Camp Chef Pellet Grill Reviews & Comparisons
So weve finally come to the comparison and review section. As youd expect, well be covering each of the nine camp chef pellet grills. While well be focusing on the elements that differentiate them from each other, well also touch upon how they compare to competing models.
If youve made it this far you might also want to jump back to the top of the article and download our comparison guide. Its a great visual aid to go with the below reviews and you can easily carry it with you if you plan to go check out some more options in person.
Main Grilling Area: 19.5 x 22 Total Grilling Area: 429 sq. in. Hopper Capacity: 18 lbs.
The SmokePro SE is the lowest priced Camp Chef Pellet Grill out there. As such, it makes an excellent entry level pellet smoker that wont break the bank. Plus, its still got great features such as the patented ash cleanout and Smart Smoke technology.
This combination of price and features makes it our number one choice for the best budget Camp Chef Pellet Grill.
How does it compare?
As youd expect, the SmokePro SE is cheaper than every other camp chef pellet grill on the market. However, that price comes at the loss of a few nice to have items. Namely the Hopper Cleanout and Purge as well as LED temperature indicators and meat probes.
Youll also find it lacks the Slide and Grill technology, which is only available on high-end models like the SmokePro SG and SmokePro SGX.
Similarly Priced Competing Models
Extremely Easy Cleanup
A Breeze to Use
Size And Cooking Area
Honestly, this may be the single most important consideration when buying any grill. Think about how many people youre cooking for and what you plan on cooking, and go from there.
For example, if you have just a small family and dont entertain much, a small main grate may be enough. But, if youve got a large clan, or love to have people over for a cookout, its better to have more available space, even if you dont use it all every time.
Also, what food do you like to cook and eat? If you like tackling huge briskets and whole turkeys, youll want plenty of not only square inches, but also cubic inches. But, if steaks and burgers, and maybe ribs are more your thing, you could get by with less space overall.
Try to think ahead, too whats good enough now may be limiting in the future if you plan on expanding your family or your menu.
Cooking A Turkey On A Camp Chef Pellet Grill
Make the best of your holidays with hassle-free turkey prep right on your Camp Chef grill and smoker in these easy steps.
Your turkey is ready to serve.
Recommended Reading: Best Way To Clean Porcelain Grill Grates
Camp Chef Woodwind Pellet Grill With Sear Box
This Woodwind pellet grill also features the Smart Smoke Technology. This includes digital temperature control and an automatic auger. These features help in producing heat and smoke. All you need to do is set the grill and allow it to do the rest.
This product is suitable for grilling, smoking, baking, roasting, braising, and barbecuing. Your food will have a premium wood-fired taste in a single grill. You can set the temperature and cook your food under 160 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Noticeable Features of This Smoke Grill
- Ash cleanout system
It also gives you a total cooking surface of 570 square inches and a detachable upper heating rack that gives you ample space for cooking more slices of meat or a bigger chicken. This ample space is enough for cooking a whole chicken, jerky, brisket, and more.
You can clean the grill while cooking. This model comes with an ash cleanout system. Just pull the lever and youre done. Changing the premium hardwood pellets to give a new flavor to your food is also easy. Just unlock the pour spout then empty the pellets to the bag or bucket. Put the pellets and start cooking.
Quick Guide To Smoker Pellets
Smoker pellets are the key to a wood pellet smoker. They are cylindrical food-grade wood pellets that are about a ¼ inch wide. They are usually made of compressed hardwood sawdust that has been heated and squeezed together so tightly that the natural glue in the wood binds them together and holds the desired pellet shape. Unlike charcoal, pellets dont contain any additives or fillers and burn surprisingly clean and efficiently and produce remarkably little ash. The added bonus of pellets is that they come in a range of flavors that can be mixed and changed over during cooking to give a potentially huge variety of flavors.
Wood pellets arent only useful in smokers. If youre a proud owner of a pizza oven they make a great fuel source for smokers and certain makes of pizza oven. One such pizza oven is the Uuni, which is run exclusively on wood pellets.
We took a look at the best wood fired ovens available today.
Here are a quick selection of wood pellets that we have used and recommend:
You May Like: How Long Do You Cook Chicken Thighs On Grill
Camp Chef Smokepro Dlx 24
Now I must admit when I first started to compare the specs between the XT 24 and the DLX 24 I was struggling to work out what the differences were between these two grill models. For instance, they both provide the same cooking area of 570 square inches over two racks. Furthermore, they both use the same controller with a single meat probe port. The more I looked at the grills I then noticed the two subtle differences between them.
