Grills are great for grilling meats, veggies, and seafood, and smokers are great for smoking meats, bread, veggies, and seafood. Both have their uses in a person’s backyard and both can be powerful tools in anyone’s culinary endeavors. However, what would happen if a person was able to get one of these appliances that were both a smoker and a grill? How much easier would their work be and how much great food could they produce? In our estimation, a person who used such a device would be able to whip up food for friends and family for just about any occasion. That is why we took it upon ourselves to review some of the best smoker grill combos being manufactured nowadays. And what we’ve discovered are grills as powerful as they are versatile. Let’s go take a look at them.
- Editor’s Choice
Traeger Pro Series 575 Bronze Grill (Amazon) – Review - Also Recommended
Z Grills 6-In-1 Auto-Temperature Grill (Amazon) – Review - Also Consider
Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal/LP Grill & Smoker Combo (Amazon) – Review
Editor’s Choice: Traeger Pro Series 575 Bronze Grill
The first grill smoker combo that we’d like to review is unlike any other grill that we’ve reviewed so far. This model not only has a beautiful bronze look to it, but it’s also equipped with some of the most advanced technology that anyone has ever put into a grill, but more on that later. Let’s begin this review by talking about the overall size of this model and then work our way deeper into the review. This model is approximately 40-inches long, 26.7-inches wide, and 53.1-inches high. This is a grill that’s mainly made out of stainless steel and is therefore approximately 125-pounds or so in weight.
This is an electric grill that can bake, roast, braise, and BBQ food to perfection, and can also smoke food if the consumer uses high-quality wood pellets. It’s a model that has approximately 575 square-inches of cooking space—which is big enough to cook up to 24 cheeseburgers or 5 racks of ribs. And thanks to how this grill is designed, it’s capable of performing all of those types of cooking quite well.
As we eluded to earlier, this grill is also equipped with some very nice technology. It’s equipped with a WiFire controller that allows the consumer to change temperature, set timers, and monitor their food using their phone and the Traeger App. Now, the person using the grill or smoker doesn’t have to spend all of their time babysitting it thanks to this feature.
Other features that can be found on this smoker grill combo include a hopper and auger system that delivers hardwood pellets directly to the fire pot so they can be burned and they do it virtually without any user input. It also has an auto-ignition system, a variable speed fan that circulates smoke and heat, and easy-to-use digital controls. It’s as easy as filling it up, setting the temperature, and pressing the ignite button. Sure, this grill/smoker is a little more expensive, but it sure does take the work out of grilling, smoking, and barbecuing.
– This grill is equipped with the latest technology.
– It does an amazing job of grilling and smoking.
– It offers up to 575 square-inches of grilling space.
– This grill does cost more than other grills we’ve reviewed.
Also Recommended: Z Grills 6-In-1 Auto-Temperature Grill
Another grill that we believe does a great job smoking and grilling is this grill from Z-Grills. This is a model that we’ve reviewed before, so when the opportunity came to find the best smoker grill combos we knew that it would land on this list. We just didn’t know where it would land until we reviewed the other grills on this list. Fortunately, it was good enough to land at the number two spot on our list.
This is a 6-in-1 smoker/grill. This model can BBQ, char-grill, roast, braise, smoke, sear, and a lot more. It’s approximately 45-inches by 28-inches by 49-inches and it weighs just under 85-pounds. This is a model with beautiful color to it as well and is equipped with two wheels so that it can be easily moved into place.
One of the best things about this smoker grill is that it uses advanced wood firing technology to cook food. It holds up to 15-pounds of wood pellets, which is enough to cook for up to 15-hours at a time. And because the user can set this grill from 180 to 450-degrees Fahrenheit, they can use this grill to cook a variety of foods in a variety of different ways.
This model also has an electronic auto-start ignition that makes starting this grill easy for beginners and BBQ masters alike, a digital auto-temperature control, and an LED display that gives the consumer temperature readings in real-time.
When the user lifts the grill’s lid, they’ll notice that it has 324 square inches of the main grilling area. The warming/smoking rack provides another 128 square-inches of space. This grill can produce up to 25,000 BTUs an hour and is equipped with many features including a pellet purge system, and a shutdown recycle-mode.
Keeping all of its features and functionality in mind, we do believe that this is a quality smoker grill combo. If there was one thing that we had to nitpick about it, it would be the fact that the main grill area, and smoker/warming rack area, is a little smaller than we would’ve liked. It’s otherwise a great grill that does a great job at anything the consumer wants to do with it.
– Holds up to 15-pounds of wood pellets.
– Can be set from 180 to 450-degrees Fahrenheit.
– Can produce up to 25,000 BTUs an hour.
– It’s not as large as we would’ve liked.
Also Consider: Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal/LP Grill & Smoker Combo
The last smoker grill combo on our list is this one from Oklahoma Joe. We’re familiar with many of Oklahoma Joe’s products, so we were very excited to review this model. And for the most part, it didn’t disappoint—although we do have to say there were a few things that we weren’t entirely happy with, we’ll cover those later.
