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Reviewers
Many reviews are by Meathead, the author of most things on this website. In 2011 Scot Murphy and Gordon Hubbell joined him to help with the Buyer's Guides. The author of each product's review is named at the end of the writeup.
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About Model Numbers
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Seasoning and calibrating your grill or smoker with dry runs
The first thing to do after you assemble your new grill or smoker is to season it and calibrate it by doing a few dry runs without food. This will burn off any manufacturer's grease, and give you a sense for how to set it up to hit the two important target temps that almost all my recipes use: 225°F and 325°F.
Of course, in order to do this, you absolutely positively must have a good digital oven thermometer. I don't care how much you spent on your grill, the bi-metal dial thermometer that came with it is probably cheap and unreliable and likely to be off by as much as 50°F. Worse still, it is in the dome, and the temp down on the grate where the meat sits is much different. Like a musician, you must master your instrument to make great food.
Not enough smoke from your pellets?
Most owners are crazy about their pellet cookers, but some say the flavor is different than they are used to from charcoal and gas grills, and more than one has told me they do not like the flavor because it is too mild. They are a minority. Fact is that pellet smokers are winning tons of trophies and there is a movement to have them banned from the competition circuit (it won't happen as long as the president of KCBS is a pellet manufacturer).
I have found that using the upper shelf gets more airflow around the meat than the lower shelf.
Dr. Greg Blonder, is a physicist, entrepreneur, former Chief Technical Advisor at AT&T's legendary Bell Labs, food lover, and the AmazingRibs.com science advisor and mythbuster. I asked him about the problem (he has a MAK 1 Star). He explained that smoke sticks to wet surfaces, and meat's surface dries out after a few hours. When he wants more smoke flavor, he uses a strong smoke wood like hickory or mesquite, and then he keeps the meat moist by painting or misting it with apple juice or a mop like Lexington Dip or East Carolina Mop.
Illustration courtesy of MAK Grills
Buying Guide, Reviews, and Ratings of Pellet Smokers and Grills
Bottom line: It's all about the taste. And convenience. Oh yeah, control too. OK, new bottom line, when I head out to my deck and all the different grills and smokers I have to test, I find myself pulled to the pellet burners. Set it and forget it. Great flavor. No brainer. Pellet burners are the future.
These smokers use hardwood sawdust compressed into pellets as fuel. The pellets provide the heat as well as flavor. Pellet smokers produce superb tasting food at low to medium temps with push-button ease and set-it-forget-it simplicity. They make fabulous ribs and other smoke roasted foods like pulled pork or brisket. Surprisingly, they do not produce overly smoky food. If anything, surprisingly, the food is undersmoked to many people.
On the other hand, the manufacturers advertise that these are both smokers and grills, but it is best to think of these devices as superb outdoor indirect heat convection smokers, not grills. They just don't do a good job of searing a steak. Although they make unmatched pork chops, juicy ribs, delicately smoked turkey, I can sear steaks better on a $20 hibachi grill than on a $2,000 pellet smoker.
Their behavior is sometimes counterintuitive. The hotter they get, the less smoke they produce, and at their top settings, they don't produce much smoke at all. This is good for when you are baking cakes or pies or doing dishes that don't need smoke. But down under 250°F, they produce plenty of mild, elegant smoke. And even though the fuel is wood, it is hard to oversmoke with a pellet smoker. Burning wood on a charcoal grill produces much more intense smoke flavor. Odd.
Pellets look like rabbit chow. They are about the width of a pencil and as long as a couple of erasers. They are made by compressing hardwood sawdust. They have no additives or binders, and if they get wet they turn into a pile of sawdust.
Central to all pellet cookers is a digital controller similar to the controllers on indoor ovens. You select a temp you want, and there is an LED display that tells you the actual temp. Some of the controllers also are programmable so you can cook at a certain temp for a determined time. Some have leave-in meat probes that can dial back the oven temp when the meat hits its mark.
Pellet cookers usually have an auger or another feed mechanism that pushes the pellets into a burn pot typically about the size of a beer can ripped in half. An igniter rod sits in the bottom of the pot and when you turn on the grill it glows like the element on an electric stove. As the pellets ignite, a fan blows to feed them oxygen, and the igniter shuts off. The Traeger L'il Tex, an inexpensive model, it draws 300 watts an hour while the ignitor rod is on in the first four minutes, then it drops down to 50 watts an hour for the duration of the cook session, less than a standard light bulb.
The small burn pot is covered with a large deflector plate that absorbs the heat and spreads it out below the cooking surface making them essentially wood-fired convection ovens. Above the deflector plate is a wide solid drip pan. You need to keep this clean because it is right below the food and if you leave sauce and grease on there, it will smolder and leave soot on your food. Because the burn pot is small, there is usually a hot spot directly over it. But there is no way to set up a safe or cool zone on the models I have tested. This is an important tool for the cook on a charcoal or gas grill, a low temp area where one can place pieces that don't need more cooking. The overhead racks just aren't cool enough. The cool zone is also crucial for proper 2-zone cooking, again an important technique.
A probe in the oven area tells the controller what the temp is and if it is below the target it tells the controller to feed more pellets and air.
Pellets are an excellent source of smoke flavor and compact energy, 8,500 BTU per pound. No hot coals, no flareups. There is also very little ash: 10 pounds of pellets will produce about 1/2 cup of ash. All the rest is converted to energy and combustion gases. I clean out the bottom of the ones I tested after about 10 low temp cooks, and once every 3 high temp cooks. At high temps there is very little smoke, at low temps the pellets smolder and produce superb but understated smoke flavors. Click here for more about pellets.
