Smokers under the Meco label, but recently decided to rename the brand Southern Country. We reviewed this model and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Read our review. The Masterbuilt 30″ Electric Digital Smokehouse with Top Control, (also made with the Cabela’s label), is a clever concept, with flawed execution.execution.
Cookshacks are the gold standard for electric smokers. We tested and reviewed this one and award it our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal. The Smokette Elite has a 750 watt 7 amp heating element lets you cook up to 300°F. Impressively solid, it is stainless steel and very well insulated so it does not get very hot on the outside.
We reviewed Char-Broil’s Big Easy Electric Infrared Smoker and Roaster. The clever, innovative design looks better on paper than in practice. It takes up only a small footprint, but the same can be said of the other cabinet style, front loading propane smokers, and they all work better including the one by Char-Broil.
The Brinkmann Gourmet Electric Smoker is a cheapo painted steel bullet that comes in red or black. It has a 1500 watt heating element and lava rocks but, unlike the Meco or Char-Broil, there is no variable control or thermostat. We don’t recommend this model.
We’ve heard complaints about the bisquettes sticking the feed tube. And one must ask, what if they go out of biz? Where do we get bisquettes then? On the plus side, Bradley has an active user forum and their staff are there to help. Still, after reviewing, we don’t recommend this model.
Brinkmann Charcoal Bullet Smokers are also known as El Cheapo Brinkmanns or ECBs for short. They come in a few different styles: Gourmet, Smoke ‘N Grill, Sportsman and Cook’N Ca’Jun II. The El Cheapo price makes them very popular, but we can’t recommend any ECBs.
Read our review. The Smoke Hollow 44″ Dual Burner Gas Smoker includes sausage hangers, jerky racks, and a two-sided combination cooking grid/rib rack. At 44″ tall x 24″ wide x 16″ deep, this two burner smoker offers big capacity and lot’s of extras earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
You gotta love the versatility and price of Masterbuilt’s M7P 7 in 1 Smoker and Grill. It can use either gas or charcoal as fuel. It converts into a brazier or a tripod for boiling water or deep frying. Versatility offsets the light weight construction earning our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review of the Landmann (aka Great Outdoors) 38″ Two Drawer Gas Vertical Smoker features a cast brass burner with rotary ignition. Lightweight construction give a flimsy feel to this cooker. The main door uses magnets instead of a latch and there is no insulation. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Read our review of Char-Broil’s Big Easy Gas Infrared Smoker and Roaster. It has a clever, innovative design looks better on paper than in practice. It takes up only a small footprint, but the same can be said of the other cabinet style, front loading propane smokers, and they all work better including the one by Char-Broil.
It is what it is. If you’re looking for a cheap gas smoker Char-Broil is as good as it gets in this price range and you can easily find deals on this guy. Even Wal-Mart sells them for way under the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. We reviewed this model and gave it our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
The Camp Chef Smoke Vault 18″ is the smallest of their two gas BBQ smokers. It comes with two 15″W x 14″D cooking racks. You’ll have to cut slabs of ribs in half to fit, but there is enough headroom to use rib racks on both shelves. We reviewed the 18″ and award Smoke Vault our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
The Brinkmann All-In-One Gas & Charcoal Smoker, Grill & Fryer is a cheapo versatile bullet, but we don’t recommend this model. .The newer Masterbuilt 7-in-One is modeled on this unit and is a lot better for just little more money.
Yoder is revered by competition cooks for well-designed, high end offset smokers and grills. We reviewed their Loaded Wichita which is a 20″ offset smoker with their most popular options such as a cooking door counterweight and heat management plate. This is the real deal folks and we give it our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal Award.
We tested and reviewed The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 22″, a large version of their popular 18″ charcoal smoker. WSMs are high quality, AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winning, charcoal fueled, bullet-shaped smokers. They are often seen competing head to head with large commercial cookers at practically every competition.
We tested and reviewed this original, mid-size version of Weber’s popular charcoal smoker. Weber Smokey Mountains are often seen competing head to head with large commercial cookers at practically every competition AND WINNING! Click here to learn all about this high quality, Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal winner.
Viking has an excellent reputation and it appears this smoker is well built. We believe it is built by a third party for Viking, and in the past Viking has put its label on Stump Smokers. But that relationship ended badly, so who knows how stable this relationship is?
The hardest part of cooking with charcoal is holding steady cooking temperatures. Nathan Moore, a mechanical engineer, has designed a unique fuel feed system for Tremor Breeze that allows even novice smokers to hit and easily maintain smoking temps over a long duration and earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal..
Read our review of the Texas Pit Crafters PM 500S; constructed with top quality 304 stainless steel and heavy gauge carbon steel. You don’t see many shiny stainless steel pits outside of the Texas Pit Crafters catalog. We award our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal to this BBQ beauty.
The Stump’s Junior is their mid-size gravity feed charcoal smoker. Read our review. Built solid and well insulated, Junior can smoke 15 slabs of baby backs, or 9-12 butts, or 24-30 chickens at once.. Thick 1800° insulation is enclosed in a double walled, 16 gauge welded housing. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to Junior.
The Smoke Hollow 40″ Barrel Smoker seems very similar to the Char-Broil Oklahoma Joe and the Brinkmann Trailmaster. But it costs twice as much. We caution our readers to stay away from cheap offset smokers, because they are, well….cheap. And hard to use. But if you must have one, why pay more?
Read our review of Horizon’s excellent, tight, well-built, heavyweight, heavy duty, horizontal offset firebox cookers that carry a lifetime guarantee against burnout! These AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal winning smokers are a culmination of design and manufacturing ideas gleaned from decades of cooking, cutting and welding.
Designed to knock out both the cook and client, Infierno is a massive, wood fired cooker intended for cutting edge restaurants that want to enflame their guest’s dining experience. Read our review to find why all Grillwork’s beautiful, high quality products receive our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Awards.
A charcoal grill with a smoker spliced on top. We reviewed The Good-One’s popular Open Range. This cleverly designed charcoal unit uses the same concepts of an offset smoker, but it works better. The Good-One lives up to its’ name and receives our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
We tested and reviewed this clever and unusual design. Well, maybe it isn’t that unusual. It is really a hi-tech variation on the cowboy method of cooking in a Dutch oven where the pot sits on coals and coals sit on top of the pot. Orion excels at keeping meat moist and cooking fast., earning our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review to find out why the only good thing we can say about the Char-Griller Smokin’ Pro is the price is unbeatable. Many wide-eyed first time smokers thought it made sense to buy this tin can as a starter model. The problem with the Smokin’ Pro and many other cheap offset smokers is they are hard to use.
Read our review to learn why we do not like or recommend cheap offset smokers like Char-Broil Silver. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks like your BBQ dream come true, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually get one to work OK.
For about a hundred bucks more than Char-Griller or Smoke ‘N Pit cheap offset smokers you got an all-around upgrade: heavier construction, better wheels, handles and shelves; everything is a bit more sturdy. Trailmaster earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
We tested and reviewed Big Poppa’s Ugly Drum Smoker kit that you can buy from for $140 and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal. This kit reduces the cost, effort and probability for error when doing it yourself. Really. Much better than a cheap offset smoker, and just as cool looking.
The Big Drum Smokers Medium Smoker is 27″ diameter by 39″ tall. Made from 16 gauge steel, it comes with one 25″ cooking rack with 8″ clearance. It fits 6 large pork butts, or two 14 pound whole briskets, or two- 20 pound turkeys.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. Read our review of the Backwoods Party Smoker which earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Don’t be fooled by the small size, Backwoods Smoker Chubby can handle 18 slabs of baby back ribs!
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We testing chubby and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Award. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Don’t be fooled by the small size, Backwoods Smoker Chubby can handle 12 slabs of baby back ribs!
If this smoker looks familiar, there is a reason. It is an English/Canadian knockoff of the venerable Weber Smokey Mountain. We reviewed Apollo and found that unlike most knockoffs, this unit has a couple of clever design innovations and improvements over the original earning our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Read our review of Napoleon’s Apollo smokers that are English/Canadian knockoffs of the classic Weber Smokey Mountain. But unlike most knockoffs, this unit is well made with a couple of clever design innovations and improvements over the original Weber, earning our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
American Barbecue Systems All-Star Grill and Smoker is effectively two cookers in one. We reviewed this unique device with an offset firebox that runs along the back of the cookbox and three stainless steel grates that may be placed at low, middle and high positions for smoking.
The PigOut Roaster POR 48 is their smallest all in one cooker for large capacity events and handles up to a 70 pound pig or lamb. We reviewed this clever design from Canada. This ingenious stainless steel propane fired device has a motorized rotisserie for hogs and lambs that can also be used to hold shelves.
Packed with innovation, this AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winner is the best rig we’ve tested for tailgating or camping. All-in-one mobile grill, smoker/oven and fryer, on a trailer hitch. It is not cheap at about $2,000, but it is a bargain for what it has under the hood and what it does.
West of Memphis Ironman 3 is a grill with an offset firebox attached. We reviewed this unique, modular component design which allows you to slide out the three burner gas system and replace it with a charcoal firebox insert. In addition to The AmazingRibs Best Value Gold Medal, West of Memphis won the 2012 Vesta Award.
Many BBQ manufacturers make Charcoal/Gas combo grills like this Smoke Hollow model. We don’t recommend them. For about the same price, two separate grills are a better option. You can get a great charcoal grill for under a hundred dollars and you trip over all the low cost gassers every time you walk into Home Depot.
Portable charcoal/wood grill mounted on a trailer hitch. Based on Pitmaker’s cabinet smoker designs with a firebox on the bottom and cook chamber on top. We give our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to this tough little cooker. The relatively large cook chamber has plenty of headroom for big cuts, like pork shoulders.
Pitmaker 48” Grill-Meister! BBQ Grills are residential versions of Pitmaker’s large capacity competition cabinet smokers with a firebox on the bottom and cook chamber with shelves on top. We reviewed these well made, well designed smokers and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Pitmaker 30” Grill-Meister! BBQ Grills are residential versions of Pitmaker’s large capacity competition cabinet smokers with a firebox on the bottom and cook chamber with shelves on top. We reviewed these well made, well designed smokers and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
The Karubecue C-60 produces perfect smokey. This brilliant design enables a novice to smoke meat like a wizened Texas pit boss, earning our Platinum Medal.
Read our review of Meadow Creek’s SQ36. Although it can handle a small hog, it does much more. This versatile cooker has a deep trough and a tall lid with a solid strong hinge and an offset firebox for wood smoking. Thoughtful design coupled with quality construction and craftsmanship earns the SQ36 our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of Meadow Creek’s PR36. Although it can handle a small hog, Meadow Creek’s PR36 does much more. We tested this versatile cooker which has a deep trough and a tall lid with a solid strong hinge. Thoughtful design coupled with quality construction and craftsmanship earns the PR36 our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
We have never tested and reviewed a finer charcoal grill. Hasty Bake easily earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. There is nothing you can’t do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. It is the Swiss Army knife of grills.
We have never tested and reviewed a finer charcoal grill. Hasty Bake easily earns our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. There is nothing you can’t do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. It is the Swiss Army knife of grills.
A hand made all American cooker with Argentine V-shaped grates that can be raised or lowered farther or closer to the fire and a lid for roasting. This versatile multi-function cooker was tested and reviewed and received our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. It’s a Santa Maria Grill with a unique design.