Let’s begin this review by talking about the size of the unit, and then we’ll move on to the total cooking surface and its features. This grill is approximately 31.5-inches by 74-inches by 50-inches and weighs around 205 pounds. This model has six cooking grates inside of it, and these grates are made of porcelain-coated iron.
The main cooking surface of this grill is approximately 750 square-inches, and in the firebox chamber is another 310 square-inches of cooking surface for a total of 1,060 square-inches of cooking space. It’s also equipped with three burners in the gas grilling chamber that produces a total of 36,000 BTUs/hour. In the side box, the consumer can use charcoal to smoke their meats.
Some of the features found on this smoker grill combo include multiple dampers that allow the user to control smoke and heat; a storage shelf underneath the grill for storing essential items such as charcoal; cool-touch handles that make opening the grill’s lids easier; and, a firebox access door that allows the user to access their coals without opening it up.
This grill also has temperature gauges for monitoring temperature control and a gas side-burner for simmering sauces or side items. And these are the features that disappointed us the most. We found the thermometers to be off slightly, and the side burner appeared to be cheaply made. We kind of expected better from a brand such as this one.
Even with its two slight flaws, however, we still feel that this is a good smoker grill combo. The rest of the unit is well built, it cooks well, and it’s easy to use. It’s a model that we think will fit in with many people’s needs and provide them with a smoker grill combo that gets the job done.
– It has 1,060 square-inches of cooking space.
– Produces up to 36,000 BTUs per hour.
– It has a firebox door that’s easy to clean.
– It’s temperature gauges are a little off.
– The side burner could’ve been better made.
It is pretty clear that smoker grill combos are some powerful tools that consumers can use for creating some of the best smoked, barbecued, and grilled foods. These devices can do the work of grilling and smoking—although there is a size trade-off with these grills that don’t allow them to offer as much space as professional smokers do. Even so, they’re still great for most people who only need to smoke and/or grill enough food for their family and/or friends.
When we reviewed some of the best smoker grill combos, we knew that we couldn’t just rest on our laurels and just put up the reviews with nothing else. We knew that we also should write a guide on the subject of buying these devices, so all of our readers can find the models that work the best for their household and their smoking/grilling needs. And this guide is the fruit of our labors. We hope that it provides our readers with the information they need
Let’s Talk About The Size Of The Unit
One of the first things that the consumer is going to want to think about is the size of the smoker grill combo. And we’re not just talking about its external physical dimensions, but also the amount of cooking space it provides. The physical dimensions of the smoker/grill should be large enough to accommodate a large cooking area, but not so large that it doesn’t fit in the space the consumer will need to place it. It’s a delicate balance, but one that’s easily accomplished.
When thinking about the cooking area of the grill, it’s important to consider not only the total cooking area but also the size of the grilling space and the smoker space. If the consumer needs a larger smoker cooking area, then they should choose one that has this feature. It should also be mentioned that many manufactures place the size of the warming rack in with the total cooking area of the grill—which can be disappointing, to say the least. Therefore, it’s important for the consumer to read descriptions carefully and find out the actual grill space of the grill before purchasing it.
Think About How The Grill Is Powered
Another thing that a person should think about is how the grill is powered, and on this point, consumers have a ton of options. There are wood pellet/gas grills, charcoal/LP gas grills, and a variety of different configurations. So the consumer should choose the one that suits them the best to make sure that they get the one that works the best for them.
How Well Made Is The Grill?
It’s also important for the consumer to think about how the grill is made. Even though we’ve been lucky and have reviewed some great models, there are, unfortunately, a lot of smoker grill combos that are junk. Consumers should look for stainless steel or cast-iron smoker grills that have cast-iron porcelain-coated grates. Those are usually the best-made models currently being sold.
The Number Of Burners & Temperature Control On The Grill
The consumer should also think about the number of burners the grill/smoker has so that they know how they can set up temperature zones. Some people like to have parts of the grills hotter than other parts, and that essentially divides the grill into different zones that can be used for searing, grilling or resting food. Obviously, this is only important for gas grills, as this can’t be done with charcoal grills.
While considering the number of gas burners, also consider how much power those burners produce. Burner power is rated in BTUs and most burners have a power rating of 8,000 to 12,000 BTUs per burner. The higher the BTUs the more power it has, but also the more fuel it will consume. All of these things should be kept in mind.
Other Features To Consider
As we come upon the conclusion of this buying guide, we feel that it’s our duty to cover some of the other features that consumers should think about before purchasing their new smoker grill combo. We might not have enough space in this guide to cover in detail the following features, but we feel that they’re still very important. Let’s take a closer look at these features before we close out this buying guide.
- The Number Of Air Dampers
- Whether It Has Built-In Thermometers
- Whether It Has Stay-Cool Handles
- If The Unit Has Wheels
- If The Unit Has Digital Controls
- Whether The Unit Has A Firebox Access Door
- Whether The Unit Has Storage Space Underneath
