5 Best Smoker Grills 2022: Authentic Smoky Flavor

Last Updated on February 18, 2022

Summers come and go but the memories stay. And what is more memorable than those big back-garden barbecues with the whole family, and the (mostly) friendly rivalry over who’s the real grill master and who’s burgers just don’t hit the mark.

Perhaps last summer you ruled the barbecue, or maybe you failed to impress your father-in-law with chewy pork loins.

If you’re looking to add some flourish to your chicken skewers, you could always consider going rural and getting yourself a smoker grill.

Smoked meat is a great way to step up your game when barbeque season rolls around. There’s also something to be said for the “back to nature”, tactile experience of slaving over coals for hours in order to produce a meal.

However, knowing which type of smoker to buy, and what style is going to work best for you can be tricky and confusing.

Luckily, we have compiled a list of the best smoker grills available on the market at the moment, so that you can prove once and for all who is the true pitmaster!

Weber Smokey Mountain

Best for beginners:

If you’re looking for a well-rounded charcoal smoker that is great for beginners but can also stand against higher-end models, then the Weber Smokey Mountain could be your perfect match.

Weber has been designing and improving their smoker grills since the 1980s and has a long-standing reputation for pairing superior-quality construction with a simplicity that makes them easy to use, even if you have no experience at all. 

The Weber Smokey Mountain is a water smoker, which is a very popular style of the charcoal smoker, primarily because of their ability to maintain their temperature for many hours – which is a very desirable trait for a smoker to have.

You can put your meat on to smoke at night and be confident that it will have maintained its heat when you check it again in the morning.

This particular smoker is made up of three sections: lower, middle, and dome lid. In the lower section, you’ll find vents to help control airflow and temperature, as well as your charcoal and smoke wood.

The water pan and cooking grates sit in the middle section – there is also an access door here that allows you to add more charcoal or wood.

Finally, the dome lid effectively seals in the smoke and heat and has a built-in thermometer making it very easy to keep an eye on how hot your smoker is getting. 

Pros

Size – This model comes in three sizes: 14.5”, 18.5”, and 22.5”. So you can choose based on the kinds of meat that you’ll be preparing. Each size has plenty of easily accessible space where you can fit a tonne of food, due to its dual cooking grills. 

Simplicity – From setting the smoker up, to using it, to cleaning, the Weber Smokey Mountain boasts an intuitive design for which it has received many positive reviews. 

Quality – The construction of the smoker, with its chrome coating and made-to-last porcelain is all of a very high quality that leaves you confident that you’ll be smoking meat for many years to come with this unit. 

Cons

• A little too simple for some grillers – Although the ease of use is absolutely a point in this smoker’s favor, it leaves some users wanting more.
• There are quite a few buyers who claimed to have added modifications to the Smokey Mountain, such as replacing the aluminum access door and adding wheels.

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Weber Smokey Mountain

Traeger Ranger

Best for portability:

For that, we recommend the Traeger Grills Ranger: a 60lb wood pellet smoker.

This grill is specifically constructed to be portable, with a sleek black design that allows it to be placed on a tabletop without being an eyesore when you really want to show off. 

At 60lbs, Traeger’s Ranger is hefty, with some reviewers claiming that it can be difficult to lift (especially when lifting up high), however, this can be easily justified when you take the cast iron shell, griddle, and grill into consideration.

That heftiness is one of the reasons that the Ranger is as durable as it is, and the solid latch and baffled lid mean you can travel securely in the knowledge that the unit won’t fall apart at the first speed-bump.

Boasting an 8lb pellet hopper, the Ranger gives you great control over the temperature, allowing you to both grill and smoke your meat.

This unit also comes with a cast-iron griddle, so you can just as easily cook an egg breakfast as you can smoke a tenderloin.

And with porcelain coated grill grates and the option to include a drip pan with your purchase, cleaning up afterward is a breeze. 

Pros

Control – The Ranger comes with an ACR  temperature controller which allows for accurate and sensitive heat control, making it easy to monitor, and cook your meat perfectly every time. 