Because they burn wood, pellet smokers are popular in BBQ competitions and they have been winning top prizes at many of them. Fast Eddy's Smokers have won the top prize at numerous competitions, enough to make some traditionalists cry foul and try to get them disqualified. Too easy, they claim.
This is a exciting time to for pellet grillers. There are a number of new designs and they come packed with convenient features. Newcomers like MAK, Memphis Grills, and IPT are truly easy and versatile.
Finding pellets
There is another advantage: Wood pellets are an all natural product. No petroleum products in them, no fillers or chemicals.
Pellets are available from a number of sources because they are also becoming popular for use in home heaters, so if you are worried that you will be buying a gizmo that might be worthless someday if the pellet supply runs out, it is unlikely.
But you cannot burn home heater pellets in a cooking grill. Cooking pellets are hardwoods. Heater pellets often contain softwoods such as pine, they can have treated lumber and other chemical contaminants in them. The smoke they put out is potentially hazardous in food.
Cooking pellet suppliers include BBQr's Delight (my fave), Traeger, and Bear Mountain. Pellets are made from different woods, each of which imparts a distinctive flavor to the meat. Hickory, oak, maple, alder, apple, cherry, hazelnut, peach, and mesquite are among the flavors available. For more about pellets, read my article, The Zen of Wood. There's also a pretty good forum for people who have pellet cookers at Pelletheads.com.
A few words of caution
There are moving parts on these grills. Moving parts eventually break. There is an auger with a motor, and a fan with a motor. Motors burn out. There are proprietary electronics systems on these babies. Electronics often have bugs or fail. Especially when exposed to rain, snow, hot, and cold. When they fail, will the manufacturer have a replacement part?
In 2008 there were only two consumer pellet grill manufacturers. Today there are at least a dozen. The market for these relatively expensive devices is small but growing fast. Not all of them will survive. Forget the warranty and ask "When it breaks will the manufacturer still be in business?" Most manufacturers are small. They do not have repair shops near you. When it breaks will they be able to diagnose the problem over the phone? They may be able to figure it out, but then you have to buy the replacement parts and do the repair work yourself. Are you up to the task?
On the flip side, the parts are not complex, and you may be able to get them from another source. If you are handy, repairs should not be too hard. Some brands have tech support online. MAK leads the pack in this with numerous helpful videos.
The bottom line
According to Bruce Bjorkman of MAK Grills, his cookers use about 1/2 pound of pellets per hour when set on "Smoke" (about 175°F). At 450°F, the high temp, they burn about 2.3 pounds per hour. This is about the same average as I have experienced on a variety of pellet eaters. The burn rate will vary somewhat depending on the outside air temp, and how much cold meat is loaded in the grill, but cooking load should not have a major impact. Cooking pellets run about $1 per pound depending on the wood flavor, brand, if you get them on sale, and if you have to pay shipping. As a point of comparison, Kingsford briquets list for about $0.75 per pound, but they don't pack the same BTUs because there are fillers. I usually buy 40 pound bags of BBQr's Delight pellets from BigPoppaSmokers.com for $45 and shipping is free to IL. That's $1.13 per pound. That means that if I cook a slab of spareribs for six hours at 225°F I will probably burn about 4 pounds at about $4.50. If I put 8 slabs in there in rib holders, and allocate 1/2 slab per person, my cost for 16 people is about $0.28 each. If I grill a mess of chicken parts at about 325°F for about 1 hour, I will use about 1.5 pounds of pellets for a cost of $1.70.
Before buying, please note that most pellet smokers need access to electricity to run the auger that transports the pellets to the firebox and the convection fan that circulates the air in the cooking chamber. These cookers can use a lot of pellets at high temps. At high temps there is little or no smoke, and at low temps smoke is unavoidable. So if you want to cook, say, a chicken breast low and slow to retain juices, but you don't want any smoke flavor, you're outta luck. If you want to torch a thin burger to get a crunchy crust and add a little smokiness, yiou'll get great smoke flavor, but it is hard to get the crust. - Meathead
Below I have listed several popular or noteworthy pellet grills and smokers alphabetically. Click the red links for current pricing and more info.
And then there is the very modern sleek design of the German built Bob Grillson. A large bamboo cutting board and large wheels. It also comes with cast iron grates and a car battery adapter. Thanks to reader "Pat" for bringing this to our attention. - Meathead
Dansons, the manufacturer, is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and started marketing pellet cookers not too long after Traeger started putting cooking pellets on the map. They also make Louisiana Grills. Among pellet cooking enthusiasts, Dansons is an established name with some history to it. The units are powder coated (that's good) 14 or 16 gauge steel (depending on model) with a basic cylindrical barrel shape. There are sizes for very casual back yard use on up to cavernous capacities large enough to handle catering and competitions. To keep them in the lower end of the price spectrum, however, there are no high-tech controllers, insulation, meat temperature probes, remote controls, or other bells and whistles.
The TG300 Tailgater is the smallest of the family, and may well be the smallest pellet smoker anywhere, with dimensions compact enough to stash away in an RV or haul to the ballgame along with the coolers and camp chairs. Its 14.5 by 20.5" grid, 297 square inches, is big enough to do a batch or burgers or even smoke a small brisket. At a hefty 72 pounds it won't be easy for one person to tote, though. Remember, even at the game and campsites, it requires an electrical outlet.
CS-450, CS-570, and CS-680. These barrel shaped units are variations on a theme in that the only thing that changes is size. The number following the CS designation is an approximation of the cooking grid size in square inches. All have variable temperature controllers shared with Dansons Louisiana Cooker line, smallish side-mounted 12 pound pellet hoppers, porcelain cooking grids, and a temperature range advertised as from from 180 to 600°F.