The DLX 24 features a more rigid body compare to the XT 24 SmokePro pellet grill: Video Campchef.com
First, the support legs on the DLX 24 have been upgraded over the XT 24. The second difference is the pellet hopper. Does the DLX 24 hold more pellets? No, it still holds 18lbs. However, as you can see from the video above it does feature the pellet hopper cleanout/purge shoot.
Now, this may not seem like an important feature, but it is a nice feature to have. For instance, lets say youre in the middle of a cook and you want to change from say oak pellets to apple. Well with the pellet purge shoot its so much quicker/easier to do this compared to the XT 24. Again though, there is no direct flaming broiling possible with this grill.
After 50 Hours Of Cooking
You should give your grill a deep clean roughly every 50 hours of cooking. If you dont cook on your pellet grill very often , you may only need to deep clean your grill once every several months. Be sure to clean the internal temperature probe and dump the ask cup like in the step previous. If youre a pellet head like we are at Camp Chef, youll find yourself doing this routine more often. Luckily, its quite simple.
Recommended Reading: Char Broil Cleaning
Pit Boss Sportsman 820
Weve reviewed the Pit Boss range of pellet grills before and were impressed with their quality and the bang you get for your buck.
The Sportsman is a new entry to their range, offering a generous 849 square inches of cooking space.
There are also some nice ease of use features like the removable side shelf, front shelf and the all important bottle opener.
Pit Boss offer a five year warranty on all their grills which is better than most of the competition.
- Great size for the price
- Porcelain-coated cast iron grates perform well
- Includes front and side shelves
Cons:
Camp Chef 36 In Wifi Woodwind Pellet Grill & Smoker With Sidekick
The last on our list of the best camp chef grills is an updated version of the previous one. An excellent choice for professional chefs, the Camp Chef Woodwind 36 allows you to prepare more meals, involve less hassle, and taste the difference. Moreover, a temperature range of 160F to 500F is available for slow cooking and grilling.
Like the previously mentioned smoker, it has wifi functionality, allowing you to regulate the temperature with your mobile device. It has a 1236 square inch extra-large cooking area with 663 square inches of primary cooking space. Furthermore, it comes with a generous 20-pound hopper capacity.
PID Controller Plus Smoke Control
Using the new WIFI and PID connected controller, you will be able to adjust temperatures, set timers, and receive notifications when the meat reaches its set temperature. In addition, by customizing your grills Smoke Number using the Camp Chef Connect App, you can feel the consistency in the smoke and get perfectly smoked products.
Enhanced Attachment Capacity
Camp Chefs Sidekick 14-inch single burner cooker offers Versatility, allowing you to add a griddle, grill, oven, stockpot, and more. Searing is what the Sear Box excels at. In addition to creating gorgeous sear marks, the Sear Box reaches temperatures of 650 °F thanks to the cast iron grill grates.
Read Also: How Long To Cook Bone In Chicken Thighs On Grill
Best Camp Chef Woodwind Review
The Woodwind range is Camp Chefs premium backyard grill option available in a range of sizes. The Woodwind WiFi 20 has a cooking chamber essentially the same same as the Pursuit 20 above but with a more advanced colour control panel and WiFi. There are then the larger 24 and 36 wide Woodwind models that can be purchased as stand-alone units, or can be specd with a propane Sear Box/SideKick attachment.
Ive included a review of a Woodwind 36 with optional SideKick attachments from the Baby Back Maniac. I believe this review shows the true versatility of a Camp Chef pellet grill with the SideKick attachment. For instance, while the review is not that positive on the direct-flame access thats where the SideKick with the Sear Box attachment can step in to provide good searing performance and the pellet cooking chamber can finish the cook and add flavour.
A solid review of the functionality and real-world capabilities of a Camp Chef Woodwind 36 and propane SideKick attachment
Overview Of The Best Pellet Grill Brands
In case you cant tell, we are pellet grill obsessed! Heres a quick list of the top brands on the market, along with various links to articles weve written that compare the nitty gritty of each brands line up to one another.
By the way, weve written a more thorough guide to all of the pellet grill brands on the market today. Head on over there for a more comprehensive list of the names you can find out there.
Recommended Reading: How Do You Clean A Stainless Steel Grill
Main Top Features Of The Camp Chef Pellet Grill Blanket
Read on to see the description of various of its properties and advantages, as well as its downsides and price so you wont get any surprises:
- A fairly large grilling area for your food.
- Surface with proven stability.
- An ideal height to grill the food comfortably.
- Grill grates are enameled in dark.
- This outdoors bbq grill has a hot chrome stand.
- The handle is made of steel to hold the lid.
- A very helpful temperature control so that you do not burn anything.
- Folding side support on the side.