Flexibility – Many reviewers have noted how the grill and griddle functions allow for a lot of variety when it comes to using the Ranger, which is aided by the fact that it’s a pellet smoker, that already gives you great flexibility in terms of adding flavor to your smoked meat. 

Durability – The cast iron shell, sturdy latches, and solid design make the Traeger Ranger a particularly durable unit.

Cons

• Small Size  – As with any portable smoker, what you gain in convenience you lose in usable space. This model comes with a 164 square inch cooking area which is fine for smaller cuts of meat, but if you were hoping to cook rib-eye steak for a family of 4, this one isn’t for you. 

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Traeger Ranger

Pit Barrel Smoker

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Best for large loads:

The Pit Barrel Smoker is a clever twist on the DIY construction of a “homemade drum smoker”, which is basically just creating your own smoker out of an old metal drum.

Whilst this is a popular method, not everyone has access to old oil drums they can re-purpose or the time needed to construct them properly. So that’s where the Pit Barrel Smoker comes in. 

With a vertical design, the Pit Barrel Smoker uses meat hooks as well as grill grates, allowing for a very large capacity for either hanging meat, or letting it settle on a grill whilst the cylindrical shape allows for heat to be evenly distributed around the food.

This gives you the confidence to know that your meat will be cooked evenly, no matter where you place it within the barrel.

These models also come with a shiny ceramic coating around the steel shell, making the Pit Barrel smoker incredibly durable, perfect for finding a permanent place in your back garden, or wherever else you might want to take it. 

Pros

Capacity – This unit has 8 stainless steel meat hooks, and a large drum, which reviewers say is enough space to cook food for a small army. 

Ease of Use – The Pit Barrel Smoker claims to be very simple to use, making it perfect for beginners, with minimal setup required before you can start cooking.  

Clean-Up  – There is a lot less clean-up when hanging the meat to smoke due to the fact that the juices fall directly onto the coals, instead of into a water or drip tray. 

Cons

• Temperature Control – The temperature of this unit can be more difficult to control, which requires the chef to be more vigilant in maintaining the heat.  

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Pit Barrel Smoker

Oklahoma Joe Highland Smoker

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Best for even cooking:

There is something very authentic about the appearance of an old-school offset smoker like the Oklahoma Joe Highland, your father-in-law will definitely appreciate its appearance.

And not only does it look great, but this model also has great functionality that is easy to use. 

Unlike a lot of other offset smokers, the Oklahoma Joe Highland has a superior reverse flow design, meaning the smoke is directed to the other side of the chamber before moving over the meat, which gives you a more even cooking result, and locks in flavor more effectively. 

With this model, you can choose between charcoal or wood, depending on what type of fuel you prefer.

If you choose charcoal, however, there is still a tray to put your wood chips in, so you can alter the flavor of your cooking however you wish. 

The chamber is large enough that capacity shouldn’t be an issue for smoking, and there is also space above the firebox where you can sear your meat, giving this unit a little more versatility. 

Pros:

Reverse Flow  – This unique feature gives meat cooked in this model a richer flavor, and a more even cooking result.

Style – This cooker looks particularly cool if old-school rustic is the kind of thing you like.

Cons: 

• Functionality  – A few reviewers have stated that, similar to the Weber Smokey Mountain, they needed to modify the unit in order for it to remain airtight, which allows greater control over the temperature. 

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Oklahoma Joe Highland Smoker

Traeger Ironwood 885

Best for tech:

This final model is another Traeger, this time a top-end offset style of a pellet smoker.

This high-tech series boasts a lot of innovation, including a 20lb pellet hopper with a sensor that lets you know when it’s low on fuel, and WiFIRE® technology – online WiFi function that lets you control the unit via an app, as well as being compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant, which is particularly cool. 

This particular model has 885 square inches on its grate, which for reference is enough space to cook 10 whole chickens at once, so capacity shouldn’t be an issue.

However, if 885 square inches doesn’t fit your space, then the Ironwood also comes in a smaller, 650 square inch model, which still has space for 8 chickens. 

Traeger has been a leading company for years when it comes to smokers, so if you’re looking for the absolute premium model, you’d be hard-pressed to find something fancier than the Traeger Ironwood 885.

