To get started on smoking, there are only five certain things you need: a digital meat thermometer, high-quality meat, dry rubs for barbeque, a barbeque cookbook, and a great smoker-grill combo. Smoker-grill combos are the full package since you can switch between cooking styles and take over the grill remotely via an app (amazing, right?), making them the ideal go-to equipment for both beginners and smoke masters.
We know these perks make you excited to buy one, so let’s set you up with our roundup of the best smoker-grill combo for 2022 — designed to enhance your smoking experience and satisfy your taste buds.
Traeger Ironwood Series 650 Pellet Grill
A Traeger Ironwood grill is both an ideal smoker for a novice smoke chef and for an experienced smoker. It’s great for those who are starting out in pellet grilling because the smoker uses digital controls to regulate heat and automatically feeds in wood pellets as needed. It’s also perfect for the smoke master who can load up a variety of meats that require different cook times. It’s a massive piece of hardware that can accommodate five racks of ribs or eight whole chickens at the same time, so the cook who’s cooking for a small army (or huge family) is in luck.
Pellet grills use wood pellets fed from a hopper to create smoke and heat, with an electric burner to ignite the flame. Oh, and you can control the grill remotely from an app on your phone. Traeger is a name synonymous with home smoking, and you can’t get much better than this Ironwood Series model.
Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Smoker
This drum smoker from Oklahoma Joe’s can be used as a barrel smoker or as a more traditional charcoal grill, depending on where you place the charcoal basket. With the basket lowered to the bottom of the barrel and laden with its full capacity of eight pounds of charcoal and wood chips, it can smoke continually for up to 10 hours. If you have a few large pieces of meat, like pork butt or turkey, and you want to let them slow cook without disturbance, this is a fine smoker for you. This classic upright smoker/grill has one nice feature that’s often overlooked. The large wheels make moving the somewhat bulky system a lot easier than many of the similar wheel-less models.
Char-Griller AKORN Kamado Charcoal Grill
The ceramic, egg-shaped design of Kamado-style grills is preferred by some grill and smoke masters because they say they capture the heat to provide steady, even cooking. The Akorn Kamado is made with extra thick ceramic walls that trap in heat, so just a bit of charcoal and wood chips allow for longer smoking sessions. Airflow controls at the top and bottom of the MiniMax make it easy to regulate the internal temperature, which a thermometer set into the upper lid makes it easy to track. Finally, this charcoal grill/smoker has a locking lid feature to capture even more heat and smoke.
Classic Pit Barrel Cooker
The Pit Barrel Cooker Co.’s Classic Pit Barrel Cooker is proof that sometimes, simple is best. This is simply a big old 18-gauge steel barrel (with a porcelain coating inside), a rack and some hanging hooks for your meats, and a large charcoal basket at the bottom. You position the foodstuffs how you’d like. Hang racks of ribs vertically to maximize space, or lay briskets flat on the grate. Then, light up the coals and wood, and let the large chamber fill with smoky goodness. The longer the cooking takes, the more flavor there will be to savor.
As Pit Barrel Co. founder Noah Glanville, a combat-tested retired Navy corpsman, explains it: “We designed the Pit Barrel Cooker to combine the best qualities of smokers, slow cookers, and grills all in a single product … Our hook and hang cooking style allows the food to hang down into the cooking chamber for a nice even and consistent heat, while the charcoal and wood smoke combines with dripping juices to make a flavorful smoke fog that is equally satisfying with meat, vegetables, pizza, you name it.”
Masterbuilt 30-Inch Electric Digital Smoker
If you’re looking to go big, then how does a 721 square inches of cooking surface sound? That’s what you’ll get when you have all four shelves of the Masterbuilt 30-Inch Electric Digital Smoker in place. This smoker uses an 800-watt heating element to create plenty of heat. It has a clear LCD screen that lets you track and manage heat, and considering it can handle up to 80 pounds of food at once, it’s a great price at around $200, depending on where you get it.
There’s also a wood chip loading system that feeds fuel in through a side compartment. This means you’ll never need to open the door and let out heat and drop the temperature during a cooking session, which is a huge advantage to this machine. The trade-off is that since it’s electric you’ll lose out on the distinct charcoal flavoring.
Masterbuilt Gravity Series 560 Digital Charcoal Grill
This Masterbuilt Gravity Series grill combines grilling, smoking, and the convenience that only technology can provide. Through Wi-Fi connectivity, you can control the offset gravity charcoal chamber’s temperature from 225 to 700 degrees. This grill’s nifty high-tech features and solid design make it a very versatile grill/smoker for the money.
Weber 22-inch Smokey Mountain Cooker
This beast of a charcoal smoker matches the cooking area of its electric counterpart above. When it comes to charcoal cooking, Weber has always stood out from the rest. It could be because superior, American-made craftsmanship lasts a lifetime. Or, perhaps it’s just the brand name recognition that stands out. Whatever it is, Weber’s got it. There grills and smokers are always the top-rated among professional and home chefs alike. Keep in mind that the quality that comes with this name brand comes at a steeper price.
Char-Broil The Big Easy TRU-Infrared Smoker Roaster & Grill
If you’re like Hank Hill and want to taste the meat and not the heat, this propane infrared smoker, roaster, and grill from Char-Broil may be for you. You can crank up the heat and use it as a grill, or lower it and smoke meats within the internal roasting basket (which holds up to a 21-pound turkey). There’s a smoking chamber on the side where you place your woodchips. Keep in mind that if you want a heavy smoke you may need to refill woodchips a couple of times, and remember to soak them.
Dyna-Glo Signature Series Heavy-Duty Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker & Grill
If we’re talking about smoking/grilling space, the have to mention this 124lbs behemoth. This Dyna-Glo vertical offset charcoal smoker has a whopping 1,382 square inches of smoking/grilling space. You can grill directly from the heat box or smoke until your heart’s content in the vertical chamber. The removable charcoal grate and ash pan makes it simple to add/remove coals/wood chips for easy heat/smoke regulation.
Now that you have these smoky options, find your favorite barbecue recipes and head over to our detailed guide that covers everything you need to know about smoking meats. If you need more options, feel free to check out some of the best cheap smoker deals available in the market right now. We’ve also written a guide on where you can buy meat online.
Don’t forget to follow these grilling safety tips once you’ve purchased your smoker-grill combo. Happy smoking!