Whole Hog. Dansons makes two more Country Smokers aimed at caterers and competitors or perhaps even a backyard chef looking for lots of space. The Whole Hog is basically two CS-680s mounted end-to-end to create a grid space of 21.75 by 60" – large enough for a small hog or numerous large cuts. The cooker also has a clever removable partition so that both sides can be independent of each other (handy in competition cooking).
Super Hog. This is the biggest Country Smoker. It stretches all the dimensions to reach a claimed 2,400 square inches of workable cooking surface and includes a warming rack but is the same side-by-side, two controller, two hopper approach used on the Whole Hog.
Real estate sales folks call something with lots of room for a basic price a "space buy" and that’s what I'd call the Country Smoker line. Prices are extremely competitive for the sizes (in the $600 to $3,000 range) and dealers may offer them with packages including shelves, covers, hopper extensions, and cabinet enclosures. If you don’t worship the latest high tech and don't need glitz and stainless (just lots of cooking space for the buck) check the website for the dealer locator. - Gordon Hubbell
In the beginning pellet cookers were used mostly as smokers because they didn't really have high temperature grilling ability. After more than a decade of design revisions, most of the pellet burners on this page still cannot do both well. Introduced in 2010, the FE1000PC takes an innovative approach to being both a low and slow smoker and a fast cooking grill.
A collaboration between Cookshack, Inc. of Ponca City, OK, and "Fast Eddy" Maurin, winner of numerous awards on the competition barbecue circuit, the FEC line has been around since 2000. They make several large units for commercial use. This is their first backyard design.
Although similar to other backyard pellet cookers in appearance, the FE1000PC differs most significantly from the competition by moving away from the standard design of a fire pot on the bottom, a diffuser plate in the middle, and a cooking grate above. This design makes most pellet cookers indirect convection cookers, so it is impossible to have a multi-zone system, the best configuration for any cooker, or to get direct flame contact for a high temperature sear.
Fast Eddy's revolutionary new design provides three distinct cooking zones starting with a 10" wide x 18" deep direct cooking area with the firepot directly below so flames can directly contact the food for high temperature grilling. Finally a pellet grill that can properly sear a steak! To the right there's an 18" x 18" indirect zone for roasting with or without smoke, and above both areas is a 10" x 28" top grate. The direct zone has cast iron grates for great grillmarks, and the other two zones have nickel plated wire grates. Fast Eddy claims 820 square inches of cooking surface, but we calculate it a bit less at 784 square inches.
The digital controller is simple and easy to use. The cooking chamber is insulated resulting in lower pellet consumption, especially in cold weather. The ash drawer is front-mounted to facilitate access and the 25 pound capacity pellet hopper is mounted on the side. The body is stainless steel and the whole unit is covered by a 30-day money back guarantee and a 2-year limited warranty. When is the last time you saw a money back guarantee on a grill? The price sits at the high end of the personal pellet cooker market, competing with the Memphis Pro and the MAK 2-Star General. - Gordon Hubbell
Traeger used to be pretty much the only game in town for grills less than a grand, but Green Mountain Grills changed that in 2008 and has run up significant sales numbers.
Both the basic GMG Daniel Boone (which makes up about 70% of GMG sales and is well under a grand) and its larger brother the Jim Bowie model have some features not common in lower price pellet smokers and that often cost extra even in higher cost cookers. Namely, there's a standard meat probe feature that reports the internal temperature of what's being cooked to the controller read-out, there's lots of headroom under the lid at 13.5" allowing for big cuts and even beer can chicken (which can challenge the vertical space of some cookers), a low pellet alarm, a work surface on both sides, and tool hooks. GMG claims they will both cook from 150 to 500°F.
The Daniel Boone has a grate size of 432 square inches and the Jim Bowie has 600 square inches. Neither will easily blow off the patio, either. The Daniel Boone weighs 152 pounds and the Jim Bowie a hefty 183.
Options include stainless steel cooking grates and a "turbo" mode that automatically kicks in at ambient temperatures less than 35°F to help the cooker get up to operating temperature faster. For glitz and shine, both cookers look spiffy with the optional form-fitted stainless steel door. More on the practical side is a remote that lets the user bask or multi-task indoors and monitor or even change what’s going on without lingering on a hot or frigid patio. Dome lid thermometers, insulation blankets and fitted covers are available, too.
GMG doesn't sell via the internet, but the company website has a dealer locator to help you find their products. The dealer network is expanding and GMG products can also be purchased in Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Africa. The cookers are assembled in China, but management, sales and distribution are headquartered in Reno, NV. For more info and current pricing, visit the Green Mountain Grills website. - Gordon Hubbell
Introduced in late 1020, the IPT 550 is well built, mostly 16 gauge, but not as solid as the MAK or Memphis Grills. The handles, hinges, caster housings, screws, and fasteners are stainless steel. The macho looking body is spray painted matt black, not powder coated. A stainless version is in the works. Height is 51.5", length 32.75", width 31.75", weight 165 pounds. The spacious hood will handle huge turkeys and roasts. It has a nice stiff guide and restrainer, but when open it extends well behind the back of the unit. This means that when it opens it needs 47" of clearance front to rear.
It has a nifty feature I've never seen before: Beneath the cooking grates there is a large pan with a lip around it to catch drippings and channel them to a pipe to a grease pail that hangs below the chassis. There is a steel plug that goes in the pan so you can fill it with water for adding humidity to the cooking chamber, or for steaming. Very clever!
The grease pail is on the far right of the chassis where my dogs can enjoy the drippings and where it fills quickly with rainwater, so you must remember to empty it regularly. I forget. It would be better located under the center where rain and dogs cannot get in. To drain the water pan, you will need a bigger bucket.
This drip pan/water pan must be kept clean. It is a good idea to crank it to high when you are done cooking to burn off grease and sauce, or burn it off before your next cook otherwise you can get soot on your food.
