Pellet Grill Smoker Combos
The pellet grill and the digital charcoal grill are similar products. With these, the focus is on ease and convenience. These are essentially set and forget types of products that can be great for beginners and experienced BBQ aficionados alike. The pellet grill uses wood pellets as a fuel source and features a digital controller that feeds pellets at a consistent rate to the firing chamber. By regulating the rate of flow of pellets and the airflow to the chamber, these grills can maintain the temperature precisely without outside intervention which means meat that tastes so good that even your vegetarian cousin will choose to switch sides.
Charcoal Smokers A Basic Overview
Before delving into the adventurous world of using a charcoal smoker, it is crucial that you do your research and learn all about what a charcoal smoker is, how it operates, and how to get the best results out of it. Diving headfirst without the basic knowledge of what charcoal smokers entail would get you mediocre results at best.
A charcoal smoker is a traditional variety of smoker that smokes food over a prolonged period of time using low and indirect heat generated by burning charcoal. While all other types of smokers depend on alternative forms of fuel for heat as well as for smoke, charcoal smokers generally use charcoal for both purposes. Its vital to note that a charcoal smoker is different from a charcoal grill, although certain brands manufacture devices that feature both a grill as well as a smoker component.
Traditionally, there are five core sections of a standalone vertical charcoal smoker. These are:
Charcoal Smokers With Water Pans
Once the charcoals are lit, the water in the water pan heats, vaporizes, and rises to the cooking chamber. This moisture in the chamber keeps the meat tender and succulent. Hydrating the smoking environment also goes a long way in maintaining a consistent smoking temperature.
The placement of the water pan in between the firebox and the cooking chamber also makes the unit more favorable for low and slow cooking sessions.
Recommended Reading: Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Burrito
Pellet Grill Vs Charcoal Smoker: Which One Is Better For You
This post contains affiliate links.
You are looking to buy your first smoker or maybe you are just looking to switch to a different type of smoker. Either way, there are so many different types and brands of smokers on the market it can be overwhelming to choose one. I remember when I was looking for my first smoker, I did not even realize there were different types of smokers. After some careful research I finally settled on a Weber Smokey Mountain charcoal smoker. To save you some time and hassle, here is a breakdown of the two most common types of smokers for beginners, charcoal smokers and pellet smokers.
Jump Ahead To
Other Smokers I Tested
I want to be clear: While I picked some bests here, all but one of the smokers I tested performed well and I would absolutely recommend them.
Oklahoma Joes Highland Reverse Flow Offset Smoker was slightly smaller, lighter, and less expensive than the Char-Griller. It didnt retain heat quite as well the Char-Griller and took longer to get back up to temperature than either the Char-Griller or the Weber, though only by a few minutesnot much if youre doing a 10-hour cook. Like the Char-Griller, it is also set up to allow direct heat grilling, but only in the firebox itself, so there is less cook space. It does offer two configurations for the smokestack allowing some additional customizability and opportunity for experimentation.
The Pit Barrel Cooker is an interesting choice and a totally different style from the others tested here. It is a steel barrel that uses a fire basket on the bottom as a heat source. You either set food on the grates high above the fire or hang it from hooks just below the lid. The nice thing about the Pit Barrel cooker is that its designed such that you can get hours of cooking by just filling the fire basket, and you dont need to mess around with the vents to adjust temperature. The downside is there isnt much manual control once the fire is started, so the temperature inside does fluctuate somenot so much that it would ruin a cookbut it does jump around between 250300. Its also quite affordable with 18.5 inch model costing just $400.
Don’t Miss: Avacado Grill West Palm Beach
Whats The Temperature Control Like
Many of the gravity feed smokers found on the market today are digital.This means that they have a digital control panel that gives you precise temperature control of your gravity smoker.
Analog gravity feed charcoal smokers work differently.
With those, you start off by filling the airtight chute with charcoal thats already been lit.
However, the ones that come with a digital temperature control panel are electrical. And they need to be plugged into an electrical power source in order to work and operate.
The digital controllers essentially allow you to control the fan speed in the grill.
This fan will push the heat from the hot charcoal in the firebox into the main grill body. And this is how youll be able to easily increase the overall internal temperature of your smoker.
Choosing The Best Charcoal Smoker
Since charcoal smokers are the most commonly used type of smoker, there are myriad options available for you to choose from. However, each smoker is crafted for a unique use case scenario, and getting the wrong type would overcomplicate things and get in the way of the ideal smoking experience. So, before you invest in a charcoal smoker, make sure that you have considered the following factors.