A hand made all American cooker with Argentine V-shaped grates that can be raised or lowered farther or closer to the fire. We tested and reviewed this unusual and versatile multi-function cooker and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. It’s a Santa Maria Grill and offset smoker rolled into one.
Pay attention all you Eggheads; AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winners, Komodo Kamado, makes some of the most striking ceramic cookers in the world, with superb craftsmanship and innovative design. We tested and reviewed this big beauty that weighs a whopping 534 pounds.
Cajun Grill makes six variations of this heavy duty cooker. We reviewed the Cajun Grill is their smallest with 468 square inches of cooking surface. It can grill, and, because it is long and narrow, it can be easily set up for indirect cooking and smoke roasting. It has a V shaped trough in which the charcoal grate sits.
We reviewed Saffire. It’s similar in design and concept to the other egg shaped kamados, the most unique feature of the Saffire is an optional slot in the front to feed wood chips. It is available in several baked enamel colors and a table is available in several beautiful woods.
Kamado Joe BigJoe is a well crafted, red ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 24″ models in the premium priced market. Elegance and innovation are hallmarks of Kamado Joe. we give this big boy our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Primo’s Oval XL 400 is their largest Oval model. Primo’s claim to fame is the unique oval shape which enables true 2-zone cooking: something that standard round designs really can’t accomplish. We tested and reviewed this model and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Primo’s claim to fame is the unique oval shape which enables true 2-zone cooking: something that standard round designs really can’t accomplish. We reviewed Primo Ovals and award our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Junior is their smallest model.
Grill Dome’s XL is a big, 24 kamado made with their proprietary ceramic called Terapex, which they claim is more durable than traditional ceramic. Grill Dome is known for their beautiful enamel finishes in a variety of colors. We reviewed this big model and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The ceramic is Grill Dome’s own creation, called Terapex, which they claim is more durable than traditional ceramic and can withstand much higher temperatures. Grill Dome is known for their beautiful enamel finishes in a variety of colors. We reviewed Grill Dome and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Grill Dome is known for their beautiful kamados offered in a variety of colors. We reviewed Grill Dome and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal. The ceramic is Grill Dome’s own creation, called Terapex, which they claim is more durable than traditional ceramic and retains the finish over time.
We reviewed this pretty kamado. From a distance, the Cypress Grill has an attractive, rustic look reminiscent of hand painted Japanese ceramics. Up close, one begins to notice where corners have been cut. Not as cheaply made as Char-Griller’s Acorn Kamado, but not in the same league as competitors like Kamado Joe and Big Green Egg.
We tested the Broil King Keg. It’s not a fragile ceramic kamado, but an insulated steel kamado for less money. Originally The Bubba Keg, then The Big Steel Keg until bought by Onward Mfg. This AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winner is loaded with extras. An optional trailer hitch let’s you easily transport the BKK.
This 24 incher puts the BIG in Big Green Egg. Big Green Egg is often viewed as the industry standard. Good as they are many new comers to the kamado market are trying harder and offering more innovation. We reviewed this model and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
For many, the Big Green Egg is the Weber of Kamados. They introduced Kamado cookers to the USA and are often viewed as the industry standard. We tested and reviewed the BGE Large and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They are mighty good, but many new comers to the kamado market are trying harder and offering more innovation.
For many, the Big Green Egg is the Weber of Kamados. They introduced Kamado cookers to the USA and are often viewed as the industry standard. We reviewed this BGE model and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They are mighty good, but many new comers to the kamado market are trying harder and offering more innovation.
For many, the Big Green Egg is the Weber of Kamados. They popularized Kamados in the USA and are often viewed as the industry standard. We reviewed Big Green Egg’s small model and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They’re good, but many new comers to the kamado market are trying hard to earn market share.
As the name indicates, Big Green Egg’s Mini Kamado is their smallest model. Big Green Egg popularized kamado cookers in the USA. We reviewed Big Green Egg and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They are mighty good, but many new comers to the kamado market are giving them stiff competition.
We reviewed this popular, economically priced kamado. By replacing the heavy ceramic used for thousands of years with modern lightweight materials, Char-Griller appears to have created a cooker that performs pretty close to traditional Kamados at a fraction of the cost earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal Award.
We reviewed SweetHome Pellet Grill’s SH650; the biggest of their two smokers. The pellet hopper is on the left and the top doubles as a prep shelf, and there is a small shelf on the right. Each size has three configs, one that is all black, one with stainless shelves, and one with stainless shelves and hood.
We reviewed SweetHome Pellet Grill’s SH450; the smallest of their two smokers. The pellet hopper is on the left and the top doubles as a prep shelf, and there is a small shelf on the right. Each size has three configs, one that is all black, one with stainless shelves, and one with stainless shelves and hood.
The SPG-410 is Sawtooth’s mid-size pellet smoker. Light weight, only 149 pounds, 47″ wide x 22″ deep x 50″ high. The high profile hood has a 14″ clearance which also facilitates use of an optional second shelf to increase capacity. We reviewed Sawtooth and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
The SPG-610 is Sawtooth’s mid-size pellet smoker. Light weight, only 149 pounds, 47″ wide x 22″ deep x 50″ high. The high profile hood has a 14″ clearance which also facilitates use of an optional second shelf to increase capacity. We Reviewed Sawtooth and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
We reviewed this mid-size pellet smoker that has an old style Ortech digital controller that is a dial with notched temperature settings. Smokin Brothers has heavy wheels and casters, includes a warming rack and locates the chimney in the middle of the hood rather than off to the side.
We reviewed this mid-size pellet smoker with the an older style Ortech digital controller that is a dial with notched temperature settings. Royall has heavy 14 gauge steel construction and locates the chimney in the middle at the back of the smokebox. They offer custom colors and stainless steel options.
We reviewed Green Mountain Grill’s Jim Bowie, their biggest model, and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Green Mountain includes some features not common in lower price pellet smokers and that often cost extra even in higher cost cookers.
We reviewed the Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone Choice and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Green Mountain includes some features not common in lower price pellet smokers and that often cost extra even in higher cost cookers.
We reviewed this backyard pellet smoker designed by award winning competition BBQ Pit Master, Fast Eddy. Aspiring pitmasters dream about Fast Eddy’s pellet smokers when waking at 3 a.m. to throw logs on the fire. Set the temperature, go to sleep and wake up to smoked brisket. We tested PG500 and gave our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
A backyard pellet smoker designed by award winning competition BBQ Pit Master, Fast Eddy. Aspiring pitmasters dream about Fast Eddy’s pellet smokers when waking at 3 a.m. to throw logs on the fire. Set the temperature, go to sleep and wake up to smoked brisket. We reviewed the PG1000 and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Louisiana Grills are one of the first pellet smoker companies. Their Colonial Barbecue Grills are pellet smokers mounted on carts and resemble gas grills with doors and cabinet enclosures.
Louisiana Grills Colonial Barbecue Grills are pellet smokers mounted on carts offered in two styles. They resemble gas grills on carts with cabinet enclosures.
We reviewed this over size pellet smoker and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The Super Hog is an extra-large pellet smoker, basically two smokers joined together with two independent fire pots and two dedicated hoppers. Remove the middle partition and free up all 2400 square inches of cook surface to smoke a whole hog.
We give this pellet smoker our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The Whole Hog is an extra-large pellet smoker, basically two smokers joined together with two independent fire pots and two dedicated hoppers. Remove the middle partition and free up all 1750 square inches of cook surface to smoke a whole hog.
We give this pellet smoker our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The CS-680 is one of Louisiana Grill’s large smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove.
We give this pellet smoker our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The CS-570 is one of Louisiana Grill’s mid-size smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove.
We tested and reviewed this pellet smoker and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The CS-450 is one of Louisiana Grill’s smaller smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove.
TG-300 is the smallest smoker in Louisiana Grill’s Country Smokers line. The tabletop body has short legs and no wheels. At 26.5″ H x 36.5″ W x 19.5″ D weighing 94 pounds it is big enough to smoke a turkey and small enough to transport in a truck or van. Our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal goes to this tailgater.
The XL is Traeger’s largest residential pellet smokers. With 836 square inches of primary cook surface it can cook 24 chickens or 16 slabs of ribs. This big boy has a large pellet hopper in front, two chimneys and two drip buckets. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Texas Grill is a large model in Traeger’s line of residential pellet smokers. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Lil’ Pig is a novelty smoker that consists of Traeger’s Lil’ Tex Elite dressed up to look like a pink pig. On the upside it has a digital controller and an eye catching appearance that Traeger believes is sure to make your guests “squeal”. BUT it weighs and costs twice as much as an Elite.
Traeger’s Lil’Tex Elite is a mid-size pellet smoker featuring digital thermostatic control. Thermostatically controlled pellet smokers can be more accurate than your kitchen range and let you load up your smoker at 11 pm, then go to bed and sleep soundly. Our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal goes to this model.
In the past this popular cooker served as a great starter for people interested in pellet cooking. Alas, because there is no thermostatic control, it will not always cook at the same temp because it will not respond to ambient air temp. We don’t recommend this model.
As the name indicates, Traeger Junior is a smallish pellet smoker. Unfortunately it has no thermostatic control, so temperature is inaccurate because it will not respond to ambient air temp. We don’t recommend this model.
There aren’t many portable pellet smokers and the PTG (Portable Traeger Grill) is the smallest we’ve reviewed. With 169 square inches of cook surface and about 6 inches of head room, cooking possibilities are limited. Still this unique little cooker has some useful applications and earns our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our Pro Smoker review. The manufacturer claims this system will hold a set temperature between 1 and 2 degrees. That’s a mighty tight tolerance and some competitors have questioned the credibility of this statement.
MAK took the pellet world by storm and quickly developed a reputation as a best in class producer largely due to their sophisticated “Pellet Boss” controller. MAK makes some of our favorite pellet smokers that we’ve ever tested and reviewed, easily winning our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Yoder is a brand revered by competition cooks for well-designed high end charcoal and wood fired smokers and BBQ grills made in the USA. In 2010 they introduced a line of pellet cookers. We reviewed their YS640 and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Revered by competition cooks for well-designed, high end offset smokers and grills, Yoder recently introduced a line of heavy duty two pellet cookers. We reviewed the YS480.
Our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award goes to Memphis Select Pellet Smoker. Fit and finish are impeccable on these high tech, stainless steel luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller.
We reviewed this beautiful, high tech, stainless steel pellet smoker award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Fit and finish are impeccable on these luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller.
We reviewed this beautiful, high tech, stainless steel pellet smoker and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Fit and finish are impeccable on these luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller that can also be operated from a smart phone ap.
We tested and reviewed this beautiful, high tech, stainless steel smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Fit and finish are impeccable on these luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller.
In 2012 Brinkmann designed this smoker to be a knock off of Traeger’s popular Lil’ Tex pllet smoker. Since then, however, other manufacturers have brought newer, better pellet smokers to market, making this one a relic. We don’t recommend this antiquated device.
Read our review. Blaz’n Grill has the basic design is typical of many pellet smokers, but offers a few unique features. Foremost is the easy clean burn pot.
The Tailgater Grill pellet smoker by Blaz’n Grill Works their smallest model. The basic design is typical of many pellet smokers, but Blaz’n Grill offers a few unique features. Foremost is the easy clean burn pot which allows you to bypasses the task of lifting the greasy grates and drip pan to clean out ash.
