The Best Grills for Grilling & Smoking

Smoker Grills

Smoker grills have a separate smoker box that adds a distinct smoky taste to grilled food. Such grills do not require smoking chips or wood pieces to smolder and release the smoke. They may run on gas, electricity or charcoal. They come in three variations -- kamado, cylindrical water smokers and horizontal wood smokers. Some smoker brands in demand are Weber, Bradley, Great Outdoors and Little Chief.

With electric grills it is possible to grill food and also line the grill with special herbs and fruit wood like apple tree wood to emanate smoke and enhance the flavor of grilled food. You do not have to continuously monitor electric grills for overheating food because temperatures can remain constant. If smoking with wet wood, switch off the power supply and the remaining heat on the grill will still cause it to smolder. The Old Smokey Electric Smoker and the Brinkmann Electric Smoker & Grill are leading brands in electric smoker grills. They come with thermostats to calibrate heat and have secure top covers to retain flavor and smoke.

Charcoal is an economical fuel. Outdoor grilling with charcoal is especially conducive to smoking the food as well. Charcoal smoke is usually sufficient to add the special charred taste to the food. However, you can also place herbs and wood chips on the grill to get better smoking results. Weber charcoal grills are rated the best for performance and cost effectiveness across their various models.

Outdoor barbecue is made convenient with fire pit grills. You can grill food and smoke them too because they usually come with attachments like a grill grate and lid and rotisserie fittings. Fire pits may be portable, permanent or temporary structures and you can buy them pre-built or have them constructed to your specifications. Fire-pits can use wood, charcoal or gas fuel. They lend themselves well to smoking on the grill as it is easy to add smoking herbs, wood cinders and chips below the grill grate. Fire-pits can use a variety of woods like almond, apple and cherry, infusing the food with smoky flavors from the wood.