The cooking grates are heavy black porcelain coated steel (a surface I like very much) although I believe cast iron is available (I am not a fan of cast iron because maintenance is a pain). The manufacturer says there are 550 square inches of primary cooking surface, but I measured it at 527 square inches of usable cooking surface. The hopper holds 20 pounds of pellets and it is located in front for easy access. The stainless steel cover over the hopper doubles as a work table. Nice. Pellets are delivered to the firepot with an auger and a fan helps control the burn rate and temp. You need to keep an eye on the hopper to make sure you don't run out of pellets and to be sure they are feeding properly. The cooking chamber beneath the grates is double walled, and the lid is single walled for better heat retention than cheaper models. There are four rubber wheels and the front two can be locked. There is also a cover included. On most other company's grills this costs extra.
The digital controller has two knobs. The large one, the "Cook Control" ranges from "Smoke" which IPT says is about 160°F to "High" which is said to be 525°F. There are eight click stops in between, 180, 225, 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375. Another knob, a teensy weensy knob that looks more like a push button is labeled "SMOKE" and it controls the pellet feed rate when you are in smoke mode. It goes from 0 to 15. The higher the number, the longer the pause in the feed cycle, so the temp will drop slightly and the smoke will increase.
It is not easy to understand from the current manual how the "Smoke Control" knob impacts temp and smoke output in cook mode. I spoke with one of IPT's owners, Troy Welker, and he recommends you just set it for 9 when you are in cook mode, but if you want, you can change it. He spent quite a bit of time trying to explain how the two dials interract, and I'm still not clear on it. I don't think it influences the amount of smoke much in cook mode. No matter, I'll take his advice and just set it for 9 and leave it alone.
There are no food probes and the controller is mounted to the surface with two screws and no gasket so I fear rain could get into the electronics, but after several months of sitting out without the cover, the controller is still working fine.
On my first day with the IPT I pegged the cook control at "High". This is always a good practice to burn off any grease remaining from the manufacturing process (read my article on seasoning and calibrating a new grill). It took 45 minutes but it made it up to 485°F according to the controller (outside air was 75°F). My thermocouple tester showed it closer to 470°F. The handle got pretty warm at that temp, and downright hot at the ends where it connects to the lid.
The controller is pretty close to accurate at lower temps on the left side when one checks the temp with a third party thermocouple placed next to the probe they have installed on the left side. The right side is significantly hotter than the left. This can work in your favor. Place thinner, faster cooking foods on the left, thicker slower cooking foods on the right.
It does a good job of cooking at lower temps and I've cooked several fine tasting meals on it. The grease pan that acts as a water pan is a unique feature. Just remember to keep the drip pan and burn pot clean and empty the grease pail regularly.
Bottom line: Keep this baby clean and you have a fine, versatile cooker, at a very good price. - Meathead
Louisiana Grills, made by Dansons of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, are second generation pellet burners with several innovations such as double-lined hoods for better heat retention and cold-weather cooking, thermostat controls, a full range of temperature options, and an on/off switch for generating smoke. The combustion-air fan also circulates oven air, making it a convection oven to reduce hotspots although I have heard users say there is still a hotspot. They have innovative heat diffusers and flareup reducers above the firepot, cast-iron grill grates, and easy ash and grease cleanout from the front. I have heard that it does not hold temp as steady as a Traeger, but it gets hotter and is better for grilling meats such as steak. They make many different sizes, models, and designs, from cart mounted to pedestal to built-in with a wide range of features and prices. I have never cooked with any one of them, but people I know who have used them say they are equal to or better than the Traegers, below. There are no prices posted at their website and several links are broken. Not a good sign. - Meathead
This newcomer has done nothing but impress the heck out of me. They now produce two very impressive tools. The kind of cookers I would want if I could have only one.
Introduced in summer 2009, built in Oregon, these folks have clearly worked with first gen pellet smokers and addressed their problems. The MAK is definitely well thought out and well built.
The most important feature is its temperature control system. Temperature control is at the heart of good cooking. Our indoor ovens have had thermostat control for decades, but the concept is still foreign to most outdoor cookers. Not the MAK.
All the combustion and temp control is managed by a digital device with a sealed touchpad they call the Pellet Boss. It is fairly easy to learn, but it is not quite intuitive. Just feed the hopper, plug it in, flip the switch on, and the unit ignites itself. The thermostat is highly accurate and fluctuates less than my GE oven in the kitchen. Heat distribution is very even all across the cooking surface. It also comes with one meat probe and has ports for three meat probes, so you can load 'er up with three different thickness meats with three different target temps, say a beef brisket (190°F target), precooked ham (140°F target), and a turkey breast (170°F target), and monitor all three meats.
The controller can even be programmed. You can put your Thanksgiving turkey on at 325°F, when the probe hits 155°F, it can drop the oven temp back to 165°F, let the meat rise to that temp, and hold the bird there until you're ready. Set the temp in 5°F increments, set a timer, set an alarm for a time or an internal temp of the meat, set a program so that the unit changes temp at a predetermined time or meat temp, spend some time with the family for a change. As an option, you can even buy a bluetooth remote control so you can monitor and change temps from the living room. Truly a marvel.
At 60" wide, 49" high, 25" deep, weighing in at 185 pounds, there is a 14" tall 429 square inch cooking area. There are few backyard cookers built so well. Solid. I cannot see vulnerability to rust. Fit and finish are very good. This is clearly not the standard cheap Chinese-built unit designed to cut corners and drive down price. All parts a heavy and built to last. Several parts are made from high grade heavy duty stainless steel, and the rest are thick steel and well powder coated. Assembly took about two hours, but the only tools needed were two hex wrenches and a crescent wrench, both supplied. Nuts are welded onto the body, so you only need to twist in the screws. Minimal fumbling. I only needed my wife's help for about 30 seconds to get the thing off it's back and standing upright on the casters after I attached the legs. The paint body is aluminized steel, very good gor heat retention, and the paint job is long lasting high-temp powder coat. The hood is high quality thick stainless steel.