It’s actually a grill and roaster/smoker in one with 314 square inches of cook surface on each side. Grill on the left, slow roast on the right. You can put small amounts of wood or charcoal over the left side flavor bars. Slide the water pan from right to the left/gas burner side and steam, boil or fry in it.
We reviewed REC TEC’s now discontinued RT-780 and found it was similar to Traeger’s Texas Grill with significant upgrades. We smoked ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, chicken and salmon with the greatest of ease and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
The Traeger Pro-22 is a mid-sized pellet smoker with straightforward controls but no interface with smart apps that reside on phones and tablets. While lacking in some of the common features, this unit is a good option for the price-conscious consumer. Check out our review to learn more.
This compact cooker reliably turns out several styles of pizza as well as baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, broiled fish, seared pork tenderloins and steaks and chops, pot roasts, braises, the ‘ol Easter leg ‘o lamb, and even low ‘n slow barbecue like smoked pork shoulder for a surprisingly low price. Read our review to get all the details.
Pit Boss earned their reputation as one of the best manufacturers of low-cost pellet grills, with a diverse array of sizes, colors, and features, plus a few exclusive models for mass merchants. Check out our full review of one of these — their mid-size Pit Boss Lexington 500 – Onyx.
GE Profile’s Smart Indoor Smoker is a sealed oven with a 1,550 watt electric element at the bottom for cooking heat. Wood pellets are burned inside to generate smoke. Smoke exhaust is eliminated by a catalytic system located in the back before being blown out from the front bottom into your home. A fascinating magic trick. Read our review to learn more.
Searwood is an all-in-one pellet smoker/grill that produces great smoke flavor, aroma, and color whether low and slow ribs at 225°F or sizzling steaks at 600°F.
From its attention to detail to its high heat searing capabilities, there is so much to love about the Louisiana Grills Founders Legacy pellet cooker. Check out our full Platinum Medal review.
Ninja Woodfire is an interesting entry into the small tabletop grill marketplace. But unlike most others, Woodfire at least attempts to offer a smoking option. The majority of Woodfire owners are pleased with their purchase so read our hands-on review.
The Traeger mid-size Ironwood and large Ironwood XL are upgraded versions of their Ironwood 650 and Ironwood 885. The new Ironwood includes some of the same features we liked in the older models plus a few upgrades along with a more modest MSRP.
The new Weber SmokeFire Sear+ continues to improve upon the many impressive features of Weber’s innovative, one-of-a-kind pellet grill design. Sear+ will not be available until sometime this spring, but we were treated to a sneak peek at Weber’s test kitchen. We’ll test Sear+ and publish our full, detailed review soon. Stay tuned.
We always advise our readers to stay away from cheap offset smokers and jump straight to high-quality, heavy metal models. But Char-Griller’s Grand Champ provides an intermediate alternative; not cheap as the $200 tin can models, but way less than classic quarter-inch steel competition smokers.
When we first saw the 2022 Traeger Timberlines we were struck by three things; the substantial construction, the rustic elegance, and the price tags. Since then we have conducted a thorough test of this cooker and have created this extensive review.
Camp Chef Pellet Grills have a knack for coming up with simple solutions to common pellet grill complaints and here they go again. To increase smoke flavor on their Woodwind Pro, Camp Chef adds a Smoke Box that slides in from the front over the firepot and burns wood chunks over the wood pellet fire. Does it work? Read our review to find out.
Pit Barrel Cookers’ original 18.5″ upright barrel smoker is a perennial favorite among our readers. In 2017, they introduced a smaller, 14″ model called Pit Barrel Junior. Now they go big with the 55-gallon 22.5″ PBX for larger cooks. This affordable barrel smoker excels in capacity, flavor, and ease of use.
Oklahoma Joe’s Bandera is a compact but capacious offset smoker thanks to its unusual upright vertical design. Though there are a few challenges to work around, the versatile unit is well-suited for the cook who wants to get a little more serious about smoking meats, fish, and vegetables over wood but isn’t ready to invest in a high-end offset cooker. Find out more about this entry-level offset cooker with our complete review and rating.
We love Hasty Bake! The clever and unique design features enable you to easily grill, smoke or roast whatever you like. Legacy easily wins our top Platinum Medal.
The Green Mountain Grills TREK Prime is a portable pellet cooker that is small and light enough to use for tailgating but large and sturdy enough for the back patio, too. Well-constructed and with excellent documentation, it is a great choice for condos or camp sites and earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medal.
Masterbuilt’s 40-inch Digital Charcoal Smoker marries technology, convenience, and affordability without sacrificing authentic charcoal and wood flavor. With a high-capacity vertical orientation, superior temperature control, and hands-off ease of use, it offers a lot of convenience and genuine smoke flavor for your dollar.
Just when we thought we’d seen everything in the world of kamados, Kalamazoo unveils their striking Shokunin Kamado Grill. Kalamazoo occupies a rarefied space in the BBQ cosmos with some of the best grills money can buy, and you’ll need a lot of money to buy one. They can cost as much as a car! We give this unique, ultra-luxury kamado our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Read our review to learn why.
The new Hasty Bake Gourmet PRO 258 is an upgraded version of their Gourmet 256. We have never tested and reviewed a finer charcoal grill. Hasty Bake easily earns our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. There is nothing you can’t do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. It is the Swiss Army knife of grills.
The Ledge Prime from Green Mountain Grills might be the pellet cooker to show you the pleasures of these machines. It’s their most popular model, a mid-size, mid-priced smoker with WiFi, a robust smartphone app, solid all-around performance, and more extras than most in its price range. Read our full review!
Iconic Weber Kettles are some of the most popular and respected backyard grills in the world. Those who’ve mastered a kettle can do everything on it from grill a steak to bake a cake and these Summit Kamados are kettles on steroids. If you like your Weber Kettle, you’ll love their Kamados. We give these babies our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medals!
The Z Grills 450B is part of their Basic Series and, true to the name, it is a straightforward, no frills, mid-size pellet smoker. This generic model looks like many other value priced pellet smokers and has similar features and performance. It competes with lower priced models from Camp Chef and Pit Boss and is worth a look if you’re on a tight budget. Read our review to learn why it gets our Best Value Silver Medal.
Big commercial smokers like the Ole Hickory EL-EDX are made for the high output needs of restaurants and caterers. Pitmasters around the country swear by them. Read our review to find out why.
We’ve always loved the PK Original and now that the family is growing, there’s even more to love. PK’s quest to build a better mousetrap has proven successful so far and appears to be gaining momentum. Their approach has been logical and elegant in equal parts.
Our Burch Barrel Review shows it’s not your Grandpa’s Cowboy Cooker. It blends an open fire camp grill with a vertical lift Argentine style mechanism. It is well-built, versatile, unique and a ton of fun to use. That’s why it wins our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill has some very unique and clever features: a lever that shifts from smoke to sear and the best pellet hopper clean out system we’ve seen. During our testing and review we found a lot to like about OKJ’s Rider DLX, but some serious flaws prevent us from recommending it at this time.
Can’t decide between a charcoal, wood, or gas grill? Char-Griller’s Flavor Pro Multi-Fuel Grill allows you to use all three thanks to a unique design first seen with Kalamazoo’s much costlier hybrid grill. While our review revealed some issues, this grill should be appealing to someone who wants multiple fuel options.
The Pit Boss 5-Series Vertical Cabinet Smoker is a good unit for this price point. It’s easy to use and maintain, produces great results on a variety of meats and has a small footprint coupled with a large cooking capacity. Read our review to learn why we give the Pit Boss 5-Series our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Slow ‘N Sear Charcoal Kettles are mighty nice. If you’re in the market for a new charcoal kettle grill, SNS may be for you. We award them our Platinum Medal.
MAK took the pellet world by storm and quickly developed a reputation as a best in class producer largely due to their sophisticated “Pellet Boss” controller. MAK makes some of our favorite pellet smokers that we’ve ever tested and reviewed, easily winning our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal Award.
When the previous iteration of Bullseye rolled out, we were among the many who were disappointed. It was quickly discontinued. Read our review of this new model which appears to address some of our complaints.
Read our review to learn why Cuisinart has once again won us over with their bounty of useful extras that make their Woodcreek an appealing package deal. The charcoal insert provides sear power, and if you haven’t used a griddle outdoors, you will after trying theirs. Both items expand Woodcreek’s versatility and merit our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Blowin’ Smoke’s Gameday is a big trailer smoker for pitmasters with big aspirations. Read our review of this big boy. The 60 inch long smoke box is separated into two sections and the large section is big enough for a whole hog. Blowin’ Smoke adds a charcoal grill on the front and a gas burner on the back for a fry pot.
The BBQube Kamado Go 275 is a portable charcoal-fired The BBQube Kamado Go 275 is a portable charcoal-fired smoker/grill that will appeal to tailgaters and backyard chefs who want a dual-purpose cooker that can operate off the grid. Read our review. Kamado Go earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
Masterbuilt’s Gravity Series 560 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker is a one-of-a-kind machine. It marries the ease of thermostatic control with smoky charcoal flavor. We haven’t seen anything quite like the Gravity Series. Read our review to learn why we love it in spite of a couple significant flaws.
Weber has a new pellet smoker and it is alone among pellet cookers in that it can properly sear steak across the entire cooking area. Read our review of this groundbreaking design.
Our new favorite charcoal grill is the Hasty Bake 357 PRO. It is just about the perfect charcoal grill/smoker combo. The core concepts of the design go back to 1948. Since then, Hasty Bake has refined and polished off the rough edges. We tested and reviewed their new 357 PRO which easily earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Grilla Grills’ Silverbac pellet cookers are solid, well-built and well thought out pieces of BBQ equipment with solid, heavy-duty construction. Silverbac offers a few extra perks beyond the competition at a price point below most in this league. We tested and reviewed this cooker and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Pro Series is the entry level line in Traeger’s first wave of WiFi enabled pellet smokers. Pro is a good, solid pellet smoker from an industry leader. We love their WiFIRE app and believe it is a primary selling feature of the new Traeger lines. We tested and reviewed the Pro 575 and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco is a low cost barrel smoker with hinged lid, gasket, side shelf, wheels, grilling capabilities, adjustable dampers, and ability to smoke low and slow up to 12 hours on one load of charcoal. What’s not to love? Read our review for the details on why we award this relatively low cost phenom our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal!
Most kamados can’t be set up for 2-zone cooking with a hot direct zone and moderate indirect zone. Not the new Slow ‘N Sear Deluxe. Read our review to learn why. Built around Slow ‘N Sear’s patented Slow ‘N Sear charcoal kettle insert, it is a kamado grill that easily provides low and slow smoking and hot and fast searing simultaneously and wins our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Hunsaker makes Upright Barrel Smokers for competition teams. Clever and useful features such as big competition-grade wheels, a floating lid hinge, wind resistant air intake and the unique Vortex Charcoal Basket differentiate Hunsaker from other brands. We tested and reviewed Hunsaker and award it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
The Slow ‘N Sear is the single best accessory for the Weber kettle making it into a great smoker and searing machine. With it you can easily convert a standard Weber Kettle into a much better grill as well as a smoker capable of making restaurant quality smoked ribs, pulled pork, brisket, salmon, and so much more.
We reviewed the Pitts & Spitts Maverick 1250 pellet grill which is their most popular mid-size model and rivals the best thermostatically controlled cookers in the business. This premium set-it-and-forget-it pellet smoker does not disappoint, although all cookers have their little quirks, and Pitts & Spitts is no different.
