The 7 Best Pellet Grills and Smokers of 2023, Expert Tested

With this in mind, we named seven models as the best pellet grills on the market. A Pit Boss pellet grill is an outdoor cooker that combines the elements of an oven, a charcoal and gas grill, and a smoker. After the wood pellets are added to a container called a hopper, they’re fed into a cooking chamber that’s powered by electricity. As heat and smoke are dispersed throughout the cooking surface, you’re able to cook low and slow or searing hot.

Pellet smokers are known for being mostly self-operating, and these Pit Boss models live up to that standard of convenience. Made with a striking copper color and hammertone finish, they have an automatic prime function that ignites pellets using a fan-forced draft and 300-watt igniter. You can also take advantage of their 10 temperature presets, start-up and cool-down cycles, and control knob with an external heat indicator on the front panel. Pit Boss Copperhead smokers are outfitted with four swivel caster wheels so you can move them around your outdoor area as needed. With a beautiful and vibrant blue-colored steel exterior, this smoker collection can add a pop to your patio.

Whether you are just starting out or have a gifted green thumb, Coastal has everything you need to make your yard the envy of the neighborhood. Our selection of beautiful bird feeders and birdbaths will attract a multitude of feathered friends to really set your space apart from the rest. It produces great flavor (along with that coveted smoke ring appearance).

After mentioning above the hassles of unjamming the auger system, it’s nice to see that this smoker came with an easy way to empty the large 40lb hopper system. The Pit Boss 5 Series tops our list of best vertical smokers. Otherwise, the pros definitely outweigh any negatives. While the temperature swings might sound concerning, they don’t seem to effect the taste.

We periodically added some to the grill when we stirred the dip. Smoked Queso Dip – a kicked up version of your favorite cheese dip with TONS of great flavor. Cheese dip loaded with sausage, spicy jalapeños and a delicious smoky flavor from cooking on the grill. Great dip for cookouts, camping, parties, and tailgating in the Fall. The best pellet grills in the market, awarded by top media websites like CNET, Forbes, GoodHousekeeping, and ConsumerReports. With 30+ years of experience manufacturing grills for top brands, we founded Z Grills in 2016, quickly becoming one of the most respected names in the industry.

A few hot spots revealed themselves during our testing, but none that would preclude the grill from our list. It sears well, as most pellet grills do, but it doesn’t produce a hard crust. Bluetooth pit boss electric smoker app connectivity and a feature-rich control panel make this a straightforward unit to operate. The features and performance balance the price, giving it good scores on our value rating.

If you cook for large groups, you may need a 5 or a 7 series. If it is only a few of you, check out the 3 or the 4 series. I will say this, I have yet to fill up my 5 series.

The Rider is another good entry-level pellet grill. It doesn’t offer the bells and whistles of app connectivity or a range of temperature controls, most notably. It does outperform more expensive models in the smoking tests, though it doesn’t excel at searing.

With the front-loading wood chip tray, your smoking session can reach up to two hours. At Pit Boss Grills, we have engineered a smoker that smokes out the competition. With the Pit Boss Analog Electric Smoker, you can reach temperatures as low as 100°F and as high as 325°F thanks to the double walled cabinet and 1650 watts of power. With built in controls that are simple to use, you’ll have your unit up and smoking in no time. Get delicious, wood-fired flavor every time you grill with a Pit Boss pellet grill from Ace Hardware.

The two series within this collection provide long cooking times for true low-and-slow BBQ. For heavy-duty smoking marathons, the Pit Boss Copperhead 7 Series boasts a 60-pound capacity pellet hopper good for 24 hours of cooking. The pit boss flat top Sportsman 820 scored firmly in the middle of the pack. It performed well in the functional tests and was easy to assemble. With 892 square inches of cooking area, it has a good capacity and adequate heat retention and recovery times.