The left shelf contains the 20 pound capacity pellet hopper. You dump pellets in it and its funnel shape gravity feeds them to an auger that moves them to a fire pot in the center of the grill. There you find a glowing element that lights the pellets and a blower controls oxygen supply. The beauty of pellets is that they have none of the additives and fillers in charcoal briquets, so they combust almost completely. There is very little ash, but MAK has designed ash removal and cleaning of the ignition pot well. On a 50°F day I got it up to 485°F, so on a hot summer day it should go well beyond 500°F. The problem with pellets is you can go through them in a hurry at high temp. Cooking ribs on a 68F day I went through about one pound an hour for a four hour cook including warmup and cooldown. It burns about 1 pound of pellets per hour and they cost about $1 per pound plus shipping, so that's a bit more than $1 per hour at low temps.
The MAK also has a door to remove your pellets so you can switch wood types when you switch meats. Want alder for salmon and hickory for pulled pork? No problemo.
The hood is a roll top, so it doesn't need extra clearance behind the unit as with some other grills. The cooking chamber is tall enough for big turkeys, whole hams, and beer can chickens. The heavy duty stainless steel grates will last forever, the sloped drip pan below has perforations on one side so bare flame can reach the food if you want. If you don't want, there is a cover for the holes. It's a bit awkward to maneuver the cover beneath the grate, but it can be done. Below this is a heat deflector that covers the combustion chamber. With the holes covered you essentially have a large convection oven and there is no need to turn the food. They clearly have worked hard to defeat the bane of the first generation pellet burners, hot spots. Still, I plan to buy GrillGrates to replace their stainless steel rack. Nothing beats GrillGrates for magnifying heat and distributing temp evenly.
The right shelf holds a warming box that can keep one dish warm until the others are done. For example, I put some raw minced potatoes in a perforated pan on the grill about an hour before the chicken breasts went on. I thought they'd finish about the same time, but the potatoes were well done before the meat. So when they were done, I moved them to the warmer, and they held there until serving time.
Now this method is not foolproof. The main cooking chamber was chugging along at about 300°F, while the warming chamber was about down at 180°F. So when I brought in the taters and the meat to the dining table together, they spuds got cold quicker. I also noticed that when I knocked back the oven temp to about 200°F, the holding temp got below 140°F. That's in the danger zone for microbial growth. Probably not an issue because they had been heated well beyond the kill temp of 155°F, so they potatoes were safe, but this is something a good cook will need to be careful about. Another great feature of the warming chamber is that it gets low enough for cold smoking or cheese. But don't make the mistake I made. I smoked some cheese in the warmer while I had some salmon in the main cooking chamber. I got salmon flavored smoked not-so-gouda.
A note about repairs. The igniter rod on mine recently crapped out. MAK had preemptively sent its customers replacements because it had decided that the factory installed igniters had a defect. I was not looking forward to replacing this part, expecting a knuckle buster. But the MAK website has some fine step by step videos that walked me through the process, and taking apart the pellet feed system gave me a greater appreciation of their design and build skills.
Summary
Pros. Well built in Oregon, not likely to rust. Highly accurate temperature control, and control of temp is the most important thing in good cooking. Versatile programmable controller with lots of bells and whistles. Large capacity pellet hopper, easy to change wood types. 14" overhead cooking space, enough for turkeys. Cooking range is advertised at 180 to 500°F depending on ambient temp and how much cold meat is in there. I have never gotten mine much above 480°F and that was on an 85°F day, empty. Still, that's pretty good for a pellet burner. The warmer chamber can be used for cold smoking cheese or fish. Comes with a 3 year warranty.
Cons. Price. At about $2,000, this grill is four times the price of a good Weber gas grill. And, as with other pellet smokers, it just does not get hot enough to properly sear a steak. Modest 19.5" deep x 22" wide, 429 square inch cooking surface will not handle a large party. They sell an optional upper grate that can get you up to 858 square inches. Does not come with a cover included, but, because of the electronics, you really must order one unless you plan to wheel it under cover. That there is no handy place to store the electical cord is another minor aggravation.
Wish list. I would love to see them ship from the factory with GrillGrates installed in order to further reduce hotspots. A double layer of metal in the lid like the Memphis would go a long way towards heat retention and reduce pellet usage. I'd like to see a thermometer in the warming chamber. It would be nice if the cart had sides and a door for dry storage. A rotisserie would be cool.
Question marks. There is the eternal question for digital controllers on outdoor devices: How well will they stand up to the elements, especially winter in Chicago? Mine is going on its third winter with no problems.
Bottomline. I have had a LOT of iron on my deck and it is one of the best cookers I've ever used. This new device has already spawned a following at PelletSmoking.com. Go there to read more. To order one, click here.
Introduced in fall 2010, the 1 Star is a real star, and it sells for about $1,300, $700 less than the 2 Star. I cannot wait to see what they do when they come out with 3 Star, 4 Star, and 5 Star!
The 1 Star is shorter (44"), narrower (20" deep and 37" long) than the 2 Star, with a smaller cooking surface (20" wide x 18" deep and 12" high), but there is still plenty of room for a whole lot of chicken parts or pork chops and tall enough for a turkey. It uses the same Pellet Boss digital controller as it's big brother, so it has the same set-it-forget-it convenience. I have used it in below freezing December weather and it held temp steady within 5°F on my best testing instruments. The entire unit is aluminized steel, an excellent material for heat retention, and the paint is high-temp powder coat, also top drawer.