Vertical gas smokers are to easy to use. With Masterbuilt’s ThermoTemp line, smoking on gas just got easier. Masterbuilt successfully offers groundbreaking use of thermostatic control on a gas smoker at an affordable price. We tested and reviewed their large XL model and award ThermoTemp our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Here’s a comprehensive, hands-on gold medal review of the Smokin Brothers Premier 30 pellet grill, the best selling model for this family owned and operated smoker and grill company. The “made in the USA” Premier 30 is a high quality pellet cooker featuring a total cooking surface of 792 square inches.
SG is short for Slide and Grill. The metal heat diffuser slides away exposing foods to the direct wood pellet flame for high temp searing. Read our review. After testing SG we were disappointed in the Slide and Grill Sear function, but it is otherwise a solid, well made smoker with many useful features earning our Silver Medal.
This pellet smoker that looks like a charcoal kettle grill caused a bit of a stir, capturing our attention with the claim that it can smoke and grill for “the best of both worlds.” Alas, we are disappointed in REC TEC’s Bulleye and cannot recommend it. Click here to find out why.
Read our review of Kamado Joe’s Classic II 18”. It’s is a well-crafted ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 18″ models in the premium priced market with a number of remarkable upgrades that exemplify the elegance and innovation that are hallmarks of Kamado Joe. We give it our top Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Pit Barrel Junior is a smaller version of the popular Pit Barrel Cooker charcoal smoker. Both are designed to produce a cooking environment in which one temperature fits all. This AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winning smoker is one of the more impressive products we’ve tested and reviewed.
The high sticker price of popular kamados prevents many consumers from jumping into the kamado ring. Char-Broil’s Kamander changes all that with a list price of $349.99 making Kamader one of the lowest cost kamados on the market. We tested and reviewed Kamander and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
After successfully establishing Monolith in Europe, this German company is now working with BBQ Guru to bring its kamados to the US market. The special BBQ Guru Edition kamados sweeten Monolith’s package deal by adding integrated BBQ Guru temperature controllers. We give this model our AmazingRibs.com Silver Award.
We tested and reviewed this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Fully welded with solid construction, H2O 48 incorporates Mixon’s signature water pan design with a clever auto fill feature. It’s fully insulated with double walled construction and filled with “military grade insulation”.
After testing, we award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to FireCraft’s Q-450. In addition to being made almost entirely of stainless steel this mid-size pellet smoker has a couple other unique features. Foremost is an impressive optional sear station with a three stage small flame, medium flame, and high flame firepot.
We tested and reviewed this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. With 33 square feet of cooking capacity, the Myron Mixon G33 Gravity Feed Smoker is a large smoker meant for commercial use. “The first gravity feed I ever saw was made by Tom Dominey in Orlando in the 1990s, “says Mixon.
Read our review. Char-Broil’s Digital Electric Smoker With SmartChef Technology is an insulated, double walled, steel cabinet smoker with a couple neat features like SmartChef Technology which enables you to monitor and control this smoker from CB’s SmartChef App on your smartphone. This gasser gets our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
You can smoke, bake and grill anything on Woodwind effortlessly. Woodwind’s optional gas burner produces all the heat you’ll need to sear whatever you want.
Traeger’s Timberline is a technologically advanced wood pellet smoker with a sturdy design and a muscular look and feel unlike anything in their extensive catalog. We tested and reviewed Timberline. You quickly get spoiled using the intuitive smartphone app to control and monitor this AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winner.
PK360 takes all the great elements of the classic 1952 PK, improves the design, beefs up construction and delivers one beautiful charcoal grill. We tested and reviewed this classic, versatile charcoal grill and gave it our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. The rectangular shape makes it a 2-zone king.
This luxurious, high quality gravity-feed charcoal smoker for outdoor kitchens wins our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. We reviewed this incredible smoker. The terms luxury and charcoal smoker rarely appear together and, to the best of our knowledge, Kalamazoo offers the only under counter, stainless steel outdoor kitchen cabinet smoker on the market,
The Barrel House Cooker makes an 18 inch diameter UDS that very closely resembles Pit Barrel Cooker, a company we admire very much. Indeed, Pit Barrel took legal action against Barrel House. Read our review. In a settlement, the owners of Pit Barrel received a lump sum and acquired Barrel House.
We tested and reviewed Red Box and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal. A similar version of this portable charcoal smoker was previously offered by the venerable Backwoods Smokers as their Patio model. Since the 1980s Backwoods has made top quality smokers for home, catering and competition.
Vision’s Signature Series has some unique and interesting features not found on other ceramics. Get the details in our review. Their ProZone System is a slide out ash tray with dual intake dampers and a slot for the included electric fire starter. Vision Signature Series models with ProZone earn our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Vision’s Professional C Series has some unique and interesting features not found on other ceramics. Find details in our review. Their ProZone System is a slide out ash tray with dual intake dampers and a slot for the included electric fire starter. Vision C Series with ProZpne earn our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Pit Boss PB K24 is a low cost kamado from Dansons, makers of Louisiana Pellet Smokers. We reviewed this big kamado. Some owners complain of chipped ceramic and wobbly misaligned lids, others are pleased with the great deal they got, and great deals on all Pit Boss models are available. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Bronze Medal.
The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is a radical departure from George Stephen’s original Weber Kettle and Weber’s first major upgrade to the kettle in decades. It is bigger, badder and more versatile with a price tag to match. We tested and reviewed this excellent cooker and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of M1 which straddles the territory between a rugged traditional Texas wood burning smoker and an attractive charcoal grill that fits right in on any patio without taking up a lot of space. This 2 in 1 device eliminates the need for a separate grill and dedicated smoker earning our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is a radical departure from George Stephen’s original Weber Kettle and Weber’s first major upgrade to the kettle in decades. It is bigger, badder and more versatile with a price tag to match. We tested and reviewed this excellent cooker and awarded it our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Pit Boss by Dansons, makers of the popular Louisiana Grills, has moved quickly into the growing pellet smoker arena dominated by Traeger. Danson’s strategy to create a likeness of Traeger at a much lower price apparently worked. We tested and reviewed this model and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
The Broil King Keg is not a fragile ceramic kamado, but an insulated steel kamado for less money. An optional trailer hitch let’s you easily transport Keg 5000.
Char-Broil’s Simple Smoker With SmartChef Technology is an updated version of their Big Easy Electric Smoker. After testing Big Easy we were not impressed. Construction was flimsy and, as with most electric smokers, it didn’t produce good smoke.
Forget about hot spots and flare-ups with Char-Broil’s Kettleman Charcoal Grill. Read our review about how you can grill a load of greasy burgers and never see a lick of flame. Kettleman also makes a fare smoker without the need for add-on devices. We tested this contender and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
We reviewed this mid-size, charcoal vertical cabinet cooker which is gaining popularity for home and competition use. Although crafted from heavy steel and 1200° insulation with locking latches that clamp the firebox and smokebox doors shut, it is not air tight and leaks smoke in certain areas by design.
The Good-One Heritage Oven is designed as an Outdoor Kitchen Insert. It looks like their large Marshall smoker that has an upper cabinet oven with three adjustable height racks, but is more related to their popular Open Range model and has an identical firebox. We reviewed Heritage and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Myron Mixon Trailers come in small, medium and large sizes and can be ordered with any Mixon smoker(s) and a variety of options like grills, coolers, burners, storage, log baskets and sinks. We reviewed MMS trailers and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to Pitmaster Mixon’s stick burners on wheels.
Texas Original Pits Luling Offset Smoker 20″ x 32″ x 18″ is their most popular model. We reviewed this heavy metal classic offset. Yes it looks like those cheap offsets sold in big box stores, but this is the real deal: a classic, no-frills, 1/4″ thick steel Texas Pit named after the Luling Oil Field northwest of Luling, TX.
Myron Mixon’s 750 is his mid-size rotisserie smoker. Not for home use, this 3000 pound, We reviewed this AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winner. It is made for high capacity commercial cooking. Rotisserie or carousel smokers are very popular with BBQ restaurants as the multiple racks hold a lot of meat and don’t need to be fussed over.
We tested and reviewed the larger version of this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Fully welded with solid construction, G20 is built to withstand the rigors of commercial and competitive cooking, while providing ease of use for the aspiring backyard pit master.
We always liked Grilla, but the original price seemed steep. We felt a premium was being placed on the cool cosmetics. Read our review because in 2016 Grilla Grills made a substantial price cut. That drew us off the fence and earned Grilla our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Char-Broil’s Digital Electric Smoker 725 Deluxe is an insulated, Double walled, steel cabinet smoker with a couple neat features. We reviewed this Deluxe model that has a window to look while you cook and a remote with LED display that lets you control and monitor the smoker up to 100 feet away.
Char-Broil’s Digital Electric Smoker 725 is an insulated, Double walled, steel cabinet smoker with a couple neat features. We reviewed this model which features a programmable digital controller with an integrated meat probe that displays cook temp and internal meat temp.
Black Olive’s patented design is billed as “The World’s First Pellet Kamado Grill”. The novel concept grabbed the attention of many. If Black Olive had worked as envisioned by the creators, and been brought to market for the right price, it couldda been a contender. Alas we cannot recommend this product.
Gateway Drum Smokers make colorful, hot and fast, award winning drum smokers. Gateway competition teams formed a club called The Insane Can Posse. Read our review about their unusual air control system which consists of two intake pipes welded to the bottom of the drum to feed air into the firebox.
EcoQue’s Wood Fired Pizza Oven and Smoker design is based on Fontana Forni’s dual chamber pizza ovens that are made in Italy. The fire is built in the lower chamber and your food is baked and cooked in the upper chamber. EcoQue adds a second cook chamber which can be used for smoking and roasting.
Cabelas’s 7 in 1 Cooker/Smoker is made by Masterbuilt and is identical to Masterbuilt’s 7 in 1 Smoker and Grill. It can use gas or charcoal as fuel. It converts into a brazier or a tripod for boiling water or deep frying. Versatility offsets the light weight construction earning our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Bradley 6-Rack Digital Electric Smoker is a front loading cabinet smoker with a patented “smoke generator” on the side. Read our review. The smoke generator burns proprietary wood “bisquettes,” puck like disks of compressed sawdust, and blows the smoke into the cabinet which has an electric cooking element.
This value priced smoker will get the job done, but read our review to learn why electrics are our least favorite smokers. Without combustion from a gas, charcoal or wood flame, you just don’t good smoke flavor. Manufacturers use minimal ventilation to hold in heat: great for keeping foods moist, not so good for browning meat or crisping skin.
The Southern Country 2 in 1 Water Smoker and Charcoal Grill, as the name indicates, can be used as a bullet style water smoker, or converted to a “lock and go” portable grill. We reviewed this clever design which allows you to place the lid on the base and turn clockwise until it locks. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Bronze Medal.
The Bradley 4-Rack Digital Electric Smoker is a front loading cabinet smoker with a patented “smoke generator” on the side. We reviewed this model. The smoke generator burns proprietary wood “bisquettes,” puck like disks of compressed sawdust, and blows the smoke into the cabinet which has an electric cooking element.
Although we feel flavor from electric smokers is inferior, many people love them, and for some apartment and condo dwellers electrics are the only option that satisfies their building and association codes. This model should be a step up from the typical low cost smokers you find in hardware stores,
Masterbuilt’s 30″ Digital Electric Smokehouse is loaded with bells and whistles. Read our review of this thermostatically controlled smoker that allows you to set cooking temp from 100 ° to 275°. All functions can be controlled and monitored with an included RF remote. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
The Master Forge Charcoal Smoker/Griller, like the notorious El Cheapo Brinkmann line, is a low cost bullet smoker aka water smoker. We don’t recommend this model.