Is Camp Chef Made In The Usa
All the Camp Chef products are manufactured in China, although they are designed and engineered in the United States. Irrespective of its manufacturing place, the Camp chef does not compromise with the versatility, durability, and portability of its product. Over the past 30 years, the brand has expanded its product line and has become one of the world’s best brands.
Recommended Reading: Temperature Grilled Pork Chops
Traeger Grills Pro Series 34 Pellet Grill And Smoker
If Traeger is your brand of choice in the Camp Chef vs Traeger debate and youre looking for a little more grilling area, the Traeger Grills Pro Series 34 Pellet Grill and Smoker is a great choice.
It features 884 square inches of grilling area which is enough for 8 chickens, 7 racks of ribs or 40 burgers.
A digital pro controller with advanced grilling logic helps to keep things as easy as possible for you while grilling, as do two built in meat probes.
When it comes to construction, this grill is a total beast. A sawhorse chassis design means added stability. Heavy duty steel with a powder coated finish means that you never have to worry about paint chipping, rusting, or other damage over the course of time.
Features To Consider When Choosing A Camp Chef Wood Pellet Grill
Buying a Camp Chef wood pellet grill can be an overwhelming process. All their products are of high quality and choosing the right one is difficult. What factors should you consider? Which size should you go for? Are there features that you should pay close attention to?
If youre not sure where to start, heres what you should look for.
Recommended Reading: Internal Temp For Pork Tenderloin On Grill
Why Is This Product Best For A Versatile Cooking Experience
If youre looking for a grill that can give you many different sorts of cooking experience, this would be the grill for you. If you know how to use a flat-top grill, you can do Chinese-style stir-frying, cook burger patties and even make pancakes alongside your regular grilling features.
Due to its all-in-one kind of nature, it comes with a higher price tag of around $360. When compared to other products on the list, this is actually on the more affordable side even if it is not the cheapest. Although it has a lower number of reviews when compared to the other products, this grill has still managed to get a great average rating due to its versatility and quality.
Why Choose Camp Chef Smokers
As any grill enthusiast would know, Camp Chef has been a proud manufacturer of grills and outdoor cooking accessories since the 1990s. Based in Utah, Camp Chef initially started with stove designs suitable for amazing outdoor cooking experiences. Over the past 20 years or more, Camp Chef has grown extensively. Now they are offering a wide range of products that can cater to all kinds of social gatherings, such as camping or cooking outdoors or even cooking in the backyard.
They have a wide variety of the latest grilling accessories and technologies, coolers and also seasonings, which have become fan favorites! Camp Chef has shown remarkable development in terms of cooking technologies, such as convertible stoves and multipurpose grills. Although the prices of their products could be a bit on the higher side, we all know good things usually come at a price.
Also Check: Old Weber Grills For Sale
Performance: Tighter Control For Smoking Precision
Camp Chef claims its more advanced controller unit keeps temperatures within 5 degrees of the set temperature, and thankfully, this smoker delivers on that promise. Traditionally, backyard chefs had to accept that their smokers would fluctuate as much as 60 degrees above or below the desired temperature. These swings arent as critical when dealing with more forgiving projects such as a pulled pork roast, but they can have large impacts on touchier meats such as racks of ribs or salmon.
We didnt have to question if the set temperature matched the actual cooking temperature for our meals.
In testing with standalone grill thermometers, the SmokePro DLX actually stayed within 10 degrees of the set temperature most of the time. Additionally, the measured temperature at the grill surface was much closer to the readout temperature display than other smokers in this category. This told us we didnt have to question if the set temperature matched the actual cooking temperature for our meals.
Ozark Grills The Razorback
Ozark Grills is a relatively unknown brand in the marketplace but their Razorback Wood Pellet Grill and Smoker is one of the best pellet smokers for lots of people because of its size.
A lot of the cookers weve looked at so far have generous amounts of cooking area. That works for some people but not for everybody. The Razorback is 35 x 37 x 19 in in dimensions which really isnt that big of a footprint at all. So if you are tight on space on your patio or an apartment dweller, this could very well be the one for you.
Despite the smaller profile, theres actually a pretty reasonable amount of cooking area with 305 square inches. That might not sound like a lot compared to some of the other units weve looked at so far, but its enough space to handle around 10 burgers at once.
It comes with all of the features youd expect from any quality pellet grill. It has an easy to use temperature dial and LED display for easy temperature management. The hopper fits 11 pounds of pellets which is on the smaller side, but proportional to this grill.
Things We Like:
- Smaller footprint is ideal if youre tight on space or an apartment dweller
- Easy to use temperature interface with intuitive dials and an LED display
- 305 square inches of cooking area is a lot considering the profile of the cooker, and is enough to handle 10 burgers at once
Things We Dont:
Read Also: How Do Traeger Smokers Work