The hood is a roll top meaning it does not need alot of rear clearance like some competitors. As with the 2 Star, it is built to last. Heavy gauge and solid. Best of all, there was no assembly other than screwing in the casters. Assembling the 2 Star took some time. The hopper is capacious, holding more than one 20 pound bag of pellets. You can order several options, a bottom storage shelf, a right side shelf, a tool hook (all show in the picture), and an upper grill grate. Most importantly, the meat it produces has plenty of moisture, tenderness, and the delicate smoke flavor typical of pellet burners. So far my only criticism is that the grease bucket hangs out in the open on the right side and it is easily accessible to dogs and wasps. I plan to make a plastic cover for it. As with the 2 Star, I would like to see a reel for the cord or some way to store it out of the elements. Also, you should make sure to buy a cover for it. Water got into the Pellet Boss on mine and it ceased functioning. I took it out of the unit, air dried it, and it worked just fine. To be safe I ran a bead of silicone caulk around it to prevent encroachments again. - Meathead
Introduced in 2010 and upgraded in 2011, Memphis Grills makes three very high quality, very well built, very easy to operate, very good looking designs in three price categories: Pro, Advantage, and Select.
Memphis Pro
The Memphis Pro is the top end and competes well with any pellet burner on the market. Certainly, none is better looking. It is available on a cart or as a built-in. In May 2010 the manufacturer sent me a cart-mounted stainless steel Pro to test.
It is extremely well built and designed. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the way this baby is put together. Most impressive, the cooking chamber has two layers of metal with an air gap between and an oven gasket on the lid to provide better heat retention. Just like your indoor oven. It is designed and built like a high end indoor appliance. This allows it to cook hotter and retain more heat.
The stainless is thick and extraordinarily well machined. The fit and finish are impeccable. The grates are the heaviest stainless rods I've ever seen. The main cooking grate is 25" wide by 17.5" deep and 438 square inches. There is room for upper grates that allow you to almost double the capacity. The fire pot is in the center below a large stainless "flavor bar" bent in the center to allow grease runoff. There is a gap between the flavor bar and the interior walls to allow hot air to circulate. If you place food up to the edges of the grate, the ends that are over the gaps can overcook or burn, effectively reducing the cooking area.
The "Intelligent Temperature Control" digital control panel is simple to operate, much easier than the MAK, with a meat probe and a few programming options. For example you can set it to cook your brisket up to 190°F and then drop back to a lower temp.
The cooking temp range is said to be 180°F to 650°F but I have managed to rev mine up to 680°F on the left side while the right side maxed at 636°F, an average of 658°F. For some strange reason the controller reads a steady temp, the same temp I set it for, while my test thermocouples show that it is still cooler and still heating up. So the controller may say, for example, 480°F, but it could actually be 430°F, and it won't hit 480°F for another 10 minutes. There is less temperature fluctuation when it hits temp, about 5°F, than my indoor oven (check yours, it can fluctuate 25°F or more). There is also a meat temperature leave-in probe. The controller handled the frigid Chicago winter without a hiccup. This baby is truly set-and-forget ease.
There is a grease and ash tray below the cooking chamber that can hold two disposable aluminum pans. They can get hot so you must remember to wear gloves when handling them and don't forget to empty them or you run a risk of a grease fire.
The 2010 model had a design flaw that allowed rain to get into the chimney and fill the drip pan. This appears to have been corrected in the 2011 model. It would still be a good idea to get a cover (it costs extra) and remember to use it as soon as the oven cools.
I would like a hook under the shelf to hang the cord where it is protected from rain and snow when it it not in use. Right now, it just lays on the ground.
Bottomline. I have had a LOT of iron on my deck and this is one of the best cookers I've ever had the pleasure to use.
Memphis Advantage
The Memphis Advantage (left) is the mid-range product and it shares the same sturdy high quality stainless steel double wall cooking chamber, the same digital controller with meat probe, and the same heavy duty 0.312 diameter stainless rod cooking grates. There is 427" main cooking surface and you can insert optional upper level warming grates that almost double the grate surfaces. It has a 12 pound pellet hopper, casters, and a lower shelf. The manufacturer says the temperature range is 200 to 600°F.
Memphis Select
The less expensive Memphis Select (right) is similar to the Advantage but it lacks the side shelves (they are optional), and the lower shelf. The cooking grates are 0.25" nickel plated rods, and the warming grate space is smaller. Otherwise it has the double wall cooking chamber, the digital controller with the meat probe jack (but no probe), and is rated as having a cooking range of 200 to 500°F.
Light weight, only 149 pounds, 47" wide x 22" deep x 50" high, this is the only pellet cooker I've seen with adjustable legs so you can change its height, especially handy if you are in a wheel chair. There are 670 square inches of cooking surface, and you can increase that with an optional second shelf. It is on wheels, but two of them are very small and surely will be a pain on pavers or deck slats. There is 14" clearance under the hood. They claim you can have continuous control of temps from 160 to 500°F. The hopper for this is on the right and the top doubles as a prep shelf, there is a small prep shelf attached to the left, and a prep shelf that runs the length of the front. There is an all black powder coat finished unit, and another that has stainless shelves and a flip top hood. The grates are a clever flat top stainless steel design. Judging from their video, assembly is complicated. - Meathead
Founded in 2011, I have never seen them and there is very little info about these products on their website at the time of this writing. The small pictures on the site don't reveal anything unique. - Meathead
There are two sizes, one with 450 square inches of primary cooking surface, and another with 650 square inches. The pellet hopper is on the left and the top doubles as a prep shelf, and there is a small shelf on the right. Each size has three configs, one that is all black, one with stainless shelves, and one with stainless shelves and hood. There are dampers on the exhaust and a stainless handle and stainless cooking grates and a stainless drip tray. They all come with a 5 year warranty on the exterior and a 2 tear warranty on the electrical parts. They offer a remote control for operating the controller and a low pellet alarm. Their fuel is a 70/30 blend of oak and the flavor wood, but there's nothing stopping you from buying pure apple, etc. from BBQr's Delight or another supplier. The manufacturer claims it takes only 10 to 12 minutes to heat to the default setting of 325°F. Made in the USA. - Meathead
Traeger pioneered and popularized the pellet smoker and remains the best known brand. The consensus is that Traegers are reasonably well built, but, some buyers complain that since manufacturing moved to China quality has dropped. A dealer I know says "Traegers don't get hot enough to sear steaks properly, but set on two pork butts and a few racks of ribs - oh baby! It eliminates flare ups or sudden temp changes. Set the temp, set your meat, go back inside and set the timer." He warns that there is a hot spot that you need to get used to.