Char-Broil’s stripped down electric smoker is one step up from a box with a heating element on the bottom. Be that as it may, we like Char-Broil and feel they often deliver a little better quality and customer support in the value priced categories so this offering receives our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Yet another generic vertical gas smoker for your consideration. The good news is the price. A hundred and twenty bucks doesn’t leave much room for complaints. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
The Master Forge Vertical Gas Smoker is an average cooker, built OK for an OK price. Most gas smokers are pretty generic, but get the job done and we far prefer them over electric smokers. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
Not recommended. Char-Griller tried to hop on the pellet smoker bandwagon with this halfhearted attempt at making a mid-size product. Had they introduced this closer to 2010 at the same price, it would have been a viable entry level pellet smoker. Now it’s a relic from a company with notoriously poor quality.
Dyna-Glo’s Vertical Charcoal Offset Smoker is one of the few low-cost Vertical Offsets we’ve reviewed. We advise readers to avoid purchasing cheap horizontal barrel offsets, but this inexpensive vertical smoker should mitigate one of the primary flaws of horizontal offsets: heat travels upward not sideways.
The Dyna-Glo Dual Zone Charcoal Grill looks good on paper, but we are skeptical of the quality from this manufacturer. The good news in our review is that it has two, independently adjustable charcoal trays, a unique feature which could be useful, and a removable firebox divider to isolate the two zones.
Smoke Hollow’s 30″ Vertical Propane Smoker is a generic, low cost device. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. Unlike many gas smokers that have cast metal round burners, this one uses a 10,000 BTU stainless steel tube burner. The wood chip tray is long and rectangular to conform to the burner.
By replacing the heavy ceramic used for thousands of years with modern lightweight materials, Char-Griller appears to have created a cooker that performs pretty close to traditional Kamados at a fraction of the cost earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal Award. This model comes with a small cart.
Masterbuilt’s Dual Fuel Smoker has a “Flame Disc Bowl” located above the gas burner and under the water bowl. It can be used for wood chunks when smoking with gas or, alternatively, filled with charcoal. Hence the Dual Fuel moniker. We reviewed this model and award our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review of Vision’s Professional S-Series which has some unique and interesting features not found on other ceramics. Their ProZone System is a slide out ash tray with dual intake dampers and a slot for the included electric fire starter. It can also convert to a gas grill! Vision S-Series earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
The Landmann (aka Great Outdoors) 34″ Two Drawer Gas Vertical Smoker features a cast brass burner with rotary ignition. Lightweight construction give a flimsy feel to this cooker. Read our review. The main door uses magnets instead of a latch and there is no insulation. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Englander’s 21-PG100 Pellet Smoker was designed in conjunction with Fast Eddie Maurin, whose award winning pellet smokers are well known on the competition circuit. We reviewed this model which indeed has many similarities to Fast Eddy’s PG500. Unlike most pellet smokers both the PG100 and PG500 have one direct and two indirect zones.
We reviewed this unusual device. The Cajun Express Smoker is a pressure cooker with smoke. Moisture is introduced into the double walled, sealed smoke box via a patented hydration system. Wood chips create smoke within the high pressure, humid environment cooking meats quickly while imparting smoke flavor and retaining moisture.
We reviewed Dyna-Glo’s Gas Vertical Smoker And found it is an average cooker, built OK for an OK price. Most gas smokers are pretty generic, but get the job done and we far prefer them over electric smokers. So this one receives our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal Award.
We don’t recommend most side by side smoker grills. Read our review to learn why. Charcoal/Gas combo grills like this Smoke Hollow model are offered by a lot of manufacturers. For about the same cost, two separate grills are a better option. Even Weber kettle charcoal grill can sell for under a hundred dollars and you trip over all the low cost gassers every time you walk Lowes or Home Depot.
Arizona BBQ Outfitter’s Scottsdale Cooker is a clever design that melds an adjustable height charcoal grill with a Santa Maria, vertical lift grill. Read our review of this unique cooker. Most vertical lift grills have no hood, which limits their capability to some degree. Scottsdale employs a removable hood and back windbreak.
The Traeger Select PRO is a large residential pellet smoker mounted on a double door cart. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Lil’ Tex PRO is a medium size starter model in Traeger’s line of residential pellet smokers. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Texas PRO is a large model in Traeger’s line of residential pellet smokers. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review of this unique commercial cooker. American Barbecue System’s Judge 4 ft. is a large capacity smoker suitable for commercial and competition use. It has an electric rotisserie that rotates meats on eight stainless steel shelves. As the rotisserie racks move in a carousel path, juices drip to the racks below to self-baste.
American Barbecue System’s Pit–Boss is a large capacity smoker suitable for residential and commercial use. Read our review of this unique design. It has an electric rotisserie that rotates meats on eight stainless steel shelves. As the rotisserie racks move in a carousel path, juices drip to the racks below to self-baste.
American Barbecue Systems Bar-Be-Cube is a charcoal cabinet or vertical smoker with a couple neat design twists. Read our review. Four of the five stainless steel shelves inside the smoke box may be accessed by the front door, while the fifth sits on top under a hinged hood like a regular charcoal grill.
Cookshacks are the gold standard for electric smokers earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medals. REad our review of their Super Smoker which is a mid-sized model with a 750 watt 7 amp heating element. Impressively solid, it is stainless steel and very well insulated so it does not get very hot on the outside.
Kamado Joe BigJoe is a well crafted, red ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 18″ models in the premium priced market with a number of remarkable upgrades that exemplify the elegance and innovation that are hallmarks of Kamado Joe. We reviewed this model an awarded our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Primo’s Large Round Kamado is a high quality ceramic cooker. Read our review. Their unique reversible cooking grates have a clever design. They are two sided. One side places the cook surface up high, flip it over and the surface drops down 2” closer to the coal. This model gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Stump’s XL Stretch is a large, commercial capacity gravity fed charcoal smoker suitable for commercial use. Read our review of this classic smoker. Built solid and well insulated with a 18.5″ width x 25″ height x 22″ depth internal cooking area and thick 1800° insulation. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to XL Stretch.
As the name indicates, Stump’s Baby XL is slightly larger than their popular Baby gravity feed charcoal smoker. We reviewed this smoker with a fun name. Built solid and well insulated with a 18.5″ width x 25″ height x 22″ depth internal cooking area and thick 1800° insulation. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to Baby XL.
The Stump’s Baby is their smallest gravity feed charcoal smoker. Read our review. Built solid and well insulated with a 17.5″ width x 14.5″ height x 18.5″ depth internal cooking area. Thick 1800° insulation is enclosed in a double walled, 16 gauge welded housing. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to this Baby.
Cookshacks are the gold standard for electric smokers earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medals. Read our review of the AmeriQue, (French readers please note it is pronounced Ah-mair-ee-Q), which has a 1000 watt 7 amp heating element, with a temperature range of 140° to 300°.
The Good-One Marshall is a big combo grill and smoker recommended for hunting clubs, tailgating, competitions, or light commercial use. We reviewed this cleverly designed charcoal unit that uses the same concepts of an offset smoker, but works better. The Good-One lives up to its’ name and receives our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
A charcoal grill with a smoker spliced on top. The Good-One’s Patio Junior is a mini version of their popular Open Range. Read our review of this cleverly designed charcoal unit that uses the same concepts of an offset smoker, but it works better. The Good-One lives up to its’ name and receives our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
One of Ole Hickory’s smaller BBQ smokers made exclusively for Big Poppa Smokers. We reviewed this model. Unlike Ole Hickory’s large smokers with rotating carousel shelves, the Ace BP has three slide out, 26.5″ x 26.5″ nickel-chrome cooking racks. We like Ole Hickory and Big Poppa so this gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of Masterbuilt’s 40″ Vertical Gas Smoker. It has large capacity with four racks that are approximately 22″ x 15″. Powered by a 15,400 BTU stainless steel burner, it has two doors to facilitate replenishment of water and wood without opening the smoke box. We give it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
A heavily insulated competition smoker with unique design features. It comes in two basic configurations: the Internal Firebox and the Meat Monster Offset Firebox We reviewed Meat Monster and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Placing a firebox inside the smoker is very interesting.
We reviewed Vision’s Classic B Series which is slightly larger than standard, 18″ large round kamados and has some unique and interesting features. Vision kamados are rather well made, especially considering the modest price which is often reduced dramatically for promos. We give them our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The Grill Tender is a computer controlled cooker that regulates user set cooking temps by mechanically opening and closing vents. We’ve seen only a few motorized vent control designs. One wonders how these Rube Goldburgesque solutions stack up against popular air controllers like BBQ Guru.
A large pellet smoker with an old fashioned Ortech style digital controller with notched temperature settings. We reviewed the RG5000 which Royall claims burns 2.35 lbs. of pellets/hour, but doesn’t specify at what temp. They offer custom colors and stainless steel options
The FEC500 is a big commercial/competition grade pellet smoker, the second largest in Fast Eddy’s catalog. We reviewed this 100% wood burning, pellet fired rotisserie smoker which cooks 500 lbs. pork butts (hence the FEC500 name), 450 lbs. brisket, 150 lbs. ribs or 70 whole chickens fully loaded.
The wood burning Southern Pride MLR-150 is one of their smaller wood smokers meant for catering and competition. We reviewed this beauty and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. SP claims it can handle 16 butts, 24 slabs of Saint Louis Cut Ribs (120 with 12 rib racks), 48 chickens or 8 beef briskets.
The Smoke E Z is not a smoker, but an effective accessory that turns your inexpensive Charcoal Kettle into a smoker and doubles cooking capacity. We tested this clever device and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to The Klose 20″ x 30″ residential offset smoker. Read our review. With 720 square inches of primary cook surface the 20″ x 36″ Heavy Duty Pipe Smoker can handle 12 to 20 people. BBQ Pits by Klose has made some of the most highly regarded pits since 1986. Many top competitors use Klose pits.
Klose Pits has made some of the most highly regarded BBQ smokers since 1986. Read our review of this 30 inch x 6 foot competition pit that has all the bells and whistles and earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. The model pictured in our review is loaded with options like over size tires, chrome Mags and counterweights for the doors.
Jambo Pits’ offset smokers produce award winning BBQ in sleek, colorful trailer mounted rigs that often resemble hot rods. Read our review to learn why their quality construction and thoughtful design features make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Jambo Pits’ offset smokers produce award winning BBQ in sleek, colorful trailer mounted rigs that often resemble hot rods. Read our review to learn why their quality construction and thoughtful design features make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Pitmaker BBQ Safe Smoker is a scaled down version of their popular Vault Smoker. Like all Pitmaker cookers we have reviewed, the Safe has heavy insulation, durable construction and plenty of colorful options for the exterior. These well made, well designed smokers get our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Pitmaker’s popular BBQ Vault cabinet smoker has big capacity. Each shelf is designed to hold two standard catering pans. We reviewed these solid, heavily insulated cookers which are known for durability, superb performance and colorful finishes. These well made, well designed smokers get our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Read our review of Lang’s 36″ Hybrid Patio Smoker combines their popular 36″ residential smoker with a 30″ charcoal grill. We always give thumbs down to low cost combos that are a gas grill bolted to a cheap offset smoker because each side is poor quality Not so with Lang’s superb Hybrid which earns our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
We tested and reviewed this model. Like all Lang smokers, the 36″ Original has their signature reverse flow design which some believe provides more even air and heat flow than traditional offsets. We award our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal to this model which is Lang’s most popular for residential use.