Pros

Construction – With a powder-coated steel shell, and double-sided wall insulation, this smoker is particularly solid, built out of high-quality materials. It also has multi-terrain wheels, allowing it to be easily moved around.

Control – This model comes with a D2 controller and digital display, making it easy to control and maintain the temperature, and make changes in 5°F increments. 

Smokiness – The offset style and exhaust system keep fresh smoke billowing over your meat, to lock in and ensure a deep smokey flavor. 

Cons 

• Potentially Over-Complicated  – Where the multitude of features may be exciting for some, it could be daunting for others. With so many innovative aspects to the Ironwood, there are also a lot of things that could go wrong, leaving some reviewers complaining about faulty or occasionally unreliable parts, which is something to bear in mind. 

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Traeger Ironwood 885

Buyer’s guide 

Maybe you’ve decided that buying a smoker is definitely in your future, but finding the right one for you can be daunting and confusing. So, here we’ve laid out the primary differences between each of the different fuel types and the benefits they have to offer. 

Charcoal

Typically considered the standard smoker, using charcoal as fuel is guaranteed to give you a deep smokey flavor, which can also be paired with wood chips to vary the flavor you get. 

Main Pro: A charcoal smoker has the largest variety of styles and sizes, so you’re more likely to find one that suits your space. 

Main Con: They need a lot more babysitting than other fuel types, and require practice and patience in order to master.

Gas

These smokers are a great intermediate choice between the “back to nature” feel of a charcoal smoker and an electric one. These units are easy to set up as well as easy to control and are powered using refillable gas bottles.  

Main Pro: You get more control over the flavor than you get with an electric smoker, with none of the cleanups of a charcoal or pellet unit.

Main Con: They require quite a lot of gas, as they need to be on for many hours at a time, therefore you will probably end up having to frequently refill the gas bottles. 

Electric

Electric smokers are by far the easiest model to use, perfect for beginners who aren’t necessarily looking for hands-on experience but still want the benefit of tasty smoked meat. 

Main Pro: There’s no additional fuel that you need to keep stocked, other than the wood chips that give the meat its flavor. 

Main Con: Due to the lack of combustion (which in other fuel types is important for the flavor profile) the taste of the meat coming out of this unit will be very different compared to other styles. 

Pellet

A pellet smoker is a high-tech solution to smoking that doesn’t require the babysitting of a charcoal smoker, whilst still producing great-tasting meat.  

Main Pro: Because the pellets burn down to nearly nothing, there is very little clean-up, especially compared to a charcoal smoker. 

Main Con: These models need to be plugged into an outlet, so they don’t necessarily work as well for traveling.  

Frequently asked questions

What kind of smoker grill is best for a beginner? 

That depends on the kind of experience you’re looking for. If you want the full culinary experience of slaving over a fire to get the perfect deep flavor and typical smokey ring on your meat, then you should probably try a tower-style charcoal/wood combination.

These units can be more forgiving for beginners than other styles. However, if you’re simply wanting the flavor and the “experience” isn’t as important, then you definitely won’t find anything easier than an electric smoker.

Are smoker grills bad for the environment? 

Unfortunately, charcoal smokers do release a high amount of Co2 into the environment, and because a lot of smokers need to be on for many hours, the cost to the environment does add up.

Where a grill is certainly less impactful than say, driving a car, if you intend to use your smoker often, you might want to look into the other methods of smoking meat.

Electric smokers consume power, as does pellet fuel, however, they don’t release Co2.

Pellets are made out of scrap/spare wood, and so this way they don’t go to waste – pellets can be said to be carbon neutral, as trees consume Co2, and then release the same amount when they’re burned. 

There is a lot of information regarding the environmental impacts of each type of smoker grill, and if this is something that you’re conscious of, we would recommend doing some research before you commit to any style. 

Conclusion

So there you have it! Now it’s down to you to decide which of the smoker grills is best for your personal circumstances and at the same time allow you to take your cooking skills to the next level.

All you barbeque enthusiasts out there will love how much more flavor and succulence you can achieve through this slow, smoking process!

Feel free to contact us. We welcome all your questions, comments, or concerns.

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