Another experienced user says "You can set it to make as little or as much smoke as you want and it goes and goes. We use it as our main grill, and it works great for burgers, brats, chicken, pork tenderloins, and even steaks, although it really won't sear them. I can get it up to a touch over 400°F on a 70 to 80°F day with oak pellets. Super tasting, no turning, flare ups, or burning."
Lil' Tex (above right). This inexpensive unit is a great starter for people interested in pellet cooking. There are three setting: High (450°F), medium (325°F), and smoke (200 to 250°F.). When the switch is on high, it burns about two pounds of pellets an hour. On medium it's one pound an hour, and on smoke, 1/2 pound an hour. The cooking surface is 16.5" deep x 22.5" wide (371 square inches). The entire unit weighs 135 pounds, and overall it measures 49" high x 40" wide x 20" deep. Included in each order: A cover, three ten pound bags of pellets, a cookbook, and 16 ounces of Traeger rubs and shakes. A thermostat is extra.
Texas Style. Similar to the Lil' Tex, the Texas Style has a bigger pellet hopper on the side and a larger cooking surface, 15" deep x 35" wide (525 square inches). It weighs 190 pounds and is 49" high x 59" wide x 22" deep. Included in each order: A cover, three ten pound bags of pellets, a cookbook, and 16 ounces of Traeger rubs and seasonings.
Professional. The Professional features a front-loading hopper sporting a stainless steel lid/work surface and a stand with four heavy duty locking wheels. The cooking surface is 16.5" deep x 22.5" wide (371 square inches). It weighs in at 195 pounds and measures 42.5" high x 24" wide x 30.5" deep. Included in each order: A cover, three ten pound bags of pellets, a cookbook, and 16 ounces of Traeger rubs and seasonings. A thermostat is extra.
Deluxe. The Deluxe has 525 square inches cooking surface (15" deep x 35" wide), weighs in at 250 pounds, and measures 44" high x 61.5" wide x 25" deep. The pellet hopper and storage boxes on the sides have stainless steel lids that double as work surfaces. The large pellet hopper holds approximately 20 pounds of pellets. Included in each order: A cover, three ten pound bags of pellets, a cookbook, and 16 ounces of Traeger rubs and seasonings. A thermostat is extra.
BBQ Executive. The BBQ Executive has 1008 square inches of cooking surfaces on two shelves: 36" x 19.75" and 36" x 8.25". It weighs 275 pounds and it is available in two configurations, with and without wheels. With wheels, it is 42.5" high x 36" wide x 30.5" deep. The Built-in Model, at right, needs a cabinet with an opening 36.5" wide x 31" deep x 10.5" high. Rather than a three-speed controller, this model comes with a variable thermostat with LED readout. Included in each order: A cover, three ten pound bags of pellets, a cookbook, and 16 ounces of Traeger rubs and seasonings.
Lil' Pig and Longhorn Steer. These novelty grills, one shaped like a pink pig and the other like a black steer, are a lot like the Lil' Tex. Other than the exterior, one difference is that they both have variable thermostats with LED readouts. - Meathead
Wood Master makes a small, 380 square inch kettle style pellet grill in a cute jacket with two 12 x 18" side shelves. The manufacturer advertises a cooking range of 250 to 500°F. Usually you need to smolder at about 180F to get max smoke, so it doesn't look like this will do heavy smoking, but then again, most other pellet burners don't produce heavy smoke flavor. The body comes in stainless, or black enamel, or can be wrapped with college logos, hunting and fishing scenes, and even corporate logos. There is a 3 year warranty on the firebox and kettle, 2 years on electrical parts, and one year on paint, wheels, etc. Wood Master also makes two commercial size pellet cookers, the Mini Hog and the Whole Hog, both of which can be trailer mounted. - Meathead
Yoder is a brand revered by competition cooks for well-designed high end charcoal and wood fired smokers and grills made in the USA. In 2010 they introduced two pellet cookers, YS480 and the YS640. The numbers stand for the square inches of cooking surface with an optional second shelf that adds 65% to the cooking surface area. Both units have about 11.5" of headroom, and the main grate is 20" deep.
The 480 is 24" wide, weighs 263 pounds, and is said to have a cooking range from 150 to 600°F. The 640 is 32" wide, weighs 313 pounds, and is said to top out at 500°F. Both have an 18 pound hopper capacity (odd since bags of pellets usually are 20 pounds or 40 pounds). The cooking chambers are 10 gauge and the hopper and cart are 14 gauge, finished with high temp urethane. That is thick steel, great for heat retention. The grill body has a 10 year warranty and the control system has a three year warranty. - Meathead
1) If you are looking for info, please use the table of contents or the search box, at the top of every page.