Read our review of Green Mountain’s Davy Crockett. Green Mountain describes their small portable smoker as the Ultimate Tailgater Pellet Grill. It’s also gaining popularity with people who want to add a small, set it and forget it smoker to their BBQ arsenal. We tested Davy Crockett and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Platinum Medal.
Big Poppa’s Drum Smoker Kit is gaining popularity. We reviewed this kit which includes everything you need to make an Ugly Drum Smoker, aka UDS, including a high quality stainless steel barrel.
AmazingRibs.com readers should take note, however, that Q3 is not made by Myron Mixon Smokers: it’s made by Mojak, a company that manufactures mower lifts, hand trucks and other material handling products. Made cheap to sell cheap with a couple bells and whistles thrown in. We give it our Bronze Medal.
We reviewed this party size charcoal smoker which fits nicely in any backyard and can perform with the pros in BBQ competitions. Wherever award winning BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. The G2 Party earns our Gold Medal Award.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We reviewed the G2 Chubby and award our Gold Medal. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Backwoods Smoker Chubby can run for 6 hours on 10 lbs. of charcoal.
Oklahoma Joe’s is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, as the brand gains autonomy from Char-Broil and produces more models that are grabbing our attention. Read our review of Longhorn. It offers a step up from cheap offset smokers for a little more money than the tin can junker brands and earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal..
The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 14″ is a small version of their popular 18″ charcoal smoker. Read our review. WSMs are high quality, AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winning, charcoal fueled, bullet-shaped smokers. They are often seen competing head to head with large commercial cookers at practically every competition.
We reviewed the Gridiron pellet smoker which is Blaz’n Grill Works’ largest model. The basic design is typical of many pellet smokers, but Blaz’n Grill offers a few unique features. Foremost is the easy clean burn pot which allows you to bypasses the task of lifting the greasy grates and drip pan to clean out ash.
Read our review of BX50. Solid and super insulated with a unique and clever gravity fed water system that looks like a water cooler. Thoughtful design coupled with quality construction and craftsmanship earns Meadow Creek’s BX 50 our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Many gas smokers have limited temperature range and can’t get down and hold low and slow temps of 225⁰. We reviewed this big beauty that can go down to 160⁰ and crank up to 400⁰! AND it converts to natural gas so you don’t have to worry about you LP tank running out. We tested this model and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Cheap Offset Smokers like this Brinkmann can ruin your day, party and marriage. Don’t buy them! We have a lengthy dissertation explaining why. In short: they are hard to use and don’t produce the best results. This one is just like a Char-Broil offset and we suspect they are made at the same Chinese factory.
Just say no to cheap offset smokers like American Gourmet. Read our review to find out why. You definitely get what you pay for. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks so tough and cool, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually learn to make halfway decent stuff.
Read our review to learn why we do not like or recommend cheap offset smokers like American Gourmet. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks like your BBQ dream come true, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually get one to work OK.
Read our review of this commercial smoker. Eighteen racks, said to handle up to 1000 pounds, move slowly on a rotary carousel. The rotary motion promotes even heat and allows meats to self-baste as drippings are recirculated to the racks below. When the front doors are opened, dampers operate automatically to hold smoke in and prevent it from billowing out.
This mid-sized pellet smoker is comparable in capacity to Traeger’s popular Lil’ Tex Elite, but much more sophisticated and easy to find for well below its list price. It’s one of the few pellet smokers we’ve seen with an ash removal system. We tested and reviewed this innovative smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
As the name indicates, this is a smaller version of Traeger’s popular, full size, entry level Lil’ Tex Elite smoker. With 292 square inches of cook surface, Junior Elite is about 3/4 the size of Lil’ Tex. With the small size comes a small price. We give Junior Elite our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
We tested and reviewed the larger version of this big, beautifully designed smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. Fully welded with solid construction, H2O 36 incorporates Mixon’s signature water pan design with a clever auto fill feature. H2O 36 holds 16 slabs of baby back ribs and is big enough for a small pig.
Jambo Pits’ offset smokers produce award winning BBQ in sleek, colorful trailer mounted rigs that often resemble hot rods. Read our review. Quality construction and thoughtful design features make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Read our review. Although Pitt’s & Spitt’s Combo 18″ X 30″ Smoker Pit is one of their smallest models, with 810 square inches of cook surface it’s large for residential use. We like residential offset smokers with the firebox underneath rather than on the side because heat naturally travels upward, not sideways.
The Cobb Premier Portable Charcoal Grill is a unique, versatile, stainless steel cooker that claims to do it all. Weighing just 8 pounds and needing only 8 charcoal briquettes to cook for 3 hours, Cobb Premier can grill, smoke, boil, fry or bake. Read our review, however, to learn why we don’t recommend it.
We advise readers to avoid cheap horizontal barrel offsets, but this inexpensive vertical smoker mitigates the basic design flaw of horizontal offsets: heat travels upward not sideways. The vertical smokebox allows heat go where it naturally wants to go: UP! We give this model our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Backyard Pitmasters read this review. Junior lacks the size and pizazz of Jambo’s big, colorful competition rigs, but shares the same quality construction and thoughtful design features that make Jambo the choice of many award winning competitive teams and earn our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
You’ll be flabbergasted as you create one perfectly smoked delicacy after another with little more effort than preparation. We are impressed by Pit Barrel.
We tested and reviewed Smokenator. It is not a cooker, but it is such an effective and economical accessory, we decided to include it in our searchable data base and award it our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal for folks who want to grill and smoke, but don’t have the budget for two dedicated cookers.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We testing and reviewed chubby and gave it our Gold Medal Award. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Don’t be fooled by the small size, Backwoods Smoker Fatboy can handle 20 slabs of baby back ribs!
Read our review of this big commercial smoker. The Southern Pride SPK-500 is one of their more popular smokers combining features, footprint, capacity and price into a package that is just right for many applications. This beauty gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of this big commercial smoker. The Southern Pride SPK-500 is one of their more popular smokers combining features, footprint, capacity and price into a package that is just right for many applications. This beauty gets our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Elegant in its thoughtful, straightforward design and built to last, this versatile cooker is the second largest trailer mounted smoker in the TS line. We reviewed this model and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. The trailer has 15″ highway wheels, a heavy duty wheel jack, trailer lights (4 prong flat), and safety chains.
Like all Lang smokers, the 36″ Original has their signature reverse flow design which some believe provides more even air and heat flow than traditional offsets. We reviewed this model and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to this model which is Lang’s most popular for large capacity mobile model on a trailer.
Yoder is revered by competition cooks for well-designed, high end offset smokers and grills. We reviewed their Yoder Frontiersman II 30″ Trailer which is a heavy duty traditional BBQ offset smoker offered in three sizes. This is the real deal folks and we give it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
The modular trailer frame can be custom configured and finished to mount any Pitmaker gear with your choice of color. We reviewed it and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to these well made trailer units. Plenty of options available from grills to storage to sound systems. 15 foot length with 15 inch wheels.
Not many brands get respect on the competition circuit like Klose. We reviewed this big 30 inch diameter x 6 foot long and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. The model pictured in our review is loaded with options like over size tires, chrome Mags and counterweights for the doors.
Bigger is better! Horizon feels their 30″ offsets distribute and hold heat more evenly than junior models. We reviewed this big boy with a 72″ horizontal cooking chamber and is mounted on a large trailer. Horizon classic 1/4″ pits receive our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal Award.
Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack FEC100 is the smoker that competition teams dream about when they are sleeping in a tent next to their smoker so they can get up at 3 a.m. and shovel in more coal. You can set it and forget it just like an indoor oven. We reviewed FEC 100 and give this famous smoker our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review. Bubba Grills 250 Reverse Flow Smoker/Grills and trailers have many options and range in price from $2600 to $4400. The loaded models have two 61″ x 21.5″ top cooking racks, a 61″ x 25.5″ bottom rack and four 24″ x 28″ racks in the rib box. All models come standard with 15″ wheels.
The Brinkmann Roadmaster is their Dual Function Charcoal/Gas Smoker and Grill on wheels. We don’t care for these combo side-by-side grills. That said, if you want a grill on a trailer, you’ll be hard pressed to find a package like this for $1000. We give this our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We testing and reviewed Chubby and gave it our Gold Medal Award. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Backwoods Competitor is a big boy capable of handling 32 slabs of baby back ribs!
The Smokin Tex Residential BBQ Smoker is essentially a clone of the Cookshack Smokette Original Model SM009. The SmokinTex has larger capacity, slightly more wattage, four wheels instead of two, five racks instead of three, it comes with rib hooks and a storage cover. We reviewed Smokin Tex and give it our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
We reviewed this inexpensive, electric smoker and award our Silver Medal. It is primarily used to make smoked fish, cheese nuts and meat jerky. But not suitable for cooking large BBQ items like brisket. Small and lightweight, fishermen love their Big Chiefs. It’s perfect for fishing trips when you have access to electricity.
We reviewed Pro Smoker’s PK 100. Pro Smoker claims it can cook at a lower temp than most other electrics, starting at 60°F, low enough for smoking cheese without melting it and for smoking sausage without cooking it. It can heat up to 250°F: high enough for cooking the classic barbecue smoked meats like ribs and brisket.
The Old Smokey Electric Smoker is a drum shaped electric smoker that’s been around since 1953. There’s something here to love, but is it just nostalgia? Read our review. Be that as it may, many owners are nuts about their Old Smokeys earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. AmazingRibs.com.
Meco, the company that owns Aussie Grills, sold two Electric Smokers under the Meco label, but recently decided to rename the brand Southern Country. We reviewed this model and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Read our review. The Masterbuilt 30″ Electric Digital Smokehouse with Top Control, (also made with the Cabela’s label), is a clever concept, with flawed execution.execution.
Cookshacks are the gold standard for electric smokers. We tested and reviewed this one and award it our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal. The Smokette Elite has a 750 watt 7 amp heating element lets you cook up to 300°F. Impressively solid, it is stainless steel and very well insulated so it does not get very hot on the outside.
We reviewed Char-Broil’s Big Easy Electric Infrared Smoker and Roaster. The clever, innovative design looks better on paper than in practice. It takes up only a small footprint, but the same can be said of the other cabinet style, front loading propane smokers, and they all work better including the one by Char-Broil.
The Brinkmann Gourmet Electric Smoker is a cheapo painted steel bullet that comes in red or black. It has a 1500 watt heating element and lava rocks but, unlike the Meco or Char-Broil, there is no variable control or thermostat. We don’t recommend this model.
We’ve heard complaints about the bisquettes sticking the feed tube. And one must ask, what if they go out of biz? Where do we get bisquettes then? On the plus side, Bradley has an active user forum and their staff are there to help. Still, after reviewing, we don’t recommend this model.
Brinkmann Charcoal Bullet Smokers are also known as El Cheapo Brinkmanns or ECBs for short. They come in a few different styles: Gourmet, Smoke ‘N Grill, Sportsman and Cook’N Ca’Jun II. The El Cheapo price makes them very popular, but we can’t recommend any ECBs.