Read Also: Which Weber Grill Is Right For Me
What Are The Cons Of Pellet Grills And Charcoal Grills
Ive summarized the pros of both grills, and now, lets talk about the cons of these grill types.
The cons of using pellet grills include:
- These grills run on electricity, so youll need an outlet nearby
- Not everyone likes the wood-smoked taste
- Once the hopper is loaded with hardwood pellets, youll have to burn them completely to be able to change wood flavors
And here are the disadvantages of charcoal grills:
- Most charcoal grills are difficult to clean up
- Theres a steep learning curve until you get the hang of the airflow
- They need constant supervision
Everything You Need To Know About Gravity Feed Smokers
What’s a gravity smoker?
A Gravity Smoker works with, well, gravity! Charcoal is loaded into the airtight chute and is lit at the bottom through the firebox door. The charcoal slowly burns, feeding smoke up into the chamber and ultimately out of the chimney smoke stack.
Also question is, can you use wood in a gravity fed smoker?
If you want to add wood, we recommend using 1 to 2 chunks of wood mixed into the charcoal in the hopper. Make sure the wood is positioned away from the rubber fan flap. As the charcoal ignites, the chunks will ignite, adding smoke to your cook.
Furthermore, are gravity smokers good?
Are gravity-fed smokers good? Yes, gravity-fed smokers are good. Whether you need to cook low and slow or high and fast, this type of cooking chamber gives its users the ability to do both.
Also Know, how gravity fed smokers work?
The Gravity Series 560 doesn’t operate like a traditional charcoal or kamado grill. It doesn’t cook food in the same chamber as burning charcoal. Instead, an electric fan and vent channel heat and smoke from lit charcoal inside the hopper into the cooking cavity.
Read Also: How To Grill Chicken Breast On Stove
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series: A Charcoal Fueled Pellet Grill
Pellet grills have been all the rage for the past 5-10 years in the outdoor cooking market. It seems like everyone has one now, and even Weber has recently joined the pellet grill game with their new SmokeFire pellet cooker.
Whats interesting though is how Masterbuilt is bringing the ease of use of a pellet grill while utilizing charcoal for fuel instead of wood pellets.
Its called the Masterbuilt Gravity Series of smokers, and its a digitally controlled charcoal fed smoker thats as set it and forget it as a wifi and Bluetooth pellet grill. Have I piqued your interest? I know they piqued mine the first time I saw it.
Note: Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. This doesnt cost you any more than normal. Read our disclaimer for more info.
What Is A Pellet Smoker
A pellet smoker, also referred to as a pellet grill, is an outdoor cooker that uses wood shavings compressed into pellets, to cook and smoke meat. Pellet smokers are electronically controlled and automatically feed pellets into an igniter to maintain a set temperature. Furthermore, electronic fans control the flow of air throughout the cooking chamber.
Pellet smokers look like a grill, but are fueled by the wood pellets instead of propane. A hopper sits on the side of the pellet grill holding the wood pellets. An auger transports wood pellets to an igniter which catches the pellets on fire. The heat and smoke produced from the wood pellets are then transported to the cooking chamber, allowing our meat to smoke. Inside the cooking chamber, fans circulate the air to ensure even cooking.
Growing in popularity, pellet grills are an easy and effective way for people to smoke meat. Not only are they great for smoking meat, but they can also be used as an oven or grill as most brands allow temperatures up to 500° F. Because pellet grills are electronically controlled, these types of smokers do not require much oversight making it very beginner friendly.
Also Check: How To Connect Grill To Natural Gas Line
Best Pellet Smoker / Best Gravity
Im lumping pellet and gravity-fed smokers together because they are really for the same type of person: Someone who wants to cook without hovering near a smoker all day long. I love offsets, says Randolph. But last night I was up until 11 oclock feeding wood into an offset…you cant walk away from that machine. Both wood pellet grills and gravity-fed ones ensure you dont need to do that. They offer the convenience of a gas grill but the flavor of a charcoal smoker or a wood smoker. Randolph is a fan of machines like this , though he concedes they can seem like cheating. Cheating or no, a pellet grill does come with smallest learning curve of all the different types I tested.
The second generation of the Weber Smokefire had everything I was looking for from a pellet grill . It maintained an internal temperature within seven degrees of the temperature I set for hours. And it was a star at smoking meat. It did make me feel like I was doing something unseemly to produce such good results with such little effort.
