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There are countless ways to grill, slow roast, bake with fire, and smoke foods, and all of them are right. There are also wildly varying degrees of commitment and engagement in these pursuits. Speaking as someone who’s been voted most likely to dig a pit, build a fire, and slow roast meats on a spit on a random Tuesday, just because I can, and have, doesn’t mean I want to.
Sometimes, I just want to grill some food quickly with the wood fire taste that’s unachievable with a gas grill. Sometimes, I want to slow smoke food and control the level of smoke imbued without being tied to the pit for hours. I might (hypothetically, of course) want to give a frozen pizza a wood oven taste when making one from scratch isn’t an option. In cases like these, pellet grills are the answer.
As the name suggests, these grills burn small wood pellets. Pellets ignite quickly, burn hot, and provide smoke. Most pellet grills have an electric igniter of some sort, and most have a fan that creates convection and moves the smoke evenly around the inside of the cook chamber. As such, they heat quickly, maintain their heat well, and recover temperature rapidly after adding food or opening the lid. As you can see, they offer some convenient advantages over wood, charcoal, or gas, although there is nothing wrong with any of those.
Best Overall: Weber Smokefire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill
Pros: Large capacity, excellent heat control and retention, and easy setup make this a great pellet grill.
Cons: It’s difficult to monitor the ash bin, and searing can be troublesome, per our tests.
This grill is the second generation of the EX4, and our testers were quite impressed with it. With high scores from setup to capacity to value, the Weber handily gained the Best Overall title. As with many models reviewed, the EX4 excels as both a smoker and a grill, with a temperature range from 200 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. It also has excellent heat control and, more importantly, retention, aided by the porcelain enamel finish.
It has a large capacity of 672 square inches that, with careful arrangement, can accommodate three briskets for smoking or thirteen burgers for high-heat grilling, as examples. The app connectivity is versatile, allowing you to monitor and adjust the heat, giving prompts for when to turn the meat. It can also accommodate multiple items of varying weights and thicknesses via individual probes that monitor each piece.
Best Value: PIT BOSS PB440D2 Mahogany Wood Pellet Grill
Pros: Its heat management and retention outperform many more expensive models.
Cons: The cooking area could be slightly larger, and the dome thermometer is out of sync with the control panel.
The Pit Boss is a stripped-down, no-frills smoker grill. That isn’t a con, though. Our testing shows this grill outperforms more expensive models in heating time, retention, and temperature recovery. Assembly is straightforward but does require additional tools. It’s a medium-capacity grill with 518 square inches of cooking space and a five-pound pellet hopper.
The 440 has a temperature range of 180 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, so it can easily manage low temp smoking, high-heat searing, and baking. Searing occurs by design directly adjacent to the firebox, so there is a definite hot spot to keep in mind for smoking and baking. It lacks any built-in connectivity, but an add-on device is available for purchase to accommodate that, should you wish.
Best Large Capacity: Traeger Grills Pro Series 780 Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker
Pros: It’s a serviceable all-around smoker grill with a large capacity for cooking.
Cons: Overall performance would improve with better heat retention and recovery, and some may prefer Bluetooth connectivity over WiFi.
The Traeger Pro 780 handles a large amount of food without breaking the bank. It can hold six chickens, 34 burgers, or the equivalent of each. One of the more remarkable features of the 780 is the amount of smoke flavor imparted onto foods while maintaining a relatively low amount of smoke leaving the grill. Its control panel and app integration allow for great accuracy in cook temperatures and time. It’s suitable for baking, smoking, and grilling.
At higher temperatures, the unit dropped as much as 90 degrees when testers opened the lid to place food inside. It scores high ratings for the setup and cleaning, and it’s a solid value for the price.
Best Portable: Traeger Tailgater 20 Pellet Grill
Pros: As the name suggests, it’s a great portable grill for tailgating. The digital controls make the grill easy and error resistant.
Cons: A larger pellet hopper and the capacity to reach beyond 450 degrees Fahrenheit would significantly improve the grill.
This solid grill brings most of the functionality of larger models to a mobile form. With digital controls and app connectivity, it reaches set points quickly and retains heat moderately well. It has an eight-pound hopper, which services the grill reasonably well, but its maximum temperature is 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes searing difficult. The grill will hold two chickens or three racks of ribs, but the hopper will need refilling during longer smokes simply due to its smaller, travel-friendly capacity. The size is deceiving, however, as it can hold up to twelve burgers or multiple pizzas. There is a slight variation in hot and cool temperature zones, but not significant enough to leave it off our list. As it’s portable and requires cleaning before packing up, we’re happy to say it’s easy to disassemble and clean.