Read our review. The Smoke Hollow 44″ Dual Burner Gas Smoker includes sausage hangers, jerky racks, and a two-sided combination cooking grid/rib rack. At 44″ tall x 24″ wide x 16″ deep, this two burner smoker offers big capacity and lot’s of extras earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
You gotta love the versatility and price of Masterbuilt’s M7P 7 in 1 Smoker and Grill. It can use either gas or charcoal as fuel. It converts into a brazier or a tripod for boiling water or deep frying. Versatility offsets the light weight construction earning our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review of the Landmann (aka Great Outdoors) 38″ Two Drawer Gas Vertical Smoker features a cast brass burner with rotary ignition. Lightweight construction give a flimsy feel to this cooker. The main door uses magnets instead of a latch and there is no insulation. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
Read our review of Char-Broil’s Big Easy Gas Infrared Smoker and Roaster. It has a clever, innovative design looks better on paper than in practice. It takes up only a small footprint, but the same can be said of the other cabinet style, front loading propane smokers, and they all work better including the one by Char-Broil.
It is what it is. If you’re looking for a cheap gas smoker Char-Broil is as good as it gets in this price range and you can easily find deals on this guy. Even Wal-Mart sells them for way under the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. We reviewed this model and gave it our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
The Camp Chef Smoke Vault 18″ is the smallest of their two gas BBQ smokers. It comes with two 15″W x 14″D cooking racks. You’ll have to cut slabs of ribs in half to fit, but there is enough headroom to use rib racks on both shelves. We reviewed the 18″ and award Smoke Vault our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
The Brinkmann All-In-One Gas & Charcoal Smoker, Grill & Fryer is a cheapo versatile bullet, but we don’t recommend this model. .The newer Masterbuilt 7-in-One is modeled on this unit and is a lot better for just little more money.
Yoder is revered by competition cooks for well-designed, high end offset smokers and grills. We reviewed their Loaded Wichita which is a 20″ offset smoker with their most popular options such as a cooking door counterweight and heat management plate. This is the real deal folks and we give it our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal Award.
We tested and reviewed The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 22″, a large version of their popular 18″ charcoal smoker. WSMs are high quality, AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winning, charcoal fueled, bullet-shaped smokers. They are often seen competing head to head with large commercial cookers at practically every competition.
We tested and reviewed this original, mid-size version of Weber’s popular charcoal smoker. Weber Smokey Mountains are often seen competing head to head with large commercial cookers at practically every competition AND WINNING! Click here to learn all about this high quality, Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal winner.
Viking has an excellent reputation and it appears this smoker is well built. We believe it is built by a third party for Viking, and in the past Viking has put its label on Stump Smokers. But that relationship ended badly, so who knows how stable this relationship is?
The hardest part of cooking with charcoal is holding steady cooking temperatures. Nathan Moore, a mechanical engineer, has designed a unique fuel feed system for Tremor Breeze that allows even novice smokers to hit and easily maintain smoking temps over a long duration and earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal..
Read our review of the Texas Pit Crafters PM 500S; constructed with top quality 304 stainless steel and heavy gauge carbon steel. You don’t see many shiny stainless steel pits outside of the Texas Pit Crafters catalog. We award our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal to this BBQ beauty.
The Stump’s Junior is their mid-size gravity feed charcoal smoker. Read our review. Built solid and well insulated, Junior can smoke 15 slabs of baby backs, or 9-12 butts, or 24-30 chickens at once.. Thick 1800° insulation is enclosed in a double walled, 16 gauge welded housing. An AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal goes to Junior.
The Smoke Hollow 40″ Barrel Smoker seems very similar to the Char-Broil Oklahoma Joe and the Brinkmann Trailmaster. But it costs twice as much. We caution our readers to stay away from cheap offset smokers, because they are, well….cheap. And hard to use. But if you must have one, why pay more?
Read our review of Horizon’s excellent, tight, well-built, heavyweight, heavy duty, horizontal offset firebox cookers that carry a lifetime guarantee against burnout! These AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal winning smokers are a culmination of design and manufacturing ideas gleaned from decades of cooking, cutting and welding.
Designed to knock out both the cook and client, Infierno is a massive, wood fired cooker intended for cutting edge restaurants that want to enflame their guest’s dining experience. Read our review to find why all Grillwork’s beautiful, high quality products receive our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Awards.
A charcoal grill with a smoker spliced on top. We reviewed The Good-One’s popular Open Range. This cleverly designed charcoal unit uses the same concepts of an offset smoker, but it works better. The Good-One lives up to its’ name and receives our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
We tested and reviewed this clever and unusual design. Well, maybe it isn’t that unusual. It is really a hi-tech variation on the cowboy method of cooking in a Dutch oven where the pot sits on coals and coals sit on top of the pot. Orion excels at keeping meat moist and cooking fast., earning our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our review to find out why the only good thing we can say about the Char-Griller Smokin’ Pro is the price is unbeatable. Many wide-eyed first time smokers thought it made sense to buy this tin can as a starter model. The problem with the Smokin’ Pro and many other cheap offset smokers is they are hard to use.
Read our review to learn why we do not like or recommend cheap offset smokers like Char-Broil Silver. Yes, the sticker price is low, the big horizontal drum looks like your BBQ dream come true, and if you don’t mind spending time and money for parts, (not to mention ruined meat), you may eventually get one to work OK.
For about a hundred bucks more than Char-Griller or Smoke ‘N Pit cheap offset smokers you got an all-around upgrade: heavier construction, better wheels, handles and shelves; everything is a bit more sturdy. Trailmaster earns our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Bronze Medal.
We tested and reviewed Big Poppa’s Ugly Drum Smoker kit that you can buy from for $140 and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal. This kit reduces the cost, effort and probability for error when doing it yourself. Really. Much better than a cheap offset smoker, and just as cool looking.
The Big Drum Smokers Medium Smoker is 27″ diameter by 39″ tall. Made from 16 gauge steel, it comes with one 25″ cooking rack with 8″ clearance. It fits 6 large pork butts, or two 14 pound whole briskets, or two- 20 pound turkeys.
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. Read our review of the Backwoods Party Smoker which earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Don’t be fooled by the small size, Backwoods Smoker Chubby can handle 18 slabs of baby back ribs!
Wherever BBQ teams are competing, it’s a good bet you’ll find Backwoods Smokers. We testing chubby and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Award. This charcoal smoker is at home in the backyard or competition field. Don’t be fooled by the small size, Backwoods Smoker Chubby can handle 12 slabs of baby back ribs!
If this smoker looks familiar, there is a reason. It is an English/Canadian knockoff of the venerable Weber Smokey Mountain. We reviewed Apollo and found that unlike most knockoffs, this unit has a couple of clever design innovations and improvements over the original earning our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Read our review of Napoleon’s Apollo smokers that are English/Canadian knockoffs of the classic Weber Smokey Mountain. But unlike most knockoffs, this unit is well made with a couple of clever design innovations and improvements over the original Weber, earning our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
American Barbecue Systems All-Star Grill and Smoker is effectively two cookers in one. We reviewed this unique device with an offset firebox that runs along the back of the cookbox and three stainless steel grates that may be placed at low, middle and high positions for smoking.
The PigOut Roaster POR 48 is their smallest all in one cooker for large capacity events and handles up to a 70 pound pig or lamb. We reviewed this clever design from Canada. This ingenious stainless steel propane fired device has a motorized rotisserie for hogs and lambs that can also be used to hold shelves.
Packed with innovation, this AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winner is the best rig we’ve tested for tailgating or camping. All-in-one mobile grill, smoker/oven and fryer, on a trailer hitch. It is not cheap at about $2,000, but it is a bargain for what it has under the hood and what it does.
West of Memphis Ironman 3 is a grill with an offset firebox attached. We reviewed this unique, modular component design which allows you to slide out the three burner gas system and replace it with a charcoal firebox insert. In addition to The AmazingRibs Best Value Gold Medal, West of Memphis won the 2012 Vesta Award.
Many BBQ manufacturers make Charcoal/Gas combo grills like this Smoke Hollow model. We don’t recommend them. For about the same price, two separate grills are a better option. You can get a great charcoal grill for under a hundred dollars and you trip over all the low cost gassers every time you walk into Home Depot.
Portable charcoal/wood grill mounted on a trailer hitch. Based on Pitmaker’s cabinet smoker designs with a firebox on the bottom and cook chamber on top. We give our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal to this tough little cooker. The relatively large cook chamber has plenty of headroom for big cuts, like pork shoulders.
Pitmaker 48” Grill-Meister! BBQ Grills are residential versions of Pitmaker’s large capacity competition cabinet smokers with a firebox on the bottom and cook chamber with shelves on top. We reviewed these well made, well designed smokers and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Pitmaker 30” Grill-Meister! BBQ Grills are residential versions of Pitmaker’s large capacity competition cabinet smokers with a firebox on the bottom and cook chamber with shelves on top. We reviewed these well made, well designed smokers and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
The Karubecue C-60 produces perfect smokey. This brilliant design enables a novice to smoke meat like a wizened Texas pit boss, earning our Platinum Medal.
Read our review of Meadow Creek’s SQ36. Although it can handle a small hog, it does much more. This versatile cooker has a deep trough and a tall lid with a solid strong hinge and an offset firebox for wood smoking. Thoughtful design coupled with quality construction and craftsmanship earns the SQ36 our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Read our review of Meadow Creek’s PR36. Although it can handle a small hog, Meadow Creek’s PR36 does much more. We tested this versatile cooker which has a deep trough and a tall lid with a solid strong hinge. Thoughtful design coupled with quality construction and craftsmanship earns the PR36 our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
We have never tested and reviewed a finer charcoal grill. Hasty Bake easily earns our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. There is nothing you can’t do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. It is the Swiss Army knife of grills.
We have never tested and reviewed a finer charcoal grill. Hasty Bake easily earns our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. There is nothing you can’t do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. It is the Swiss Army knife of grills.
A hand made all American cooker with Argentine V-shaped grates that can be raised or lowered farther or closer to the fire and a lid for roasting. This versatile multi-function cooker was tested and reviewed and received our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. It’s a Santa Maria Grill with a unique design.
A hand made all American cooker with Argentine V-shaped grates that can be raised or lowered farther or closer to the fire. We tested and reviewed this unusual and versatile multi-function cooker and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. It’s a Santa Maria Grill and offset smoker rolled into one.
Pay attention all you Eggheads; AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award winners, Komodo Kamado, makes some of the most striking ceramic cookers in the world, with superb craftsmanship and innovative design. We tested and reviewed this big beauty that weighs a whopping 534 pounds.
Cajun Grill makes six variations of this heavy duty cooker. We reviewed the Cajun Grill is their smallest with 468 square inches of cooking surface. It can grill, and, because it is long and narrow, it can be easily set up for indirect cooking and smoke roasting. It has a V shaped trough in which the charcoal grate sits.
We reviewed Saffire. It’s similar in design and concept to the other egg shaped kamados, the most unique feature of the Saffire is an optional slot in the front to feed wood chips. It is available in several baked enamel colors and a table is available in several beautiful woods.
Kamado Joe BigJoe is a well crafted, red ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 24″ models in the premium priced market. Elegance and innovation are hallmarks of Kamado Joe. we give this big boy our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Primo’s Oval XL 400 is their largest Oval model. Primo’s claim to fame is the unique oval shape which enables true 2-zone cooking: something that standard round designs really can’t accomplish. We tested and reviewed this model and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award.