The Smokefire also came with a Smokeboost setting to provide an extra kick of smoky flavor. It kept the temperature quite lowbetween 165-180°F for an extended period of time. That keeps the meat from cooking too quickly and allows it to absorb more of the smoke.
Level Of Cleanup Needed
Theres no denying it, charcoal can get messy fast. The carbon from the charcoal itself can get on your hands, your clothes, and definitely all in the bottom of the grill. Alternatively, when using wood pellets, there is virtually no mess. In fact, when you get high-quality pellets, there will be almost no dust in the bag.
With a pellet grill, youll have to do regular cleaning every couple of cooking sessions to help extend the life of your grill. A charcoal grill will require cleaning out the ashes after every cook. No matter what type of grill you use, its important to keep it properly clean.
Also Check: Camp Chef Sidekick Grill Accessory
Digital Charcoal Grill Smoker Combos
The new kid on the block, the digital charcoal grill uses a very similar concept with the difference being that the fuel . The controller takes care of feeding the right amount of charcoal to the fire at regular intervals. With both these products, a lot of opportunities can open up. Not only are these excellent for beginners due to their automatic operation, but they also often come with large fuel storage chambers.
This means that these can be used at a stretch for long periods of timea crucial ability for smoking food. You can target a wide range of grilling, searing, and smoking recipes with these grills. Masterbuilt has come out with a really exciting digitally managed combo charcoal grill smoker that we think is superb.
What Are The Pros Of Pellet Grills And Charcoal Grills
Both types of grills are excellent choices if you are looking to upgrade your grilling experience, but they have different strong points. It is up to you to decide which grill type you prefer. Lets take a closer look at each types pros.
The benefits of using pellet grills include:
Read Also: Will Home Depot Deliver Assembled Grill
New Technology To Consider Masterbuilt Gravity Series Charcoal Smoker
What We Like
The charcoal grill market has always been a space for creativity and innovation, with manufacturers looking to design products that make the process of grilling easier, more fun, and more interesting. With the Masterbuilt Gravity Series of charcoal smokers, BBQ enthusiasts have a whole new way of smoking their favorite cuts with minimal hassle and maximum convenience.
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series 560 digital charcoal smoker is a first of its kinda charcoal grill that is digitally operated and fed by a hopper. It uses the same principle as a pellet smoker but is, in fact, a charcoal grill/smoker. This way, it combines the heating and cooking characteristics of a charcoal grill with the ease and convenience of a pellet smoker.
The standout feature is a large, digital control panel that lets you set an exact temperature between 220 degrees Fahrenheit and 700 degrees Fahrenheit. Like any traditional charcoal smoker, you start by adding briquette or lump charcoal to the hopper and use a firestarter to get it going. However, once your charcoal has started, the digital controller takes over and maintains a steady temperature according to your settings by maneuvering the fan speed and airflow. This way, the grill can expertly manage the burn rate and can control the temperature with a great degree of precision.
In our testing, the smoker came up to temperature quickly and did a splendid job of maintaining temperature over time.
Masterbuilt Gravity Series Assembly
The Masterbuilt Gravity Series 800 was easy to assemble, albeit time-consuming. It took me about two hours from start to finish but Im sure it would go a bit quicker with a helping hand.
A lot of the work goes into building the cart, shelves, and other accessories as the main grill body comes pre-attached to the hopper. Most of the internal pieces come with a coating of oil on them to protect them from rust, so make sure and follow the seasoning procedure recommended in the manual before your first use!
Also Check: How Much To Refill Grill Propane Tank
Differences Between The Char
The Size is the first and most obvious difference between these two units. Its right there in their names. The Char-Griller has a larger total cooking space at 980 square inches compared to the Masterbuilt with only 800 square inches.
The Masterbuilt comes with an additional griddle, which weve utilized quite a bit and have really enjoyed, whereas the Char-Griller is limited to smoking and grilling.
While both grills include slides to cut off the air supply to the charcoal hopper and kill the fire, the Masterbuilt has 2 and Char-Griller only has 1.
Though they both only include 1 meat probe thermometer, the Masterbuilt Gravity Series can accommodate up to 4 probes while the Char-Griller can accept 2.
The design of the cooking chamber is different between the two units. Char-Griller has more of a traditional barrel design, while the Masterbuilt Gravity Series is more boxy.
The Char-Griller uses porcelain-coated cast iron cooking grates, while the Masterbuilt Gravity Series features reversible cast iron grates that function differently for smoke and sear.