The best pellet smoker grills is a great tool, but it can be difficult to find. If you’re trying to decide between an electric or gas smoker, or even an all-electric cooker – there are so many options that it may seem like a daunting task.
It’s not impossible though, and with some research, you should be able to find the perfect smoker for your needs. And if you’ve decided to buy a new one, we have some useful tips on how to choose the best pellet smoker for your money.
So let’s take a look at the different types of smokers available, and what makes them stand out in their class.
Pellet Smokers
One of the most popular types of smoker is a pellet smoker. They’re fast, efficient, and easy to use. The big advantage of using pellets instead of charcoal or wood is that they don’t need cleaning – just dump the pellets into the hopper, and light up the fire! This means you can start cooking as soon as you get home from work. No messy clean up required, no worrying about charring your hands when you reach for a banger, and no more waiting around for your coals to burn down before you can cook your meat.
You also won’t need to worry about buying a whole load of fuel either. You simply throw a few bags of pellets in the hopper, and go. Some models include a second hopper, which allows you to feed both your main and secondary fire simultaneously, creating two separate fires within the same unit.
Some models also give you a way to control the temperature directly inside the cooking chamber. Other features include built-in thermometers, digital readouts, and removable ash pans (which make cleaning easier).
There are several advantages to using a pellet smoker over other methods of smoking meats. First, because the pellets stay lit throughout the entire cooking process, you can smoke food for longer periods of time without needing to add more fuel. Second, the pellets themselves produce less smoke than traditional fuels. Third, the fact that you don’t need to constantly tend to the fire means you’ll never have to worry about burning yourself.
Gas Smokers
If you want something quick and easy but still want to enjoy a long, slow, and flavorful meal, then a gas smoker might be right for you. Gas smokers are a lot simpler to operate than pellet smokers, but they can’t compete on flavor.
Most gas smokers only offer limited temperature controls, meaning you’ll need to turn up the heat every time you want to change the temperature. This is fine while you’re cooking quickly, but if you’re looking for a true barbecue experience, expect to spend a good chunk of your life staring at the grill, turning dial after dial.
They also tend to require a bit of maintenance. For example, you’ll need to keep an eye on the gas valves to ensure they’re always open, and they often come with removable grates. These allow you to easily remove the grill and clean the grate, but you will have to replace the grate yourself since they’re not designed to be removable by consumers. Finally, they can be expensive, especially compared to pellet smokers.
Electric Smokers
An electric smoker is the perfect option for when you want to cook food quickly, but you don’t want to deal with any hassle. Electric smokers are incredibly simple to use, allowing you to set a desired temperature and let it run until everything is cooked. They’re also extremely quiet, so you can focus on enjoying your meal instead of having to listen to the hiss of the grill heating up.
This type of smoker is ideal for those who want to cook large quantities of food. You could even put multiple racks onto the same unit, so you can cook multiple dishes at once. There are also plenty of models that feature adjustable shelves, which allow you to cook larger items such as whole turkeys or hams vertically.
Electric smokers are typically cheaper than other types of smokers, and come with the ability to choose between a variety of different temperatures. However, they lack the versatility and flavor of other alternatives. Electric smokers are also known to be noisy, so you’ll probably want to place them where people won’t notice the sound.
Conventional Grills
Finally, if you’re looking for a cheap alternative, consider a conventional grill. Conventional grills are generally much smaller than other styles of smokers, so they won’t hold as much volume of food. But this doesn’t mean they’re bad. In fact, they’re usually pretty affordable, and provide some excellent value for money.
However, these units do suffer from a major disadvantage in that they aren’t very customizable. When you’re talking about a small grill, it’s hard to control the temperature, so you’ll probably end up burning your food. Also, due to their size, they aren’t suited for large, bulky foods like whole chickens, turkeys, or hams.
They also often require an external source of electricity, making them unsuitable for camping trips. So if you’re looking for something low maintenance to cook food outdoors, consider a conventional grill.