I love my grill, a 30-year-old Weber model that I continually rehab.
If I was going to buy a grill tomorrow, it would be a smart grill.
How it works: Wood pellet grill fed by auger.
Does it smoke?Yes.
Does it flame grill?Yes.
Active grill space: 580 square inches.
Pros
Completely hands-off cooking.
Works at lower temperature ranges, enabling cold smoking.
Able to add power smoke or hold temp for keeping warm.
AI is useful for finding recipes.
Cant easily change/mix wood in a cook.
That recipe is then sent to the grill, and the grill executes the recipe.
The auto ignite worked every time, and the smart connectivity never errored out, not even once.
Read my full review.
How it works: Electric grill with the ability to create two temperature zones.
Does it smoke?No.
Does it flame grill?No.
Active grill space: 330 square inches.
Ability to only turn on as much grill space as you need.
Able to create two different zones.
Can be used in spaces where fire isnt allowed.
Modern looking, light build.
Takes a long time to heat up.
Loses heat quickly when open.
Hard to clean, despite auto clean feature.
The self-clean option should have made cleaning easy, but tended to leave the grill looking worse after.
If you choose this grill, double check the electrical requirements; its a beast.
How it works: Ceramic grill using charcoal.
Does it flame grill?Yes
Active grill space: 250 square inches.
Obtain intense all-around heat quickly and easily.
Ability to flame grill, smoke, bake, and char.
Limited active grill space.
Very limited app utility.
Hard to add charcoal once the grill is in use.
Ceramic grills like the Kamado have a cult following that I didnt fully understand until I tried one myself.
Crispier exteriors on breads, meats, and vegetables also ensured moister interiors.
How it works: Charcoal gravity-fed grill.
Active grill space: 545 square inches
Great manual control over wood throughout the cooking process.
Able to control the temperature via app.
Incredibly sturdy, well-built grill and parts.
Limited space for searing.
Hard to get flame under active grill space.
Tricky ignition doesnt always work on the first try.
Really hard to put together.