Primo’s claim to fame is the unique oval shape which enables true 2-zone cooking: something that standard round designs really can’t accomplish. We reviewed Primo Ovals and award our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Junior is their smallest model.
Grill Dome’s XL is a big, 24 kamado made with their proprietary ceramic called Terapex, which they claim is more durable than traditional ceramic. Grill Dome is known for their beautiful enamel finishes in a variety of colors. We reviewed this big model and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
The ceramic is Grill Dome’s own creation, called Terapex, which they claim is more durable than traditional ceramic and can withstand much higher temperatures. Grill Dome is known for their beautiful enamel finishes in a variety of colors. We reviewed Grill Dome and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Grill Dome is known for their beautiful kamados offered in a variety of colors. We reviewed Grill Dome and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal. The ceramic is Grill Dome’s own creation, called Terapex, which they claim is more durable than traditional ceramic and retains the finish over time.
We reviewed this pretty kamado. From a distance, the Cypress Grill has an attractive, rustic look reminiscent of hand painted Japanese ceramics. Up close, one begins to notice where corners have been cut. Not as cheaply made as Char-Griller’s Acorn Kamado, but not in the same league as competitors like Kamado Joe and Big Green Egg.
We tested the Broil King Keg. It’s not a fragile ceramic kamado, but an insulated steel kamado for less money. Originally The Bubba Keg, then The Big Steel Keg until bought by Onward Mfg. This AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal winner is loaded with extras. An optional trailer hitch let’s you easily transport the BKK.
This 24 incher puts the BIG in Big Green Egg. Big Green Egg is often viewed as the industry standard. Good as they are many new comers to the kamado market are trying harder and offering more innovation. We reviewed this model and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
For many, the Big Green Egg is the Weber of Kamados. They introduced Kamado cookers to the USA and are often viewed as the industry standard. We tested and reviewed the BGE Large and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They are mighty good, but many new comers to the kamado market are trying harder and offering more innovation.
For many, the Big Green Egg is the Weber of Kamados. They introduced Kamado cookers to the USA and are often viewed as the industry standard. We reviewed this BGE model and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They are mighty good, but many new comers to the kamado market are trying harder and offering more innovation.
For many, the Big Green Egg is the Weber of Kamados. They popularized Kamados in the USA and are often viewed as the industry standard. We reviewed Big Green Egg’s small model and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They’re good, but many new comers to the kamado market are trying hard to earn market share.
As the name indicates, Big Green Egg’s Mini Kamado is their smallest model. Big Green Egg popularized kamado cookers in the USA. We reviewed Big Green Egg and award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal. They are mighty good, but many new comers to the kamado market are giving them stiff competition.
We reviewed this popular, economically priced kamado. By replacing the heavy ceramic used for thousands of years with modern lightweight materials, Char-Griller appears to have created a cooker that performs pretty close to traditional Kamados at a fraction of the cost earning our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal Award.
We reviewed SweetHome Pellet Grill’s SH650; the biggest of their two smokers. The pellet hopper is on the left and the top doubles as a prep shelf, and there is a small shelf on the right. Each size has three configs, one that is all black, one with stainless shelves, and one with stainless shelves and hood.
We reviewed SweetHome Pellet Grill’s SH450; the smallest of their two smokers. The pellet hopper is on the left and the top doubles as a prep shelf, and there is a small shelf on the right. Each size has three configs, one that is all black, one with stainless shelves, and one with stainless shelves and hood.
The SPG-410 is Sawtooth’s mid-size pellet smoker. Light weight, only 149 pounds, 47″ wide x 22″ deep x 50″ high. The high profile hood has a 14″ clearance which also facilitates use of an optional second shelf to increase capacity. We reviewed Sawtooth and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
The SPG-610 is Sawtooth’s mid-size pellet smoker. Light weight, only 149 pounds, 47″ wide x 22″ deep x 50″ high. The high profile hood has a 14″ clearance which also facilitates use of an optional second shelf to increase capacity. We Reviewed Sawtooth and award our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal.
We reviewed this mid-size pellet smoker that has an old style Ortech digital controller that is a dial with notched temperature settings. Smokin Brothers has heavy wheels and casters, includes a warming rack and locates the chimney in the middle of the hood rather than off to the side.
We reviewed this mid-size pellet smoker with the an older style Ortech digital controller that is a dial with notched temperature settings. Royall has heavy 14 gauge steel construction and locates the chimney in the middle at the back of the smokebox. They offer custom colors and stainless steel options.
We reviewed Green Mountain Grill’s Jim Bowie, their biggest model, and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Green Mountain includes some features not common in lower price pellet smokers and that often cost extra even in higher cost cookers.
We reviewed the Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone Choice and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Green Mountain includes some features not common in lower price pellet smokers and that often cost extra even in higher cost cookers.
We reviewed this backyard pellet smoker designed by award winning competition BBQ Pit Master, Fast Eddy. Aspiring pitmasters dream about Fast Eddy’s pellet smokers when waking at 3 a.m. to throw logs on the fire. Set the temperature, go to sleep and wake up to smoked brisket. We tested PG500 and gave our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
A backyard pellet smoker designed by award winning competition BBQ Pit Master, Fast Eddy. Aspiring pitmasters dream about Fast Eddy’s pellet smokers when waking at 3 a.m. to throw logs on the fire. Set the temperature, go to sleep and wake up to smoked brisket. We reviewed the PG1000 and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Louisiana Grills are one of the first pellet smoker companies. Their Colonial Barbecue Grills are pellet smokers mounted on carts and resemble gas grills with doors and cabinet enclosures.
Louisiana Grills Colonial Barbecue Grills are pellet smokers mounted on carts offered in two styles. They resemble gas grills on carts with cabinet enclosures.
We reviewed this over size pellet smoker and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The Super Hog is an extra-large pellet smoker, basically two smokers joined together with two independent fire pots and two dedicated hoppers. Remove the middle partition and free up all 2400 square inches of cook surface to smoke a whole hog.
We give this pellet smoker our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The Whole Hog is an extra-large pellet smoker, basically two smokers joined together with two independent fire pots and two dedicated hoppers. Remove the middle partition and free up all 1750 square inches of cook surface to smoke a whole hog.
We give this pellet smoker our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The CS-680 is one of Louisiana Grill’s large smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove.
We give this pellet smoker our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The CS-570 is one of Louisiana Grill’s mid-size smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove.
We tested and reviewed this pellet smoker and award it our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Silver Medal. The CS-450 is one of Louisiana Grill’s smaller smokers. The controller toggles between set temp and meat probe temp. Set it and forget it, the thermostat will maintain cooking temperature just like your indoor kitchen stove.
TG-300 is the smallest smoker in Louisiana Grill’s Country Smokers line. The tabletop body has short legs and no wheels. At 26.5″ H x 36.5″ W x 19.5″ D weighing 94 pounds it is big enough to smoke a turkey and small enough to transport in a truck or van. Our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal goes to this tailgater.
The XL is Traeger’s largest residential pellet smokers. With 836 square inches of primary cook surface it can cook 24 chickens or 16 slabs of ribs. This big boy has a large pellet hopper in front, two chimneys and two drip buckets. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Texas Grill is a large model in Traeger’s line of residential pellet smokers. Although it has an upgraded digital controller, it is still an older style notched dial control like those made by Ortech. Not as good as a touch pad, but not bad. We give this one our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
The Lil’ Pig is a novelty smoker that consists of Traeger’s Lil’ Tex Elite dressed up to look like a pink pig. On the upside it has a digital controller and an eye catching appearance that Traeger believes is sure to make your guests “squeal”. BUT it weighs and costs twice as much as an Elite.
Traeger’s Lil’Tex Elite is a mid-size pellet smoker featuring digital thermostatic control. Thermostatically controlled pellet smokers can be more accurate than your kitchen range and let you load up your smoker at 11 pm, then go to bed and sleep soundly. Our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal goes to this model.
In the past this popular cooker served as a great starter for people interested in pellet cooking. Alas, because there is no thermostatic control, it will not always cook at the same temp because it will not respond to ambient air temp. We don’t recommend this model.
As the name indicates, Traeger Junior is a smallish pellet smoker. Unfortunately it has no thermostatic control, so temperature is inaccurate because it will not respond to ambient air temp. We don’t recommend this model.
There aren’t many portable pellet smokers and the PTG (Portable Traeger Grill) is the smallest we’ve reviewed. With 169 square inches of cook surface and about 6 inches of head room, cooking possibilities are limited. Still this unique little cooker has some useful applications and earns our AmazingRibs.com Silver Medal.
Read our Pro Smoker review. The manufacturer claims this system will hold a set temperature between 1 and 2 degrees. That’s a mighty tight tolerance and some competitors have questioned the credibility of this statement.
MAK took the pellet world by storm and quickly developed a reputation as a best in class producer largely due to their sophisticated “Pellet Boss” controller. MAK makes some of our favorite pellet smokers that we’ve ever tested and reviewed, easily winning our Best Value AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
Yoder is a brand revered by competition cooks for well-designed high end charcoal and wood fired smokers and BBQ grills made in the USA. In 2010 they introduced a line of pellet cookers. We reviewed their YS640 and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Best Value Gold Medal.
Revered by competition cooks for well-designed, high end offset smokers and grills, Yoder recently introduced a line of heavy duty two pellet cookers. We reviewed the YS480.
Our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award goes to Memphis Select Pellet Smoker. Fit and finish are impeccable on these high tech, stainless steel luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller.
We reviewed this beautiful, high tech, stainless steel pellet smoker award our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Fit and finish are impeccable on these luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller.
We reviewed this beautiful, high tech, stainless steel pellet smoker and awarded our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal. Fit and finish are impeccable on these luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller that can also be operated from a smart phone ap.
We tested and reviewed this beautiful, high tech, stainless steel smoker and gave it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal Award. Fit and finish are impeccable on these luxury pellet smokers. The “Intelligent Temperature Control” is a sophisticated, touch-pad digital controller.
In 2012 Brinkmann designed this smoker to be a knock off of Traeger’s popular Lil’ Tex pllet smoker. Since then, however, other manufacturers have brought newer, better pellet smokers to market, making this one a relic. We don’t recommend this antiquated device.
Read our review. Blaz’n Grill has the basic design is typical of many pellet smokers, but offers a few unique features. Foremost is the easy clean burn pot.
The Tailgater Grill pellet smoker by Blaz’n Grill Works their smallest model. The basic design is typical of many pellet smokers, but Blaz’n Grill offers a few unique features. Foremost is the easy clean burn pot which allows you to bypasses the task of lifting the greasy grates and drip pan to clean out ash.
It’s actually a grill and roaster/smoker in one with 314 square inches of cook surface on each side. Grill on the left, slow roast on the right. You can put small amounts of wood or charcoal over the left side flavor bars. Slide the water pan from right to the left/gas burner side and steam, boil or fry in it.
We reviewed REC TEC’s now discontinued RT-780 and found it was similar to Traeger’s Texas Grill with significant upgrades. We smoked ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, chicken and salmon with the greatest of ease and awarded it our AmazingRibs.com Gold Medal.
Texas Pit Crafter’s PM 400S displays rugged Texan luxury! Read our review of this six foot long BBQ beauty that wins our Silver Medal.
MSRP:$6,895.00 *Price Subject To Change
Published On: 8/13/2012
Last Modified: 4/27/2025
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Published On: 12/23/2020 Last Modified: 6/11/2025
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High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
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