2) Don't ask me any questions that involve temp or time unless you tell me that you are using a digital thermometer! Bi-metal dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F! If you are not using a good digital you have no idea what the temp really is so I can't help you. If you are still using a dial thermometer, please read this article about thermometers, then buy a good digital, and then, if the problem persists (chances are it won't), hit me with your questions. Then, please tell me everything I need to know to answer your question. Like the type of cooker you are using. Remember, I am not a mind reader.
3) Please don't ask me "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read my Buyer's Guides and the buying checklists and follow the links. I've shared just about everything I know. Pay attention to the awards I have given my faves. I cannot pick the right cooker for you any more than I could pick the right car or spouse for you.
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GrillGrates are the best new product I have tested in years and the best thing to happen to beef since salt and pepper. The base superheats, eliminates hot spots, and blocks flareups. This is the concept behind the expensive new infrared grills. A must for gas grills. Click here for more about GrillGrates.
The Smokenator: A Necessity For Weber Kettles
If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks. Click here to read more.
ThermoWorks Pocket Thermometer - No More Guessing
A good thermometer is why I never serve overcooked or undercooked food. This one has a very thin tip with a tiny thermocouple so it gives an accurate reading in just six seconds. I cannot recommend it more highly. It will improve your cooking overnight and pay for itself in a hurry. And it is inexpensive. Click here for more about thermometers.
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Pellet cookers usually have an auger or another feed mechanism that pushes the pellets into a burn pot typically about the size of a beer can ripped in half. An igniter rod sits in the bottom of the pot and when you turn on the grill it glows like the element on an electric stove. As the pellets ignite, a fan blows to feed them oxygen, and the igniter shuts off. The Traeger L'il Tex, an inexpensive model, it draws 300 watts an hour while the ignitor rod is on in the first four minutes, then it drops down to 50 watts an hour for the duration of the cook session, less than a standard light bulb.
CS-450, CS-570, and CS-680. These barrel shaped units are variations on a theme in that the only thing that changes is size. The number following the CS designation is an approximation of the cooking grid size in square inches. All have variable temperature controllers shared with Dansons Louisiana Cooker line, smallish side-mounted 12 pound pellet hoppers, porcelain cooking grids, and a temperature range advertised as from from 180 to 600°F.
Super Hog. This is the biggest Country Smoker. It stretches all the dimensions to reach a claimed 2,400 square inches of workable cooking surface and includes a warming rack but is the same side-by-side, two controller, two hopper approach used on the Whole Hog.
Fast Eddy's revolutionary new design provides three distinct cooking zones starting with a 10" wide x 18" deep direct cooking area with the firepot directly below so flames can directly contact the food for high temperature grilling. Finally a pellet grill that can properly sear a steak! To the right there's an 18" x 18" indirect zone for roasting with or without smoke, and above both areas is a 10" x 28" top grate. The direct zone has cast iron grates for great grillmarks, and the other two zones have nickel plated wire grates. Fast Eddy claims 820 square inches of cooking surface, but we calculate it a bit less at 784 square inches.
Traeger used to be pretty much the only game in town for grills less than a grand, but Green Mountain Grills changed that in 2008 and has run up significant sales numbers.
Introduced in late 1020, the IPT 550 is well built, mostly 16 gauge, but not as solid as the MAK or Memphis Grills. The handles, hinges, caster housings, screws, and fasteners are stainless steel. The macho looking body is spray painted matt black, not powder coated. A stainless version is in the works. Height is 51.5", length 32.75", width 31.75", weight 165 pounds. The spacious hood will handle huge turkeys and roasts. It has a nice stiff guide and restrainer, but when open it extends well behind the back of the unit. This means that when it opens it needs 47" of clearance front to rear.
It has a nifty feature I've never seen before: Beneath the cooking grates there is a large pan with a lip around it to catch drippings and channel them to a pipe to a grease pail that hangs below the chassis. There is a steel plug that goes in the pan so you can fill it with water for adding humidity to the cooking chamber, or for steaming. Very clever!
The controller can even be programmed. You can put your Thanksgiving turkey on at 325°F, when the probe hits 155°F, it can drop the oven temp back to 165°F, let the meat rise to that temp, and hold the bird there until you're ready. Set the temp in 5°F increments, set a timer, set an alarm for a time or an internal temp of the meat, set a program so that the unit changes temp at a predetermined time or meat temp, spend some time with the family for a change. As an option, you can even buy a bluetooth remote control so you can monitor and change temps from the living room. Truly a marvel.
Introduced in fall 2010, the 1 Star is a real star, and it sells for about $1,300, $700 less than the 2 Star. I cannot wait to see what they do when they come out with 3 Star, 4 Star, and 5 Star!
The "Intelligent Temperature Control" digital control panel is simple to operate, much easier than the MAK, with a meat probe and a few programming options. For example you can set it to cook your brisket up to 190°F and then drop back to a lower temp.
Memphis Advantage
Traeger pioneered and popularized the pellet smoker and remains the best known brand. The consensus is that Traegers are reasonably well built, but, some buyers complain that since manufacturing moved to China quality has dropped. A dealer I know says "Traegers don't get hot enough to sear steaks properly, but set on two pork butts and a few racks of ribs - oh baby! It eliminates flare ups or sudden temp changes. Set the temp, set your meat, go back inside and set the timer." He warns that there is a hot spot that you need to get used to.
AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, burgers, steaks, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely by 
About Product Reviews and Best in BBQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals are highly recommended products. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Rest assured that when we recommend a product, it is really because we like it, not because someone has paid us to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. We purchase most products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We have always been transparent about when we are reviewing a product sample, even before 
With a $30 donation you'll get a 100% cotton brushed twill adjustable low profile cap with the AmazingRibs patch sewn on. I'll even toss in a small bag of BBQ'rs Delight wood smoke pellets. Click here for 
